Page 27 of Finding Hope

Tessa didn’t stay much longer after that. Shannon went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and poured herself a glass of milk. She yawned as she made her way back out into the living room and sat down in the corner of the sofa. Pulling her legs up and tucking them beneath her, she got comfortable and watched Josie talk to Henry, who was stretched out on a blanket on the floor on his little playmate so he could have his tummy time, which Shannon had learned would strengthen his neck. Henry stared at his big sister like she was the coolest thing in the world.

Jonathon was outside talking to his sister. Shannon wanted to ask him about the sleeping arrangements. She wasn’t sure if he wanted her to sleep in his room again or if she should sleep in Henry’s room. How was she supposed to even ask? What if he thought she wanted sex? Okay, well, she did want sex, but she didn’t know what the state of their relationship was. When Jonathon came back in, he gave her that panty-melting smile of his and sat down right next to her on the sofa. They both watched as Josie talked to Henry and kept getting his little toy for tummy time to play music and light up.

“Sleep in my bed again tonight? I want you to get one more good night’s sleep. By tomorrow, his baby monitor should be here, so that will help.” She felt him twirl her hair around his fingers and wanted nothing more than to lean into him, but what if he rebuffed her? She wouldn’t be able to handle his rejection right now.

When it was time for Josie to go to bed, Shannon followed her into her room. “Have you thought about what you want to be for Halloween? What do you think we should dress up Henry as?”

“Um, I want to be a rock star! Henry should be a puppy dog.”

“They both sound like great ideas. Maybe this weekend you and I could go shopping for both of your outfits. Does that sound good?” Shannon felt bad that lately she hadn’t spent a lot of time with Josie due to exhaustion and stress from Henry’s early arrival. It was weird to think that technically she should’ve been ready to give birth to him anytime now.

“Can we go to your bar too? I want a burger and fries,” Josie said as she climbed into bed. Shannon pulled up her covers and sat down by her hip.

“Of course. Maybe we can see if my sister, Mary, and my best friend, Kasey, can come too. Sleep well, sweetheart.” She bent down, kissing her forehead.

Jonathon was leaning against the doorjamb with Henry in his arms. Even in just flannel pants and a t-shirt, he looked so sexy. His hair was longer and disheveled looking, but it looked really good on him. Shannon’s fingers itched to run through his hair and see if it still felt as soft as she remembered. Her gaze slid over Jonathon’s features and tingles ran up and down her spine. His brown eyes were milk chocolate pools, so easy to get lost in, his cheeks and chin covered in light stubble that she recalled felt so good to touch.

What am I doing?

“H-Here, I’ll take him.”

He smirked down at her like he knew exactly what she was thinking. She took Henry and then headed back to his bedroom.

***

Shannon snuggled into the warm hard body…wait, warm hard body?

She slowly rolled over and came face to face with a sleeping Jonathon. His arm tightened around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She couldn’t miss the rock hard erection poking her in the stomach. Warmth spread between her legs as he rocked against her. Not even thinking, she leaned forward and kissed his stubbled chin. With a shaky hand, she reached out and stroked his cheek.

He’d been such a big help over the past week. She finally felt human and had put on a little bit of weight. Her skin looked bright and healthy, instead of the pale color it had been before. He was right. They were a team and working together was what was best for Henry. How was she supposed to tell him that she still loved him, that she wanted a future with him and Josie? Maybe it was too late. So many things had happened over the last few months and he had shown no hint of wanting something more than co-parenting.

Shannon knew how he felt before her accident, but what if he didn’t feel that way anymore? Sure, he was hard, but that was a natural reaction for men when they woke up.

All of a sudden, Jonathon rolled her until he was nestled between her thighs and his lips were on hers. God, she missed the feel of him, the taste. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he ground his hips at the apex of her thighs. He pulled back and swiped his thumb across her lower lip. His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

“Henry,” he mouthed. Shannon pulled her lower lip between her teeth and nodded.

He was up and out of bed in one swift move. She watched his ass as he stepped out of the room, then took that time to use the bathroom. Putting in her processor, she stepped out of the en suite to find him sitting on the bed with Henry in his arms. “He’s all changed. I’ll go get his bottle.”

After handing over the baby, he reached out to stroke her cheek gently. She began to lean into his touch, but then he pulled away. She tried to hide the hurt from her features, and whether she succeeded or not, she didn’t know, but he didn’t act any differently before leaving the room.

She lifted Henry and kissed his little nose and smiled as he blinked up at her with his brown eyes. She stroked his cheek and grinned like a fool when he grabbed onto her finger, his grip strong.

“Are you Mommy’s big boy? Yes, you are.” She sang and Henry squeaked at her. “Oh, yeah? Tell Mommy all about it.” His little chin began to wobble. “Daddy’s coming with your bottle.” Just then, Jonathon walked in and handed her the bottle. “Thanks.”

“Is today when you’re going shopping?” he asked.

“Yeah, I was planning on taking Josie to go shopping for her and Henry’s Halloween costumes. Can you keep Henry with you or do you have plans?”

“Henry and I can relax and watch some college football today. You girls have fun doing your shopping.” He reached out and stroked her cheek. “Thank you for taking her today. She loves spending time with you.”

“I love spending time with her too.”

***

Shannon walked along with Mary and Kasey as they all watched Josie look through baby costumes. They were having a great day, or at least it started that way. After getting Josie up, they had a quick breakfast before they showered and got ready to go. On the way to Mary’s, it hit Shannon that she really hadn’t driven since she got out of the hospital. Jonathon pretty much drove everywhere.

Her sister’s place was across town. It was the cutest little condo. Mary had the biggest crush on her hot neighbor but refused to act on it because she was super shy, especially around the opposite sex, which Shannon could never understand because her sister was beautiful, sweet, and so smart.

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