*****

They got up early the next day and started the drive home with Amy feeling much better about her return trip. Lucas drove with one hand while his other rested on her leg, or at least the part of her leg that her stomach wasn’t covering.

“I honestly don’t see how you desire me when I’m as big as a cow.”

“You’re stunning, Amy. Pregnancy has given your skin a beautiful glow. I can’t complain about the added curves, either,” he said with a wiggle of his brows as he looked pointedly down at her larger breasts.

“You’re terrible, Lucas,” she admonished, though she secretly loved how much he worshiped her body.

They chatted the entire five-hour trip, taking more time to know all the things about each other that neither of them had spoken about before.

“Why did you go into business?” he asked when he found out she didn’t really like the world of high finance.

“I needed security, and the business world pays well.”

“What do you really want to do? You know, you can be a stay-at-home mother if you want. I want you to do whatever makes you happiest.” The sincerity in his voice made her brave enough to tell him about her dream.

“I’ve always loved antiques. They fascinate me. When I’m holding an old Wagner cast iron pan in my hand that I know was made over a hundred years ago, I get a thrill. I know it doesn’t make much money, unless you’re really good at what you do, but I’ve always thought it would be kind of great to buy and sell antiques. Still, I’d probably have a hard time parting with most of them, so it could just end up with me hoarding a lot of stuff you’d consider junk. I took a couple of electives in school, though, and found out that I have a real knack for spotting genuine items, and I’m also really good at restoring them,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t think she was being ridiculous.

“That’s great, Amy. You should do what you love. Besides that, my mother would love to spend hours on end shopping with you, doing what she’d consider treasure hunting,” he said, his voice filled with excitement.

“Do you really mean that?”

“Definitely. I think it’s a great idea. I’ll have a shop built next to the house with plenty of room for you to store your items and also work on them. We can hire a nanny to help with the baby, even if it’s just so she can sit down in the shop with you and hold onto her if your hands are too dirty.”

Amy smiled when she realized he’d called their child a her for the first time. She’d been calling her a girl, and he’d been calling the baby a boy, since they first found out about the pregnancy, though they’d chosen not to know what the sex of the baby was.

“Thank you, Lucas. You don’t know what that means to me,” she said as she leaned over and placed her head against his arm.

“I want you to be happy, Amy, really happy. I’d do anything to make that happen. This is the easiest thing in the world to give you.”

“I really like the idea of spending more time with your mother,” she said, meaning it.

“She’ll love that, too. So will Dad. That will give him more time to do whatever it is he does that he always tries to keep from Mom. She always finds out, though,” Lucas said, laughing.

“Your father is nothing but a gentle teddy bear who adores his wife.”

“You are most certainly correct on that.”

Upon their arrival in Seattle, they headed straight to the mansion, as Joseph had called a family meeting. They walked in the door, hand in hand, and Joseph and Katherine were right there to greet them.

“Oh, honey, we’re so glad you’re home safe. The next time my son is acting out of turn, you just call me up, okay? You’re always welcome here — more than welcome, in fact. You’re wanted. We both love you so much, Amy,” Katherine said as she wrapped Amy in a warm embrace, making her cry again.

“I love you, too,” Amy said, not even attempting to hide her emotions.

“I think it’s long past time you started calling me Mom. Of course, that’s only if you’re comfortable with it,” Katherine said as she pulled back, her own eyes filled with tears.

“It would mean more to me than anything else in the world. My mother didn’t deserve the title. She wasn’t evil, just very, very sick. I used to dream about having a mom like you in my life. Now, not only do I have this striking man who actually loves me, but I get you, too.”

The two women cried together as Joseph and Lucas looked at each other with suspiciously bright eyes themselves.

“Well, what about me, darling? Do you have room in your heart for a father, too?” Joseph asked with a smile. He was attempting a joke, but she saw the vulnerability in him, amazed that he’d ever be worried about her answer.

“I can’t believe you’d even need to ask. I owe everything to you, Dad, everything. You were the one who had faith in me from the beginning, when so few others did. You gave me a chance and brought me into your home with open arms. I love you more than words could ever describe. I promise to never run off again, no matter what. I was foolish to do it in the first place. I knew better than to think Lucas would ever cheat. But even if he did, I knew I could come here to you, and that you’d still love us both. Thank you for giving me the security I’ve always searched for.”

Amy couldn’t say anything more, because Joseph pulled her in tight, squeezing her shoulders, but being careful of her stomach. She cried on his shoulder for a minute before he let go.

“Alex and Mark are waiting in the den. Let’s get your face cleaned up, then go have a family meeting,” Joseph said a little gruffly.

Amy walked with Katherine to one of the guest bathrooms and washed her face before they joined the rest of the family.

Lucas collected her at the door and she followed him to the sofa, where he pulled her onto his lap and they waited for Joseph to speak.

“Your Uncle George called me a couple weeks ago to let me know Amelia was sick. He didn’t want me to say anything until the test results came in, because he didn’t want anyone to worry,” Joseph said, his voice choking up.

“Dad?” Mark questioned, but Joseph just held up his hand, his face a mask of pain.

“It’s not good. She has stage four ovarian cancer, and it’s already spread to other organs. She seemed perfectly healthy on the outside, everything normal, so they didn’t know until it was too late. The doctors said she won’t last long,” he finished.

“We need to go there,” Alex said.

“I’ll call the jet,” Mark offered.

“No. I flew out there last week and George begged me to wait. He knows you all want to say goodbye to your aunt, but he’s devastated right now, and he just wants his last days with her as normal as they can make them. She’s turned down all treatments, because the doctors told her there was nothing they could do but possibly give her a few more weeks, and she’d be really sick during them. George fought her on it, but she wants to be lucid for her last days with her husband and children.”

“How are Trenton and the others handling it?” Lucas asked.

“Not well. They’re holding in there right now, but it’s just so unexpected. I know they feel like they’ve been cheated. They have been. They’re losing their mother, not getting enough time to deal with it, let alone say goodbye.”

“Can we do anything?” Lucas asked. He was the one who had the hardest time accepting that something couldn’t be done.

“Unfortunately, we can’t. All the money in the world still can’t prevent such an ugly disease,” Joseph said, his anger evident.

“We just needed to let you know. Your cousins will need you,” Katherine said.

“Of course, Mom,” Mark answered.

“That was all I needed to tell you. Hopefully, she proves just how stubborn the Andersons truly are, even if the Anderson name comes by marriage,” Joseph said as he looked over at Amy. She gave him a watery smile.

She hadn’t met his twin brother, George, but she’d often heard about him. She hurt for the man, not able to imagine what it must be like for him to watch the love of his life slip away, right before his eyes, and not be able to do a thing about it.

“Even an extra month would be a real blessing,” Alex said, knowing his father didn’t think Amelia would beat the disease but was just hoping for more time.

“Yes, in cases like these, a month can be all the difference in the family having time to accept the plans of a higher power.”

They finished up for the night, Lucas walking out to the car with Amy and helping her inside.

It had been a long and emotional few days, and she was exhausted. She wanted to do nothing more than lie in bed with Lucas and have him hold her, reassuring her that everything would be okay.

That’s exactly what he did.