Show of Honor: A Juniper Ridge Holiday Novella (Juniper Ridge Romantic Comedies Book 4) by Tawna Fenske

Author:Tawna Fenske [Fenske, Tawna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-11-11T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 8

CONFESSIONAL 917.5

Laslo, Jessica (non-profit consultant & volunteer)

I always wonder if there’s a point where you stop hearing echoes of exes in your head. Silly stuff like how he’d clip his fingernails in bed, or hurtful stuff like how he thinks you’re a lousy partner. [frowns] I mean, yeah. I guess some people have great exes they marry. We’re not all lucky like Lauren. Some of us are happy to slam the door on exes and toss the key so we stop hearing those damn echoes.

It’s my first time leaving Joy with someone not related to me, and I’m on edge. Joe must sense it because he reaches for my hand beneath the red sleigh blanket. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I bite my lip as our sleigh clears a bump and the horse whinnies. “Did I remember wipes in the diaper bag?”

“Yep.” He squeezes my hand. “I watched you do it. And I watched you plug Soph’s number into your phone so she can text you if anything’s wrong. Which it won’t be, since Mari’s watching the whole time.”

I’m grateful he’s offering facts instead of platitudes. That he understands why it’s a big deal to leave my three-month-old with a teenager, even if the teenager did complete a First Aid babysitter course under the watchful eye of her psychologist stepmom. Patti and Colleen had other plans, so it was the middle Judson sister who stepped up to watch Joy tonight.

“We’ve got this.” Mari put a hand on her stepdaughter’s shoulder as I hesitated at the door. “It’s a good test run.”

“Test r—Oh.” I flicked a glance at Soph, not wanting to spoil a surprise.

Mari caught my conjecture and smiled. “I’m not pregnant.” She ruffled Soph’s hair and shrugged. “Not yet, anyway.”

“They’re trying.” Soph faked a gag. “Which I don’t want to know anything about because that’s my dad, but it’s cool if I get a baby sister.”

Joe squeezes my hand again, a pleasant pulse pulling me back to the present. “Mari’s great,” he says. “Griffin, too. One of those classic opposites attract situations.”

“You think?” I wonder if that’s how he sees us. Joe and me, if we were a couple. We’re not, obviously, but—

“Mom told me how they got together,” he says. “His ex-wife was her patient a long time ago, but she couldn’t tell him because of privacy laws.”

“I’m glad they got through it.” I think about how happy they are together. How I envy their connection. “Can you even imagine how cute their baby will be?”

“Not half as cute as our baby.” The horse snorts like he’s amused, and my heart flutters.

Our baby.

“No one’s cuter than Joy.” I steal a glance at Joe and feel my belly flip again. The intensity in his dark-ringed eyes rockets goose bumps up my arms. He probably thinks I’m having a seizure. “But a kid with Griffin’s bright blue eyes and Mari’s brains would be adorable.”

Joe pulls the blanket tighter around us. “Mari’s got great eyes, too,” he says. “And Griff’s no slouch in the brains department.

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