“I am. Thank you for everything.” She stood and shook Dr. Melendez’s hand firmly.

“I want to see you back in four weeks. You can schedule that with the receptionist on the way out. Take care.”

Gretchen had a new spring in her step as she left the office. Normalcy was one week away. When she got to the elevator, she noticed Jax had stopped about fifteen feet away and seemed annoyed.

“Shit,” Jax said, searching the pockets of her jacket and jeans. “I left my keys in her office.”

“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.