Page 82 of Rebuilding Friendship Inn

Aaron had given Paul the next two weeks off, barring any emergencies that might come to the cove, and both Laurel and Paul had been praying there wouldn’t be any.

Eloise, Julia, Maddy, and Tessa had given her a coupon book for free baby-holding, even in the middle of the night, and Eloise had cried honest-to-goodness tears when she’d given her the booklet and said, “I would literally sell my soul to sit and hold your baby. Please, please call me when you need a nap.” She’d pulled away and said, “Or I’ll just come over in the afternoon and take him and force you to lie down.”

Laurel had only been able to nod then too. Two or three years ago, she couldn’t even imagine the life she had now. The friends who’d come into her life. The care for her—for her—they exhibited. She couldn’t fathom it, and her relationship with Paul was the same.

“Any time,” he said. “Just bring the baby in to show us.” He gave her a warm smile and looked past her to Paul. He stepped that way, and Laurel ducked her head and wiped her tears. She was looking forward to not having so many raging hormones in her body. Then maybe she wouldn’t tear up at the mere thought of everything, from leaving her job, to her friends, to Paul stopping to buy her a cheeseburger on the way home from work.

They left, got the cheeseburgers, and headed home. Laurel thought she might feel different, but she wasn’t sure how she should feel.

“Well,” she said to Paul. He looked up from his French fries. “I’m unemployed now.”

He gave her a smile and covered her hand. “Hon, you’re going to be so busy. Being a mom is a full-time job.”

She nodded, and she let Paul take care of her that night. The baby wasn’t born overnight, nor did he come the next day. She and Paul finally stopped sitting around the house, waiting for her to go into labor, and decided to go to dinner.

Laurel felt absolutely huge as she pulled a shapeless dress over her head. The only things she could wear were big rectangles of fabric, and she hated how it bumped slightly over her breasts, and then swelled to epic proportions over her belly.

“I hate leaving the house,” she said to Paul as he came out of the closet, a fresh polo covering his torso now. “Everyone is going to ask when I’m due or make some comment about how uncomfortable I look.”

He smiled at her and said, “I can run in somewhere and we’ll take it to the beach.”

Hoped filled Laurel’s heart. “Would you?”

“I’ve already got the chairs in the back of the car.” He pulled her close to his side, and she looked at the two of them in the mirror as he planted a kiss against her temple.

His impish grin appeared and he whispered, “My word, Laurel, you looksouncomfortable. When are you due again?”

He shoved him away from her as he laughed, and he barely moved. He came right back to her side, his happiness contagious.

“I love you,” he said next, and Laurel couldn’t stop herself from smiling at that. She’d never tire of him saying it, of feeling it move through her, of letting their love dictate her life.

The moment paused, and then life rushed on. Paul stepped away from her, and Laurel reached for his hand at the same time he extended his toward her. They left the house together, and in the car, Laurel buckled her seatbelt around her baby for hopefully the last time.

Paul closed her door, and she put both hands on her enormous belly. “You have to come soon,” she said to the baby. “Today would be ideal. Tonight. Heck, right now.”

The baby squirmed inside her, and she smiled as she looked over to Paul. “I told him he has to come, and he’s kicking me.”

He chuckled, and Laurel kept her hands on her belly as the baby caused a band of tension to form across the top of it.

Paul drove them toward Mort’s, and Laurel shifted as the tightness in her body flowed down over her belly. It rippled almost, and since she’d never been in labor before, she had no idea if this was a normal part of it or not.

In talking to Robin, AJ, Kelli, and Alice, she’d learned quickly that there was no “normal.” There was her water breaking, and then she’d know she was in labor for sure and she should get to the hospital. Otherwise, labor pains could start in her back like Alice’s had, or be sharp sensations through her midsection like Robin’s. AJ’s water had broken without any labor pains at all, and Kelli said she’d been in labor for four days before she thought it was bad enough to go to the hospital. Even then, her delivery with Parker had taken twenty hours.

She groaned as the discomfort continued, and Paul looked over to her. “Laurel?”

“It’s just tight,” she said.

He said nothing to question her further, and he pulled up to Mort’s. “Crab cake sandwich?”

She gave him a smile. “Yes, please. Extra tartar sauce and ketchup.” She liked to mix them together to make a sauce for the sandwich, and she dipped her fries in it too.

“You got it, my wife.” Paul got out of the car, left it running so Laurel would be comfortable, and headed inside. Now that the busy tourist season was over, they’d have no problem getting dinner and finding a spot on the beach.

Laurel leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Her mind automatically started reviewing what she needed to do tomorrow, and then she remembered she didn’t have a job.

Relief and a sense of peace moved through her, and the barest of smiles touched her lips. In that moment, her belly tightened again, this time much faster. Painfully fast.

She gasped, her eyes flying open. She gripped her belly now, both hands pressing into the firmness of her body. Pressure built between her legs, and Laurel couldn’t stay in the car.

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