Chapter Eleven

“W hat in the hell happened while we were gone?”

Standing in the doorway of Audrey’s room, Susan and Reynolds discovered a completely decorated nursery.

“We were only gone a few hours to the doctor’s.” Reynolds could barely keep up with how quickly his world turned one hundred and eighty degrees and happily soared in the direction of happily ever after.

Maybe. Hopefully.

And to think, my only goal last week was to clean out and organize the upstairs loft.

“Who did this?” Susan held a sleeping Audrey to her shoulder. The baby traveled well to and from her one-week visit. She’d gained weight and recovered from the rough introduction into the world.

“‘Everything you need to get a good start. Congratulations from everyone at Marietta Medical ER.’ How sweet of them.” Susan held a card up and handed it to him.

It didn’t go unnoticed how effortlessly Susan cradled a baby with one hand and opened the card with the other. Something she probably did hundreds of times when caring for patients, but today, it was different.

She held their baby, who wore dinosaur-themed clothes.

A baby she asked to name after his sweet sister.

The joyous moment almost smothered the oxygen from his lungs, but he distracted himself by opening another envelope and pointing to the tall stack of boxes of wipes and diapers. “Your boss must really like you.”

“I’ll have to call her shortly and thank her.”

Reynolds wouldn’t lie. Finding a fully decorated and restocked nursery alleviated some of the stress because the kid could go through diapers like nobody’s business.

For the past few days, he and Susan filled out endless paperwork, set Susan up for foster adoption classes, had her interviewed by Lori’s bosses, organized their schedules, talked to attorneys, ordered a ton of baby supplies, and learned how to be functional on two to three hours of sleep at a time.

“This was what my siblings were up to.” Susan’s eyes glistened with tears.

Her comment pulled him out of his thoughts. “Who?”

“Lucy texted me a few too many times this morning before we met for breakfast.” She handed him the note and then patted Audrey on the back when she started to fuss.

The baby calmed right down and snuggled back in the crook of Susan’s neck.

Way to set the comfort-the-baby bar high, Susan. “What do you mean?”

“Lucy can’t keep a secret to save her life. She was too evasive at Main Street Diner.”

Baskets of beautiful new and hand-me-down clothes had been set in the corner of Audrey’s new room next to her changing table.

The sofa-bed chair that was in the box when they left was now assembled and tucked in the corner.

“Someone thought ahead because there are different sizes of diapers and clothes. There’s wipes, burp cloths. My gosh, how did they get all this stuff so quickly?” Susan turned to face him, her eyes went wide as she pointed. “Reynolds. Look.”

Vivid moments in time captured on canvas decorated the wall above the crib. Marietta’s four seasons, the Christmas stroll, snow sculptures, ice-skating, springtime flowers, hiking trails in the Copper Mountains, and the rodeo.

“The card says Edmund and Jade took these.” Reynolds scanned the wall as each picture told a different story. Showed a different adventure he couldn’t wait to take his girls on.

My girls? Even standing next to Susan and Audrey, Reynolds wondered if he imagined it all.

Candid family photos of all the siblings, their significant others, and their kids rounded out the collage. Included in those were photos of Susan and him from the past week.

“This is amazing.” Susan tapped the moment that would never leave Reynolds’s brain. When he and Susan held the baby for the first time. The moment life punched him right in the gut and settled in without pause or apologies.

The one next to it froze the instant where he and Susan looked at each other. It could easily be a Hallmark movie poster. Their hope-filled gazes. The endless possibilities and, dare he say it, love.

Even now, he remembered every detail of her face as she glowed with joy.

“Wait, who took those?”

Reynolds nodded at the moments captured in time. “Lori. Our siblings.”

“She doesn’t miss a beat.”

“No, she doesn’t.” And I’m damned grateful for it.

“Wait, that one is at the convenience store.” Susan pointed. “Did Bernie take that one?”

“She must have. And gave it to Lori. Wow.”

“Reynolds. Are those your grandparents? Sister?”

Two photos in the middle of the mix caused his breath hitch. Reynolds’s grandparents’ wedding photo and the picture of the kids and Grandpa after a day of fishing. “I can’t believe they got all this done so quickly.”

“What does the card say?”

He picked up the card set on top of one of the dressers and exhaled. The words caught in his throat, and he had to force them out. “They all helped with the family photos.”

She patted Audrey on the back and softly spoke. “This is your room, sweet girl. Look at all the love that’s already here, just for you.”

“Guess they are all on board.”

A wave of oregano, rosemary, and tomatoes hit his nose. “Is something cooking?”

“Maybe.” As they headed to the kitchen, they stopped when they realized a new pack-and-play was set up in the living room. Reynolds quickly checked each of their bedrooms to find similar setups. “Holy crap. What didn’t they do while we were gone?”

Odin perched on the armrest of the couch, standing guard over the new item. The look on his face told them he planned to sleep in said new bed and there wasn’t a damned thing they could do about it.

In the oven, a lasagna and a loaf of garlic bread on low heat. “Lucy made all this.”

“You sure?”

Taking a deep inhale, Susan nodded. “Oh yeah. My sister’s Italian food is second to none.”

“And there’s a card. A lot of cards.” A stack of congratulatory cards from the kids of Harry’s House, the after-school program funded by the first responders’ calendar, sat in a basket on the kitchen table. Beside it, an assortment of different crackers, cheeses, and coffees.

Reynolds’s heart warmed, knowing his brother had a big part in all this. “I guess people are excited for us.”

“I guess so. Want anything?” She handed the baby over and Audrey quickly snuggled into his chest.

“Whatever you’re having.” Handwritten notes left on the table caught his attention as Reynolds settled in, holding his daughter against his shoulder.

