Page 52 of Sweeter Than Honey
When she opened her eyes, their breathing had normalized. Jett lay beside her with his hand over her abdomen. She realized she must have dozed off. He was staring intently at her belly, softness edging his expression. Tenderness. Awe.
The post-sex haze made her warm and languid as she ran her fingers through his hair and observed him. He didn’t seem to realize she was watching him. Suddenly looking at her, he smiled and kissed her softly on the lips.
“Can I show you something?” She pointed to her discarded pants. “In the side pocket of my leggings.”
He grabbed a small square of paper from the pocket and handed it to her. Cara swallowed hard. Maybe this wasn’t the best time… but maybe it was.
“You weren’t in the room with me when they did this scan. But, um, it’s a… a…” She unfolded the paper, keeping it turned toward herself, uncertain. Jett gently took her hand and turned it.
He went still. His brow furrowed as he plucked the paper from her fingers and brought it closer. He stared at it for a while. And then he looked at her and smiled. A genuine, gorgeous smile. Eyes glittering, he handed her back the ultrasound photo and reached for the note that had been taped to the front door.
He handed it to her.
Seems you might have a family to fill that pretty house of yours. You’d best keep it. I withdraw my offer to purchase. And, Jett, enjoy it.
~Jere Lighthouse
His expression was painfully hopeful when he looked at her. “What do you think about staying a little while longer at my Air BnB?”
She threw her arms around him. “Awww, Beard, you want me to stay? Fine, but only if you promise to make me some of those fancy little muffins, after all. And maybe a mint on my pillow every day.”
He pushed her gently back on the pillow and playfully rolled his eyes. “I’m regretting this already.”
Epilogue
Caraheldthesuncatcheragainst the kitchen window. The beads she’d smoothed and polished from the lightning-heated honey resin gleamed in the sunlight.
Two days had passed since Jett had saved her. She was feeling better and needed something to do with herself. She couldn’t focus on work, so she’d cleaned up around the house a little bit and found a half-completed suncatcher stuffed in a drawer in the kitchen cabinet. It looked like a child’s project that had been abandoned and long forgotten.
Cara had made a drawing of the suncatcher’s design and then carefully removed the plastic beads and cheap thread, and replaced them with ones made from the resin, finishing off the design with waxed string until she had a completed pattern on the wooden hoop.
It was the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
She imagined Jett’s daughter making this for him as a Father’s Day present or perhaps for his birthday. Cara added two stars made from the honey beads, one for Chloe and one for Frannie, and hung the completed suncatcher in the window.
Running her fingers over the threads, she held back tears. “Thank you for trusting me with him,” she whispered. “I promise to take care of him.”
The door opened and Jett rushed in. He was holding his cell phone over his head.
“Wait, wait Dax! Here she is.”
Just then, boots clomped up the porch and Desi and Fox appeared in the kitchen. They nearly smacked into Jett’s back, clamoring to see the phone.
“Hold the fuck on!” Jett barked. “Back up.” He shrugged the other men off and brought the phone down so Cara could see.
Her mouth dropped open. Allie was on Facetime with a tiny blue bundle in each arm.
“Boys,” she whispered tiredly. “So many boys in my house now.”
“Ooooh, who’s a good boy? Look at those good boys,” Desi gushed in baby talk, as if the infants could hear him.
Fox smacked him on the shoulder. “They’re not dogs, idiot.” His voice rose as he fell into automatic baby talk, too. “They’re just little babies. Yes, they are. They’re just so small.”
Dax’s face appeared on the screen. “You’re both idiots. Come to the hospital tonight so we can announce their names.”
The screen blipped and the connection fizzled out.
All three men stood to sudden attention at the sound of tires on the gravel drive.
