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Misha bent to set Ciara back onto her feet, so she didn’t put her hands on the dirty carpet. But Ciara wasn’t having that, wanting to get back down onto the floor.
“Did you see Ciara walk, Uncle Jay?”
Misha picked Ciara up and straightened. Seeing Jay there, a smile on his face made her want to smile too, but at the same time, tears hovered near the surface.
“I saw that,” Jay said, his gaze moving from Ciara to Misha. His smile gentled a little. “Good job, Ciara.”
Ciara lunged toward Jay, clearly remembering who he was and wanting him to hold her like he always used to. After the briefest of hesitations, Jay reached out and took her from Misha.
Ciara placed her hands on Jay’s face and gave him an open-mouthed kiss on his chin. He laughed, then nuzzled her neck, which made her squeal.
Misha’s heart ached with the grief of not just her loss, and but Ciara’s as well.
Her gaze dropped to the boy who stood next to Layla, his eyes wide as he watched Jay and Ciara. She wondered how things were going with them.
Jay lowered himself to a knee, then looked at Peyton. “This is Ciara.”
“This is Peyton,” Layla said as she put her arm around the boy. “He’s my new friend and my cousin.”
Misha smiled at the way Layla spoke to Ciara, as if the baby would understand even half of what she was saying.
Ciara was clearly fascinated by the new face in the crowd and waved her hands at Peyton. The little boy glanced at Jay, then Layla, before looking back at Ciara.
“You can hold her hand,” Layla said. “She likes us.”
Peyton slowly held out his hand and touched Ciara’s. She grasped one of his fingers and grinned at him.
Emotion tightened a vice around her chest, and Misha found it hard to breathe. She felt a hand gently stroking her back and glanced over to see her mom beside her. The smile she gave Misha was gentle with understanding.
Misha wanted to snatch her baby and run from the church. Run from the hurt that being this close to Jay brought to the surface. Run from the memories of a time when hope was blossoming.
Instead, she stayed frozen in place, waiting for Jay to give Ciara back so she could walk away with her pride intact. Her pride, but not her heart.
Jay straightened, then turned to Misha. “I can’t believe she’s walking already.”
Misha swallowed against the emotion choking her in hopes her voice would be steady. “She just started standing and cruising along the furniture this past week.”
“Do you think she’ll be walking before she turns one?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Misha said, wishing she could just end this interaction.
Jay placed his hand on Peyton’s shoulder. “By the way, this is my son Peyton.”
Misha smiled at the little boy. “Hi, Peyton.”
His presence might have led to the end of her relationship with Jay, but it wasn’t his fault. She couldn’t imagine what he must be going through.
“Hi.”
“And this is Misha’s mom, Denise,” Jay said as he nodded at Misha’s mom.
Peyton waved at her, but there was no smile for either of them. It was hard to see a young child filled with such unhappiness, and it left her with so many questions about the boy’s mother. She’d like to have a conversation with the woman, both as a medical professional and a mom.
“We should probably go,” her mom said. “I have lunch in the slow cooker.”
Jay kissed Ciara’s head, then handed her back to Misha. Ciara didn’t care for the location change, but Misha kept a tight grasp on her so she couldn’t fling herself out of her arms.
“It was good seeing you again,” Jay said, his gaze holding Misha’s for a moment.
