Chapter 41 #2
"Alright then," Lenora sings. She taps Jo's leg. "I'll draw up your discharge paperwork and let you finish your episode. I'm a Kristin girlie myself, by the way. Do with that what you will."
With that, she smirks and slips out, leaving the room quiet.
"You're not staying with me," Jo says, reading my mind.
"Jo, did you not just hear—"
"What I heard was that I need someone with me. So, I'll pack up my equipment and go stay at Margot's. Because what I also heard was you spiraling about you and Liam."
"I'm not—"
"You want to be more than just hot dad and nanny," she cuts in. "Am I right?"
My eyes narrow so small I think they might disappear altogether. "How did you—"
"I'm your sister too, Tessie. I know things.
And one of those things is that you save people.
It's what you do. You save me from my own mistakes and Margot from future ones.
You save Owen from his dating disasters, and Grant—well, I'm honestly unclear on what goes on in Grant's life.
But I know if and when he needs it, you'll show up for him too. "
My face heats as I plop back down into the chair. "I'm your big sister. That's my job."
"Maybe sometimes," she nods, staring again at the corner of the blanket like she's proceeding with caution. "But taking care of people can't be all that you are, and I'm not letting you use me as your excuse for why you won't take this next step."
"You're not an excuse," I rush to argue.
She squints at me. "The nurse said you were already in the car this morning when she called."
"So?"
"At 6:30?"
"I was worried about you. And clearly I was right."
She grins. "How'd you know what hotel I'd be at?"
"I was gonna go to your house."
"And you thought I'd be up at 6:30?"
"You were!"
"Yeah. To eat hotel waffles. Not to drive somewhere I could have gone the night before."
I slap my palm to my forehead and rub away the tension. "What are you getting at, Jo?"
"Liam," she says so simply it's devastating. "Did you tell him you were leaving? Have you checked in since?"
I swallow hard, my voice barely able to squeeze through the tightness. "I didn't want him to worry."
She nods slowly. "Now that I believe."
Unexpected emotion crawls up my neck, my eyes glazing with tears I never saw coming.
Jo takes my hand in hers and squeezes tight. "Why are you afraid to tell Ruthie?"
I want to scream No! I'm not the one who's on trial here. But looking at her, in this vulnerable state, I know she doesn't mean for this to be an interrogation.
Damn her and her interviewing skills.
"People act differently once things get real," I admit. "Maybe this version of us only exists when I'm just the nanny."
"Tess…"
"I'm serious!"
"You're right," she sighs. "But isn't that the whole point? I'm sure Liam will step up."
"He will." My words come out quickly—secure and unshakeable—and Jo looks at me more confused than ever. "It's me that I'm worried about."
She tilts her head, waiting, and something cracks in me.
I tell her everything, starting with Trevor, and how even when I gave him pieces of me—my fears and concerns, my stories and secrets—he gave me only crumbs in return. And how being with him only reinforced why I am the way I am.
I tell her how since meeting Liam, I've never felt more seen or heard by a man—or anyone else for that matter. I tell her how he's strong but gentle, attentive but unassuming, sensitive but so damn grounding.
I explain how his presence alone makes me feel safe, not just physically, but in my heart too.
Like coming home at night, and pulling onto your unlit street, prepared for darkness—only to get to your house and realize someone left the porch light on.
Not out of habit or because you asked them to.
Just because they knew you were coming home.
And instead of that comfort being simple—loving even—it scares me. Because I'm not sure I know how to be anyone but the one who keeps the lights on.
I end with how I told him I'm his, and I meant it. How I said I wanted to tell Ruthie and be more than what we are, and I meant that too. But as we get closer to that, this fear grows louder—that I'm afraid I can't meet him where he is without flinching.
I'm the strong one, the problem-solver. I can give, be useful, soften the edges. But I don't know if I can receive the care Liam gives so freely without feeling like I have to earn it. And he deserves a real partner—someone who will share the weight without questioning why he's lending a shoulder.
"He asked me if everything was okay when all I felt was stressed—about you, about us.
And I just said yes." She waits for me to explain.
"That might sound harmless. It might sound like nothing.
But that's not honesty, and it's not a relationship.
" I drag my bottom lip between my teeth to stop it from quivering.
"It's fear masked as ease. Like standing on that same porch—at the top of the steps, just inches from the door—and convincing myself that's just as good as coming home. "
I pause, sighing. "Liam and Ruthie deserve so much more than that."
A light knock at the door cuts Jo off from responding, and Lenora pops her head into the room. "Hey, I'm out of here, but your discharge paperwork is all set. The other nurse will be in shortly to get you unhooked and situated. Take care of yourself, Jo. I don't want to see you here again."
"Hmm… jokes on you. I don't even live around here," Jo says playfully.
Lenora laughs. "Well, I hope to be a little all over the place soon. So, just stay out of hospitals, period. Deal?"
"Deal."
She smiles, pulls the door closed, and Jo sits up straighter in the bed. "Thank God."
"Yeah," I murmur, still thinking about the conversation I assume we'll brush past.
Suddenly though, Jo threads her fingers back through mine, and when I find her gaze, she smiles sympathetically. "I could tell you all of the ways I think you're wrong, but none of them will mean anything coming from me. Not in the way you need them to."
I search her eyes, waiting for more.
"Call him, okay? Tell him exactly what you said to me."
The thought threatens to paralyze me, but if I learned anything from finally saying all that aloud, it's that I want Liam more than I'm scared to lose him.
"I will," I say, somewhat convincingly. "But let's get you home first."
Jo's eyes narrow slightly before she exhales and tips her chin down. "Yeah, sure." I look at the TV to see the credits rolling on the screen, and somehow, it feels fitting.
"Hey," Jo says, calling me back. "Why don't you grab us some coffees while I wait. It'll be a long drive."
As if her suggestion made me realize just how tired I am, I nod. "Good idea."
I head toward the door, but just as I reach it, she stops me. "Can I use your phone?"
"For what?"
"I want to get in contact with someone from the convention so they don't completely cancel me for just not showing up. Mine's dead."
"Your phone is dead?"
She shrugs. "I was gonna charge it this morning but… you know."
"Yeah," I laugh. "I know."
Reaching into my purse, I find my phone and toss it to her. "No posting weird comments on your episodes under my name."
She wiggles her brows. "No promises."
I turn to leave, but before I do, I twist back around. "Hey, Jo?"
"Yeah?" she asks, still looking at my screen.
"Thanks."
She drops her hands into her lap and smiles at me. "Does this mean I'm off the hook for the whole blood sugar thing?"
I roll my eyes and move toward the door. "Not even close."