CHAPTER 26 JOLENE

I haven't had a chance to talk to Jonah privately, and maybe that's part of the problem of living here with Sam. While it's fun to live with our best friends, Jonah has virtually no private time since he and Cade are always together. And maybe a seven-year-old doesn't need much private time, but we can't easily get away to have a mother-son conversation when we're always in tight quarters with two other people.

So when the movie the four of us were watching comes to an end, I ask Jonah if I can chat with him in my room for a few minutes.

"What's up, Mom?" he asks as he flops onto my bed.

"I have a question." I study him. He seems happy, and he also seems like he can't really sit still. He flops around like a fish on my bed, and I can't tell if he's antsy or if he's just got some extra energy to burn.

Out of the clear blue, I think of the pool in Lincoln's backyard and how I made this kid take swim lessons from the time he was three months old since so many people have pools in Vegas. Jonah has always loved to swim, but we've never had a pool in our backyard. I think of all the extra energy this kid seems to have and can't help but wonder if a pool would help him expend some of that energy.

It's been a dream living here with Sam—particularly when I needed extra help with Jonah. But I don't have that same job now, which means I'll have more time to be home with my son instead of feeling like I'm constantly finding someone to watch him because of work.

"What is it?" he asks as he finally stills.

And as he tilts his head a little to wait for the question, I can't help but think…I'm not really sure how to broach this topic.

So I blurt it out. "What would you say if I told you Lincoln invited us to move in with him?"

His little brows pinch together for a beat, and he doesn't answer right away, making me a little antsy now. Finally, he asks, "Do you want to move there?"

"I want to hear what you think first."

"Can I ask some questions about it?" he asks.

I nod. "Of course."

"Would I have my own room there?"

"Yes."

"Is his house big?"

"Huge," I admit. "And he has a pool."

His eyes light up. "And we'd get to see Lincoln more?"

I nod, and I love that he asked that question—as if he wants to see Lincoln more. I do, too. "We'll see him a lot more. He'll be traveling a lot for work, but when he's home, we'll get to spend a lot more time with him."

"Yes. Let's go!" He punches a fist into the air, and I guess that's kid-talk for yay, awesome. "I think it's fun living with Cade, but I want a pool," he says, nodding his head resolutely. "And we can still do sleepovers."

"Of course we can," I say, wrapping an arm around his shoulder for a side hug. "I love living here with Sam, too. But we both knew this wouldn't be forever."

"Will living with Lincoln be forever?" he asks, and I hear the hope in his voice.

"I sure hope so," I say, wishing I had a better answer than that for my little boy. "Should we go tell Sam and Cade?"

Jonah nods, and we head out to the family room where they're still sitting on the couch.

"We're moving out!" Jonah announces much less diplomatically than I'd planned.

Sam's eyes dart to mine, and I don't miss the tiniest bit of hurt there before she asks, "Where are you going?"

"Lincoln asked us to move in with him," I say softly.

Her jaw drops clean down to the floor. She stands, and she waltzes over to hug me. "Congratulations, my friend. I'm so happy for you."

I squeeze her back. I know this is going to happen for her and Cade soon with Devin, too, but I keep quiet rather than returning the sentiment since Cade still doesn't know.

"Thanks," I say, and I feel myself tearing up a little as I pull back.

"Celebratory shot?" she asks.

I shrug. "Sure."

"I'll get the Fireball."

I follow her toward the kitchen as I wrinkle my nose. "Titos?"

"All out."

"Damn." She giggles as she moves toward the pantry to see what we have in stock. "It'll be hard leaving this place." I glance around at what's become home to the two of us over the last few months.

"You're always welcome back. If he's out of town for a night, or if Jonah wants to come hang with Cade…you two are always welcome here."

I give her another hug. "And you two are welcome to stay with us any time over at Lincoln's place, too."

She grins. "We will definitely take you up on that."

"Did you go there when you two were…" I trail off. Fake dating sounds ridiculous even though that's the truth of it.

She shakes her head. "He never invited me over. He said something about how it's his private place or something, which only serves to tell me how important you two must be to him if he invited you to move in."

She pulls out the Fireball as my heart warms at her sentiment. She holds up the bottle to offer it to me.

"I'll pass," I say, and she unscrews the cap and takes a swig right from the bottle.

She winces as she swallows, and she puts the bottle back on the shelf. "Want anything?"

"I'll skip. I should start packing, I guess."

"When are you moving?"

I shrug. "No idea. He asked me earlier today, and I, uh, no longer have a paycheck, and I don't want to mooch off you—"

"Wait…back the truck up," she interrupts. "You don't have a paycheck?"

I clear my throat. "I quit the station today."

"Oh my God!" She heads back to the pantry and takes another swig of Fireball, and she holds the bottle up toward me again. "You sure you don't want some?"

I chuckle as I shake my head.

"What the hell happened?"

"Rivera and I got into it, and Marcus came in to break it up."

"Marcus? I thought he was still in Florida," she says, her brows pinching together in confusion.

"He was. He is. But he stopped by since he was in town visiting his wife and kids. Anyway, he walked in when Rivera and I were fighting, and he asked me what he walked in on, and I told him he walked in on my last straw and then I quit on the spot."

"I knew that temper of yours would be used for good someday," she says.

I tilt my head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean they were treating you like shit." She tosses up both hands in frustration for me, and this is what I love about her—her ability to stick up for me while hitting me with the hard truth. "They're letting Rivera get away with harassing you, and it's not right. You want my opinion? Bring a lawsuit against them. They don't deserve you."

"You know what? You're right. They don't."

"So you're gonna, what…go mooch off Nash now?" she asks, and I giggle.

"Something like that. I'm going to put everything into the podcast. He's going to get an in-home studio set up so we can record any time, and I'm going to take your idea and expand it. I just…at some point, and probably soon, I think I'll need an assistant, but I have no idea where to even begin to look for someone who could help me."

She clears her throat, and my eyes dart over to her as my brows dip.

She raises her hand.

"You?" I ask. "I mean, I love the idea of working together, especially since we won't be living together, but…you have a job, and I'm looking for someone full time who can help with administrative tasks so I can focus on the stories and the research. I might need someone who can help me film and get the content up online after I'm done producing it."

She raises her hand higher.

"Sam, be serious."

"I am serious. I like being a nurse, but with all the extra shifts I've been taking lately, I've realized something. I like it. I don't love it. I need a break. I need to do something fun, something a little…I don't know. Lighter. Something where I don't literally make life and death decisions every day. Something where I can work while Cade is at school but then have the time to go to baseball games and have weekends off to spend time with my family. I just…think I might be burned out, and I think I'd make a great assistant."

I don't even have to think about it. It's a perfect fit. One more sponsorship and we'll be making enough for me to pay her a salary. "When can you start?"

"I just need to put in my two weeks. So…two weeks?"

I grin. "Perfect. Welcome to the team. Now would you mind watching Jonah for a bit so I can run to the station and grab the equipment I left there?"

She nods. "Go. You need any help?"

I shake my head and grab my keys. "I'll be quick."

It finally feels like everything is falling into place…which is why I don't even see the next hit coming.