“Braden’s out cold,” he announced, pausing beside me. “Thanks for helping out,man.”
“No problem,” Travis smiled, his eyes flicking back to mine when Brock turned to addressme.
“I’ll see you in the morning. Mind if I take Aiden back to my place? I need to get some things done around the cabin.” I had classes and Brock had taken over helping me with daycare now that Tessa was inBarrie.
“Sure,” I murmured, conscious of Travis’s eyes still onme.
When they were gone, I locked up the front door and started turning lights out. Pausing by Aiden’s bedroom door, I slowly opened it. Moonlight filtered in through his window, illuminating his skin in its pale glow. His lashes were dark against his cheeks, and his tiny chest rose and fell with each breath hetook.
I counted every one of those breaths as personalblessings.
My socked feet were quiet against the floor as I crept over to kiss his cheek and adjust his blankets. I left the room wordlessly, crossing the hallway tomine.
I’d left my phone on the night stand, and I grabbed it before crawling under my blankets. I pulled Travis’s contact information up, my finger hoovering near the little message icon. The last time I’d texted him had been to plan our lasttryst.
Sighing, I put my phone back and rolledover.
After class the next day, I texted Brock to see how Aiden was doing. When he replied telling me that they were going out on the ATV, I stopped in to visit KatieArmstrong.
I tried to go over as often as I could, to hold the baby while she showered or just talk to her. I remember how isolating it had been having a newborn and no social life, and I didn’t want Katie to feel that way, and I wanted to make amends for bailing out on her in the friend department when my mom wassick.
Plus, baby therapy was even better than psychological therapy for me. Before Alyssa, it had been three years since I’d held a newborn baby in my arms, and I loved all the little coos and gassysmiles.
I’d stopped off at the deli for sandwiches and coffee, and Katie nearly wept when she opened the door and spotted the paper bags with the deli logo. “I’m starving! How did you know?” she asked, standing aside to let me in. She had Alyssa cradled in her right arm as shenursed.
“Because I remember what breastfeeding was like,” I laughed, walking into the living room and dropping my purse down on the plaid arm chair. I handed the turkey sandwich to Katie, who masterfully unwrapped it and started eating it with one hand. “Where’sBen?”
“At the farm,” Katie answered in between bites. Her husband, Ben, helped run his family’s farm, alongside his father, Bill. “Sometimes I think we should just movethere.”
“You knew what you were getting into when you married a farmer’s eldest son,” I pointedout.
“I know,” she sighed. “Oh crap, she fell asleep again,” she added, looking down at herdaughter.
“Let me take her while you finish eating,” I offered, holding my arms out. Katie gently passed her to me. She handed me the burp cloth and I threw it over my shoulder, bringing Alyssa up to gently pat her back. After she burped, I cradled her in my arms the way she liked and sat down on the sofa beside Katie. I got comfortable, knowing I’d be there for awhile.
“You’re a life saver,” Katie moaned gratefully, pausing to take another bite. She chewed it and swallowed, and dabbed at the corner of her lips with a napkin. “I honestly don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you around. You’re a baby guru, and you bring food. I think I might love you more thanBen.”
I laughed lightly, careful not to jostle the sleeping three-month-old in my arms. While Katie finished her sandwich, I gazed down at Alyssa, my mind still fixated on seeing Travis again lastnight.
The temptation to text him and meet up with him again was so strong, the only thing preventing me from actually going through with it was the baby in my arms and my exhausted friend sitting on the other side of thecouch.
But all day long, I’d been consumed with the thought that maybe…Travis wasexactlywhat I needed. I wasn’t looking for a relationship, and I honestly didn’t know if I’d ever be in the place for one. But I didn’t want to be afraid of the act of intimacy anymore.
Travis had offered to help rectify that issue, and I knew that if anybody could do it…it washim.
“I don’t know whether to grab a shower, because Idefinitelyneed one, or break out the wine and have a serious girl chat—because I definitely need one of those too,” Katie sighed, leaningback.
“Go shower, then we’ll have girl time—minus thewine.”
“Seriously, I reallydolove you more than Ben,” Katie told me, skipping off to have hershower.
Alyssa snored peacefully in my arms, and the house was quiet except for the distant sound of running water and the ticking of a clock. With each second that passed, I grew more and more restless, more and more aware of the fact that my phone sat less than an arm’s lengthaway.
Just as I finally worked up the nerve to reach for it, the water shut off and I knew that Katie was finished with her shower. She didn’t take long to dress, and within five minutes she was back in the living room, dressed in a new pair of sweat pants, her hair wrapped up in a bathtowel.
“You haveno ideahow badly I needed that shower. God I hate the smell of sour milk,” sheshivered.
“How are you?” I asked, smiling warmly at myfriend.
