With a sweet babble, Kayla rocked back and forth on her hands and knees a few times. Then she moved one hand forward, followed by the opposite knee.
JP straightened.
She did it again with the alternate limbs.
He held his breath.
She did it again.
“Holy shit!” he shouted, making Kayla startle and collapse onto her stomach.
“Did you see it?” He glanced up at Mickie and Keith, who were just coming up for air.
“See what?” his brother asked.
“She did it! She crawled!” Holy shit! She’d actually done it. For days she’d been doing that rocking back and forth thing without any forward progression. Once in a while, she’d tried to advance but always crashed. “Look, there she goes again!”
She was back up and moving forward. This time she made it a solid five feet before flopping.
“Oh, my God!” Mickie cheered and clapped while Keith said, “Damn, she’s motoring.”
JP scooped her up and lifted her into the air. Her smile and shriek of delight lit him up inside in a way he’d never experienced. When had he ever felt a warmth like this in his chest? It could only be pride. He’d created this beautiful baby girl, and now he had the privilege of watching her grow and learn to find her way through this world. Bizarre as it was, it also sent a joy like he’d never experienced rushing through him. Who knew he could take such pleasure in watching his daughter learn a new skill? He felt like she’d won a Nobel Prize.
When he hugged her close and smooched her loudly, he caught sight of Mickie wiping beneath her eyes. In such a short time, Kayla had become the heart of their entire family.
“Who is the bestest girl?” he asked as he kissed his daughter again, this time on the tip of her tiny nose as he held her up. She patted his cheeks with her hands and babbled away.
Wait until Hannah heard about this. She’d freak.
He froze.
There he went again, thinking of Hannah before anyone else.
What the hell was going on with him?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A CHILL NIGHT watching movies with a fun group of new acquaintances was exactly what Hannah needed to shake off the stress of the afternoon. She’d spent the day working with clients remotely, and one of the newer businesses she worked with had an archaic accounting system that took her hours to sort through. One pounding headache and three cups of coffee later, she’d been able to decipher their shorthand and sloppy records. Now they were set up with a cloud-based system they’d find much more efficient and organized.
She hoped.
Sometimes people who’d been running their businesses for decades refused to accept technological advances to their old-fashioned bookkeeping. Much as she hated to admit it, she understood the trepidation accompanying the new and unfamiliar. For her, it wasn’t technology, but stepping outside her tiny comfort zone when it came to social situations that took a boatload of effort.
Situations like inserting herself into a close-knit family she had no business messing with.
Ugh.
A few ibuprofen killed the headache, but her back ached from hunching over the computer all day, and she hadn’t fully relaxed. Hopefully a few drinks and laughs with new friends would dissolve the rest of her tension. As long as she could keep the guilt at bay.
The giddiness making her stomach flutter as she parked in the Benson sibling’s driveway had nothing to do with JP and everything to do with seeing Kayla.
It was eight p.m. Kayla was most likely sleeping.
What’s your next excuse?
“It’s just a stupid crush,” she mumbled as she stepped out of the car. “Nothing will come of it. Nothing can come of it.”
“You know, talking to yourself is one of the first signs of insanity.”
She glanced at the door to find Jagger standing with his arms folded across his chest and a smirk peeking through his dark beard.
“Does that mean I shouldn’t mention the unicorn I saw showering in my bathroom earlier?”
He threw his head back and laughed long and loud. Like the other Benson men she’d met, he was exceedingly handsome but also had a great personality. Hannah didn’t have many male friends, so hanging with a mixed group was a fun change.
“That was pretty good. You here for Ronnie?”
“Uh, no.” She faltered, almost stumbling over an invisible crack in the driveway. Had JP not mentioned he’d invited her? Oh, God, what if he’d forgotten, and she looked like a needy loser showing up where no one expected her?
“JP invited me to movie night earlier in the week.” He couldn’t have forgotten, could he? No. He’d texted her yesterday with the time and an adorable picture of Kayla with macaroni and cheese all over her face. He’d also asked if there was a way to keep the baby from becoming a disaster zone each time he fed her, and she’d reassured him it was inevitable. Actually, he’d texted numerous times over the past few days, typically with concerns about his parenting skills. She was certainly no expert but helped as much as she could. The way he automatically assumed he was doing everything wrong hurt her heart, and she always rushed to reassure him the chaos was normal.