“I will,” she said, leaning toward him for a kiss.

He smiled and accepted. “That’s nice,” he said. “We’ve been too busy lately.”

“We should change that but I think we have to get Finn to school before our schedules lighten up.”

“I’m taking him on Saturday.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“It’ll only take the day,” he said. “He’ll be anxious to get rid of me so he can start enjoying college life.”

“Promising,” she said. “Now get out of here so I can finish up.”

She grabbed his hand and walked him out. The look on his face said it all—he was surprised and welcomed this change.

They got to the waiting room and Johnny Holliday was leaning on the reception desk trying to talk his way in. She saw the two men in the same space for a moment and was amazed by the difference. Johnny looked like a boy compared to Rob. Johnny was good-looking but Rob took it up a notch—his shoulders were broader, his frame taller, his color more rich and tanned. And that was only on the outside—he was a good father, a friend with integrity, a man of his word.

“Hello, Johnny,” Leigh said, hanging on to Rob’s hand.

“Leigh! I came by to tell you I got the job in Colorado Springs, so we’ll be seeing more of each other.”

“Rob, this is an old neighbor from Chicago—Johnny Holliday. We grew up next door to each other. Johnny, this is Rob.” She turned her eyes up to Rob. “My fiancé?” she said, as if in question. Rob lifted one corner of his mouth and nodded.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, not letting go of Leigh’s hand.

“I’m happy for you about the job. Alyssa will be so happy. I’m sorry I don’t have time to visit. Congratulations. Eleanor, I’m ready when you are.”

She turned and went back to the exam rooms.

Choose the best life;

for habit will make it pleasant.

—Epictetus

17

ROB KNOCKED AT Leigh’s door at about five thirty. When she opened it, he immediately got a whiff of her shower gel and shampoo, a scent he loved to curl up to. She wore tan capris and a white blouse over a white tank top. “Am I too casual?” she asked. He just shook his head and pulled her to him for a kiss. He enveloped her closely and devoured her in that way that promised more to come.

When he released her lips, she said, “God, what a day.”

He didn’t let go of her. “Fiancé?” he asked.

“There’s so much going on,” she said. “That’s my famous ex. He stopped by the clinic a month or so ago to tell me he was interviewing for a job in Colorado Springs and he hoped we could get reacquainted. I was horrible to him. I lost my temper completely. I told him my fiancé was violent. Then I completely forgot about his surprise visit because I was so consumed with our situation. In fact, I was so focused on you, me and the baby, I never thought to even mention it to you.”

“Violent, am I?” he asked with a smile.

“Of course you’re not,” she said. “You’re more even-tempered than anyone I know. Do we have to go out?”

“Yes, I’ve made plans. I won’t keep you out too long. You can tell me about the rest your day in the car.”

“All right,” she said. She got her purse and locked the door. “My whole world shifted in the last twenty-four hours.”

He opened the door for her. “I guess it did. Suddenly you’re engaged.”

She turned her bright face up to him and smiled. “Surprise.”

He got behind the wheel. “I can’t wait to hear what other surprises you have for me.”

“A few,” she said. “The baby moved for the first time yesterday.”

“Yesterday? You didn’t say anything!” He reached a hand across the console to rest on her tummy and she laughed.

“You can’t feel it yet. It’s only flutters but it will grow into something noticeable very soon. And I didn’t tell you yesterday because I was very busy having a difficult stand-off with Aunt Helen. I told her I thought we’d manage the baby just fine with help from you and she took exception to that word.”

“Manage?” he asked, a little confused.

“No. We. She basically said, ‘Oh, no, you don’t. I gave you thirty years and I’m not giving the next one thirty.’ What was I thinking? That Aunt Helen would be so excited about the baby she’d cancel all her trips and put her life on hold to be sure the baby was taken care of? She said no. In fact, she moved out. Aunt Helen is now living with Sully.”

“Is that so?” he asked. “I guess he has plenty of room, with the cabins and all.”

“She is not in a cabin. She loves him. As in, loves him. I take that to mean she’s not in a guest room.”

“Seriously?”

“Aunt Helen and Sully doing the nasty. Living in sin.”

