Free Close to Her Heart by C. J. Carmichael Page A

you, really I am. But I don’t feel like standing up for a wedding at this point in my life.”
    “I get it.” Sage tore two pieces off the end of a sheet of blank paper. “So I’ll just put in Dani and Callan’s names.”
    Her baby would be only about a month old by the wedding date. Dani wasn’t even sure she’d be able to attend. “Oh, let Callan be the one. She’s the baby of the family. Plus, you can shop for dresses together.”
    “That’s a good point. Callan, what do you say?”
    “Well, sure. I’d be honored. But—do I really have to wear a dress?”
    *
    Dani lost all track of time at the lab that Monday. She and Jenna were starting a new clinical trial in their quest to determine at what age young children developed a sense of fairness. In this test they would be focusing on whether babies preferred to play with caregivers who distributed toys fairly among a group of children, unfairly in a way that disadvantaged them, or fairly in a way that advantaged them.
    The tests took place in little rooms outfitted with a sofa and three chairs. The three mothers sat behind their babies, with instructions not to interfere unless their child needed comforting. Meanwhile two assistants would offer the babies toys according to a prescribed protocol. From behind one-way glass, Dani and Jenna alternated watching and recording the results at each step of the process.
    The work was meticulous and somewhat tedious, but Dani found it fascinating to see the results. It was especially gratifying when they turned out to be similar to what she and Jenna had predicted.
    At three o’clock, when the experimenting ended for the day—many of the participating families had to pick up their older children from school at this time—Dani rose from the desk and stretched out her arms. She was awfully tight in her back and shoulders. Maybe tonight she should try to catch a yoga class. She should call Miriam and see if she wanted to come, too. Things had been awkward between them since she and Eliot had that fight.
    She still wasn’t speaking with him, though her anger had dissipated somewhat. She was almost ready to forgive him now. But the stubborn ass still hadn’t asked her to.
    “Dani, do you have a minute?” Jenna was at the door, hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and her dark-framed glasses giving her a serious, academic look.
    “Sure.” Dani saved her spreadsheet, then closed down the laptop.
    Jenna waved her into her office, down the hall. For the first thirty minutes they discussed that day’s results and whether any modifications to the test would be needed.
    It was a positive discussion, but at the end of it, Jenna asked if she could stay a few more minutes. “I’m just wondering what sort of commitment you’re going to have to this research after you have the baby?”
    Dani was relieved to finally have the subject raised. She valued her work her very much and it was important that Jenna continued to want to work with her. “I intend to keep working until the second week in August.”
    Jenna nodded, pushing her glasses higher up the bridge of her nose and frowning slightly. “And then?”
    “I’d like to take three months off to adjust to the new routine after the birth. And then I was hoping to gradually ease back into all my responsibilities.”
    “So—part-time at first?”
    “If that’s okay with you.” Jenna’s serious demeanor was making her nervous. Legally she couldn’t be fired because she was having a baby. But she could be reassigned to less compelling work. And that was something that would be extremely disappointing.
    Fortunately, however, that wasn’t what Jenna had in mind.
    “I think we can make this work. As long as I know your eventual plan is to return full time.”
    “Within a year, yes.”
    Jenna nodded. “Good.” Bending her head back over her papers, she made it clear that the conversation was over.
    Dani left the office feeling only a little relieved. Her job here in