Chapter 4 #2
His heart melted any time Holden called him that, and for the millionth time, he wondered how anyone could expend their rage on a helpless child who was completely dependent upon them for everything.
He discarded Holden’s heavy overnight diaper and changed him out of his pajamas into tiny jeans and a red sweater.
He was so damned cute with his dark hair and eyes, the picture of his biological father, not that Owen and Laura cared who he looked like.
Owen was blessed to have Laura and Holden in his life, and he gave thanks for them every day.
At times like this, when his emotions were stirred by memories he’d sooner forget than relive, he was extra thankful for Laura and the baby, who reminded him of how far he’d come from where he’d started out in life.
He brought Holden into the kitchen and put him into his high chair with some dry cereal. They had the same routine every morning, and Owen loved it. He took the morning shift with the baby so Laura could sleep in. As her pregnancy progressed, she couldn’t seem to get enough sleep.
A soft knock on the door preceded his mother ducking her head into the apartment.
“Come in,” Owen said, smiling as she came in the door with her fiancé, Charlie, trailing behind her. They were nearly inseparable these days, and Owen couldn’t be happier for them.
“Morning.” Sarah went past her son to kiss her grandson’s forehead.
Holden squealed with happiness at the sight of two of his favorite people.
“I see where I rate around here,” Owen said, amused by his mother’s focus on the baby.
“Grandchildren always bump children.” Sarah leaned in to kiss Owen’s cheek. “You should know that by now.”
“Wait till the twins come,” Charlie said. “You’ll be lucky if she says hello to you.”
Owen laughed, because he knew that was true.
His mother was almost as excited about the new babies as he and Laura were.
She was excited about everything now that his father’s trial was behind them, and he was finally exactly where he belonged.
Which was why Owen was so tormented over his father’s latest cruel volley.
His mother and Charlie wanted to be married but were content to live together forever if his father refused to let her go.
After everything they’d both been through before they found each other, they should have everything they wanted, and Owen hated being the one thing standing between them and a happy future.
Intellectually, he knew it was his father standing between them, not him, but he could fix that.
If only he could bring himself to accept a call from the person he least wished to speak to.
“We’re on our way to Uncle Shane and Aunt Katie’s for breakfast,” Sarah said to Holden. “You want to come with us?”
At the words Uncle Shane, Holden began kicking his feet and trying to break out of the high chair.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Sarah said, laughing. “Is it okay with you?”
“Sure,” Owen said. “He loves his time with Shane.” Laura’s brother was happily engaged to Owen’s sister, Katie, and living a few doors down the street from them. Having his sister nearby and seeing her settled with Shane was another thing to love about his life on Gansett Island.
Sarah expertly removed Holden from the high chair, got him cleaned up and into his hat and coat. “We’ll be back in a little while.”
“Take your time. We’re not doing anything today.”
“Maybe we’ll come back at naptime, then,” Sarah said with a smile that lit up her eyes.
“Just let me know,” Owen said.
“We will.”
“Give Dada a kiss,” Sarah said.
Holden came stumbling across the room on legs that wobbled under him. He and Laura called him the “drunken sailor” since he’d begun walking a week ago—at only ten months old. Owen bent to receive a wet, sloppy kiss from the little guy. “Be good for Gram and Gramps.”
“Dadadadada.”
“Let’s go see Uncle Shane and Auntie Katie,” Sarah said as she picked up Holden.
Owen saw them out and then went to look in on Laura, who was still sound asleep.
He stretched out on the bed next to her, staring up at the ceiling and filled with anxiety as he waited for the phone to ring again.
He’d been there about thirty minutes when Laura turned over, cuddling up to him as best she could with the huge baby bump between them.
March couldn’t come soon enough for either of them.
Her hand landed on his chest, which helped to calm and settle him.
The calming effect she had on him was one of the things he loved best about being married to her.
“You gonna tell me what’s wrong?” she asked in a sleepy, sexy-sounding voice.
“Nothing’s wrong. Holden’s with my mom and Charlie, so I’m taking advantage of a lazy morning with my wife.”
“I’m not talking about right now. I mean in general over the last few days. You’re brooding over something.”
They’d been living together for more than a year, but the way she paid attention still took him by surprise.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’m right here if you need me.”
He covered the hand she’d put on his chest. “I know.”
“And despite the two linebackers you’ve graced me with, I’m pregnant, not fragile.”
“I definitely know that. You’re Superwoman.”
“Talk to me, O. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
Because he hated having distance of any kind between them, he pulled the folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“Read it.”
He watched as her eyes skimmed over the single sentence and widened with shock. “Oh my God! Is he for real?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Has he called?”
“Twice so far. I haven’t accepted the call. Yet.”
“Owen, your mother would not want you to do this for her. She and Charlie are perfectly content the way they are.”
“How can I live with being the reason they aren’t able to get married?”
“You are not the reason.”
“You know what I mean.”
“He wants you upset and riddled with anxiety waiting for the phone to ring. You’re not going to give him the satisfaction.”
“I’m tired of running in fear from him. What if I take the call, see what he wants and buy my mother’s freedom in the process?”
“What if he says something that sets you back twenty years? Have you thought of that?”
“He doesn’t have that kind of power over me anymore.”
“Doesn’t he?”
Owen sighed deeply, filled with feelings of defeat that he’d thought were in the past. “I hate that he does. I hate it more than anything.”
“I know, honey, and that’s why I don’t want you to talk to him. You’ve been so unburdened since the trial ended. I can’t bear to see you go back to how you felt before it.”
“And I can’t bear the idea of my mom not being able to move forward with Charlie because of me.”
“Owen…”
“I know it’s not technically because of me, but I can do something about it.”
After a long pause, Laura pushed herself up to one elbow to look down at him. “What if I take the call? His note doesn’t say it has to be you.”
“No way. Not happening.”
“Why not? He’s nothing to me. He can’t hurt me.”
“You don’t know him. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“Sure, I do. I was here when your mother arrived on the island after he beat the hell out of her. I’ve witnessed the wounds you carry with you. Don’t tell me I don’t know what he’s capable of. I do know, and I’m not intimidated by the idea of taking a phone call from him.”
“I can’t let you do this. It’s just… I can’t.”
“Would you do it for me? If the shoe were on the other foot?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. I’ll take the call. I’ll see what he wants, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Laura…”
“I’ll take the call, Owen.”
“Okay,” he said, hating the relief he felt at knowing he didn’t have to talk to his father. What kind of man did it make him that he was letting his pregnant wife do his dirty work for him?
“There,” she said with a big victorious smile, “was that so hard?”
He couldn’t help but return the smile. “You’re such a hellcat when you want to be.”
“Why thank you. I may be a hellcat, but I’m also a wife who loves her husband too much to let anyone hurt him ever again.”
“I love you, too, babe. I want you to promise that if he says anything offensive, you’ll hang up immediately.”
“I will. I promise. Now help me out of this bed so I can pee and brush my teeth and then fool around with my husband while our son is otherwise occupied.”
“I do love your agenda, Mrs. Lawry.”
“I do love you, Mr. Lawry.”