Page 90 of Can We Try?

She’s come back to herself since her talk with my mother. I texted Mom and thanked her, but she’s got a big-ass hug coming from me the next time I see her.

After taking the elevator up to the fifth floor, we don’t stop at the nurses' desk. Maggie seems to know exactly where she’s going. We stop outside a room, and she knocks softly, but it’s Forrest’s gruff, “Come in,” that has us pushing inside.

“Oh my goodness,” Maggie says, smiling at Briar, who is sitting up in bed, holding Willow. “How are you feeling?” She leans down and gives Briar a hug as best as she can with her belly in the way.

“Perfect.” Briar smiles down at her newborn baby girl. “Want to hold her?”

“Can I?” Maggie asks.

“Of course you can,” Forrest answers. “You’re her aunt Maggie.” He meets my eyes, and I give him a subtle nod to thank him. The guys know the struggle she’s been having since Doris passed.

Maggie glances at me with tears in her eyes. “You better take her before I do,” I warn her. Maggie’s mouth drops open, and she hurries to bend down and take Willow into her arms.

“Hey, sweet girl, I’m your Aunt Maggie.” She looks up again, and she’s lost her battle with her tears. “She’s perfect,” she says, wiping at her eyes with her free hand.

Briar and Forrest tell us how the twins had to sit in a chair and hold her at the same time because they are both the best big sisters, according to the twins, but we all happen to agree with them.

I get my turn at holding baby Willow, and my excitement for our son to be here is off the charts. I can’t wait to meet our little man. I snuggle the sweet baby while catching up with our friends. My eyes glance at the clock a little while later, and I know our time is up. “We should get going,” I tell Maggie. “We’re heading over to Grandma Doris’s place to start packing up,” I explain.

“I wish I could be there to help you,” Briar tells Maggie.

Maggie’s smile is soft. “Thank you, but you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Get some rest and enjoy that new baby girl.” Maggie leans over and hugs her.

“We’ll stop by to see you when you get home,” I tell them. With a wave, we are out the door and headed to start packing up the life of a woman who will forever live in our hearts.

“I don’t know where to even start,” Maggie says as we step into the house.

“We start slow. Take your time going through it all and keep anything you want. We’re not going to get this done in a day. We’ll do this a little at a time.” I don’t know if she’s truly ready for this, and I worry about her and the baby, especially if she gets really upset again. However, I also know she needs to do this, and I’ll be damn sure I’m here for her through it all.

“Maybe let’s start in the living room? That should be the easiest, and I want to donate all of her furniture.”

“That sounds good. I’ll grab some boxes out of the truck.”

“You have boxes?” she asks.

“Yeah, I’ve been keeping them from the supply deliveries at the shop. I knew we would need them eventually.”

“You’re one of a kind, Lachlan Noble.”

“Right back at ya, fiancée.” I wink, and head outside to my truck to grab the boxes. As I’m unloading them out of the bed of my truck, I hear a car pull in. Looking over, I see Roman, Legend, and Maddox climbing out of Roman’s truck.

“What are you all doing here?”

“We all had a slow day, so we decided to let the guest artists handle things.” I know they’re lying. I saw the schedule last night before I left.

“How did you know?”

“I talked to Forrest,” Roman answers. “We’re here for you, for both of you, but we want Maggie to know she’s not alone.”

Not going to lie, my best friends get me choked up. “Thanks,” I say, nodding.

“Forrest wanted to be here, but he’s with Briar.”

“He’s where he should be. Really, you all didn’t have to cancel clients.”

“It was nothing,” Legend tells me. “We each had someone cancel, so we just moved our afternoons to our next day off. We told them we had a family emergency.”

“Appreciate it,” I tell them. They each grab an armful of boxes as we make our way inside the house. “Mags, we’ve got company,” I call out.

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