He blinked at her, his little mouth forming an “O” and then smacked his lips.
She put her arms out for him and he wiggled his hands and stuck his legs out straight.
“I think he wants to go to you,” Grayson said, sounding a little stiff.
She glanced up at him but his face told her nothing. Was he frustrated that she wasn’t taking the baby faster? Sad at giving him up temporarily?
She left her arms up, but didn’t take Leo until Grayson held him out.
As she pulled that squirmy little body close to her chest, she couldn’t help smiling.
“What a wonderful day we’re going to have,” she told him softly. “And we’ll start it off with a nice, fresh diaper.”
“Ah,”Leo said, his eyes wide, legs kicking.
“I think so too,” she agreed. “Let’s go get that diaper.”
She had watched like a hawk last night when Grayson changed him, so they got through that part pretty well. She had to try more than once with the side tabs, since Leo was feeling so wiggly and talkative and it was hard to get the thing on snugly.
“You have so much to say,” she told him, smiling.
“Uh-ah,” he replied, his eyes serious while his little feet danced.
She picked him up and he molded himself to her, warming her heart all over again.
By the time they got downstairs, Grayson was already bundled up. He took Leo so that she could get her boots and coat on, and she felt embarrassed all over again that she was basically wearing motorcycle gear.
To Grayson’s credit, he hadn’t asked her about it. Butshe was really hoping to find some affordable things that might help her to fit in better in Trinity Falls.
They headed out to the car in silence, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. She was starting to understand that there was more to Grayson than the laid-back, humorous man he was in public, and the gentle father he was at home.
Some darkness clouded his past, and her sign that it was drifting over him was when his hand went to his neck and jaw.
She wondered where he’d gotten those scars, but of course it wasn’t her place to ask him, or to speculate. She was here to take care of Leo and make Grayson’s life easier. Well, that and to hide out from the people her brother had gotten mixed up with. And it was only temporary.
But as the farmland melted away and they approached the little village it was hard not to wish she were here to stay.
The little town had been so charming last night, with the festive decorations and the flurries coming down. But today it was alive with bright colors and activity. People walked down the sidewalks in their woolen coats, carrying bright reusable shopping bags. Verdant wreaths with red ribbons adorned the doors to many of the shops, and the window displays were a cheerful salute to the coming holidays.
“Wow,” she murmured without thinking.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Grayson said. “When I was away I used to picture it like this. I started to think I’d built it uptoo much in my mind. But if anything, it’s better in real life than it was in my imagination.”
“I can see that,” she said, her mind racing. Was she supposed to know he’d been away? She didn’t think so.
Then it hit her.
Sam knew him from the center. Of course he’d been away.
She turned to him, her eyes catching on those scars before she could remind herself not to look.
Had he been hurt serving his country?
That idea tugged at her heart. Tears were burning in her eyes and she tried to force herself to think about something else,anythingelse.
“Here we go,” he said, oblivious to her thoughts. “I’ll give you a call when Leo and I are done with our errands and we can decide where to meet up.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling terrible about her phone situation and even worse about having to lie. “I, um, lost my phone on the train on the way out here.”
