Page 12 of Laying His Claim
“Not yet. Our little guy needs a bottle before bed or else he’ll never fall asleep. I’ll go get it.”
Justin hurried to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle, and hurried back, not wanting to miss a second of this bliss. By the time he’d returned, Jalissa was ensconced in the wooden rocking chair, holding the baby in the crook of one arm, and had an open Dr. Seuss book in the other hand;Oh, the Places You’ll Go!Justin liked to think it was one of Seb’s favorites.
Seb took the bottle gratefully, while Jalissa giggled in delight as the bubbles rose inside it, replacing the milk that was quickly going down into a very hungry tummy.
When the story was finished, they put the little sleepyhead down and stood side by side, watching him with admiration as his dark eyes closed.
He turned to Jalissa, and she was glowing.How beautiful she looks, he thought.Motherhood looks good on her.
Then she stifled a yawn, and he felt a pang of guilt. “You must be tired. I’ve kept you going too long.”
“Don’t be silly. I had a nap.” Then she yawned again.
“And you’re going to have another one.” He walked Jalissa to her bedroom door, and for a moment, they stood there, wavering. Eventually, he pointed down the hallway. “I’m down there, at the end, if you ever need anything.”
“Okay,” she said simply.
“Goodnight, Jalissa.”
“Night.”
He waited until she shut the door before turning and heading to his room.
* * *
It had been a great day, Justin thought. Just the fact that she had agreed to come home with him had made it so. As he showered, he reflected on the image of Jalissa holding Seb in her arms. It had been so perfect.
He was filled with hope. Maybe his plan would work and she would fall so deeply in love with her son that when her memory finally returned, and she realized what had happened before she’d had the accident, it wouldn’t matter.
Sliding naked between the sheets - he always slept in the nude - Justin tried to settle down for the night, but had a devil of a time doing so. All he could think about was Jalissa, just down the hall, in her own brand-new bed. He remembered that she, too, liked to sleep in the nude and wondered if she still had that habit, or if it was just one more element of her personality that had been swept away by her injuries.
He longed to touch her. For a few brief moments he entertained a fantasy of himself walking down the hallway to her room—still naked—and slipping into her bed. If he did, would she welcome him?
Stop that,he griped irritably to himself. She needs time, not just to recover from her injuries, but to adjust to the strange and life-changing circumstances she had woken up to. He promised himself he’d be patient.
Then the baby monitor next to his bed lit up like a Christmas tree, the LED lights glowing in response to Sebastian’s wails. He wasn’t a let-them-cry-it-out type of father; he believed that when your child wanted you, you went to him. Quickly, he tugged on a pair of sleep pants and walked briskly to the nursery, only to find Jalissa had beat him to it, even though her room had no monitor.
She was bent over Seb’s crib, gently patting him on the tummy, and already the cries were slowing. She glanced at him and whispered, “Hi.”
He enjoyed what he was seeing so much that he was momentarily unable to speak. Eventually he stepped closer and responded with a quiet, “Hey.”
Seb snuffled and went quiet, drifting off to dreamland.
“Great,” he said encouragingly, “but you need your rest, too. Go back to bed. I’ll stay with him awhile; make sure he’s sound asleep.”
“I’m good,” she said.
“No, really—”
“I said it’s fine, Justin,” she insisted with old-school-Jalissa firmness.
He knew better than to argue. Together, they stood over the crib, watching that small, beautiful human sleep.
Chapter 5
Jalissa stood at the bay windows in Seb’s nursery, looking dreamily out onto the expanse of lawn. With the neatly tended shrubbery and the quiet suburban roads just beyond the walls, she felt a tremendous sense of satisfaction and calm. It had been a good day. She’d slept in, waking to find that Justin had waited to have breakfast with her.
When he’d popped out on business for a few hours, he’d left Lorena to supervise Sebastian’s care. The woman had literally locked herself and the baby in the nursery. Curious, and a little offended, Jalissa had pressed her ear against the door to hear Lorena’s voice, reading from the same Dr. Seuss book as she had the night before.
