mine. When I first bought the trailer park, it wasn’t with the thought of ever selling my drawings.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“Arty saw one of my pieces when I was working on the back porch and talked me into letting Leo look at it.” Josh shrugged. “And that was the beginning of my career. Are you going to let Leo see what you’re doing?”
“I’ll have to think about it,” Emma said. “I’ve never sold anything before.”
“First time for everything,” Josh said. “I’m living proof of that.”
The sun was straight up overhead when Josh brought two bottles of water out of his backpack and handed one to Emma. “We should take a break and have a snack.”
She dug down into her backpack, found two apples, gave him one, and then twisted the top off her water and took a long drink. “Can I see what you’ve done?”
He turned around his drawing, and she gasped. “That’s breathtaking. It’s like that eagle is coming right at me and his eyes can see right into the depths of my soul.”
Josh’s chest puffed out a little at her praise. Sure, Arty and Filly told him all the time how talented he was, and Leo always brought news of how he was considered an up-and-coming pen-and-ink artist. His neighbors were both artists, but there was something special about hearing it from Emma.
“Thank you.” He felt like kicking the dirt like a little boy who had just gotten a compliment. “There’s a lot of feeling in that thing you’re doing, too, Emma. You work those oils like magic.”
“Hope overcomes darkness,” she whispered as she bit into her apple.
“Amen,” Josh said.
Sophie had just finished eating a peanut butter sandwich and had twisted the top off a beer at noon when her phone and the landline both rang at the same time. Worried that Emma might need her, she let the answering machine pick up the one and answered the other.
“Hey, darlin’,” she said when Teddy’s face popped up. “Where are you today?”
“I’m finishing up over here and flying home tomorrow. Things went better than we could have ever hoped for. We’re booked for four shows. I should be picking you up the middle of next week. We’ll be staying in Del Rio for a day before we fly to London. We’ve got a lot to talk about,” he said.
“Do I need to make reservations in a hotel?” she asked.
“Nope, we’re staying in a house this time,” he said.
“Sounds wonderful to me,” she told him. “What are we going to talk about, other than me saying that I love you a hundred times a day?”
“Lots of things,” Teddy said. “Will Em be all right without you for a whole week?”
“I hope so. I’m leaving her in good hands, and I’ll call her several times a day,” Sophie answered. “I’ve missed you more this time than any other, and I’ll be counting the days until you get home.”
“I like that word, home,” Teddy said. “I’m so ready to wake up with you beside me every morning. I’ll tell you one thing we’re going to talk about is that I’m not taking any more of these trips alone. A month at a time away from you is too much.”
“It sounds like you’re ready to make a lot of changes.” Sophie had thought their relationship had settled into a routine. A short burst of panic made her chest tighten. She didn’t want things to change—what if he wanted to get married and start a family?
“Oh, honey, I am, and I think you’re going to love what I’ve got in mind,” Teddy said. “I’ll be there with you as soon as I wrap up things here. Love you.”
“Love you more,” she said as he ended the call.
She carried her beer out to the porch, set it on the table, and picked up her palette, but she flat out couldn’t make herself work. She had hated surprises since she got hit with that positive pregnancy test all those years ago, and Teddy was about to spring a huge one on her. She could feel it in her bones.
“Why do we have to change?” She put the palette aside and sat down. “Everything is fine the way it is.”
She finished her beer and then paced up and down across the porch. Time stood still as she worried about whatever had Teddy so excited. Time was running out if they were going to have children. If they did, what would that do to her career, and what