Page 90 of Love is a Drum Beat
Dax helped Jo into the chair, Ali on her lap. He hiked the small black duffel onto his shoulder and pushed Jo out into the hall.
Drew was already gone, back to his tour, but Jo waited for Noah and Ben to appear. Other than Melanie, she’d had no visitors today.
When the doors slid open, a cacophony of sound filtered into the lobby. Dax pulled her back, letting the doors close.
He pushed a hand through his hair. “I parked in the south lot across the road. I need to get the car.”
A few security guards rushed by them and out the doors. Jo watched them try to corral the paparazzi and push them off hospital grounds. Dax bent down, pressing a kiss to her lips. “I’ll go get the car. Are you okay here?”
Jo nodded, not wanting to admit the anxiety rolling through her. She’d chosen this life of cameras, but Ali hadn’t.
“I’ll protect you from them.” She smiled as she took in the lobby surrounding her. A few people gawked, but they had the decency to let her be.
By the time Dax drove his car around, hospital security managed to disperse some of the media. Jo watched Dax hop from the car with an athletic grace she’d never noticed in him before.
He raced inside and helped Jo stand.
Jo turned Ali so they couldn’t see her face unless they were close. Dax took her hand, his skin warm on hers. Jo knew the headlines coming her way. She knew she’d been linked to five men in the last month—including Nolan. And none of those men were the true father.
And yet, she smiled. She smiled as she climbed into Dax’s car, noticing he’d already installed a car seat with a little mirror so they could see Ali’s face in the rearview mirror.
She smiled as they buckled Ali in and then driving away, eventually pulling onto the highway rather than take the familiar roads to her lonely apartment. An apartment she’d return to soon. She couldn’t image raising Ali in such a small space. Maybe she’d have to move.
But those decisions were for the future.
She reached for Dax’s hand, holding on to her lifeline, but this time, he wasn’t giving her strength. She didn’t need courage.
What she took from him was joy, love, peace.
When they pulled down Dax’s long driveway, she shouldn’t have been surprised to see familiar cars.
Jumping from the car, she reached in to unbuckle Ali. “Come on, baby alien. You have a family to meet.”
She followed Dax into the house. As soon as the door shut behind them, they were assaulted by some of the best people they knew. Dax’s mom was first. Jo dreamed of having a mom when she was young, and she imagined that pretend mom would have been a lot like Dax’s. The doctor surprised her with a hug.
Noah practically ran across the living room. “Where is she? Where’s my girl?”
She prepared for a Noah crushing hug, but he only had eyes for Ali.
“Come to Papa Noah.”
Jo laughed and relinquished her hold on Ali.
Noah walked back toward the kitchen. “StellBell, come see your sister. I think she’s grown since you were at the hospital.” In less than a day?
Melanie watched him with a grin on her face. “He’s been telling Stella she was going to have a sibling the entire time we were in London.” She turned to Jo. “How are you?”
Jo shared a smile with Dax. “I’m good, Mel. Like actually good. Is this real life?”
“Oh, honey.” She pulled Jo into a hug. “I’m happy for you.”
“Yes!” Ben shot up from the couch. “Noah, I figured it out.”
Dax joined them, staring at his TV as a phone rang. When the ringing stopped, Drew appeared on the screen.
Dax stared at him. “You figured out how to call him using my TV for the video?”
Ben nodded, pride on his face.
