I’ll bring you dinner, Laura said.
“Laura’s bringing dinner over,” he told Katie.
“She doesn’t have to do that. It’s a simple UTI.”
“Are you going to tell her not to?” he asked.
“Why don’t you do that?”
“No, thanks.”
They laughed at how his big sister still thought she was the boss of him—and Katie by extension. Because she was the most loving, generous big sister ever, they let her get away with her bossiness.
“It’s not like she doesn’t have enough to do running a hotel and chasing three kids,” Katie said.
“She wants to do it, and we have to let her.”
“Okay, then.”
Shane dropped her off at home and then ran to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription.
“I put a rush on it,” Grace said as she handled the checkout.
“Thank you so much.”
“I hope Katie feels much better very soon.”
“I do, too.”
“Are you okay, Shane?”
“I’m better now that we know it’s something treatable and the baby is fine.”
“Huge relief.”
“You said it.”
“Let me know if I can do anything for either of you.”
“Thanks, Grace. This island…”
“It’s a nice place to be when things go sideways.”
“Yeah,” he said over the lump in his throat. “For sure.”
On the way home, he thought about how many times things had gone “sideways” with his first wife and how he’d kept their struggles to himself. Here, it was impossible to do that, surrounded as they were by both their large families, who were always there with love, support or a hot meal when needed.
In the past, he would’ve said he didn’t want everyone up in his business. Now, he couldn’t imagine living without the tremendous support system that made life so much easier and sweeter, no matter what was happening.
And of course, everything was better with Katie by his side. Being with her made him happier than he’d ever been. It was weird to think that if things had worked out with Courtney, he might have kids in school by now. His time with her seemed like a million years ago now that he was happily settled with Katie, yet he still thought of her often and mourned her passing far too young.
He pulled into the driveway of the house they’d bought last year and had made into a home he looked forward to getting back to after every long day at work. Inside, he found Katie sleeping on the sofa. When he touched her face, he was alarmed by how warm she was.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Oh hey, you’re back.”
“I’m back, and you need to take your medicine. You’re burning up.”
She sat up and took the pills and glass of water from him. “Thank you.”
