Page 17 of Finding Hope

She was having a son, a sweet baby boy to snuggle and love. Josie stayed close to her side, with a huge smile on her face. Shannon was so glad the precious girl was happy about the baby. Josie was going to make a fantastic big sister. Shannon just didn’t know if Jonathon was happy.

Chapter Nine

Jonathon

He was going to have a son. “Wow,” Jonathon whispered as he leaned against the brick wall outside of the bar.

When he walked into the bar and saw Shannon, he had felt his heart stutter in his chest. She looked so beautiful, with her hair hanging in strawberry blonde curls down her back, and her eyes bright with excitement. When he saw her baby bump, he wanted to hug her tight and kiss her belly, but instead he stood back and watched as Josie ran to Shannon, both hugging the other tight.

He missed her. He missed her so much he didn’t know what to do with himself. Jonathon had been so mad when he left Shannon that night, but not for the reason one might think. He was mad because she was right. She did deserve that all-consuming kind of love. It hit him about two days later that he loved her so much it hurt. He still loved and always would love Alex, but he realized that he could love Shannon too.

Unfortunately, he had no clue how to prove it to her. He had a year of making her feel like second best to make up for, and he didn’t know how to do it.

He heard the door open and watched his sister walk toward him, smiling. “Jonathon, what are you doing out here? You’re having a boy! I can’t believe it.” Jonathon watched her dance around and then stopped. “Why are you out here? Aren’t you happy?”

“Tess, I’m over the fucking moon, but this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. Shannon and I should be celebrating together. We should be getting ready for this baby together. I screwed up so bad, but I don’t know how to fix it. How do I prove to her that I do love her and that I want us to be together?” Fuck, he screwed up with her.

“I don’t know. Maybe help her get stuff ready for the baby. Maybe tell her how great she looks. You realize I’ve only had one relationship, so I may not be the best person to hand out advice.” Tessa wrapped her arms around his waist. “It’s so obvious that she still loves you. Just do whatever it takes.” She reached up and kissed his cheek before she disappeared back inside.

Jonathon took a deep breath and stepped inside. Shannon was sitting in a booth with her arms around Josie while she talked to Kasey. He made his way toward the table but was halted by an arm on his. It was Shannon’s dad.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

He nodded and followed him toward the hallway by the bathrooms. He didn’t think the guy would punch him, but he kept a close eye on him just in case.

“My daughter has been through the wringer because of you. I personally think she should just tell you to fuck off, and that we’ll help her with the baby, but I know she won’t. That girl has been stubborn since she was born. So help me God, if you hurt her any more than she’s already been hurt, I don’t care if you are a cop. I will fucking kill you.” He turned and walked back out into the bar, leaving Jonathon staring after him.

He realized Shannon’s dad was serious and he couldn’t blame him. If some asshole ever hurt Josie, he’d kill the guy too.

He, Josie, and Tessa didn’t stay much longer. Tessa had to get to work and he had to come up with a plan.

***

Jonathon looked at the directions and then at the pieces in front of him. Why was crib assembly so complicated? He didn’t remember it being that hard when he had put together Josie’s so long ago.

It had been three weeks since he found out that he was having a son. He’d taken Tessa’s advice, but not wanting to overwhelm Shannon, he started small. At first he called her every day asking how she was doing and feeling. He knew she was leery of him, and he chose to ignore it and power through.

After a week of calls, he then moved on to stopping by to see her with Josie with him. He smiled as he thought about how big her belly was getting every time he saw her. She looked more and more beautiful. Every time he and Josie went, they brought presents for the baby—outfits, diapers, books, and toys.

Then he bought and had delivered to her home a bassinet that Shannon had told Jonathon’s sister that she had wanted. He was going to buy her a crib for her place, but she had gotten one from her parents. Tessa had informed Jonathon that what she really needed was a baby carrier/stroller combination, so that’s what he bought her. It had cost a lot, but it was worth it to see the look on her face when he and Josie delivered it.

Shannon had tried to refuse it, but Josie begged her to keep it and Shannon couldn’t say no to her. He knew he had so much more to do to prove that his feelings for her were the real deal, but he was a patient man.

He got back to work on the crib. He was hoping that he’d either have it ready for Shannon and the baby to move in with him or at least for him to keep his son overnight. He hoped it was the former.

While Jonathon was knee deep in screws and pieces of wood, a knock on the front door had him looking at the doorway to the nursery to see his sister’s boyfriend, Cash, stepping into the room. “Hey, Cash. How’s it going?”

Cash moved farther in and slapped Jonathon on the back before sitting down next to him. “It’s going great. What’s all this?”

“Just getting the nursery ready. Where’s Tess?” It was a little unusual for Cash to be there without his sister.

“She’s at work. I came by because I wanted to talk to you about something.” Jonathon didn’t like the sound of that. He hoped it was nothing bad. “I want to ask Tessa to marry me, and I would like your blessing.”

Oh, wow. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Really? That’s great, man. You have my blessing one hundred percent. Do you know when you’re going to do it?” He was so happy for his sister. Since Tessa moved in with him when she was eighteen, all Jonathon wanted was for her to meet someone and be happy.

“I’ve talked to her boss and he’s going to let me into the bookstore after they close. I’m going to have flowers and candles set up all around the romance section and ask her there. Do you think she’ll like it?”

“I think she’ll love it.”

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