This was exactly what I needed, and definitely the reason I had been putting it off. If we didn’t have customers sitting twenty feet away, I would have grabbed her and kissed her senseless.
“That sounds great.” I glanced at my watch before continuing, “Are we still picking Brendan up and going to dinner tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect. Maybe we can talk about it tonight at dinner. The best way to transition you out of serving and into the position.” I hesitated before going on. “Sarah will be back next Monday, but she’s on light duty for two weeks. And the new girl is still struggling. I have a handful of applications to go through, but I need at least two more servers.”
“I have a suggestion. Ask Nadia if she’d be interested in waitressing. I think she would be good at it. And then I think Jamie would be happier as hostess. I’m pretty sure she hates serving.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to both of them before I leave.” We both cringed when we heard a tray full of dishes drop to the floor inside the dining room. “Maybe sooner than later.”
“Good idea. And don’t forget to reboot the computers,” she said with a smile and walked away to greet her table. I watched her hips sway and took a deep breath, attempting to control my dick from responding any more than it already was. The last thing I needed was to walk through the dining room sporting a hard-on.
I wished she was spending the night tonight, but I understood why not. I needed to get up early in the morning to head to Asheville for a conference. I shook my head and made my feet move, knowing I had been standing there watching her for a moment too long.
I had to go restart the damn computer system for the fourth fucking time this week.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bella
I laid myhead back against the lounge chair as my eyes drifted closed. Brendan woke me up at five a.m. with a runny nose and felt warm to the touch all morning, but at least he wasn’t running a fever. He seemed to be feeling well enough, so I took him outside, hoping the fresh air would help. Lying back in the chair, I opened my eyes and watched him play on the patio with his trucks.
My phone chimed with a text, and I grabbed it from my lap. A smile crept across my face.
Rhett:How is he?
Me:He’s fine. Playing with his trucks while we sit on the patio.
Rhett:Good. Heading into another seminar soon. I’ll check in again after.
Me:Okay, sounds good.
I set my phone down and got up to follow Brendan into the yard as he headed for the small plastic slide. Holding my hand, he cautiously climbed the small ladder and squealed in delight as he went down the slide. He did the same loop at least ten times before I noticed he looked tired, so I coaxed him back toward the patio. My heart plummeted when I picked him up, and his skin felt too hot under my touch.
Halfway to the house, he went limp in my arms. I stopped breathing; it felt like all the air was sucked from my lungs as I laid him down in the grass and he began to shake uncontrollably. His little body was stiff as it twitched, his eyes rolling back in his head, and his shoulders arched off the ground. I turned him on his side, because they do that on TV shows for this, right? Panic bubbled to the surface as I felt frozen in place and helpless to do anything but watch the whole thing happen.
“Miranda!” I screamed until my voice cracked. Finally, the back door flew open as Miranda and George rushed toward me.
Tears were streaming down my face as Miranda stooped down next to me. Her hand on my back.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Her hand went to his chest as she leaned down closer to his face.
“I-I don’t know. I think he had a seizure.” A sob escaped my mouth.
She turned to me and wrapped her arms around me. “It’s okay, I’m here now. Was he running a fever?”
“Yes, I think so. He felt hot when I was carrying him back to the house, and then he went limp and started shaking.” I pulled back to glance down at Brendan again.
“How long did it last?” She reached out, placing her hand against Brendan’s forehead.
“Probably only two minutes, maybe three. I don’t know…” My pulse raced and my hands shook. It had been maybe five minutes from the time I laid Brendan in the grass, but it felt like an hour as time seemed to move in slow motion. How long had Miranda even been out here?
“I think it’s a febrile seizure. I remember you having these a few times as a kid. But let’s get him to the hospital just to be sure.”
Fear engulfed me as I remembered my mom being rushed to the hospital because she couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t the same, but what if his fever was from something serious? Or what if the fever wasn’t what caused the seizure? My mind whirled, but I had to be strong. To make sure my baby would be all right.
“Okay.” I nodded.