Shelter Me(61)

“She is sound asleep,” I say.

“Good, baby.”

Taking his hand and lifting my chin, he places a small kiss on my forehead.

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you too. I always will,” I say, looking into his eyes.



************



The alarm buzzes and I feel Luke reaching to shut it off. After silencing it, he pulls me closer to him. God it feels so good to be in his arms again and to have our bodies pressed so close to each other in a tangled mess when we sleep. I slept so comfortably in his embrace.

“Morning, baby,” I mumble.

“It is a good morning. Knowing I have you by my side and our daughter down the hall…that has to have been the best night’s sleep I have had in years. But unfortunately, I have to get my ass up and get ready for work.”

Luke kisses the top of my head as we both climb out of bed. While he heads to the shower, I go down the hall to take a peek in on Lucy, who is still sleeping. Back in my room, I turn on the shower and strip from my clothes. I am standing under the spray washing myself up when Lucy calls to me from outside the bathroom door.

“Mommy, I’m hungry!”

“Good morning, sweetheart. I will be out in a few minutes and I will make you some breakfast. Why don’t you go back into your room and pick out something to wear today and I will come and get you?”

“Okay, Mommy,” she says cheerfully.

I finish my shower and towel off, then apply my lotion and brush my teeth and hair as quickly as possible. I grab a t-shirt and my shorts from last night and head to Lucy’s room. Before I even get to her door, I hear her sweet little giggles coming from Luke’s room. I look inside his room and see her sitting on his lap trying to help him with his tie. I stand there for a few moments just taking them both in as she tries to twist and turn his tie as if she is tying his shoes.

“Hey, you two,” I say as I enter the room. Both of them stop and look up at me.

“Hi, Mommy! I am doing Daddy’s tie but he keeps tickling me so I can’t get it.”

“I see that, but why don’t you let Daddy finish getting ready for work and come with me to brush your teeth and make breakfast so he can go to work?”

“Okay, Mommy.”

She hops off of his lap and takes off running out of the room. Luke steps over to the mirror and starts working his tie. Coming up behind him, I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head on his back.

“Do you have court today?” I ask interestedly.

“Not today. Just a few meetings, but I do need to get going here shortly or I will be late.”

“Oh. I thought we could all have breakfast together before you leave,” I say as I take a step back and release my arms from around him. Turning around, he reaches for me and pulls me into him.

“I would love that, but I really need to get into the office and catch up on a few things before these meetings,” he says with regret. “I’ll be home around five though, and we can take Lucy out for a swim after dinner.”

“That sounds great,” I say, just a little disappointed.

I go into Lucy’s room where she is getting her shoes, as Luke heads downstairs.

“Let’s go say bye to Daddy and make some breakfast. We have a big day today.”

“What are we going to do, Mommy?”

“I will tell you everything while we are eating, okay?”

Making our way downstairs and into the kitchen, we find Luke pouring coffee into a travel mug. He bends down and gives Lucy a kiss on the cheek telling her to have a good day, and then gives me a small kiss at the corner of my mouth. Saying goodbye, he turns around and Lucy and I watch him walk out the door.





Chapter Twenty



After making Lucy a breakfast of a slice of toast, a banana, and a glass of juice, I pour a cup of coffee and make a bagel for myself and sit down by Lucy to tell her about our plans for the day. Deciding that it would be a wonderful idea to ask Camillia to join us, I get up and grab my phone from the counter and give her a call. She is more than thrilled to be included.

When we finish eating, we make our way to the living room where I turn on the television for Lucy to watch while I go upstairs and grab my purse. Making my way back down the stairs, I take a seat next to Lucy and dial Erin’s number to tell her I will be moving here.

“Shayne, are you all right?” she asks when she picks up.

“Um, yeah. Why?” I ask, laughing.

“Well shit, you haven’t called me in a few days so I started to worry about you.”

“Erin, I am fine. More than fine, actually. I have so much to tell you, but first, how are you?”

“Good, except both Sierra and I miss you two like crazy. When are you coming back home?”