CH 44 - #flowingalong
#flowingalong
Madison
“Bella, I need to talk to you for a minute,” I said, looking at her in her playroom full of toys.
“Okay.”
I went over to her and got down on my knees. “Remember when I told you that Beau came from magic?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Luke was part of that magic. He helped me make your brother. That means he’s Beau’s daddy.”
Bella searched my eyes, the little wheels in her mind spinning. “I want Luke to be my daddy too.”
“He would be if he could, but he can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you came from magic between your daddy, Ty, and me.”
“He’s not my daddy.”
“Yes, he is. He just isn’t around anymore. Luke is coming over in a little bit to see Beau and you.”
Bella’s face lit up. “I love him.”
“I know you do. He loves you.”
Luke arrived at the ranch house right on time. I went to greet him with Beau on my hip and Bella beside us. The moment I opened the door, Luke smiled, his dimples matching Beau’s. Before either of us could say a word, Bella did by squealing, “Luke!” and hugging his waist.
“Hey, little angel! How are you?” he asked, patting her back.
“Good! I’m so happy to see you.”
“I’m happy to see you too.” He looked up at Beau and me. “How are you and that chunk of a boy doing?”
“We’re fine. Come on in.”
As I was closing the door behind him, Beau nearly twisted out of my arms, trying to keep an eye on Luke. When I turned back toward him, Beau reached out his arms for his daddy, smiling. Luke removed his cowboy hat, set it on the entry hall table, and took Beau from me.
“Hey, buddy,” he said, holding him on his broad chest.
Beau looked over his face and touched the scruff around his mouth. Luke watched him, his pride about having a son so apparent.
“Let’s go to the living room,” I said, nodding toward it.
The four of us headed to it, Luke still holding Beau, as well as Bella’s hand. I pointed at the pallet that I’d made on the floor beside the coffee table.
“If you want, stretch out on that with Beau. You can play with him and all those toys of his,” I told Luke.
“He’s got a bunch of them. Does he have a favorite?”
“The stuffed horse.”
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
“That just made my day.”
He squatted down with Beau and sat on the pallet, Bella next to them. Our little boy was only interested in playing with his daddy, though.
“Is he walking yet?” Luke asked.
“Almost.”
He looked back at Beau. “Let’s give it a try, buddy.”
I sat on the couch and videoed Luke as he continued working with Beau on walking. He stood him a couple of feet in front of him, holding him under his arms, slowly let go of him, then motioned for Beau to come to him.
“You can do it,” Luke said, smiling so big.
The first two tries, Beau took only one step and landed on his diapered bottom. His third try was a charm. He walked straight into his daddy’s arms, his daddy hugging him and chuckling.
“I just captured every bit of that,” I said to Luke.
“Please send me the video.”
“Absolutely.”
I had always thought my dad and Luke were alike. When he began crawling around on the floor, letting Bella ride on his back like he was a horse, I realized how much.
Just then, my mom, Meredith, and Tanner came into the living room and smiled at seeing Luke riding Bella around and randomly tapping Beau on the tip of his nose as he crawled in every direction that Luke went. After my family spoke to Luke, they went to the kitchen. It was lunchtime.
“Are you hungry?” I asked Luke.
“I could eat.”
“We have so much leftover food from my dad’s memorial. My mom was going to set it all out like a buffet. Does that work for you, or would you like me to cook something for you?”
“The leftovers are fine, Madison.”
We all sat at the dining room table, my mom at the head of it now, me to her right, Beau in his highchair between Luke and me, and Bella to his right, while Meredith and Tanner sat on the other side of the table.
I had wondered if the setting would be awkward for Luke, but it wasn’t.
He fit right in, eating with my family as he had done on another occasion when my dad was still alive.
While everyone ate, we also chatted, the mix of conversations coming easily.
The feeling in the air was light-hearted and wholesome.
Not once did I have to tend to Beau or Bella because Luke handled them both like he’d been their father the whole time.
It amazed me. I could tell by the looks on my mom’s, Meredith’s, and Tanner’s faces that they were also amazed by what they’d witnessed Luke do.
After lunch, he thanked my mom, then took Beau and Bella back to the living room while my mom, sister, Tanner, and I cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen. By the time we finished, Beau was getting cranky because it was his naptime.
“I’m going to nurse him, then lay him down,” I told Luke.
“May I come with you?”
“Sure.”
“I don’t know if you realize it or not, but the bedroom you’re staying in used to be mine.”
“I didn’t realize that. The coincidence.”
“Yep.”
I looked at Bella. “Sweetheart, would you like to watch a movie while I take care of your brother?”
“Yes.”
“Which one?”
“Toy Story.”
Once I got her set up, I took Beau to my bedroom with Luke. Like before, he got his knees and watched while I nursed Beau in my rocking chair.
“Does it hurt at all?” Luke asked.
“At first, it did because this boy’s suction is so strong. It didn’t take me long to get used to it, though.”
“Did you nurse Bella?”
“Yes, but she was gentle. Difference between a girl and a boy, I’ve learned.”
“How long are you planning to nurse Beau?”
“A few more months.”
“Will you give him cow’s milk after you do?”
I nodded. “It’s going to be interesting to see how he takes to it and a sippy cup.”
Luke moved a little closer and looked at Beau. He cut his eyes at his daddy, smiled, and reached for his hand. Luke held it while I continued nursing.
“How much does our boy weigh?”
“Twenty-eight pounds.”
“I believe it. He is so healthy because of you.”
“And you. He has your genetics mainly.”
“He’s going to challenge you when he gets older, then. I did my mom when I was a teenager.”
“Doesn’t scare me. I’m tough like my mom. Even if I wasn’t, you’ll be around.”
“Madison, thank you for being so open with me about Beau, for letting me be hands-on with him.”
I smiled. “It makes my heart happy seeing him with you, the same as seeing Bella with you. I think she’d live with you.”
“I would take her,” Luke chuckled, his eyes then turning serious. “You know, being around you and talking like this feels like it used to between us.”
“You and I never struggled with our conversations except for two—the one at Midnight Rodeo and in the barn. We let our emotions get the best of us and spewed our pain out of our mouths.”
Luke nodded. “I apologize for the hateful things I said to you.”
“I’m sorry too.”
I finished nursing Beau, but he was still wide awake.
“Would you like to rock this boy to sleep?” I asked Luke.
“I would love to.”
We switched positions, Beau comfortable as can be in his daddy’s strong arms. It wasn’t even five minutes later that he fell asleep.
Luke kept rocking him and looking at him with such adoration.
After half an hour, I suggested he put Beau in his baby bed.
He got up and went over to it, carefully laying down our beautiful son, then tiptoed back over to me, grinning.
“That was the best,” he said as I stood up.
“Like holding an angel.”
“Yep. How long will Beau sleep?”
“Another hour to an hour and a half.”
“Does he take only one nap a day?”
“No, two.”
“What made you choose his name?”
“I Googled country boy names and was immediately drawn to Beau. You like it, don’t you?”
“I love it. It suits him.”
“I think so too.”
“What’s his middle name?”
“My dad’s: Alexander.”
Luke’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“What is it?” I asked.
“That was my dad’s middle name too.”