Page 39 of Finding Hope

She suddenly felt shy, and he gave her a small smile. “I’ll let you get back to work. What time is your mom bringing Henry home?”

Meanwhile, Josie was with Tessa, planning the wedding. Shannon loved that she included her in all of the wedding plans. Tessa, being the sweetheart she was, had even included Shannon. It was awesome getting to know her better. The girl loved to read and had turned her on to several awesome authors she hadn’t heard of before.

After the Christmas season was over, Tessa, Shannon, and Tessa’s best friend, Betsy, were going to start a book club and Tessa would provide the books. Shannon had even convinced her sister and Kasey to join to.

“I’m going to call her on my way home.” He gave her another kiss before moving back to his stool, where he continued talking to Hunter.

A couple of hours later, Shannon headed home. The wind whipped the cool air around her as she climbed out of her car. Jonathon and Josie weren’t home yet, but he usually stayed to visit with his sister and future brother-in-law. She went inside and was just taking her shoes off when her mom walked in with Henry in his carrier, and he sounded upset.

“Someone is very hungry and didn’t want Grandma to feed him.”

Shannon grabbed the carrier from her mom and set it down on the coffee table. Pulling the blanket back, she revealed her very angry little boy.

“Well, hey, mister. Why’re you so grumpy? Grammy is getting your bottle.” Her mom came back into the living room and handed Shannon the bottle. Henry attacked the nipple with vigor. Shannon’s mom sat down on the sofa next to her. “I hope he didn’t give you too much trouble,” Shannon added.

Her mom reached out to stroke the baby’s cheek. “He was fine. I think he can sense when it’s time to come home, because he gets fussy as soon as you call or text me. How’s Josie doing? This weekend, if you have time, your Dad wants you to bring her in for lunch.” Shannon was so happy that her parents and Josie got along so well.

“She’s doing great. Therapy and her journal writing are really helping her. I keep waiting for her to turn on me, but she’s just such a loving kid.” Working in a bar, Shannon had heard people complain about step-kids or the kids of someone they were dating—hell, they even complained about their own children. Most of them acted as if they couldn’t stand being around their own kids. Shannon felt lucky that she had such a close relationship with Josie.

“I heard about your little display behind the bar tonight. How romantic.” Her mom wore a goofy smile on her face. She was still Jonathon’s biggest cheerleader. Shannon figured that it was her mom who got everyone to lighten up on him after everything happened. It certainly didn’t hurt that he was an amazing father, and while Shannon had been unconscious, he stepped in to be an advocate for Henry.

“He loves me, Mom.”

She reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Shannon’s ear. “Of course he does. You’re very easy to love.” A few minutes later, her mother left.

After Henry’s bath time, Shannon put his jammies on him and laid him down. It was only eight, so she tidied up the house. Standing in the living room, she beamed at her own personal touches around the space. Hanging on the walls were pictures of her family mixed with photographs of Jonathon’s. There were also pictures of Alex, and yes, sometimes it was hard to see them there, but they had a life together that had been cut too short and it was important to keep her memory alive. She couldn’t fault him and Josie for needing that connection.

Shannon’s phone pinged and she grabbed it off of the table. It was a text message from Tessa.

Tessa: Have you seen the picture my brother posted on social media?

She had an account, but she hadn’t been on it in a long time.

Shannon: No, why?

A couple of minutes later, Shannon’s phone pinged again and she opened it to find the link to Jonathon’s page. What would she find? It took a second to open and when it did, Shannon’s body warmed as well as her heart. It was from the week before, when Henry had been running a fever. Shannon was asleep in his lap with Henry asleep on her chest, but it wasn’t the picture that did it, it was the caption. Her vision clouded and she hugged her phone to her chest like a big nerd, but she didn’t care.

When she pulled her phone away, she sent a quick text to Tessa.

Shannon: Thank you for telling me. I’m a little giddy right now. :-)

A moment later Tessa texted her back.

Tessa: Yay! Have I mentioned that I’m so glad you’re with my brother? You make him so happy and that makes me happy. They should be home soon. :-)

***

Shannon was reading on her Kindle while curled up in bed. It was a story that Tessa had recommended and honestly Shannon couldn’t believe that sweet, quiet Tessa read such naughty books. A couple of times, she knew she was blushing while she read a few scenes. It was a series about big, bad bikers. She just loved that the men were always whorish until they met their lady, and then it was uber-alpha time.

Jonathon and Josie got up a little while ago and Josie was already asleep. Jonathon was in the shower. She knew that she was probably staring at him like a lovesick fool when he got home, but who could blame her? The man she loved with all her heart shared something special on social media that included her and their son. Shannon didn’t bring it up, but come to think of it, they weren’t even friends on the site.

The hero of the book was beginning to seduce the heroine when the shower shut off. The scene she was reading was turning her on. Hell, she was so engrossed in her story that she didn’t know Jonathon was out of the bathroom until he scared the crap out of her when he climbed into bed. She placed her hand over her heart.

“Sorry, baby. Did I scare you?” He flashed her that smile that made her stomach flutter.

“Yes, you big jerk. I was really into my story.”

He looked down at her Kindle and reached out, snagging it from her. She tried to get it back from him, but his long arms were no match for her short ones.

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