Page 32 of Hope After Loss

Me? What did I do?

“You’re welcome, but for what?” I ask.

She sits Kaela on the blanket and stands. Then, she takes three steps until she is in front of me.

“For allowing me to bring her to work with me. If she were with a sitter, I would have missed it,” she says before wrapping her arms around my waist and hugging me.

I pull her in closer until her head rests on my chest. I kiss the top of her head and whisper, “I’m glad you got to see it.”

She lets me hold her for a few minutes while she silently weeps. Kaela crawls over and grabs my pant leg and pulls up. Anna releases me and laughs as she looks down at her daughter, who has wormed her way between us.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to baby-proof this place. Now that she’s got a taste of freedom, she’ll be zipping around here like a race car,” I state.

Kaela cackles as she falls to her diapered bottom. Anna moves to begin clearing her lunch when Kaela lets go of me and reaches for the hem of Anna’s skirt. She takes three gigantic steps before latching on.

“That’s it, Baby Duck,” I encourage.

Anna raises an eyebrow.

“That’s what she looks like, following you. A baby duck waddling after its momma,” I explain as I scoop her up. “You’re my little Baby Duck. Aren’t you?”

Kaela plops her head against my chest, and I hug her to me.

“See, she likes it,” I insist.

I kiss the top of her head and when I look up Anna is watching the two of us with an expression I can’t read.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she chokes out, “that’s sweet.”

She pulls herself together.

I set Kaela back on the floor, and she takes off crawling across the carpet toward my open office door.

“I’ll bring the play fence. We’ll trap her,” Anna says as she chases after her.

When she catches her, she swings her up onto her hip.

“No, no. We don’t go in Weston’s space,” she chides.

Kaela instantly bursts into huge crocodile tears and reaches out for me.

Oh, my heart.

I march over and pluck her from Anna.

“Hey,” Anna snaps.

I walk around her and into my office.

“Don’t listen to her. You can come to see me anytime you want,” I mutter to the baby.

Taking a seat behind my desk, I sit her on my knee and start bouncing her as she cackles. Anna crosses her arms over her chest and leans her hip against the doorframe.

“Weston is a pushover,” she says to Kaela.

“I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty face,” I say to Kaela as she tugs the cup holding a variety of pens and pencils over and they scatter across the surface.