her voice to come out calm and reassuring. “Of course it’s okay. That’s what I want you to do—make sure your little one is okay, get her the help that she needs. She’s tiny, and it’s always scary when your baby is sick.”
“That’s so true. I know I’m going to be early for the doctor’s appointment, but I just can’t sit around. She’s not having any trouble breathing and doesn’t seem to be in distress, but with the fever, it’s still scary.”
“I know. If I thought there was any chance of there being anything seriously wrong, I would recommend you go to the ER immediately, and I’m sure the doctor would have said that too.”
“You’re right. They asked me a bunch of questions and then seemed to decide it would be okay to schedule me a regular appointment.”
“I’m glad they were able to get you in.”
“Me too. I just feel bad that we made plans and I’m not going to be able to help.”
“Don’t worry about it. People always show up. That’s just the way things work.” Athena twirled her hair and thought about all the times she’d either showed up to help people, just when they needed it, or when the same thing had happened to her.
Things always worked out.
“I’m sure you know since you’re married to him, but Andrew won’t care whether the basement is decorated or not. It’s just us ladies that want to have it pretty.”
“So true.” Reagan laughed a little. “As long as the food is good, and there’s plenty of it, he’ll be happy.”
“Agreed. Now take care of the baby and yourself and don’t worry a thing about the party. I’ve got it all under control.”
“Thanks.”
“Let me know how things turn out,” Athena said.
“I will. Thank you again.”
Athena swiped off on her phone and stood staring down at her feet.
She’d left Joyce this morning about ten o’clock and had planned to meet Reagan. Now, she’d still go decorate, but she’d do it herself.
An hour later, she had streamers strung from one side of the church basement to the other, had pinned them all in the middle, and was working on blowing balloons up for a cache in the middle.
She had her phone playing music and was singing a hymn at the top of her lungs, something she didn’t normally do, but hey, there was no one around and it was a church after all, so she didn’t hear the door open and didn’t know Preston was there until she finished blowing up a balloon, pulled it away from her face, and he was right in front of her.
She probably wouldn’t have let go of it, but she squealed—something she normally didn’t do—and jumped, and he reached out to steady her, and she jerked, losing her grip on the balloon, and it blew out with a slobber, bumping into Preston’s face before shooting down, touching her knee, then shooting off to the side and landing underneath the chair.
“This is a surprise,” she said, sounding breathless.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“My fault.” She stood up, went over, and turned her music down. “I couldn’t hear. That was way too loud.”
“It’s okay. I kinda like seeing you being a little loud and a little irresponsible. It’s a different look on you. One I like.”
She thought of their conversation yesterday, where she’d basically told him he was too irresponsible and that it would take years before he could change that reputation.
She liked having everything in order. Everything sitting right where it belonged, having a schedule and knowing what was going to happen next. She didn’t like surprises.
This surprise birthday party for Andrew had been Reagan’s idea, but Andrew had always liked surprises when he was younger. She smiled fondly at the memories.
He’d grown up some from those days, of course, but still had a lot of little kid in him.
“I said can I help you?”
She startled, realizing that Preston had asked her twice.
Did she want his help?
There was a lot to do, and she would appreciate help, but...it was Preston.
She liked being with him, and he’d always been so much fun.
Up until the day of the accident.
“Sure. I wasn’t going to get too wild and crazy about it. Reagan’s the one who wanted all the decorations, and of course, we want it to be a big surprise. I want to do the best job we can, but right now, she’s more concerned about the baby.”
“She has a fever, and she took it to the doctor, right?”
“Yeah. How’d