by April Wilson
“Said what?”
“I wasn’t thinking. You know, talking about breastfeeding.” The fact that Molly’s had a double mastectomy completely slipped my mind.
She makes a dismissive gesture. “Oh, please, don’t even give it a thought. I knew going into my treatment that, if I were ever blessed with a child, I wouldn’t be able to breastfeed. Please don’t feel bad. It doesn’t bother me one bit to hear you talk about nursing your precious little boy.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I’m happy for you, Beth. Honestly.”
I appreciate Molly’s gracious response, but I still feel bad. “Do you and Jamie want to have kids?”
She smiles as she sips her lemonade. “We do. Jamie’s a little hesitant about having kids, given his blindness. But honestly, there’s nothing that man can’t do, sighted or not. Case in point, he’s in the nursery right now changing a dirty diaper, with Shane’s help of course. He’s testing himself.”
“You’d both make wonderful parents.”
“Right now, we’re just enjoying being together. Our work and remodeling our respective apartments into one larger unit is taking up a lot of our time. And then, we’ve got to think about—” Molly stops, and suddenly her face lights up in a grin. “Jamie proposed to me last week.”
“What!” I set my glass down on the little table between us. “Oh, my God! That’s so wonderful. You said yes, right?”
She laughs. “Of course, I did! I’m not letting that man get away.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“You’ve had your hands full, with the baby in the hospital, and with recuperating. We figured our news could wait.”
“No, it cannot wait! We need to celebrate! I want to host an engagement party for you guys.”
“What about your party? The baby shower? It’s still scheduled for Saturday, right?”
In all the excitement, I’d forgotten all about the party. Shane’s sister Sophie has taken charge of the baby shower. “It seems kind of late for that now, don’t you think? Since Luke’s already here.”
“Oh, no, it’s not too late. Trust me, knowing Sophie, the baby shower is still a go. In fact, last I heard, Hannah’s flying in to attend.”
“I guess I’d better call Sophie then.”
“Has there been any word on Jake?”
“Jake? What about Jake?”
Molly pales, and it’s clear she realizes she just said something she’s not supposed to.
“Molly? What about Jake?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t realize you didn’t know.”
“Know what?” I say, my pulse racing.
The glass doors open behind us, and Shane and Jamie walk out onto the balcony, Jamie’s hand on Shane’s shoulder. Shane’s holding Luke.
“What’s this about Jake?” I ask Shane. “What haven’t I been told?”
Shane’s expression is perfectly neutral as his gaze darts from Molly to me.
I know he’s hiding something from me. “Shane?”
“I’m so sorry, Shane,” Molly says. “I just assumed she knew.”
“Knew what?” I say, staring at Shane for answers.
Shane pulls up a chair beside mine and sits, settling Luke in the crook of his arm. “I didn’t want to say anything while you were recuperating. Besides, there’s not much to tell. No one knows much of anything at this point.”
“What are you guys talking about? Is Jake okay?”
Shane sighs. “Do you remember hearing anything about Annie Elliot?”
I nod. “She was Jake’s high school sweetheart. What about her?”
“She recently divorced her husband—her abusive husband. He’s been threatening her and their five-year-old son, Aiden. Annie’s father hired us to protect Annie and her son. Jake took the case, and he and Annie and the boy have disappeared. We don’t know where they are. They’ve gone off grid.”
Thinking back, I realize we haven’t seen Jake in a while, over a week now. I’d just assumed he was busy at work, making up for Shane’s absence. “Can’t you contact him?” I say.
Shane shakes his head. “He’s completely off grid. No phone, nothing we can track. I’m sure Cameron and Killian have a way to reach him. They’re doing surveillance on the ex-husband.”
“And you have no idea where they are?”
He shrugs. “Well, I have a couple of ideas. But don’t worry, sweetheart, Jake knows what he’s doing. If he needs help, he’ll ask for it.”
My mind is racing, wondering how things are going. It’s got to be awkward for the both of them to be thrust together like that, after their history. Plus, there’s a child involved now. That’s got to complicate things too.
