Page 60 of Welcome to Pennycress Inn

‘Oh, watch out, he has a habit of—’ Richie covered his mouth and laughed. ‘Throwing up down your back. Sorry, Jackson. Too slow.’

‘Haha, better out than in, isn’t it, Lucas?’ Jackson smiled as he brought the baby back into his arms again.

‘Here, catch. Wipe him up, love.’ Jane threw Richie a cloth, who began wiping Jackson’s back.

Laura grinned. She couldn’t take her eyes off Jackson. He was so good with the kids. With his niece, Eden, with all of them. Maybe if their relationship continued to go from strength to strength, Harry wouldn’t have been her last chance to have children after all. Maybe…

‘What do you say, Laura?’ Richie’s voice rose.

‘Huh? Sorry, I was miles away.’ She shook her head, bringing herself back to reality.

‘Yes, we noticed. Getting all broody over Lucas, were you? I’m sure Jackson will share him.’ Grinning, Richie shook his head. ‘I was asking if you’d be Lucas’s godmother with Jackson.’

‘With Jackson?’ She widened her eyes. Had they guessed their secret? Was it really that obvious?

‘Yes, you as the godmother and Jackson as the godfather.’ Richie frowned.

‘Right, yes. Yes, I’d be honoured.’

‘Good, that’s settled then.’ Richie turned on the sofa. ‘Now, where’s Rob with those coffees?’

‘Dinner time. Nana said everyone’s got to come to the table now.’ Tammy skipped into the room, a fork in her hand.

‘Careful with that, Tammy.’ Standing up, Jane took the fork from her niece before following her through to the dining room.

‘Here, I’ll lay him down.’ Standing up, Richie held his arms out for baby Lucas before whispering, ‘No one breathe.’

Obediently holding her breath, Laura smiled as she watched her brother lay his son in a Moses basket set up by the bookcase.

Straightening his back, the baby successfully still asleep, Richie held his palm up first to Jackson and then to Laura to high-five quietly.

27

In the dining room, Laura sat down next to Jenny as Rob balanced a tray of mugs on the edge of the table and began passing them around.

‘Sorry, got a little distracted, but better late than never. Even if it does mean having a coffee with your roast.’

‘Thanks.’ Taking her mug, Laura sipped it before grimacing. He’d forgotten the sugar.

‘Oh yuck. Did you put sugar in this, Rob?’ Jenny pulled a face too.

‘Oops. Umm, sorry, that one’s Jenny’s and that one’s yours, Laura.’ Rob swapped the mugs over.

‘Thanks, much better.’ Laura grinned as she took another sip of coffee. Yep, this one was hers.

‘Here, Jackson. No need to be polite. Come and take a seat.’ Richie pointed to the empty chair next to Laura.

‘Thanks, mate.’ Sitting down, Jackson smiled at Laura before accepting his own mug from Rob.

As her parents brought in the serving dishes, Laura looked around the table. It felt like such a long time since all of them had managed to get together for one of her parents’ roasts. Ofcourse, with the exception of Jackson, it had actually only been a few weeks. The last one had been the week before she’d moved into Pennycress, but as she wasn’t seeing them every day now that she lived so far away, it felt like longer.

‘To Laura and her move to Pennycress Inn.’ Her dad stood up and held his coffee cup aloft, waiting until everyone else had copied him. ‘And to Jackson. Good to have you back with us.’

‘To Laura and Jackson.’ The chorus of voices filled the room and Laura stifled a laugh. If they only knew.

‘To Auntie Laura and Jackson.’ Tammy stood up from the small plastic children’s table her parents had set up next to the dining table to make room for everyone. ‘Can we eat now?’

‘Yes, yes. Dig in, everyone.’ Her mum laughed as Tammy plonked herself back down and picked up a roast potato.

---