“How about you get Uncle Arlo to help you build a pillow fort?”
Zoe’s eyes go wide for a second before she spins on her heels and takes off for the den with Mia hot on her heels.
“If I could bottle her energy, I’d make a fortune.”
“Katy was always the same way. Can you imagine what it must be like to have twins, or triplets, for that matter?”
“I can imagine, and it makes me want to nap thinking about it.”
I chuckle as I look down at Juni, whose pretty eyes stare up at me without a care in the world. “I bet it all feels worth it, though.”
“Yeah, I bet it does, too.”
Neither of us says much after that. When Juni finishes her bottle, I place her on my shoulder and gently tap her back.
“You’re a natural.”
“I babysat through high school. I guess some things are hard to forget. When I found out I was pregnant, I was so scared. I wasn’t ready to have a baby. I was so close to escaping a life that was slowly killing me, and I just knew a baby was going to blow all that out of the water. I was terrified of turning out like my mom.”
She sits down at the table beside me, her elbow on the table, her chin in her hand.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was worried I’d mess her up, worried the Bannerman’s would try to take her from me. I knew if they wanted her and fought me over it, they’d win. So much was happening, I never realized how much I wanted her until it was too late. For so long, I thought losing her was my punishment for not loving her from the moment I knew about her.”
“Life doesn’t really work that way. I think we all feel guilty for things that are out of our control. It’s the nature of the beast. I know there are a million things I wish I’d done differently, and if I had, maybe the outcome would have changed. But if Marley hadn’t saved me, I’d be gone, and Zoe wouldn’t have the family she deserved. I know if he were given a second chance to make a different choice, he wouldn’t change a thing.” She wipes at a stray tear. “I know it’s not the same thing with you, but what-ifs don’t help any of us.”
Fingers on my face make me jolt, my hand moving to slip protectively around Juni. But when I don’t feel her on my chest, I panic, my eyes flying open and colliding with Banner’s.
“Juni?”
Banner leans to the left so I can see Blake with his daughter sleeping over his shoulder.
I press a hand to my chest and let out a relieved breath. “I nearly had a heart attack. How did it go?”
He opens his mouth before closing it again.
“That good, huh?”
“No. I mean, yes, it was good because it was blindingly clear to everyone that you were framed.” He tugs me to my feet before stealing my seat on the sofa and pulling me down into his lap so he can hold me.
“My parents’ lawyer tried to paint Stephenson in a light that none of us saw coming. Um…” He licks his lips as if trying to figure out how to say the next part.
“They painted him as a jilted lover, didn’t they?”
He looks at me in shock. “You knew about them?”
“My mom mentioned it back when she kicked me out. Something about how she wished I’d died instead of my dad, and how the chief could have me as he had such a hard-on for her. She said he might as well take the younger model, since she wouldn’t downgrade for him again. There was a bunch of other shit said, but I pretty much figured she’d been with the chief at some point. Whether that was a fling or something more serious, I didn’t know, and I don’t care.”
“They tried to imply there was some doubt regarding your paternity,” he tells me softly.
I look at him to see if he’s serious before laughing. Looking around, I see my bag by Felix’s foot. He’s at the end of the sectional, talking to Callie.
“Hey Felix, can you grab my wallet from my bag and throw it over to me, please?”
He looks like I just asked him to lick a live wire. Instead of doing what I asked, he hands the bag to Callie.
Callie looks at me and rolls her eyes. “What is it with women’s handbags that freaks men out?”
“They’re intimidating. Men can’t keep track of their phone, keys, and wallet when they only have pockets. Women could survive in the wild for days with the contents of their bags. Especially a mom bag.”