Shane reaches over and pats my leg. “Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine. We’ll hear from him eventually.”
* * *
After Molly and Jamie’s visit, I nurse Luke and change his diaper, then wrap him up in a blanket.
“I’m going down to Lia’s,” I announce to Shane and Cooper and Sam, who are watching a baseball game on the big screen TV in the great room. “Just for a quick visit. I need to see her.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Shane asks, rising from the sofa.
“No, I’m fine on my own. You guys stay here and enjoy your game. I won’t be gone long.”
Luke and I ride down in the elevator to Lia’s floor. When I knock on her door, it opens immediately.
“Hi, Beth,” Jonah says, opening the door and waving me in. He reaches out and brushes the top of Luke’s head. “How’s the little guy doing?”
“He’s doing really well. He’s nursing now, like a champ.”
I glance past Jonah to the living room, where Lia’s sitting on the sofa. “Is this a bad time?” I ask.
“No, of course not,” Jonah says, closing the door. “Come on in.”
“Hey, princess,” Lia says, scooting over to make room for me to sit beside her. “How’s it going?”
“It’s all good.” I unwrap the blanket and set it aside, holding Luke in the crook of my arm. He’s wide awake, his eyes darting all over the room as he listens to us talking.
Jonah offers to get me something to drink, but I decline. So he sits in the recliner facing us.
I spread the baby blanket on the sofa and lay Luke down between us. Lia reaches for his hand, grinning when he latches onto her finger.
“He’s got a strong grip,” she says, surprised.
Lia and Jonah visited us several times in the Children’s Hospital, but I haven’t seen her since Luke was released a few days earlier. There are things I need to say to her. Important things. I’m just not sure how to say them.
“Is everything okay?” she says, eyeing me curiously.
“Yes.” I take a deep breath, steadying myself. “It’s just that I need to talk to you.”
“Spit it out, Beth. You’re making me nervous.”
I laugh. “I’m sorry. It’s just—Lia, I don’t know how to thank you for what you did. You saved my life. You saved Luke’s. You were so amazing during the whole ordeal…the way you got me out of danger. I was so scared, so overwhelmed, I couldn’t think straight.” My throat tightens painfully, and I find it difficult to speak.
I brush the tears from my cheeks, my hand shaking. “I’m sorry. I knew this would happen.”
When I glance up at Lia, she’s tearing up too. “You don’t have to thank me.”
“Yes, I do. Lia, you saved us. Literally. I’m afraid to think what would have happened if you hadn’t been there with me.”
She sucks in a breath, then blows it out. “Really, you don’t have to thank me.” She swallows hard. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Beth. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. And for him,” she says, pointing at Luke.
I give her a teary smile. “Do you want to hold him?”
She shrugs, sparing a quick glance at Jonah, who’s watching intently, a smile on his face. “Sure.”
<
br /> I scoop Luke up in my hands and hand him to her. Awkwardly, she takes him in her arms and cradles him to her chest, holding onto him for dear life.
“I’ve never held a baby,” she says, looking sheepish. “If I’m doing it wrong, just say so.”
“You’re doing fine.” I scoot closer to her and lean into her side. My head ends up on her shoulder, and when I break down sobbing, she passes Luke off to Jonah and wraps her arms around me.
“I was so scared, Lia.”
“I know you were.” She tightens her arms around me. “Trust me, I was too. But we did it. We got through it together.”
“I can’t thank you enough. There just aren’t words…”
Jonah brings Luke back to the sofa, and we scoot over to make room for him to sit on Lia’s other side. He hands the baby back to Lia, and she cradles him in her arms.
“Hey, little dude,” she says, smiling down at him. “I’m your Auntie Lia. You and I are going to have so much fun.”
Jonah chuckles as he winks at me. “I can just imagine.”
Lia elbows Jonah. “Don’t jinx this for me.”
When there’s a knock at the door, Jonah gets up to answer it.
