“I’m positive. Where are the boys?”
“At the clinic with me.”
“I’ll be right there.” He put down the phone and went to the bathroom to clean up. “I have to go get the boys,” he said to Cindy. “Carolina fell and broke her leg. They’re taking her to the mainland.”
“Oh my God.” She put on her T-shirt and joined him in the bathroom. “Do you need help?”
“I don’t know what I need.”
“Can I come with you? Between the two of us, we can figure it out, right?”
He caressed her face and kissed her. “I’d love if you came with me. Thank you.”
They cleaned up, got dressed, packed a quick overnight bag and were on the way to the clinic in minutes, hoofing it across town as a chilly early-September breeze blew in from the waterfront.
Jace held her hand as they walked. “I’m really sorry this happened when we were, you know, busy.”
“Don’t be. They’re your kids. They come first.”
“They never have before, you know? Like, I’ve never had to stop what I was doing to be there for them. Not once in their entire lives have I done that.”
“You’re doing it now, and that’s what’s important.”
“Thanks for coming with me. That means a lot. I have no idea what I’m doing with two little boys.”
“You’ll figure it out, and the good news is, they’re old enough to tell you what they need.”
“True. Thank God for that.”
Cindy laughed. “You’ve got this. Just take it one minute to the next.”
“It’s a big deal that he called me to help with them. I don’t want to let him down.”
“You won’t.”
“Means a lot to me that you have so much faith, even with what you know about me.”
“All I see is a man determined to put his life back together and do the right thing by the people he cares about.”
“I like how that man looks to you.”
Cindy squeezed his hand. “I like how he looks, too.”