Page 89 of Harvest Moon (Riverbend 3)

He took a week of paternity leave, then went right back to his daily grind.

If there’d been any worry in Laurel’s heart that she’d take after her own mother in the parenting department, that notion quickly faded. She couldn’t get enough of her son. Couldn’t possibly kiss him, cuddle him, and stare at him enough.

Jesse’s early months passed too quickly. Laurel went back to work after maternity leave. It wasn’t easy leaving her baby, but the small home day care was clean and safe, and the middle-aged woman who ran it was kind and nurturing.

Laurel adored the newborn stage, and she finally had somethingwonderful to fill those lonely evening and weekend hours. So she powered through. She still felt abandoned, but not enough to cause trouble. Every now and then she complained to Mallory, but she suspected her friend had tired of her grumbling.

One night, after a long day at work—she’d been promoted to manager—and a grueling evening with a teething baby, Laurel carefully laid Jesse in his crib. It was her third attempt to put him down for the night. The poor guy’s gums were inflamed with two new teeth. She was just easing away from the crib when the front door slammed.

Jesse stirred in the crib and let out a wail.

Her blood pressure shot up ten notches. “Seriously?” she called down the hall before she returned to the crib to pick up Jesse.

Gavin appeared in the darkened doorway. “What’s wrong?”

“You woke him up,” she said over the wailing, suddenly aware that she was still wearing her work clothes since she hadn’t been able to shower.

“Sorry...” Surprise was embedded in his tone. He dropped a kiss on the squalling child’s forehead. “Want me to take him?”

“No, he’s teething.” These days he wanted only her when he was upset. Who could blame him? His dad was rarely home. She swept past Gavin and went back to the living room where she could at least watch TV while she bounced her poor baby.

Gavin followed her, passing their new leather sectional and heading into the kitchen. “Bad day?”

She pressed her lips together. Jesse had been teething for two weeks. Hadn’t her husband even noticed?

“Are there any leftovers? I’m starving.”

Laurel stormed toward the kitchen. “Are you kidding me? I’ve been bouncing our child on my hip since I got home.”

He straightened from the fridge.

“You might know that if you were everhere. But you’re not here. You’re at work.All the time.If it’s dark out you’re doing paperwork, and you never even make it home before nine anymore. Why should I cook for someone who’s not even here? Huh? So you can come home and heat up leftovers before you fall into bed?”

The light spilled over his lax facial muscles, his gaping mouth.

A long beat passed. Her heart thudded in her chest like a jackhammer. What had she done? But it was too late to back down now. And besides, she was just getting started.

“Where is this coming from?” he asked finally.

Her muscles quivered. “It came from months of being alone, Gavin! I didn’t get married to feel soalone. You put a ring on my finger and then you just... you just abandoned me.” The words ripped right from her heart. Everything she’d been feeling, months of being ignored, her deepest fear, encapsulated in that one simple phrase.

And it left her vulnerable. Terrified.

“Babe...” He closed the fridge door and approached her. “You know I’m doing this for us, don’t you? You wanted out of this apartment. We’re saving for a house where we can spread out a little. Where you can start a garden—that’s what you wanted. All these hours get me one step closer to that promotion.”

Her spine lengthened even as her stomach sank to the floor. Hadn’t he heard what she’d just said? She neededhim, not a house.

He reached out to her.

She flinched away.

His brows creased. “Laurel...”

She’d finally gotten up the courage to confront him. Okay, maybe the words had gushed out like a geyser. But she’d held outher vulnerable heart in her hands—and he didn’t seem to care. He only made excuses.

Adrenaline pulsed through her body. “I’m going to rock him to sleep.” The words came out like gravel. She turned and headed toward the nursery before the sting behind her eyes materialized as tears.

Chapter33

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