Shelly Westbrook, Peter’s fiancée, offered her son, Freddie, and her niece, Tia, as babysitters.

Brightly decorated cards from Peter’s two children, Polly and Diggory, stated they would be willing to help with anything but changing diapers and vomit.

Jade and Edmund promised to bring dinner tomorrow.

He knew if he ever needed Nate, he’d be there in a heartbeat. No questions asked.

Closing his eyes, he hoped this wasn’t some fever dream where none of this existed.

Worry hovered in the shadows of his mind as his happy family could be taken away with a phone call.

As of this morning, the father had yet to sign off on anything simply because they couldn’t locate him. His parents refused to talk to CPS. They made it clear the next time Lori showed up on their lawn, they’d call the cops.

Then, a smiling Susan placed the mug of coffee in front of him and Reynolds shoved worry away, locking it up tight. He would not waste a single moment with what if . Not anymore.

“What should we do first, husband?” Susan took the chair across from him.

Damn, would his heart ever stop racing when she called him that? “Honestly, I don’t want to do anything but sit here with you and Audrey.”

“Soak it all in?” She leaned in and kissed the top of Audrey’s practically bald head.

“Exactly.”

“In case it changes.” Her smile tightened, but her eyes remained hopeful. “But maybe it won’t.”

“Day by day, wife.”

“Day by day, husband.” She patted his hand before kissing his cheek. “When did Lori say she’d be over to visit again?”

“In a few days, but we can call her anytime.”

Audrey stretched but didn’t wake as she continued to sleep on Reynolds’s chest.

“Guess I’m trapped.” And Reynolds didn’t mind it one bit.

Reynolds spent most of the day trapped with his daughter sleeping on his chest.

Since Nate had worked nonstop for the past several days, he hadn’t met the new addition. As soon as they finished their dinner, Nate arrived with skepticism etched into his face.

To be fair, that was his normal expression.

Then, Susan placed the infant in his arms for the first time and told him his niece’s name.

As soon as baby Audrey gazed at her uncle, his stoic brother cried happy tears. “Damn, you two.”

Around the same time the Davidson siblings, along with their significant others, stopped in to check on all of them, including Odin.

Edmund brought a new box with cat toys inside, and Odin’s one eye went so wide that Reynolds thought it would pop out of the cat’s head.

Audrey’s sweet face even managed to coax a few smiles out of Peter, despite his furrowed forehead.

By eight-thirty, Susan and Reynolds struggled to keep their eyes open. They fell asleep on the couch, with Audrey next to them in her pack-and-play.

Susan’s head resting on his chest, his arm around her body, he drifted off to sleep to the sounds of the clock in the hallway and the scent of her body wash tickling his nose.

But the strong smell of fish rudely woke him a couple of hours later when Odin demanded to be fed, his furry face only inches from Reynolds as he protested. “Okay, cat.”

Odin jumped off the couch and headed straight for the kitchen, but Reynolds took a moment to appreciate what his life had become.

Him passed out before ten on the couch with his beautiful wife beside him and their baby sleeping close by.

After all the time he pined for such a moment, it arrived, and he hardly understood how to absorb it all. But what he did absorb was how uncomfortable Susan looked sleeping sideways.

After feeding the cat and tucking Audrey into the crib set up in his room, he returned to encourage Susan to her bed.

Despite her awkward state, he hesitated to wake her. “Susan?”

“Hmmm?” A sleepy response.

“Susan? It’s time for bed.”

“Okay.” Her arm reached out and slid around his neck, pulling him close. “Kiss me good-night, then.”

He hesitated. Was she awake enough? Would she remember this tomorrow? “You want me to kiss you good night?”

A slow smile spread across her face as she slowly opened her eyes. “It’s allowed under addendum one.”

“It is.” Cautiously, he touched his lips to hers. How he dreamed of kissing her good night, every night.

She nibbled on his lower lip before capturing his mouth with hers. “Kiss me, Reynolds.”

How he wanted to get lost in her touch.

Her scent.

Her touch.

Her taste, but he had to keep a level head, even though his other one screamed for her attention.

Slowly, he pulled away. “I could get used to that.”

“We need to decide on a timeline.” She arched in a stretch.

“Do you want to wait until the adoption is finalized?” What the hell, man? Why. Did. You. Ask. That. Question?

“Six months minimum? We could.” He took his hand in hers, and they walked together toward their bedrooms.

He stopped right outside her door, waiting for… he didn’t know what. Answers? “Do I want to wait? Hell no. Do I think we should? I’m on the fence about it all, especially with all the effort you put into the plan.”

“The physical power point slide says TBD. To be determined.”

“I remember.” And I love how you left it so vague. Told him she struggled with this as much as she did.

“On the one hand, us not being physically involved does avoid emotional entanglements as it were.” Her fingers fiddled with the buttons on his Henley.

How he wished she’d rip his shirt off and then throw caution to the wind, but this wasn’t a normal situation. The answers would be obvious if they’d met a year ago, dated, and then their adoption opportunity came. “I care about you. About her. I want the best possible outcome for all of us.”

“So do I.” She ran her fingers through his hair, and he leaned into her touch. “But you worry, don’t you?”

“Yes. Are you sure you don’t want—”

She silenced him by pressing her fingers to his lips. “Reynolds. Please don’t ask me again. I am very happy with our arrangement. Please, trust me.”

That please was the same tone she used with her siblings. And it told him there was more to her story. “I trust you.”

“Thank you. Good night. Sleep well.”

“You, too.” Secretly, he hoped she would invite him in, but relief flooded his veins when she closed the door behind her, leaving him with his thoughts and the need for a very cold shower.