She seemed to read his thoughts and leaned forward. “It's been a while since this house has heard laughter, aye?” Her whisper curled around her highland accent. “But a babe and a joyful heart tend to bring it along, don't they?”
He peeked around the doorway and paused with his hand on the frame. There his mother sat at the dining table in the ornate room holding little Charlie in her arms and teasing smiles out of him by shaking the long necklace she wore.
He hadn't seen his mother smile this much in months, maybe longer.
“He just started smiling in the last week or so, but he's taken quite a shine to it.” Kizzie took a bite of the oatmeal in front of her as Mother held Charlie's attention. The younger woman's simple blue dress looked plainer than the one she'd worn last night, but the hue still brought out the color of her large eyes. No wonder Marty had wondered about what side of heaven he was on when she'd appeared, dressed in a pale robe, all that hair in disarray around her shoulders …
Even at the memory, Noah's face grew warm. Why did his heart have to prove he was ready for a relationship at this juncture in his life? When he wasn't at liberty to make choices without his brother's influence. And why this woman? A stranger with a past that almost scoffed at his family's status and … brokenness.
“He certainly has,” came Mother's response, her own smile wide. Even the creases around her eyes looked less pronounced.
Could Kizzie McAdams and her son be what his mother needed to help her through her grief of losing not only her grandchild but her daughter-in-law too? Plus … her only daughter leaving.
Noah's attention shot back to Kizzie. Maybe all this strange interest had nothing to do with romance.
He nodded to himself. Merely a way to support his mother. Help her heal.
“It's like he's just waiting to laugh, ain't it?” Kizzie's light response pulled his attention back to her face. Her hair hung in a long thick braid over her shoulder, much less distracting.
“He does seem ready for it. He smiles so easily, it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't start laughing early.” At her words, Charlie cooed out a response, and Mother's entire expression softened even more.
“I think he likes you, Victoria. He doesn't talk to just anybody.”
Victoria? They were on a first-name basis now?
His mother chuckled at Kizzie's teasing and ran a finger down the baby's cheek, inciting another coo. “He reminds me how very lovely smiles are, especially in babies.”
“Their laughs are wonderful too.” Kizzie sighed. “I remember my youngest siblings laughing as babies, but I don't recollect when they started. Do you happen to know when laughing usually starts for babies?”
“I'm not certain, but I feel as though Noah laughed relatively early, and his sister wasn't far behind.” She tickled Charlie's chin, inciting another dimpled grin. “George took much longer, but that is no surprise. He seems to have an aversion to joviality as a whole.”
Noah grinned. A trait his brother carried into adulthood.
At the mention of his sister, pain squeezed his chest. Another missing life.
“What a horrible way to live, don't you think?” This from Kizzie.
“It's difficult to smile when your focus is on things that rarely lead to joy.”
“Well, that's something we ought to stitch on a pillow.” Kizzie's ready chuckle bubbled out with his mother's joining in.
“Indeed.” And then his mother saw him. “Noah Lewis, at some point in your life, I know I taught you that eavesdropping is rude, didn't I?”
He stepped into the room, glancing in Kizzie's direction before dipping his head. “I didn't wish to interrupt with your adoration of little Charlie there.”
“Are you afraid his dimples might overshadow yours?”
He nearly missed sitting in the chair he'd just pulled out. His mother? Joking with him? That behavior had been less frequent over the past two years and rarely in front of guests. “It's been a while since you teased me so openly.” He hoped his smile reassured her. “And”—he nodded in Charlie's direction—“if I must succeed my claim of the best dimples in the house to anyone, I can think of no one quite so cute as Charlie.”
The laughter warmed the space grief still touched within these walls.
“Very true.” Mother touched Charlie's cheek. “And I do believe that more laughter is a sign we are moving forward to the other side of grief, where the pain bows to memory.”
A quiet settled between them as their gazes met, the wounds still fresh. But hope waited just behind Mother's eyes. Perhaps they both understood the need to step forward. To welcome more laughter in the house again.
“Life's full of that, ain't it?” Kizzie took another bite of oatmeal. “Having to choose to keep living in the ‘afters.’ ” She sent his mother a gentle smile. “They aren't easy, but I'm hoping they become easier as we go on.”
“I think they do with the right mindset.” Mother sighed, patting Charlie's hand. “And the right people.”
