Whitney thought about that too. The McCafferys were beloved in Appleby. That was just a fact. Her family had feuded with them for half a century, but that didn’t mean the rest of the town didn’t realize how loving and sweet and generous they all were.

She sighed. Wow, things had really been messed up for a really long time. She was so grateful that Aiden had started breaking those walls down and that now she and Cam could maybe help further the healing.

“You know what?” Whitney said. “I’m good here. If Ollie stays and represents the new partners with Gordon Perkins and his team, I think we can handle this. Could you go help Paige at Buttered Up? Then I could come over and help after this meeting.”

“You would help at Buttered Up?” Piper asked.

She nodded. “I actually did once before. When Aiden proposed to Zoe and swept her off her feet, literally, I got behind the counter and waited on customers. It was a great way to show the town that things were changing between the two businesses.”

“And this is all about the two businesses?” Piper asked.

Whitney blew out a breath. “No. Not anymore. This is about me supporting the McCafferys. But there are only so many ways I can do that. I can be here and make this meeting successful and I can then go help at the bakery and make that work.”

Piper hesitated. She opened her mouth. Shut it again. Frowned. Then said, “You could also just… be there. At the hospital.”

Whitney shook her head. “There are plenty of people at the hospital. But if I’m not here, there’s no one who can do this meeting and if we don’t go to the bakery, there’s no one there.”

“But being there for people… it’s about being there, Whit,” Piper said. “You don’t always have to do stuff or be accomplishing things or working.”

Whitney felt a shiver of… something… go through her. She was pretty sure it was that she wanted to believe Piper. But that she didn’t quite.

Cam took care of her by taking things off her plate, making it so she didn’t have to worry. That’s what she was doing here. Or trying to do here. She wanted to take care of Cam.

“It’s a work in progress,” she finally said.

Piper nodded. “Okay. Well then, I can go to the bakery with Paige and Ollie will be in there with you and… when it’s over we can go from there.”

Whitney nodded and looked down at the files in her arms. This she knew. This she was comfortable with. This she could pull off.

Ollie joined her in the conference room a few minutes later. “’Mornin’,” he greeted. His smile was a lot less bright than usual.

She understood. “Morning.”

He took a chair as his phone chimed. He pulled it out and opened the message. Whitney felt her heart kick. Was it news about Maggie? How was she? How was everyone else?

“They found a blockage in three vessels,” Ollie read. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “She’s going in for surgery.”

Whitney felt her throat tighten and she forced herself to swallow.

“Dammit.” He laid his phone on the table and took a deep breath. “Poor Cam and Aiden.” He looked up. “And Zoe, of course. And Steve and Henry.”

Whitney nodded. She knew he hadn’t meant to leave the rest of the family out. But Cam and Aiden were two of his best friends. Of course they were in the front of his mind.

“Who’s—” She had to clear her throat and try again. “Who’s texting you?”

“Grant.”

Her air swooshed out. She’d hoped it was Cam. That would mean, in her mind anyway, that he was taking some control by relaying the information and keeping people informed. But of course it was Grant. He was the calm, cool one. Of course Cam wouldn’t be calm and cool right now.

She imagined him pacing the waiting room, growling at everyone, and snapping at staff when they couldn’t give him the answers he wanted right now. Then again, she could also picture him sitting with his arm around his dad or holding his sister’s hand or taking Didi and Henry to the cafeteria for brownies at 8 a.m. as a distraction.

She would really love to know for sure how he was and what he was doing.

“Has Cam said anything more to you?” Ollie asked, leaning forward. His eyes were tired. He looked worried. Very worried. And Ollie never looked worried.

She shook her head. “I haven’t heard from him.”

Ollie was clearly surprised by that. “Oh. I just assumed he’d be wanting to talk to you.”

Yeah. Well, he was surrounded by people who could support him and make him feel better. Who had been a part of his life over the past nine years and knew Maggie well and loved his mother as much as he did.

“He knew I was covering this meeting,” she said, lifting a shoulder. “Maybe he didn’t want to distract me.”

Or maybe he figured you wouldn’t want to be distracted.

The little voice that whispered through her mind surprised her. She wasn’t here because she wanted to have this meeting. Not exactly. She was here because she was trying to help her partners… well, her bosses. Her friends with something they couldn’t handle themselves right now.

But it was something she would have done in the past too. For different reasons. To prove herself. To take the chance to make a business contact without her bosses breathing down her neck. To further the business just to, well, further the business.

Her throat tightened again and she felt the backs of her eyes sting. She blinked rapidly.

Ollie’s phone dinged again and he looked at it. “Dax,” he said, swiping the message open. “They’re doing a bypass. Surgery could take four to five hours. And she won’t be awake for another two or three after that.” He shook his head. “This is going to be a long fucking day.”

Whitney agreed. And watching Ollie now made her chest ache. No doubt Dax and Grant looked much the same. Maybe worse. Their girls were worried and emotional too so they’d be supporting them as well as Cam. And then, of course, there were Cam and Aiden. Their mother was going into a major surgery. It would be hours before they knew how things were going to turn out.

Whitney had to blink again as her eyes stung and her throat got scratchy.

She didn’t know exactly what Cam was doing but he was at the hospital and surrounded by people who loved him, who would make him feel stronger by being there and would make sure he had whatever he needed.

She trusted that.

No matter how much it hurt to not be one of those people.

“Did Grant or Dax say—”

Her question was cut off by the conference room door opening.

She took a breath and forced a smile as Gordon, Matt, and Stephen came in. She glanced at Ollie as she stood. He was also smiling and pushing to his feet. But she knew him. Oliver Caprinelli was upset. He wasn’t the business meeting type in the first place and it was clear it was bothering him a lot to not be at the hospital with his friends.

“Good morning, Gordon,” she greeted, pulling her attention from Ollie.

“Hello, Whitney. Good to see you again,” the older Perkins greeted her with a handshake.

“Hello, Matt,” she said, turning to his son.

“Hi, Whitney.” Matt Perkins was good looking, charming, and sophisticated. And knew it. He gave her a grin and a glance that went from the top of her head to the flower on the toe of her shoe.