by Julia Kent
Page 30
And the damn gallon jug of coconut shampoo.
“Gotcha. ” Mike relished the drive back to the cabin, knowing she was there. Dylan had put dinner in the oven before they left, a slow-cooking roast, and tonight would be the first night they would all spend together.
As a family? The thought went through his mind so fast, like a blink, that he didnt dare dwell on it. If he did, it might not happen.
Please let it happen. For the first time in months, the drive up the mountain felt like he was really coming home, Dylan singing along to some 80s Christmas song, the late-autumn sun warming his skin as the prospect of creating a true home with Dylan, Laura and their baby warmed his heart.
“I still think you are nuts. And not warlock waitress nuts. Crazy. Cray cray. The baby needs to have a father on the birth certificate. ”
Laura sat on the sectional sofa, butt sinking deep into the soft leather, a warm red down comforter keeping her toasty. Getting up would be harder than getting comfortable, but she had Josie to help. And, soon, Mike and Dylan. Snuggles moved a foot along the top of the sofa, chasing a patch of sun.
“Well, hello to you, too, Miss Merry Sunshine,” Laura cracked. She gratefully accepted the cup of decaf Josie offered.
“Theyll be here soon and this is the first chance Ive had in a week to talk openly with you. Those two seemed to have had a schedule for making sure one of them was always there in the hospital. ”
“They did. ”
Josies face was agog. “All so I couldnt talk alone with you?”
Sip. “I dont think thats why. ” Sip. “Just, you know, because were – ” What words were supposed to come out next? Together? Were they back together? Laura didnt know where they stood, actually. Five days in the hospital had been long enough to learn that she was fine. The baby was fine. The polyhydramnios had actually improved a bit, though it wasnt gone. She would need constant monitoring for the rest of the pregnancy, but they hadnt found any problems with the baby that explained it. Being extra-big with added fluid would make it harder to move around, and could make the delivery a bit risky, but theyd ruled out birth defects.
Which had been the best news Laura had received in – well, ever. Diana had reviewed her chart with Sheri and the supervising obstetrician, Dr. Kalharian, and theyd agreed on a schedule for follow-up care.
Her orders: go home, rest, hydrate, recover.
Easier said than done, because shed had no home. Until Mike and Dylan had offered her one. Josie, too. Deciding had been hard and easy at the same time. Josie was the easy choice, and her friend seemed to assume Laura would pick her.
But her heart, her gut – her womb – told her to go heal in the mountains.
She figured out pretty quickly that the guys would respect her, would treat her like a queen, and would wait on her hand and foot if she stayed at the cabin. Dylan had told her, with a quiet serenity and troubled demeanor that was so unlike him, about his and Mikes. . . fight? Breakup? What word do you use when there isnt one to describe the relationship in the first place?
So many strands of the relationship between the three of them had been snapped by someone deciding not to tell a simple secret, the kind of information that really wasnt a deal breaker, but that can become one if withheld for too long. Dylan and Mike really cared about her – she knew that, and knew that by screaming at them that day at Josies months ago, shed created a rift that needed mending.
And yet she absolutely was not the only one with some guilt to work through. The guys hadnt told her they knew each other, and she was still uneasy, in a tiny place deep inside, about how they had come to her, orchestrated that wonderful first night. Getting over that had been hard, but not impossible. Could she find a place for their other secret?
Staring around the room, she suspected she could. The vaulted ceilings, the knotty pine, the startling view of the snow-covered ski trails, and the cozy fire burning in the fireplace all made her feel like she could –
“ – eat shit?”
“Huh?”
Josie stared at her. “I still dont get why you didnt tell Mike and Dylan they could just go and eat shit, but I respect your decision. ” Her tone of voice made it clear she did not. “Hows little Josie today?”
“You mean little Laura?”
“Whatever. ” Bzzzz. Laura found a text from Mike: “Need anything at the store? Ice cream and pickles?”
She read it aloud. Josie softened. “That is really sweet. ”
Laura typed back: “Nope. Thanks!