Page 19 of Embraced at Seaside
A knock on her window made her jump. She cut the engine and smiled up at Bella, who was holding baby Summer on her hip and balancing a bowl of dry cereal in her hands. Summer had blond hair like her mama and big brown eyes. She reached her pudgy hands out to Jana as Jana stepped from the car, and as she took the sweet girl in her arms, all her worries melted away.
The power of babies seemed to have grown exponentially overnight.
“You’re right on time,” Bella said, pulling her into a gentle hug. “The guys just took off for a run, and Leanna brought her newest jam creation for us to try. Oh my gosh, you should see Sloan! He looks just like Leanna now. It’s amazing how much babies can change in a few weeks, and Dustin? A Jamie mini-me with Jessica’s eyes. Crazy cute, I’m telling you.”
Jana couldn’t get a word in edgewise, but she didn’t care. She was in heaven with Summer pulling on her hair and giggling as she tickled her pudgy belly. They walked across the quad, which is what they called the grassy area between the cottages where they had bonfires and cookouts.
It was a sunny, breezy morning. Crows cawed in the pitch pine trees, and their girlfriends’ chatting and giggling made Jana smile.
“Jana!” Leanna was the first to greet her. They hadn’t seen each other in weeks, and Leanna looked as happy as always. Her dark hair was tousled, and when she drew back from the hug, she slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my goodness. I got Strawberry Spice jam all over you. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m on it.” Jenna pulled Leanna away and began wiping down Jana’s shirt with a wet washcloth. “With babies around, I’m always prepared. I should have had a baby years ago. I could have saved lots of stains from Leanna’s hugs.”
“Thanks, Jenna, but it’s really okay.” Jana set Summer in her high chair and went around the table to kiss the others. “Hannah banana looks just like you, Amy.” She kissed Hannah’s cheek and Hannah held up a fistful of cut-up peaches. “No, thank you, sweet girl. You eat it.”
Hannah shoved the food in her mouth with a giggle.
“Oh my goodness, look at you.” Jana squeezed Jessica’s shoulder. “Can I hold Dustin? Please?”
“Absolutely.” Jessica lifted Dustin into Jana’s arms.
“He’s like a lump of doughy cuteness,” Jana said as she touched her nose to his cheek. “And he smells so…babyish.” She looked from Jessica to Dustin and back. “I hate to say this, Jess, but this baby is all Jamie, from his jet-black hair to that stubborn little chin. He has your eyes, but wow. I’m surprised you didn’t name him Jamie II.”
Jessica laughed. “Jamie is way too modest to ever do that. Besides, we wanted to honor his parents. Dustin Ray Reed. Thank goodness his mother’s name was Rachel.”
Jana kissed baby Bea’s head. “You guys must be in heaven. There’s so much baby love around this table I can barely stand it.”
“Here, sit down.” Jessica pulled out a chair for Jana. “You look so natural holding him.”
Jana rolled her eyes. “I can barely hold my own chaotic life together. The last thing I need is someone else relying on me.”
Bella poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of Jana; then Amy added cream and sugar.
“Thanks, you guys,” Jana said. “Hey, where’s Sky? She usually beats me here.”
“She called a few minutes ago. She said she and Sawyer were up late.” Jenna raised her brows in quick succession. “She’s not going to make it. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! Lizzie called her late last night from New York! Apparently she got this big offer to sell the rights to herNaked Bakerprogram. She and Blue left yesterday to meet with the network and sign the deal.” Blue and Lizzie were two of Sky’s closest friends. They’d started dating last summer. Lizzie owned the florist shop beside Sky’s tattoo shop in Provincetown, and she also put on a monetized webcast called theNaked Baker, where she disguised herself with a wig and dark glasses and baked wearing only an apron, high heels, and a flesh colored thong.
“That’s incredible,” Jessica said. “I actually love her show. I get all sorts of ideas and test them out on Jamie.”
“I bet you do.” Bella smirked. “Please don’t share the details. I’ve known Jamie since we were babies. The last thing I need is to think about you guys and whipped cream.”
Jessica laughed. “Icing, too. Lizzie brought a whole new level of enjoyment to baking. Here, Jana, let me feed Dustin and you can fill us in on your life. It’ll be nice to hear about someone else’s chaos for a change.” Jessica lifted Dustin out of Jana’s arms and kissed his cheek. Then she set him in the high chair beside her.
“Yes, do tell.” Leanna leaned forward. “You know I adore chaos!”
“You are the definition of chaos, Leanna,” Bella teased.
“And proud of it, thank you very much.” Leanna smiled at Jana. “Maybe we can help you calm yours, though?”
Jana looked around the table at their eager, empathetic faces. They always made it easy to air out her thoughts. “It’s nothing new. You guys know I love teaching dance, and you know my stupid boss has taken off to Plymouth and basically left me holding down the fort.”
“Yeah, the jerk,” Bella said. “I don’t know what makes him think he can treat you that way.”
“Because hecan,” Jana answered. “I’m tired of being so crazed all the time. I run from boxing, to dance, to Undercover whenever I help out Colton. I love everything I’m doing, but I wish I could figure out a way to manage it better. And I miss doing theatersomuch.” She hadn’t realized she felt so frazzled until the words left her mouth.
“So, you want help figuring out how to manage it?” Amy asked.
Jana shrugged. “Honestly? I’m not sure what I want. I miss theater, and until Marco left to open the other studio, I was able to manage my life just fine. But now…I don’t know. Maybe I need some kind of change.”