Shane walks into the apartment, his gaze searching for me. When he sees me, he smiles. “There you are.” Then he joins me on the sofa, taking in my teary eyes and wet cheeks as he pulls me close. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to thank Lia.”
Shane smiles at his youngest sister as she cuddles with our son. “Saying ‘thank you’ doesn’t seem to cut it, does it?” he says.
“Oh, stop!” Lia says, hastily brushing a few errant tears from her cheeks. “You guys are going to make me blush.” She leans down and nuzzles Luke’s face. “Who’s my favorite nephew?”
Shane laughs. “He’s your only nephew.”
“Oh, shut up,” she says, laughing a bit shakily. “You know what I mean.”
Chapter 33
Shane
I awake to the sound of a hungry baby Saturday morning at seven a.m. I’m absolutely exhausted. I was up and down all night with Luke, who just couldn’t settle down. He finally fell asleep in the great room at about five this morning, in the baby swing, so I got a couple of hours sleep on the sofa beside him. But sleeping time is over. The boy is hungry.
“All right, come on,” I tell him, scooping him out of the swing. We make a pitstop in the nursery so I can change his wet diaper. Then we head for mama, who’s asleep in our bed.
I crawl into bed and lay Luke down between me and Beth. “Good morning, Mommy,” I murmur to Beth.
She rolls to face us and smiles sleepily. “Good morning.”
Luke ups the volume on his request for breakfast.
“Guess who’s hangry?” I say.
“Hangry?” Beth laughs. “Gee, I wonder who.” Then she pulls Luke close to her and nuzzles his cheek, kissing him. “How’s my sweet boy this morning?”
Luke is getting excited now that he’s figured out breakfast is imminent. He starts kicking his legs vigorously, flailing his arms, and his mouth opens wide like a baby bird’s. This kid has no shame when it comes to getting what he wants.
Beth opens the bodice of her nightgown and rolls to face Luke, rolling him onto his side, too, so that he’s facing her. I watch, fascinated, as she offers him her nipple, and he latches on hungrily. Beth closes her eyes, a contented smile on her face as Luke suckles.
I love to watch her nurse our son. Maybe that makes me a voyeur—I honestly don’t know, or care. There’s something incredibly satisfying about watching her feed our son this way. I reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and she sighs. She’s still half asleep, making those sleepy noises she makes, which happen to make me hard. Damn. I am a voyeur—I’m certainly perverted. It’s got to be highly inappropriate for me to get a hard-on while she’s nursing.
Sex is off the table right now, naturally. My God, I’ve lost count of how many days it’s been since we’ve had sex. I adjust the bedding, so she doesn’t accidentally catch sight of my erection. Because that would be bad on my part. My wife is recuperating from childbirth, for God’s sake. Sex is probably the last thing on her mind right now.
But I’m a guy, and I can’t help it. I see her beautiful breast on display like that, full and plump and rosy-tipped, and I get hard. Fuck.
No sex, I remind myself. No. None. Get the thought out of your head. Dr. Shaw said it would take at least six weeks for her to heal. I should add a few more weeks to that estimate just to be on the safe side. Besides, I’ll let her tell me when she’s ready.
A bit more awake now, she sits up and props her pillows against the headboard so she can hold him to the other breast. Jesus, she’s beautiful. On that note, my hard-on isn’t subsiding anytime soon. “Hey, while you’re doing that, do you mind if I grab a quick shower?”
“Sure, go ahead,” she says, as she strokes Luke’s hair.
She’s completely oblivious to my suffering, which is how I want to keep things. I hop out of bed and head for the bathroom, hoping a cold shower will put me back to rights.
Twenty minutes later, when I come out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist, the bed is empty. So is our room. She must have taken Luke to the nursery to change him.
I pull on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt and leave our suite. The door to Luke’s room is ajar, and I can hear Beth in there singing softly to him as she changes his clothes. God, it does my heart good to see how she’s bonded with him. She’s come so far since his shaky birth.
Leaving them to their quality alone time, I head for the kitchen in search of coffee. “Hey, good morning,” I say to Cooper, who’s poking around in the fridge.
