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“Can I hold him?” Lena asked, and AJ looked over to the woman. She sat on the couch, the monkey in her lap. He was probably half the size of Asher, and a stuffed animal didn’t move or wiggle or cry.
AJ didn’t know what to say, so she glanced over to Clara. Clara was talking to Laurel about something, but AJ caught Scott’s eye. He raised his eyebrows and came over to her. “What’s up?”
“Lena asked to hold Asher. Can she…do that?”
He glanced over to Lena, his smile coming quickly. “Yeah, she can.” He went to sit beside her. “You have to hold him, Lena. He’s a person. He doesn’t just sit. You have to make sure he doesn’t fall off your lap.”
“Okay.”
He stayed close, and once AJ had Asher unslung, she took him over to the couch too. She sat on Lena’s other side, real close. She held her ten-month-old on her lap and said, “See? You tuck him right into you. Keep your arm wrapped around him.”
She took a breath and passed the boy to Lena. She did exactly what AJ told her to do, just a little too tight.
“Don’t crush him,” Scott said with a laugh. “Lean back, Lena-Lou.”
She did, and Asher, the bag of sand he was, sank into her too. He looked over to AJ, who smiled at him. He kicked his legs, and babbled to himself, his fist going into his mouth.
AJ stood. “I’ll get you a toy. He’s teething so much right now, he’ll chew on anything he can get in his mouth.” She plucked a toy from the swing and turned back to Lena and Scott.
Lena leaned down and oh-so-softly placed a kiss on Asher’s head. She looked at her dad, and pure love and joy radiated from her. Tears sprang to AJ’s eyes, and her heart filled with love for Lena, her son, and Scott.
They’d been through hell and back, and AJ knew that journey by heart. She felt like she’d done it a few times in her life, and she never wanted to tread that path again. If holding a baby for a few minutes could bring such peace and joy to those doing it, AJ would let anyone hold Asher.
He squabbled, and the moment broke. AJ crouched in front of Lena and held the toy out for Asher. It took him a moment to latch onto it, but once he did, he brought it straight to his mouth. “See? He can gnaw on that while I help your mom unpack the kitchen.”
She grinned at Lena, who smiled back.
“You have to help too,” Scott said. “Remember, Mom wanted you to pick a room and then help carry in anything you carried out.”
Lena said nothing, and AJ couldn’t stay crouched with her knees bent the way she was. She groaned as she straightened, and she left Scott to watch over his daughter while she went to see what needed to be done to get Clara moved in quicker.
Then maybe they could do a late luncheon with everyone, and AJ pulled out her phone to send the text.
ChapterEleven
Laurel Lehye missed sleeping on her back. With only a little over three months until her first baby was due, the weight of her belly exceeded what she could handle while lying flat. With the morning light coming in through the blinded windows, she finally opened her eyes.
Her husband Paul lay facing her, his eyes closed as he slept. He breathed in deeply, and Laurel matched her inhale to his. How she loved him. He’d always been so calm and steady with her. He loved her in word and deed, and Laurel hadn’t had any idea of the kind of love two people could experience until she’d met him.
Her previous relationships had been so different than what she’d built with Paul. All of it came from him, she was sure, because she was still figuring out how to show her love in word and deed. He was much more vocal than she was, and every touch he gave her indicated how he felt.
Laurel had tried to do her best, and Paul said he’d never doubted her feelings for him.
She reached out and stroked her fingers down the side of his face. He started to wake, his hands moving toward her body too. He put one on their baby and one slid under her chin, cradling her face.
“What time is it?” he whispered.
“I don’t know,” she said back. She didn’t have to go to work today, and he was only going into the station after they went to the doctor together that morning. “We’re not late yet, I know that.”
Paul opened his eyes, and Laurel smiled at him. “I love you.”
“If you loved me, you’d have let me sleep until the very last minute.” He teased her with a smile on his face. He did look exhausted, as he’d been assisting the Chief on hiring new officers for the past couple of weeks. With summer season in full swing, and more tourists on the island than ever before, Aaron didn’t have the manpower to keep up.
That meant extra shifts for everyone, Paul included. Heck, Aaron himself had been out on a beat last week, and Laurel had never known the Chief of Police to get in a car and go out patrolling. At least not since she’d been employed by the Five Island Cove Police Department.
“Sorry,” she said. “You looked so peaceful and handsome, I wanted to touch that.” She pulled her hand away and covered his over her belly. “The baby is moving. Can you feel it?”
He looked down, but she wore a pair of pink pajamas. His face lit up. “Yeah,” he said, his eyes coming back to hers as he pressed his palm more firmly against her body. “Does it hurt?”
