Page 6 of Her Unending Horizon

The love was immediate and fierce.

So was the ache beneath it.

I noticed the weight of him, the heat of his small body, the faint smell of baby powder clinging to his clothes. His breath puffed softly against my collarbone.

I thought of two babies I would never get to hold like this.

Never feel this weight.

Never breathe this scent.

Never memorize the curve of a cheek or the warmth of their sleeping bodies against mine.

The thought pressed hard behind my eyes, sharp and specific, but I stayed where I was. I didn’t look away. I didn’t retreat.

I let it melt into my bones, not with sadness, with acceptance. Drake opened his eyes at that exact moment and smiled at me. “I love you, Little Man,” I whispered.

I had no idea how long I sat there with Drake in my arms, but it must have been awhile, because when I looked up, Trenda had a cantaloupe cut up and dished out for the three of us. My sister couldn’t help but try to mother everybody.

She set the dishes down at the table. “Come and eat.”

“I’m not done,” Bella and I said simultaneously, then we both giggled.

Drake shifted in my arms and yawned. I put him down in his carrier and went to the dining room table. Not only was there cantaloupe, but there was yogurt and honey. We all dug in, quiet for just a moment.

“So how’s school?” I asked Bella.

She snickered. “We’re on summer break.”

Damn, I should have known that. “Okay, how’s summer break?”

“It’s awesome. Mom is teaching me Photoshop on her Mac. I’m getting good, right Mom?”

“Soon you’ll be able to do my job for me. Then I’ll be a lady of leisure,” Trenda agreed. “What are you drawing?”

“I’ll show you after our snack.”

I looked over at Trenda and saw that she was no longer giving me assessing looks. I felt the knots in my stomach loosen. She was my big sister. My surrogate mom. Having her believe in me was a big deal.

“Did you get to see Angelica and Kit when they were in town? You weren’t at the party, but maybe some other time?” Bella asked.

I knew who Angelica was, but I didn’t know anyone named Kit. “Is Kit another one of the Drakos clan?” I asked.

Bella giggled. “No. She’s Natasha Blade! Well really, she’s Kit Lord, but she played Natasha Blade in the movies.”

“Oh. My. God! I love Natasha Blade! Quantum Strike is one of my favorite Manga series. She was here?”

Bella nodded enthusiastically. “When I was over with Amber and Lachlan we all played the Quantum Strike video game. She was killer. She beat all of us.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. Trenda was just shaking her head. She picked up the empty dishes before I had a chance and had them in the dishwasher like the old pro she was.

“Come on, Sweetpea, time to head home.”

“But I want to draw some more,” Bella complained.

“You can take the board and pencils home with you,” I offered.

“Nope,” Trenda countermanded. “They’ll stay here. It’ll give us reasons to visit more often.”