A Very Married Christmas: A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella(13)

And while he knew his friend was right, it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Actually, everyone who came through their house and visited him in the hospital had all said the same thing, but he couldn’t help but feel frustrated. If just one person would agree with him—even if it didn’t lead to him going back to work any sooner—he’d still feel better.

“It’s my left shoulder,” Josiah argued. “I’m right-handed. I can still do almost everything that I need to do. What is the big deal about going down to the station and being in my office and just…supervising?”

“You can’t drive,” Melanie reminded him. “And Dr. Cooper said you need to give your body time to heal properly. There’s still a risk for infection. Can’t you just…?” Her words were cut off by the ringing of her cell phone. She excused herself and took the call in the other room.

“Melanie’s right,” Dean said.

“Then I need something to do,” he grumbled. “I can only read and watch TV for so long. Mel’s got a book she’s working on and I can’t monopolize all her time.”

“There isn’t anything I can do or say that’s going to make you feel better,” Dean said after a minute. “I get your frustration but you have to trust that the doctors know what they’re talking about.”

“Yeah. I know.” He went to slouch in his seat but it pulled at the wound and he hissed with pain.

Dean leaned forward and snatched up a cookie. “And that should be an immediate reminder of why you need to take it easy.”

“Okay, fine. Distract me. How’s Abby? How’s Maya?”

Relaxing back in his chair, Dean smiled. “They are deep in dance mode for the big Christmas recital. Practice has already begun and there is a lot of pink tulle around my house.”

Dean’s wife owned a dance studio in town and when he had gotten custody of his niece after his sister died, he had been introduced to Abby and the world of ballet. They had gotten married just after Christmas last year and he’d never seen his friend look so happy.

“Isn’t there always?” Josiah teased.

Nodding, Dean reached for another cookie. “Definitely, but whenever there’s a recital in the works, it seems to multiply.”

“And you love every minute of it.”

“Damn right I do.”

“So what’s next for you guys? You know, after recital season is over.”

Dean shrugged. “We’re looking to move into a bigger house. We want to stay close to town so Maya won’t have to change schools but…it’s time to find a place that’s ours—that all three of us have a say in.” He looked around the room. “I love what you and Melanie built here. It’s bright and open and it’s kind of what we’re thinking of.”

“If you’re not in a hurry then you should consider building. I swear there were times when it made us crazy, but in the end, the results were worth it.”

Another shrug. “Maybe. Although now that we’ve almost got our first year of marriage under our belts, I think we can take on the task of possibly designing our own place. I’m sure Abby would love to have dance space, Maya wants a playroom of her own, and…” He paused. “And we’re going to need a nursery.”

It took Josiah a minute to comprehend what Dean was saying but when he did, he couldn’t help but smile and reach out a hand to him. “Really? That’s great news! Congratulations!”

With a grin, Dean shook his hand. “Thanks. We’re just starting to tell people but Abby’s about eight weeks along. She’s feeling good and other than worrying about how she’ll teach classes when she’s further along, we’re both really excited. Maya is too.”

And that right there was what Josiah wanted more than anything with Melanie, to be married and settled in and starting a family. He wasn’t about to add the whole starting a family thing to their plates when they had yet to decide on a wedding date, but it was there in the back of his mind.

“So when is the…”

“Sorry about that,” Melanie said as she breezed back into the room. She looked a little frazzled and Josiah’s attention was immediately on her.

“Is everything okay?”

Without making eye contact with him, she sat down and fidgeted with her hair. “Uh-huh. Everything’s fine.” Smiling at Dean, she asked, “How are your girls doing?”

Dean must have sensed that something was up too because he glanced at Josiah before responding. He told her the news about the baby and while Melanie squealed with excitement, Josiah still felt like something was up. Who was on the phone? What was it about? It was obvious that she wasn’t going to talk about it while they had company so he had no choice but to bide his time.

Twenty minutes later, with Dean out the door, Josiah immediately pounced. “Now can we talk about what upset you on the phone?”

****

Frowning, Melanie sat down on the sofa and looked at Josiah. “It was Christine on the phone.” It wasn’t unusual for her editor to call her, but when she did it was normally to discuss edits or deadlines. She wasn’t due for either of those things.

“What did she want? You’re on track with this book and you’re done with the edits on the last manuscript so…what’s going on?”