“I’ll wait here.” She stood in the hallway and swayed back and forth.

Jax was oddly quiet on the drive home. After they’d left the office, her whole demeanor had changed. Gretchen knew Jax wasn’t excited about her returning to work, but she was going to. No matter what. Gretchen let the subject drop, not in the mood to kill her good news with another fight. Jax stopped the truck in front of the house.

“Are you hungry? I can make you lunch,” Gretchen said.

“I should get going. You don’t need around-the-clock supervision anymore, remember?”

She didn’t expect to be so reluctant to give up Jax’s presence. “It’s just a boring turkey sandwich.”

“I’m meeting Meredith for an early dinner.”

Gretchen felt stupid. “Valentine’s Day. Of course.” She got out of the car. She heard Jax talking, but she didn’t care enough to listen. “I’ll have Amanda stay the night, so you don’t have to end your night with me.”

“I’ll pick up Caleb and drop him off.”

“Good-bye, Jax.” Gretchen turned and walked up to her house. The cold wind made her eyes water. At least that was where she placed the blame, not on her broken heart.

Chapter Nineteen

31 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes

Gretchen kept stirring and stirring, but something didn’t look right.

“It smells wonderful in here,” Amanda said as she entered the kitchen. She took off her jacket and bent to kiss Caleb on the head. “Hey, Cricket.”

“Hi, Aunt Man.”

“Aunt Man? Sounds an awful lot like you’re implying I’m a man made out of ants.” Amanda started tickling Caleb. His giggles echoed in the room. “Was that your idea?” Amanda stepped up to Gretchen and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

“Ant-Man is a very popular superhero, and I just figured if everyone else was part of an insect family…”

“What’s your name, then?” Amanda asked.

“Mama!” Caleb declared.

“I see how it is,” Amanda said with a chuckle. “What are you making?”

“It’s supposed to be Mom’s macaroni and cheese, but I’m a little unsure.” Gretchen lifted the wooden spoon from the saucepan and frowned at the lumpy mess that dripped from it.

“Oh, honey, that’s ruined. Step aside.” Amanda bumped her hip into Gretchen’s to get her to move. “The only thing I can use here is the pasta. Do you have more milk and cheese?”

She grabbed the ingredients from the refrigerator. “I really tried.”

“You really did.” Amanda did a double take when she finally looked at Gretchen. “Are you okay? You don’t look like someone who had a great visit with the doctor today.”

“Do I look like someone whose wife is spending Valentine’s Day with their not-so-new girlfriend?”

“Ooh. Ouch. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Gretchen leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. “My scans came back fine, and there’s no one I’d rather spend the day with than you two.”

“You’re lying and it’s sweet.”

“I’m not lying,” Gretchen said. “She’s moved on. It’s that simple. So I’m trying to be happy with where my life is now. I love having a dinner date with my sister and my son.”