Page 15 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach (Rosewood Beach #9)

Hazel nodded as she listened to her sister.

“Yeah, that’s a great way of putting it, Alexis.

I mean, my marriage had a lot of issues, so that was a tough adjustment period that never got better.

But we all know that Cooper treats you well, so things are going to get easier and easier, even with this baby on the way.

Just take things one day at a time. When Jacob and I started dating, it took a lot of adjustments, especially since Samantha is part of the picture.

I was worried she would feel neglected by me, since we’ve always been like best friends but now I have a partner.

But we talked about it and we figured it out.

Change is a lot to deal with, and sometimes you might miss the way things were before and that’s okay.

You’ll see soon that adding more loved ones to your life always makes it better. ”

“That’s so true,” Alexis said. “It’s definitely not easy being a mother, but having Cash has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

He’s stressful at times, and it’s hard to have a little person around all the time who needs your care constantly, but you get used to it after a while.

And along with that responsibility comes so much joy.

I love this little man so much, and I know you’re going to feel that way about your baby. ”

“I do already,” Julia said, still crying but nodding in agreement.

“It feels like such an honor to be expecting. And I already love Macey like that. I think you’re both right—I just need to give it some time, and soon, I’ll get used to all this.

” She smiled through her tears. “And Macey will be so cute with a baby sibling. She’s so excited about being a big sister. ”

“I can’t wait to see that,” Alexis said with a chuckle. “It’s going to be adorable.”

“Me either.” Hazel smiled at Julia. “And don’t forget, you’re going to have our support. You’ve got both of us and Mom on your team, and we’re always going to be around to help you if you need anything.”

“Thanks, guys.” Julia wiped away her final tears and laughed breathlessly. “I’m just feeling emotional. Thank you for helping me talk it out.”

All three women kept talking for a while as they sipped their tea and munched on the delicious peanut butter cookies. Hazel felt peaceful and content, and extremely excited about all of the fantastic things that were happening in her own life and also in the lives of her sisters.

Eventually, she reminded herself that she needed to get a move on with her day, so she said goodbye to her sisters and went back out into the winter air. She felt warm and comfortable after the tea and the cookies, and she didn’t mind the way the wind nipped at her cheeks.

She drove to her and Jacob’s new home, and grinned when she saw that Jacob’s car was parked in the driveway.

She knew Jacob had picked Samantha up from school since he’d been asked to visit her classroom and explain some basic information about how electric appliances worked as part of their science class.

She guessed that both of her favorite people in the world were in her new house at the moment, and she couldn’t wait until that became the reality she came home to every day.

She parked her car behind Jacob’s and hurried into the house.

She scampered through the downstairs looking for Jacob and Samantha, her footsteps echoing in the nearly-empty rooms. She smiled as she heard voices upstairs and she climbed the staircase.

Once she reached the top of the stairs, she paused and watched the scene in front of her with a glow in her heart.

Jacob and Samantha were in the master bedroom, both of them dressed in painting clothes. Jacob was crouched down on the floor, showing Samantha how to apply the primer to the wall before painting.

“There will be a lot of times in life when you’ll want to just get something over with quickly, and you’ll think, ‘I don’t really need to do my best on this, I can just do a good enough job on it,’” Jacob said, smiling fondly at Samantha as he spoke.

“But in almost every situation, you want to do your best. It’s what’s going to make the best life for yourself and the people around you, and it will teach you how to work hard and really apply yourself. Everything is more fun when you care.”

“I care,” Samantha said, grinning. “Is that why I think this is so much fun?”

Jacob laughed. “Maybe. I’m a little worried you’re going to start wielding a paintbrush like it’s a bubble wand, though.”

Samantha placed her hand on her heart, pretending to be aghast. “I would never.”

Hazel thought about the conversation she’d had earlier with her sisters.

There were definitely times when it was tough to raise a child, but she’d learned to figure it out over the years.

Things had been especially hard for her when she’d first gotten pregnant, since her husband Simon had been self-centered and somewhat controlling, which had made her feel helpless and alone, even within a partnership.

Their marriage had soon ended in divorce, and she’d raised Samantha by herself.

Now, however, everything had worked out so beautifully.

With Jacob, she felt safe and supported, and as though she had someone in her life who always had her back and her best interests at heart.

She knew that Jacob loved Samantha almost as much as she did, and she trusted him to be a wonderful father to her little girl.

After all, hadn’t he just been giving her splendid advice?

She felt so proud of him and of the kind, considerate heart he had.

She felt incredibly grateful for the fact that he loved not only her, but also her daughter.

“Hey, Mom!” Samantha turned in Hazel’s direction and noticed her standing in the doorway. She sashayed forward to hug her. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“I just got here,” Hazel said, hugging her daughter back tightly and rocking her back and forth a little. “I wanted to watch the two of you for a second. Sounded like Jacob was giving you some great advice.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty smart.” Samantha winked at Jacob. “But luckily for both of you, I already know how to work hard. Let’s get this whole room primed and painted tonight. The person to cover the most amount of wall space gets free ice cream.”

Hazel and Jacob laughed. “How about we all get ice cream whether we finish the room or not?” Hazel suggested.

“Mom, we need a reward for our labor,” Samantha said, shaking her head. “It helps with motivation.”

“She’s a smart kid,” Jacob said, jerking his thumb toward Samantha. “I love the idea of ice cream as a reward for painting tonight. I think getting it all done might be a bit ambitious—we want to make sure we’re doing a careful job.”

Samantha shook her head. “You two need to have more faith in the ability of our team,” she said. “We’ve absolutely got this.”

Hazel turned to Jacob with a grin and shrugged. “I guess we’ve got this. I’ll run downstairs and put on my painting clothes and then let’s go to town on this room.”

“Whoo!” Samantha cried. “I’m going to go so much faster than you two.”

“But carefully.” Jacob chuckled.

“Hey, we put plastic and painter’s tape down,” Samantha protested.

“Carefully,” Hazel reiterated.

Samantha sighed dramatically. “Okay. Carefully it is. But I’m still going to beat you.”

Laughing, Hazel went downstairs, excited about spending a productive, quality evening with her partner and daughter.