Page 3 of A Little Luck

“I want him to havemylast name.”

Sally hesitates, looking from her to me, and my mother’s lips purse. Before we can answer, my best friends Britt and Cass rush into the room followed closely by Britt’s mother Gwen.

“Piper! Oh, my gosh, we got here as fast as we could.” Britt makes a beeline to my bedside with Cass right behind her.

Gwen goes to stand beside my mother, and I don’t miss the two of them exchanging concerned looks.

“Mom insisted on driving as slow as molasses in January,” Britt complains.

“I drove the speed limit,” Gwen speaks over her daughter.

“We missed the whole thing.”

“Ohh… But he’s so adorable!” Cass coos, leaning down to trace her finger over my son’s dark hair. “Sweet baby Ryan. You’re the most precious little boy in the whole world, and we’re just going to spoil you rotten!”

Cass is talking baby talk, and Britt is at my side. I can relax.

Shifting to the side, I allow my best friend to take my son, who’s finished nursing and is now looking at all of us with round eyes.

“You’re exhausted.” Britt smooths her hand over my forehead. “Just sleep. We’re not going anywhere.”

Nodding, my eyes are so heavy, and a wave of gratitude hits me. I blink back tears, holding her hand to my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Oh, honey.” Britt leans her forehead against the top of my head. “We’ll always be here.”

My chin bobs up and down, and she hands me a tissue.

Sleep is a heavy weight, and I guess I’ve been holding on for them to arrive. “I’m just going to rest a few minutes.”

“Okay,” my friend laughs softly. “You do that.”

When I open my eyes again, the room is dark and quiet—except for the nonstop beeping of the monitors. Ryan is asleep in a clear plastic bin at my bedside, and as I blink slowly, I see he’s wrapped tight like a little burrito. Standing beside his crib is a man whose presence warms me to my soul.

Adam Stone.

He’s dressed casually in a navy tee and loose, faded jeans. A dark blue ball cap is turned backwards over his longish, light-brown hair. Short sleeves reveal tanned, muscular arms, and I know from so many summers spent in bathing suits at the beach, his legs are equally muscular.

His body is perfect.

Naughty blue eyes now brim with affection, and a smile curls his full lips as he traces a finger over Ryan’s dark head.

“Beautiful boy.” His voice is low and rich. “You look just like her.”

My breath hitches, and my eyes close. He’s here. He came for me.

We’ve been close since we were tweens—we were all close friends, but as we got older, as we all started thinking about love and sex, it was his best friend Rex Barlow who asked me out and wanted more.

At the time, I wasn’t sure. I liked them both, but when Rex made the first move, Adam pulled away. We were only ever friends after that, and as Rex’s perfect mask fell away and I learned who my boyfriend really was, the shame set in and the walls around my heart began to grow taller.

Tonight, in this dim-lit room with everything changed, I hold my breath and wish…

I wish for a different life—one without secrets and where I have no fear. Where shame and broken trust don’t haunt me. Where I’m not a prisoner of the past, and when I reach for him, he pulls me close. He promises to keep me safe and never let me go.

My baby stretches, turning his little head to the side and opening his mouth in that funny, birdlike way that means he’s hungry.

Adam’s smile loosens, and he shoves his hair behind his ears. The ends are touched with caramel from long days spent on a surfboard. He lives on a surfboard, carefree and open.

Only, since Rex died nine months ago, I’ve watched him slowly grow less carefree and more careless. A silent gulf stretched between us, and the more pregnant I became, the further he withdrew into drinking or drugs.

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