Chapter 24

Opal leaned in to see her father's spreadsheet more clearly. "I think I see what you mean, Daddy," she said when she spotted the numbers he'd put together for her. Sighing, she leaned back. "It's a lot to get started."

"It always is," he said. "But once you have things going, it won't be that bad." He took the spreadsheet away and smiled at her over the video call. "You'll be able to apply for grants for salaries, supplies, all of it. They usually want some statements, that kind of thing. But we can turn in these projections, and some companies take those."

The idea of having to hunt down grants and go through the application process made Opal feel like she'd just worked a sixteen-hour shift in the emergency room. "I don't know, Daddy."

"What don't you know, sugar?"

"This feels like a lot of work." She looked away from the computer, from the camera, from her father, who'd always guided her so effortlessly. Who had such a good business mind that thought in ways Opal's didn't.

Give her a broken bone or someone complaining of shortness of breath, and Opal knew what to do. She at least knew what questions to ask. Business…it just felt different, and Opal didn't know how to navigate the terrain.

"You can hire a foundation manager," Daddy said. "And a grant writer. That'll be all that person does—research grants, apply for them, manage the status, follow-up. All of it."

"I suppose that's true," Opal said, seeing another line for payroll inside the foundation. "And then I—what? Sit back and oversee?"

"Yes," Daddy said simply. "Being the CEO isn't about doing everything. It's about knowing what needs to be done and getting the best person or department to do that thing."

"So it's a lot of management."

"It's a lot of management," Daddy agreed. "You managed the ER, sugar. You knew which doctors were where, with which patients, and who needed what. This is going to be exactly like that, but in a non-emergent situation."

Opal met her father's eyes again. "You might be right."

"You're thinking about it as running a foundation."

"Yes," she said slowly. "That's what it is."

"No, it's running the ER," he said. "Which you did for a full year, without fail."

"But Daddy, I didn't love running the ER." A tremor ran through her chest. "Remember how I took a sabbatical and then quit? And I didn't even tell anyone I quit, because it was something I'd worked so hard for, for so long."

Opal let the humiliation run through her. She reached up and wiped her right eye, which had started to leak the tiniest of tears. "I've spent a decade of my life in the medical field," she said. "And it's all I know how to do. But what if I'm meant to do something else?"

"You're a mighty fine doctor, Opal," Daddy said quietly. "But if you don't want to do that anymore, I promise you, you're the only one who thinks the past decade of your life has been a waste."

She sniffled as she studied her hands, then the carpet in her bedroom. "You and Momma--?"

"Your mother and I are nothing but proud of you, Opal. You went after what you wanted, and you worked hard to get it. Then, when it made no sense to leave it all behind, you did exactly that, because God told you to. So you're brilliant, and hard-working, and faithful. Momma and I can't ask for anything more than that."

She nodded, taking in his compliments and feeding on them in a way she hadn't realized she needed. "Letting you down is my biggest fear, Daddy."

"Well, you never have," he said. "Opal, sugar, look at me."

Opal swallowed and tried to get her eyes to stop leaking. She needed courage—and humility—to look her father in the eye, but after several seconds of his patient silence, she managed it.

She started crying even harder at the pure compassion and love shining in his face.

"You are my daughter, and I love you endlessly," he whispered. "There is nothing you could do that would make me stop loving you. So if you decide to start a medical foundation—which I think is a stellar idea and needed in that area—great. If you decide you don't want to do this, and you want to be Mike and Gerty's nanny forever, also great. They need you. They love you. There's absolutely no shame in anything you're doing or have done."

Opal nodded while tears streamed down her face. "Thank you, Daddy."

"Take a think about it," he said, his brilliant smile lighting his face. He'd aged steadily in the past five years, but Opal could still see his spirit. She could still see his devotion to his family, to Momma, to living his life the way God wanted him to.

"Ask God what He wants you to do." Daddy clicked around on his side of the screen. "These projections will still be here if or when you're ready for them." His eyes came back to hers. "How's the house coming?"

"Good." She drew in a breath and covered her face with her hands. She wiped her tears away and came up with a smile for her father. "They've got it framed, and it looks so big."

He chuckled. "You'll fill it right up."

"Everything I own is in California," she said. "And I certainly don't see how I can fill five bedrooms when I came from a one-bedroom apartment."

"I believe in your shopping ability," Daddy quipped.

That got Opal to giggle, and she didn't want to get going into full-blown manic laughter. So she curbed herself and said, "I love you, Daddy. Thank you so much for your advice and work on this for me."

"Oh, he loves it," Momma called from somewhere. He looked over his shoulder, and Opal grinned as her mother came into the frame.

"Hey, Momma. We're done."

"Good, because it's time for Daddy's walk."

"Oh, you're walking him these days?"

"Him and Creamie," Momma said as she sat on Daddy's lap. "If they don't get out every day, they're beasts."

"She's the beast if she doesn't get outside every day," Daddy said, smiling at Momma.

"Well, I'll let you guys take your walk. Give Creamie a hug from me." She'd only met her parents' dog a few times, but she was a sweet little pup who kept her parents company, and that meant Opal loved her too.

The video call ended with I love you's and we'll talk soon's, and Opal finally clicked end and sat back from her computer. "What do I want?" she asked the empty room, the silence, herself, and God.

Could she even have what she wanted? And if not, why not?

"Because you're not married," she muttered. She really wanted to take care of babies all day, every day. Gerty's and Mike's sure. Even Jane's and Cord's. But really, what she wanted more than anything was to be a mother to her own babies.

