he leaves.”
“I’ve just been adulting all over the place.” I chuckle and take another sip of coffee. “But let’s definitely get together before you leave, okay?”
“You got it.” She winks and waves as I walk to the door.
Her comment about us joining Sam in Spokane wasn’t off the mark. I’ve thought about it several times, in fact. But we don’t know anyone, and Sam’s job is about to become even more demanding.
Maybe, down the road, it will be a viable option. But today, it’s not. Instead, I’ll just have to come to grips with the fact that I’ll be without Sam fifty percent of the time.
But I’ll have him the other fifty. And time moves so swiftly, that he’ll be here before we know it.
With that pep talk under my belt, I walk down the block to the office of Ty Sullivan. Ty doesn’t usually do wills and family law, but he made an exception for us.
His assistant waves me through to Ty’s office, and I see that Sam’s already seated in front of Ty’s desk when I walk in.
“Am I late?” I ask.
“No, Sam just got here,” Ty says and nods to his assistant, who closes the door behind me. “I think you’re both smart to have this all wrapped up before Sam goes to Spokane. It’s pretty simple, really, but necessary in the event of the unimaginable.”
“We’ve been through the unimaginable,” Sam reminds him. “And because my sister was smart, things were pretty seamless, legally speaking. We want to make sure that we have the same thing in place.”
“Good idea.” Ty nods and reaches for a folder full of papers. “Let’s go over this, and then once you’ve signed off, we’re good to go.”
I sit and listen as Ty summarizes what he’s drawn up in the papers. That in the event of one of our deaths the other would retain sole custody of the children, and inherit all the money left behind.
In the event we both die, custody goes to Fallon and Noah.
Once he’s finished with all the legal jargon, and we’ve signed off, Sam and I walk hand-in-hand out of the office and take a deep breath on the sidewalk.
“Well, that’s depressing,” I mutter.
“We won’t need it,” he assures me. “It’s just there, in case.”
I nod. “I bet Monica and Rich didn’t think they’d need it either.”
“No, I’m sure they didn’t.” Sam kisses my temple. “Lunch?”
“That’s the second invitation I’ve had today.” I force a smile but don’t feel particularly happy. I want to go home, get into bed, and pull the covers over my head. “Sure. What should we get?”
“Chinese.” He grins. “With extra fortune cookies.”
“You know, you can just buy fortune cookies.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“We’ll see him in a week,” I reassure the kids as we watch Sam load his bags into his truck. “That’s not very long at all, right?”
“Forever,” Kevin mutters but lets Sam hug him.
“You have to put out fires far away,” Kelsey says as he kisses her cheek, then blows a raspberry to make her giggle.
“That’s right. But I won’t be gone for that long, and then I’ll be back, just like Auntie Tash said. Be good for her, hear me?”
They both nod solemnly.
“Can we watch Scooby?” Kevin asks.
“Sure. Go ahead.” They run inside, and I turn to Sam. “Drive safely.”
“Nah, I’m gonna be reckless and take chances.”
“Smartass.” I wrap my arms around his waist. “Call me later.”
“Of course.” His lips touch mine, and then he sinks into me, kissing me like crazy for the whole neighborhood to see. “Be good.”
“You be good.” I pat his butt as he pulls away. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.” He pauses and kisses me once more.
“You’re going to be late.”
“You’re trying awfully hard to get rid of me.”
“Yeah, Pierre is waiting for me in the bedroom. I just have to get rid of those pesky kids.”
Go. I don’t want you to see me fall apart.
“Now who’s the smartass?”
“Could be the truth.” I grin when his eyes narrow. “I have some stuff to do when you go. And I don’t want you to be late. Plus, I want you to drive safely.”
I don’t want to make a fool of myself and beg you to stay.
“I’m going. Have a good day.”
He plants those lips on my forehead once more and then gets in the truck, waves, and pulls away.
He’s gone.
I turn and walk inside, sit on the couch, and stare at the TV, but I don’t really see or hear what’s playing.
The rushing sound in