Page 105 of Summer Nights

"I love you too, Cooper. You know what I need before I do."

She held onto my hand all the way home, only going lax when she drifted off to sleep. Between Clint and me, she wouldn't have to ever doubt that she was loved and supported.

Epilogue

Ivy

I was exhausted yet unbelievably happy. When the nurse placed my baby boy in my arms, I hadn’t known I was capable of feeling so much love. It was like my heart expanded to encompass my family, Cooper, and now Henry.

Cooper was next to me for everything. He held our baby skin to skin in the hospital, murmuring things to him while I drifted off. He was there in the middle of the night to change the baby and help me to get him to latch onto my nipple. And then when I was done feeding him, he’d swaddle him and put him in the bassinet.

For the first few weeks, Cooper had taken leave from work to be with me the entire time. I was recovering from pregnancy and childbirth and learning how to take care of a baby. Both of us were figuring it out together.

When he scheduled time to go back to work, we talked about it together as a team, discussing what would make the most sense for us.

He’d scheduled his mother and my friends to stop by every day to watch Henry so that I could shower and take a nap. I was grateful for any help I could get, and everyone wanted to hold him. I was positive I could do it myself, but I didn’t have to.

We had so many people supporting us, and it meant more love for our baby.

Today was the party that Joy insisted on throwing to welcome Henry into the world. All our friends and family were invited to Joy and Jonathan’s house. Even Rae and Duncan were in the pool.

I’d told Mom that Dad was in my life again, and she said I was an idiot for letting him in after how he’d left me. All I said was that we both knew that wasn’t true, and she didn’t say anything more. She’d lied to me, and I wouldn’t let her continue to disparage my father.

I hadn’t officially confronted her about it, and I’m not sure I ever would. I was too focused on moving forward and being happy to delve into the past. And I wasn’t ready to invite her to something like this yet. Not when my dad would be meeting Henry for the first time.

“You know your dad is going to love Henry. How could he not?” Cooper asked on the drive over to his parents’.

“It’s weird that my father’s going to meet my son. He’s going to be part of our lives now, when he wasn’t before,” I said, still not able to wrap my mind around this new development. It almost felt too good to be true.

Cooper glanced over at me. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

My eyes filled with tears. “Yes.”

“Then why are you crying?” he asked gently.

I was more emotional than I’d ever been, and I could blame it on the hormones, but I think it was because I was feeling everything for the first time. I wasn’t lying to myself or telling myself a story. I was finally letting people in, and it was easier than blocking everyone out.

Cooper reached over to hold my hand “We’re by your side.”

“I know, and I’m so grateful for that. This little guy will have so many people to love him.”

“You know that’s because of you, right? Everyone loves you and, by extension, Henry.”

“I’m starting to see that.” I understood a lot of things I hadn’t before. My world had expanded to include so many people. I no longer saw my friends as acquaintances or Cooper’s family as his. It felt amazing to be part of a community that supported each other.

By the time we arrived at his parents’ house, the cars were lined down the street.

Cooper helped me out of my SUV and took the baby in the heavy car seat. Then he held my hand as we headed inside.

In the kitchen, there was a blue sign that said Welcome Baby Henry above a table of blue-and-white cupcakes. People milled about in the living room and kitchen and spilled outside onto the deck and lower patio.

Cooper took Henry out of the baby carrier and allowed everyone to ooh and aah over him. Eventually, he let others hold him, but Joy was the one who took him the longest. She was ecstatic to have another grandbaby to spoil. She didn’t get to see Marshall’s daughter, Hayden, or Oakley and Dalton’s baby girl, Lilliana, very often.

My father wasn’t here yet, and I tried not to let that bother me. It was hard not to fall into old patterns of believing he wouldn’t show up for me.

I was eating a plate of food outside, Joy holding Henry on the chair next to me, when Clint came outside on the patio. He scanned the room and smiled as soon as he saw me.

When he approached, he said, “Don’t get up. I’ll come to you.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “How are you feeling?”

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