Jace* Will You Be Our Secretary

JACE*

I had just left the office and was headed back to the hospital to pick up Vega. It was now eleven o'clock. It would have been nice to sleep in this morning, but Blaze and his all work, and no play, had to ruin it. I feel bad for Taylor. I was the only one who worked in the office from time to time. I would meet new clients there and draw up my building drafts. Otherwise, she was alone and running around like a chicken with her head cut off. She made sure everything ran smoothly and on time. Made certain supplies were ordered, and we had plenty of stock at the warehouse. We are probably Lowes and Home Depot's most favorite customers now. I hope that Vega will take me up on the offer to do the Secretary's job.

Once at the hospital, I quietly made my way towards Lyra's ICU room. I peek into the room and see that Vega was smiling for once. I slid the glass door open and stepped inside. Then slid the door shut.

"What's going on? You look so happy. Did Lyra move or anything?" I asked as I bent down to kiss Vega's cheek.

"No, but I know she is going to be ok. I want to go to church tomorrow." Vega said while looking up at me, smiling. Church? What? Neither one of us has ever even set foot inside a church. Why now all of a sudden? I'm stunned, but I'll do whatever she wants. I believe in God and Heaven, and I consider myself a good person, so...

"What? I mean, if that is what you want? We can go. I mean, I just never really took you as the church-going type..." I trailed off.

"I had a dream, and an angel came to me. She said that Lyra was going to be ok. She said I needed to have faith and belief. I don't know how to do that without going to church, I guess." Vega said while shrugging her shoulders.

"I think going to church is a good start, don't you think?" Vega asked me.

"Yes, love, I do believe you are right on that one. We can do some research tonight after dinner. We will find a church and go in the morning." I said, and Vega beamed at me.

She clutched Lyra's good hand. Vega got up from her chair and gave Lyra a peck on the forehead.

"I'll be back sometime tomorrow; rest well, Lyra. I love you." Vega said and then turned around and hugged me.

"Can we go to the house and rest for a bit before getting ready for dinner tonight? I'm in much need of some sleep." Vega said.

"Yes, love, me too," I said and squeezed her, and we turned towards the door to leave. I hoped that the rest would find us both.

VEGA*

Jace and I grabbed some take-out from McAllister's, and now we are headed back to my place. Food and then sleep.

"What are you thinking about, love? You've been so quiet since we left the hospital?" Jace asked with concern.

Up to this point, I've been staring out the window; my mind was in overdrive.

"I'm just thinking of things that need to be done to the house. Ramps will need to be put in. We will need to make the guest room into Lyra's room for now. I want to get with my dad to see if we can modify the gym into a physical therapy room. I don't know what else? I'm just overwhelmed, I think," I said as I waved my hands in the air frantically.

"Yes, there's a lot that needs to be done. The guys will be super busy, the next few months, but I'm pretty sure we can take some time to help out. We won't know the extent of work that needs to be done, though, until Lyra wakes up." Jace said as he turned his signal light on and guided his truck into the right-hand lane.

"I might have to go with you to your classes," I said as I laughed.

"What, why, that was a random thought, Vega?" Jace asked and smiled.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. With you starting school and Lyra being in the hospital. Maybe I should sign up for some electives at school if there are any still available this late?" I sid as Jace pulled into our driveway.

I pushed the button for the garage so that Jace could pull his truck into Lyra's slot. It's so weird not having her car here. Lyra's car had been totaled. The guy that sideswiped her was currently in jail. It seemed he had too much fun the night before and was still drunk while on the road.

He doesn't recall anything that had happened. He has ruined his life, though, and will be in there for many years. Lyra was the only one who was seriously injured. It's going to take a long time for me to forgive that guy. To top it off, he was Jace's age, twenty-three. He was on his way to becoming a lawyer of all things. Well, that's not going to happen now. I don't understand why people drink and drive. What's the point? Why not just call an Uber? You could kill someone, or even yourself? It all just doesn't make any sense to me. This guy almost killed my sister. I mean, her heart stopped.