Cooper straightens and closes the fridge door. “Good morning.” He peers around me. “Where’s Beth?”
“In the nursery with Luke.”
“Oh, good.”
“Do you need her?”
“No! I mean, no. Actually, I wanted to talk to you. In private.”
I glance around the great room, and there’s no sign of anyone but the two of us. “Shoot,” I say, grabbing a coffee cup from the cupboard and pouring a cup of Cooper’s hand-ground Columbian Roast.
Once I’m seated at the breakfast counter, Cooper stands on the other side, opposite of me, and sucks in a breath. Then he lets it out in a long, drawn-out sigh.
“Just say it,” I tell him. “Whatever’s on your chest… just get it off.”
He frowns. “I owe you an apology, Shane.”
“What? What are you talking about? No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. I was shitty to you about going out of town, and I was shitty to you in Galford, during her delivery. I said things I shouldn’t have said. I was out of line, and I’m sorry.”
I shake my head. “You were right. I shouldn’t have taken her out of town so close to her due date. I did, and I fucked up. That’s on me. You don’t have to apologize for being right, Dan.”
“I said some terrible things to you, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for trying to lay the blame on you. I know it wasn’t your fault. It was no one’s fault. Sometimes shit happens. But God, Shane, I was scared shitless for her. If anything happened to that girl—and that baby—” He stops, swallowing hard as he gets ahold of himself.
I nod. “I know, and I understand. Completely. I still have nightmares about it. But it’s in the past. She’s fine, and he’s fine. We have to let it go.”
Setting my coffee down, I sigh. “You and I have been through a lot together, my friend. I totally understand where you were coming from, and I don’t blame you one bit. What kind of father figure would you be for Beth if you didn’t look out for her best interest? And that includes chastising her husband when you think he deserves it. I know you love her, and that gives you the right.”
Cooper shakes his head. “You didn’t deserve it. You’re a good husband, Shane.”
“You’re a good dad to her, and I’m glad s
he has you. Keep watching out for her.”
Sam walks into the room in his pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. He walks right over to Cooper and pulls him in for a kiss. “Hell, yeah, he makes a great dad.” Sam brushes his hand over Cooper’s buzz cut and smiles at me. “I keep telling him that.” And then Sam winks at me.
Beth walks in, wearing a robe over her nightgown, and holding Luke, who’s dressed in a white sleeper with tiny giraffes on it. “Good morning, guys.”
“Good morning, kiddo,” Cooper says. “What time is the baby shower this afternoon? Do I have time to go to the shooting range this morning?”
Beth kisses Luke’s fist when he shoves it into her face. “The party is at two, so yes. You have plenty of time. Just make sure you’re back in time for the party.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cooper says. Then he looks at Sam. “You wanna come with me?”
“Yes, sir!” Sam says, grinning at the exasperation on Cooper’s face. “Maybe you can teach me something I don’t already know.”
“Watch your mouth, smart ass,” Cooper says, smacking Sam on his ass. “Go get dressed, or I’ll teach you something you won’t soon forget.”
Chapter 34
Beth
Sophie and Hannah arrive an hour before the baby shower to decorate and organize the catering. Gina Capelli very graciously offered to provide the snacks and cupcakes.
“Is there something I can do to help?” I ask Shane’s sisters.
“No, you go sit down and relax,” Sophie says, shooing me toward the seating area. “You’re the guest of honor, sweetie. You get to sit and watch.”
“I thought Luke was the guest of honor,” Lia says, walking into the great room, along with Jonah.
Lia lights up when she sees her sister Hannah. “When did your flight get in?”
“Late last night,” Hannah says, as she wraps silverware in napkins. “How are you doing? Beth and Shane told me all about your harrowing experience during the robbery. Sounds like you were the hero of the day.”
Lia scoffs. “I was just doing my job, that’s all. It’s no big deal.”
Now it’s my turn to scoff. “Don’t listen to her, Hannah. She saved my life. And Luke’s.”