Page 82 of Mia Amata

“She is very active,” Nora said, pulling her hand back.

“My insides are black and blue,” I laughed. Nora set the table while I finished our dinner. We chatted about the new cradle; I said the blanket I had just recently finished for the baby would look cute in it. “Oh, can I see it?” she asked.

“Sure, it is back in the nursery, hanging over the rail to the crib.”

She went back there, walking back out with it. “Oh, Mattie,” she cried. “This is lovely!” She showed it around to everyone. “The nursery is adorable,” Nora commented.

Everyone went back to see it while Jacob helped me finish up putting dinner on the table.

Later, after everyone had left, Jacob and I cleaned up the kitchen and dining area. I finished loading the dishwasher while he took the trash out to the garage. When the dishwasher was finally running, I went over and sat down on the couch next to the cradle. I ran my hands over it, feeling the smooth wood. I traced the carvings on the end of the puppy. Jacob came back in from the garage, washing his hands, he was watching me at the cradle.

He came over, sitting behind me, “Do you like it?” he asked.

“Oh, Jacob,” I replied. “I love it! You did such amazing work. Have you carved anything like this before?”

“No,” he replied. “I never felt like I could do this type of work. I can honestly say this was an act of love. I wanted to build something special for our daughter.”

I turned to face him. “I don’t know what to say, it is perfect.”

“We need to get a mattress for it, but I thought we could put it next to our bed, for the first few weeks of her life.”

“Yes, it will be nice to have the baby close to us, but yet sleeping in her own bed.”

“I was going to carve her name on the ends,” he said, reaching out, tracing the puppy with his finger.

“Why didn’t you?” I asked.

“Well, I didn’t think our son would want to sleep in a cradle with his sister’s name on it.” He said, smiling at me.

“Our son?”

“Yes, I am hoping to have lots of babies with you.”

I laughed, “Lots? How many is that exactly?”

He thought for a moment, “I think five or six would be nice. Eight would be even better, we could have our own football team.”

My eyes widened. “Do you mind if I deal with this pregnancy first, before we decide on the next baby?”

He leaned forward, kissing me. “On one condition,” he stated.

“Oh?” I asked.

He kissed me again, “We continue to practice for the next one.”

“Deal,” I whispered.

Chapter 29

Allen spent Christmas Day in the blind, but now he was getting drunk again in the cabin. His rage was out of control tonight. He watched Megan have sex with her ‘husband’. He witnessed him putting his hands all over her. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene.

He had wanted to charge over there, finish them both right then and there. The only thing that stopped him was the thought that all of his planning would be wasted. He had spent a lot of time getting his plan figured out, making all the arrangements.

He drank whiskey, pacing back and forth in the small cabin. That bitch has to pay. Maybe he would draw out his planned revenge a few days longer than initially expected. He stopped, yes, that is what he would do. He planned on just a day or two, but maybe he could make it last even longer.

She would be begging him to kill her by the time he was through with her. He could add some other forms of suffering to his plan. The thought of her crying, pleading with him excited him. Oh, she would definitely cry and plead. She would promise to do anything to get him to stop.

Without really thinking, he started a fire in the fireplace. Pouring another cup of whiskey, he continued to pace, trying to get the image of his wife on top of another man out of his head. He went outside, pacing around outside, relieved himself in the trees, and then drank even more whiskey. He decided that tonight he would check out the ice on the lake.

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