Jace pulled into the garage and opened the door to step out. I just sat there. Jace walked around the truck and opened my door. Then reached up to help me climb out of his truck. I'm not short by all means; I think he loves holding me. Once my feet were firmly planted on the ground, Jace brought me in for a hug and ran his fingers along my hair.

"I need to talk to you about something, love," Jace said as he moved us to shut the passenger side door.

He walked me into the kitchen and pulled a stool out for me to sit on at the bar.

"I'll be right back, love; I'm going to get our food from the truck real fast," Jace said as he walked back to the door and out to the garage. I wondered what it was Jace needed to talk to me about.

Jace walked back in and sat the bags of food down on the counter. Then walked over to get some plates from the cabinet and silverware from the silverware drawer. Jace placed a plate and silverware in front of me and then sat his down on the bar next to me, where he would sit. He then walked over to the refrigerator to see what we had in there to drink.

"Would you like some tea? I see you have some made in here?" Jace asked, looking up at me.

"Yes, please, and it already has sugar in it, if you would like some," I said while nodding with a smile on my face.

Jace grabbed the tea from the refrigerator and set the jug down on the counter. Then he walked over and grabbed some cups from the cabinet. Jace walked back and sat our glasses down in front of our plates. He handed me the bags, and I started putting our food on our plates while he poured us some tea. Jace then took the jug of tea and sat it back in the refrigerator. He walked around the bar and sat on the stool next to me.

"How would you like to work at our office, as our new Secretary?" Jace blurted out and took a bite of his sub.

Wow, that was unexpected; I didn't say anything, so he looked over at me and smiled. My mouth had dropped open, and my eyes were blinking rapidly in surprise; I'm sure I looked like a fish out of water.

"Let me explain," Jace said after he had swallowed his bite.

"Our secretary just up and left us," Jace said and took another bite of his sub.

I nodded my head and dipped a corner of my sandwich into my broccoli cheddar soup. I took a bite and savored the awesomeness. I couldn't help but close my eyes and moan in appreciation.

"Go ahead," I mumbled while chewing my food, with my eyes still closed.

"Well, we need someone in there who can run the office while we are all out—man the phones, schedule appointments with new clients. Order supplies for the office and warehouse, make sure contractors for roofing, bricking, and what not are scheduled," Jace said.

"Mmmmm, Heaven in my mouth," I moaned. I glanced over at Jace, and he was trying so hard not to laugh.

"What? I'm starving to death. I'm listening to you. Why did the person before me leave?" I asked before dipping my sandwich into the soup and taking another bite, trying to stay serious now for Jace's sake.

"No one knows why she left," Jace said.

"We know she must have been thinking about leaving for a while. Taylor was nice enough to get everything organized and labeled to find everything we would need. Left her work planner for us, and so on. So we wouldn't be lost," Jace said, then took a drink of his tea.

This would probably be perfect for me, honestly. It sounds like it's a pretty fast-paced job.

"I only have three classes this semester, so I'll be in the office for the most part. I have classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays but will be out by eleven both days. So I'll be there with you pretty much every day. I'll be there to show you the ropes and help you out. Blaze will be in the office this week, hiring on crews. We are short-handed by about thirty hands or so. So this week is going to be crazy, but I won't let you get overwhelmed; I promise," Jace stated while looking over at me and taking the last bite of his sub.

"I will do it. The money I make, I will put into mine and Lyra's savings account," I said as I walked over to grab the take-out bags and threw them in the garbage.

"That would be so great, Vega; thank you so much," Jace exclaimed excitedly as he got up from his chair and ran over to me and picked me up into a firm hug.

Jace sat me down and walked over to grab our glasses from the bar. I rinsed them both out and sat them in the dishwasher.

"How about a nice relaxing bath before we get into bed?" Jace asked while pulling me into another hug and burying his nose into my hair.

"That would be wonderful, my hunk of love," I said as I moved my head so that I could look into his eyes. Jace then kissed me passionately and picked me up bridal style, and carried me up to our room.