Since she had no idea when that would happen, the medical foundation seemed like a good idea, but she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to maintain it. "It feels like a short-term solution to my issues," she muttered to herself.

Her phone buzzed and chimed, and Opal reached for it, a measure of exhaustion behind both of her eyes.

Meet Spencer Alexander Hammond!her sister-in-law had sent. Immediately following that, the cutest picture of a sleeping newborn with a shock of the Hammond dark hair arrived.

Opal fell in love with the baby immediately, and her tears reared up again. I love him, she sent, the first to respond on the group text. With nimble fingers, she quickly tapped over to a private string with Easton and Allison.

I know your mother is there, Alli, but let me know when she leaves, and I'll be on the first plane to Raleigh.

And Opal would be. As she got to her feet to go meet Tag for dinner, the sweetest feeling descended on her.

Being a mother is a most noble calling.

She put her hand against the doorjamb and paused, her emotions overcoming her once again. "And there are many ways to be a mother," she whispered. She could get joy from West, from Allison's new boy, from Jane's who was coming, from any number of ways to take care of others who needed her.

Satisfied she wouldn't break down in tears in front of anyone, she finally left her bedroom. Something had settled inside her with her father's words, and she entered the kitchen, ready to leave it again.

"Headed out?" Gerty asked from the stovetop. "Or are you eating with us?"

"Headed out," she said. "Where's West and Mikey?"

"Oh, Mikey got something for him." Gerty carried the eyeroll in her voice. "A baby pig. West squealed as loud as it did." She giggled then, and Opal would've liked to have seen that.

The back door opened before she could pull it in, and Carrie and Kyle started to enter. Opal fell back a step to give them room, and she said a quick hello-and-goodbye, and left.

Outside, the farm had come to life with the introduction of spring rain and sunshine. The grass had greened nicely; the chickens had been moved back outside; Tag and Steele had been planting alfalfa for a couple of days now.

The farm wasn't huge, but they weren't in a hurry either. Keith had approved their planting plan, and Tag had been like a little boy on Christmas morning when that had happened. Opal smiled to herself as she took in the horses in the pasture across the dirt lane, and she wandered over to the chickens.

She'd kept them alive all winter, and she took a moment to speak to each one as she went by. "I'll get your eggs tomorrow," she said. "Okay? So be good layers."

"There you are," Tag said from behind her, and Opal turned toward him.

Her whole future opened up at the sight of him, and she smiled widely. "Here I am. I'm not late, am I?"

He still wore his work gloves, so she definitely wasn't late. "Nope." He pulled his fingers out of the gloves. "I've still got one horse in the ring, and Steele's finishing up with a field right now. We've got to get everything put away for the night, and then I need to shower."

Opal eased herself into his arms, though he said, "I'm sweaty and gross."

"Mm, I like it." She kissed him, glad when he returned the gesture.

A growl emanated from his throat. "You smell fantastic."

She'd just gotten new body wash in the scent of apples and blossoms, but she didn't tell him that. Number one, he'd only broken their kiss for the few seconds it took to tell her that, and she didn't want to stop kissing him to talk.

Eventually, the warbling of the chickens entered her awareness, and Opal remembered Tag had chores to finish still. She could kiss him later.

"Your place?" she asked. "My couch? The stars?"

"Yes to all of it," he whispered. "I need at least an hour until I'm back to my place."

"I'll go get dinner," she said.

"We've got a while until the stars come out," he said. "If you don't mind. Otherwise, wait for me, and we can go together."

"I just want you, me, and the stars tonight," she murmured. She kissed him again, keeping it slow and easy and short. "I'll go get something, and we can eat in your backyard."

His eyes met hers, and Opal wasn't sure what she saw in the blazing depths of them. Something intense and strong. Something meaningful. "Tag," she whispered. "Allison had her baby, and I'll probably go to North Carolina for a few weeks."

"Okay," he whispered back, drawing her closer.

She laid her cheek against his chest. "I miss you already."

"That's because you like me so much," he said.

Opal smiled right there in the shade of the barn, her eyes closed, and the scent of Tag all around her. "I think you'll miss me too."

"Mm, I can admit to that, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I'll miss you," he said. "Because I like you so much, Opal-honey."

She smiled at the pet name. "When do you know if your like is starting to turn into love?"

"I think about the time you realize you can't live without someone or something," he said. "Like potatoes. Can't live without them, so I love ‘em."

Opal burst out laughing, and with Tag's voice joining hers, they made a great harmony and melody. She hung onto his shoulders and looked at him. "I think I'm getting close with you, cowboy."

That intensity came roaring back into his expression, and Opal realized what it was now: love, desire, hope.

"Can't live without me, huh?"

"Maybe," she said coyly. She pushed him back a step. "Now, go finish your chores so we can have a date tonight at a decent hour."

"You're the one who started kissing me," he said. "For the record."

"I got it on the official record," she said, and he chuckled as he walked away, toward the back corner of the barn and around it, where the walking circles for equines were.

Opal sighed into the golden evening, as this was her perfect hour. She loved everything about a Colorado springtime in the evening, when the sun was still up and casting it's treasure over the mountains.

Her phone chimed, and she checked it. Allison had said, My mom will be here until May 5. You're welcome any time after that.

Great, Opal said. I'll be there on the sixth.

And now she had to go get dinner and book a flight, so she didn't linger next to the chicken coop any longer. After all, she had a magical star-watching date to get set up with a man she might-possibly almost already be in love with.