“She is so beautiful.” Bo sniffed and wiped shiny eyes. “Thank you, Charlotte,” he whispered. “Thank you so much.”
Charlotte smiled, reaching up to take Jimmy’s hand. Did she regret giving up the little girl?
Bo strapped Jenny into her car seat in the back of his SUV. Lucky loaded the contents of the cart into the back, rounded the truck, and got in beside the baby.
“Charlotte?” Bo gestured toward the open front passenger door.
She looked up at Jimmy. “Y’all go on. We’ll be right behind you.”
What?
Lucky opened his mouth, but a quelling glance from Bo stopped the words he’d been about to say. Bo closed the back door and took his place behind the wheel.
“Bo…”
Bo cut him off. “Lucky, put yourself in Charlotte’s place. She’s carried that baby girl for nearly nine months, and in the end, handed her over to us.” He met Lucky’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “She’s handling it in her own way.”
Lucky’s heart fell. He hadn’t thought of it that way. While he and Bo welcomed their daughter, how did Charlotte really feel? “She’ll see Jenny every day. She lives with us.”
“Yes, but right now she’s making the transition from mother to aunt.”
Had they made a mistake?
Then Jenny yawned and stretched, and Lucky found himself captivated by the miracle of tiny fingers and a button nose. Such an awesome little person. Their daughter.
The street around their house resembled a used car lot. Cars, trucks, Harleys, and one empty spot right in front where Bo normally parked.
The moment they pulled into the yard the front door flew open, expelling a steady stream of people.
Jimmy pulled in behind them.
Lucky’s mother got the honor of carrying Jenny, with Ty and Todd lugging the flowers and other things from the hospital.
Bo held Lucky back while everyone else disappeared into the house, Charlotte and Jimmy bringing up the rear.
“Are you okay?” Bo asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
Bo brushed his lips over Lucky’s. “I saw your face in the car when we talked about Charlotte. You’re worried about her.”
“Of course. She’s my sister.”
“Don’t be. She and I talked. She’s happy to do this for us. Just remember to let her deal with this in her way. We’ll be there for her, but it might still be hard.”
Lucky’d let her down so many times, in so many ways. Never again.
He and Bo strolled hand in hand into pandemonium.
Also known as family.
Ty, Todd, and their girlfriends moved the last of the baby gifts to the nursery, while Lucky, Bo, and Rett cleaned up the aftermath of the baby shower/bringing baby home event. Lucky’s parents and Bo’s family retreated to a local hotel to avoid the “who gets to stay” argument.
Jimmy nearly drove Charlotte crazy with his “Can I get you anything?” and “How are you feeling?” every five minutes, so she sent him home—with a smile and a kiss.
The star of the show napped. Being fawned over was, apparently, hard work.
The day wound down, leaving just Ty, Bo, Lucky, and Charlotte. Ty went to bed since he had school in the morning, and Bo set about unboxing presents and loading wrapping paper and cardboard into the recycling bin.
