Chapter 2 #2
“Thank you.” Janey kissed her babies good night and waited until Joe had taken the kids upstairs for baths before she went into the kitchen to pour a glass of wine and let out the dogs.
She felt like a fool for being so emotional about something she’d wanted her whole life.
Dreams had a funny way of changing to fit the circumstances.
Her dream come true was the man upstairs and the children they shared, their pets, their home, their extended family and friends nearby.
She wanted for nothing, except for the unfinished business in Ohio that continued to rub at her like a wound with a scab that refused to heal properly.
As the summer had progressed, the voice inside her that wanted her to finish what she’d started had grown harder to ignore, until she’d finally told Joe what had been weighing on her.
He’d responded with encouragement and support, even if her desire to go back to Ohio would turn both their lives upside down for the next two years. “As long as we’re together, we’ll figure it out,” he’d said.
From the beginning, he’d been supportive of her desire to attend vet school, even going so far as to hire Seamus O’Grady to run the ferry company for him while he was with her in Ohio.
That’d led to Seamus falling for Joe’s mom, Carolina, which never would’ve happened if they hadn’t gone to Ohio in the first place.
After she let in the dogs, Janey scratched Riley between the ears to console him. He always knew when something was bothering her.
Joe came into the kitchen. “There you are. I was looking for you in the tub.”
She turned to face him. “I haven’t made it there yet.”
“So I see. You okay?”
“I’m better now that my parents know and that they’re happy I’m going to finish.”
“You know they’ve wanted it for you as long as you have.”
“I do know that. They were so mad when I told them I wasn’t going after college.”
He put his hands on her hips and leaned his forehead against hers. “We all were.”
“My babies went down fast.”
“Faster than usual. Running them on the beach was a good idea.”
She flattened her hands on his chest and slid them up to wrap around his neck. “I thought it might be. They were wound up today.”
“Have you heard anything from Abby or Adam?” he asked of her sister-in-law and brother.
“Not yet. Their appointment is in the morning, and they’re staying at Uncle Frank’s tonight.”
“I hope everything is okay.”
“That poor girl has been through so much. I just want her to have a nice, easy pregnancy.”
“Me, too. Let’s turn in early. I’m exhausted.”
He’d done three round trips on the ferries that day, which was one more than he usually did lately.
They let the dogs out, shut off lights, locked doors and headed upstairs, peeking in on sleeping little ones before heading into their bedroom.
Joe unbuttoned his shirt and dropped it on the floor.
“Um, hello,” Janey said, as she did every night in what had become a little ritual that was one of many that made up her days and nights with him.
Laughing, he bent to pick up the discarded shirt. “Just making sure you’re paying attention.”
“I’m paying attention, and after growing up with four bovine brothers, I’m not letting you get away with that stuff.”
“Yes, dear. You gonna take your bath?”
“I’m too tired.”
“Get in bed, and I’ll give you a back rub.”
“I should be giving you one. You worked twelve hours today.”
“So did you. Taking care of kids is no easy job.”
“Neither is driving the ferries.”
Joe laughed. “It’s easy compared to chasing our two wild ones.”
“They do give me a run for my money on my days off from the vet clinic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” That had her sobbing again at the thought of spending so much time away from her babies while in school. “I’ll never get to see them.”
“Aw, hon.” Joe wrapped his arms around her. “Yes, you will. It’s going to be fine. I’ll take very good care of them while you’re in school, and we’ll have family time every weekend. It’s all good.”
“They’re going to forget about me.”
Joe laughed and nudged her ahead of him into bed. Once there, he made her comfortable in his arms, her favorite place to be. “Think about your very first memories. What do you remember?”
“Evan and Adam chasing me around the yard like hooligans.”
“How old were you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe five?”
“PJ and Viv won’t remember living in Ohio. They’ll grow up with their mom, a very successful veterinarian, who’ll be the most important person in their lives.”
“Tied for first with you.”
“No, sweetheart. You’ll always be first with them, and that’s fine with me.
You’re first with me, too. We’ll have a busy couple of years while you finish school, and then we’ll come home and settle back into life here, and they’ll pick right up where they left off with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. ”
“You’re sure about that?”
“One hundred percent positive. And they’ll be so, so proud of you for finishing school and making your biggest dream come true.”
“Being a vet isn’t my biggest dream. That one already came true because of you and them.”
“And they’ll know that, Janey. They already know how much you love them, and they’ll always know that. Ohio will be just a brief blip in their lives before we come home to stay.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her wild emotions. “I’m sorry to be so over the top about this.”
“You’re not. I get it, babe. You’re going to be really, really busy, and it’ll cut into your time with the kids, but we’ll make the best of the time we have together, and when you’re busy, they’ll have me.”
She pulled back so she could see his face. “In case I forget to say thank you for this…”
He kissed her. “No thanks needed.”
“Yes, Joe, I do need to thank you for everything you’ve done from the start to make this happen for me. I was thinking downstairs how cool it is that us going to Ohio brought Seamus here, and now he’s married to your mom, and they’re so happy.”
“That’s right. That never would’ve happened without you going to vet school. We have to look at all the positives.”
“I’m glad you see him as a positive now.”
Joe laughed. “It took a while for me to see him as my mother’s partner, but the crazy Irishman has grown on me like nontoxic mold.”
Janey lost it laughing. “He’s a good guy.”
“Yes, he is.”
“You told them our plans, right?”
“Earlier today. They were very happy to hear you’re going back to finish, even if they’ll miss us. They said they’d come visit, too.”
“I hope so.”
Joe rubbed her back, which helped her relax and decompress. “As long as we have each other, everything will be okay. I promise.”
Since that’d been true thus far, Janey decided to take him at his word.