“Today was unusual, Steve.” She leaned toward him as soon as he was seated, posture taut, twin furrows creasing her brow. “Like I told you in the text, after that call came in, the station was in a frenzy. They wanted me to monitor the reaction on social media. I could have stayed until midnight, but Doug insisted I come home.”

“Does that mean you’ll have to work late tomorrow night too?”

She shifted in her seat. “I don’t know. Until we get past this craziness, everyone’s schedule is thrown out of whack—but it can’t go on forever. Whoever is causing Eve all this grief will eventually give up.”

“Or she will.”

“No.” The definitive shake of Meg’s head left no room for argument. “She’s not a quitter.”

“Maybe she won’t have a choice. After today, her audience could desert her.”

“In light of all the support she’s receiving on social media, I don’t think that will happen.”

Neither did he, after reading a fair sampling of the comments on her blog. Near as he could tell, they were running 90 percent in her favor.

“Then you should think about resigning.”

“Steve.” She reached for his hand, her demeanor beseeching. “I enjoy the job, and I’d like to stick with it awhile. The long hours won’t last. But I know you’re concerned. So why don’t we compromise? After we get past the current crisis, I could ask Doug if he’d let me work through lunch. That would get me out of there an hour earlier, and I could have supper underway before you get home.”

“Until the next crisis hits.”

“I’m not expecting anything else like this to come up in the foreseeable future.”

“But it could.” He pulled his hand free of her cold fingers. “I think you have to decide which is more important—your job or our marriage. Didn’t we agree you’d be a stay-at-home wife?”

“Yes.” She linked her fingers into a tight knot on the table. “I just didn’t realize how lonely I’d be here all day by myself. My old job wasn’t great, but I liked the social interaction. It would be different if I had a child to care for, but with all the complications from the miscarriage, that may never happen.” A sheen appeared in her eyes.

“I talked to the doctor. He didn’t rule out the possibility of you getting pregnant.”

“No—but the odds aren’t in our favor. And I always wanted to be a m-mother.”

“That could still happen.”

“Until it does, though, the job fills up my empty days.”

Meaning if they never had children, she’d push to keep working.

Not acceptable.

“We could always consider adopting.” That wasn’t a serious option, but it could be a bargaining chip to help him achieve his goal if Eve’s show continued.