Maya said, no doubt correctly intuiting that Nora was…what? What was she, even? Confused? Wary?
Scared out of her mind?
All of the above, actually.
“Trust us.” Eve took her hand, which prompted Maya to take the other.
The whole clump of them—Eve and Maya holding her hands and Pearl, Eiko, Art, and Jamila walking beside them—escorted her to the outcropping. There, Law and Sawyer were waiting.
What the hell was happening?
“We’re handing her over!” Pearl trilled. “The final item on the assembly line!”
“Handing me over? What?”
Sawyer and Law crossed their arms and clasped hands and made a “chair” for Nora to sit on.
“On you go,” Eiko said.
Nora thought about how wary she’d been her first few days in town. How suspicious she’d been of anyone who was nice to her. What’s the catch? she’d been constantly wondering.
Like that time she’d come home to find Jake building her a deck. Her hackles had gone right up.
But what had happened next? She had recognized her defensive impulse, paused, and thought about the fact that she was remaking her life. Asked herself what kind of person she wanted to be in that life.
“Trust,” Eve said again, with so much warmth and affection in her voice.
Nora sat.
And let the men ferry her out into the lake and around the outcropping like she was Cleopatra or something.
Jake was waiting on the other side.
Of course he was.
Gah. Just seeing him made her feel better—and worse. Better because she loved him. She loved him.
And worse because she couldn’t have him.
But hopefully, the baby could.
Law and Sawyer set her on the sand in front of him, and he smiled. “Everyone has been helping me with a remodel at the cottage. As you can imagine, the location makes it a bit of a challenge, so they made a human assembly line to help me get stuff in and out.”
“And I’m ‘stuff’ in this scenario?” She couldn’t help but smile, though.
He did, too, even as he winced. “You are. But you’re the most important stuff.” He ducked his head then, like he was shy. “Will you come see what I did?”
“Yes.”
She wasn’t sure what to say as they walked across the sand, but Mick saved the day by appearing out of nowhere, barking and wagging his butt. She bent down to pet him. She didn’t pick him up—she’d been having a bit of dizziness lately—but she ruffled his fur and said, “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
She shot Jake a quizzical look. “I was talking to the dog.”
Ignoring this, he was the picture of chivalry as he held the cottage door for her and took her coat.
Inside, everything looked the same as it always had. “Where’s this remodel?”
He pointed down the hall and to the left.
“Your mom’s studio?”
“No.” He nodded for her to go ahead of him. “The nursery.”
And it was. She inhaled sharply. The walls were still covered with art, but it was bright, happy art—and he’d moved the painting of Jude in from the living room. The easels and paint-splattered tables were gone, replaced by a crib and a changing table and a rocking chair.
He steered her to that rocking chair, because her legs had lost their ability to hold her up, and somehow he knew. She plopped down unceremoniously and looked up at him.
“I’m sorry I reacted so poorly last week. I just…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just never imagined getting a second chance. I didn’t feel like I deserved a second chance.”
“Jake. I—”
He held up a hand. “To be honest, I still don’t. But I’m working on that.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve got myself a therapist. A grief counselor. I’m going once a week for now.”
Tears gathered in Nora’s eyes. He was so strong. He’d always been strong, but to ask for help like that was maybe the strongest thing she’d known him to do. “Jake. I’m so glad for you.”
He picked up a quilt that was hanging over the edge of the crib. She recognized it as his mom’s handiwork. It was full of shards of exuberant color—limes and aquas and purples.
“This was Jude’s quilt. Kerrie asked if she could take it when she left, and I said yes. She had a daughter eighteen months ago. Sienna. Jude’s sister. Sienna used the quilt, too. Now it’s our turn—Kerrie gave it back with her blessing.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. Tears started to fall. Her kid had struck gold in the dad department. “I’m going to do up the nursery at my place—I’m buying a house, by