Rob whistled. “Sully has just become my hero.”

“Promising, isn’t it? We can look forward to many years of bliss.”

“So, she bailed on you, and you’ve decided to become my fiancée? Is that for real?”

“Oh, Rob. There are so many details to work out. I might be a fiancée for quite a while as we figure it out. I know you’ll be glad to slide over and make room for me in the bed, but apart from that...”

“I will be more than happy to move over and make room...”

“And then when we do what we’ve been doing, there will be a teenage boy in the room next door who will hear us and probably either be damaged for life or will tease us forever. Or maybe he’ll be disgusted by us. I’ve been single a long time. I don’t even know what we should talk about.”

He pulled to the side of the road. He turned toward her. “I’m going to show you something. It’s not a solution. It’s an idea. We have to start somewhere.”

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Just a little farther. Try to be patient.”

“By now you should know better than to ask that of me.”

“I’m asking just the same. Tell me more about your stand-off with Helen while I drive.”

She told him how much it upset them both, how hard it was to see her move out even though she hadn’t gone far and was crazy about Sully. Then Rob pulled up in front of a house. It was about fifteen minutes out of town in a nice neighborhood of houses on large lots. There was a For Sale sign and a woman in a tailored pantsuit got out of her car and waited at the front door.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Like I said. Just an idea. Maybe we should have a fresh start. Maybe we need a little more room.”

The woman put out her hand toward Leigh. “Mrs. Shandon? I’m Claudia Bradford. I spoke to Mr. Shandon and I found several properties that might meet your needs but Mr. Shandon said that you only had time to see one today. This is such a nice house. Let’s have a look, shall we?”

The door was opened into a spacious foyer that fronted a bright great room filled with windows. The furniture was much like Rob’s, man-size leather. It was spotless, not so much as a book or cup sitting out.

There was a huge fireplace, hardwood floors, high ceilings, French doors lining the back wall looking out on a deck and a big lot filled with trees, shrubs and flowers. In the distance, she could see the mountain peaks. The great room opened into a spacious kitchen with a long breakfast bar, an island and beautiful dark cabinetry. There were French doors in the dining room, as well.

“Lots of amenities here,” Claudia said. “Up-to-date six-burner stove, subzero refrigerator freezer, wine cooler, warmer trays, two ovens and a convection oven. Butler’s pantry with refrigerator, sink, wine racks, cupboards.”

The master bedroom was just down the hall and it was enormous. There were no clothes in the closet. There was a bathroom right next to it. The master bath was heavenly—large and beautiful—and spotless.

“Doesn’t anyone live here?” she asked the Realtor.

“Can you believe this is a vacation home? It’s owned by two couples from Las Vegas. I don’t know why they decided to sell. All I know is that between friends and family, this house was kept busy—a cool retreat from their hot summers and a place for skiing in winter.”

They retraced their steps and on the other side of the great room were a couple of bedrooms. And upstairs two more and a large bath joining them.

“How big is this house?” she asked. “It’s huge!”

“It’s just over six-thousand square feet and there’s a three-car garage. It just went on the market and has only been shown a couple of times so far. Quite a vacation home.”

“How many bathrooms?”

“Five. Given the size, it could probably use another one. The house is twenty years old.”

Leigh turned and looked at Rob. “Are you crazy?”

“This is just the first one. There’s time to look at others. And there are others. Bigger, smaller, in between. But it’s hard to find a house that has room for a couple of home offices, three kids and an aunt.”

“But Aunt Helen—”

“Could always come back to us,” he said. “Just like the boys, we’ll always have a place for her.”

“But we could never afford this,” she said.

“That’s going to take a calculator. But here’s what we should do—go to dinner, talk about priorities, add and subtract... Claudia gave me a sheet estimating mortgage and payments, taxes, et cetera. And remember, there are other properties and plenty of time. You won’t be in labor anytime soon.” And with that he put his arm around her shoulders.

“Oh, congratulations!” Claudia said. “I had no idea! That’s wonderful.” She handed them each a business card. “Let’s get together again soon. I’m sure we can find you the perfect home. But let’s do that before ski season begins. Prices always go up then.”