a thing to his own son?”
“Aww, Han, you’re nothing like that. You have a baby moose living in your house. I think it’s safe to say those genes passed you by.”
She laughed through her tears as she turned to face him. “How do you always know just what to say to me?”
“I speak Hannah.”
Wrapping her arms around him, she leaned into him, thankful as always for his steady presence. “Thank goodness someone does.”
“I’m dirty, sweetheart. Let me go take a shower and change so we can continue this conversation.”
Hannah held on tighter, certainly accustomed by now to the scents of motor oil, gas and grease that came home from the garage with him. He told her she was weird because she liked those smells. “Don’t go yet.”
“I’m here.”
They stood there for a long time, until Callie squeaked, wanting to be released from the high chair.
“Are you taking my little girl with you on this trip?”
“I’ll have to since you’re working and everyone else is going with me. I could ask Aunt Hannah to take her, but I’d hate to be away from her even for a day.”
“I’ll take the day off if you want to leave her at home.”
“You don’t have to. I don’t mind taking her.”
“What am I supposed to do without my ladies tomorrow night?”
“Snuggle Dex?”
“That is not happening.”
“You will feed him, though, right?”
“Yes, Hannah,” he said with a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll feed him.”
Ever since his son, Chase, was born in June, Will wanted to be with him all the time. The chunky blond baby was the center of his parents’ lives and had made what was already the best time in Will’s life that much better. During Cameron’s seemingly endless pregnancy, he’d had to live with the bone-deep fear of something going wrong, the way it had for her mother and grandmother, both of whom had died in childbirth.
He’d even held off on allowing himself to feel anything for his unborn child until he knew for certain that his beloved wife would survive the birth. They’d done everything they could to ensure a safe birth for both mother and baby, but until it actually happened, Will had remained stubbornly unemotional when it came to the baby.
Now that he’d had six months with his son, that detachment seemed like a lifetime ago. He was so in love with the little guy, it wasn’t even funny, and more in love with Cam than he’d ever been. Before Chase arrived, he wouldn’t have thought it possible to love Cameron more than he already did, but seeing her as a mother, especially knowing she’d grown up without hers, had made his feelings for her that much deeper.
She was a beautiful, devoted, dedicated mother, and their son was lucky to have her.
These days, she worked mostly from home, which meant he missed her during the days they used to spend together. But they agreed that her being with Chase, especially the first year, was for the best.
Which was why his daily goal was to get home as early as possible. Rattled after the family meeting, he tried to process the things he’d learned about his father’s family. He drove past the spot where he’d met Cameron on a cold, muddy spring night after she ran into Fred and smashed up her brand-new car. Thinking of that night always made him smile. Even with two black eyes from the airbag, she’d been the loveliest woman he’d ever seen, and he’d been instantly intrigued by her.
Reliving the euphoria of his earliest days with Cameron made him feel sad for what his dad had gone through after meeting his mom. No one should have to make the kind of choice his grandfather had forced his father to make. It was obscene. He gripped the steering wheel tighter as he thought about how awful that must’ve been for his dad. Linc would say it hadn’t been a decision at all. Of course he’d chosen Molly, but the heartbreak of losing everyone else he loved had to have been dreadful.
Will pulled into the long driveway that led to their newly expanded cabin, which was finally finished after a months-long renovation. Living in the midst of construction with a newborn wasn’t something he was eager to do again any time soon. But the end result had been worth the chaos. They’d added two big bedrooms, a master bathroom and a much larger family room onto the back of the house, tripling their living space.
With just a few days