Page 27 of Faith Notes
“CALM. DOWN. You want me to calm down? Are you insane?”
There’s a tug on my hand, and I look down to see Avery there. “Uncle Grayson, it’s not nice to call people names.”
My eye twitches. Brooks smiles. My patience is two seconds from flying out the window.
With a deep breath, I crouch down so I’m face to face with her. “You’re right, honey. It won’t happen again.”
“Great,” Brooks says, clapping his hands together. “Now that that’s settled, would anyone like to see what I’ve been up to for the past four hours?
“I would, Daddy,” Avery says, skipping over to where Brooks is. He scoops her up in his arms and tickles her sides. “Great, Bug. Let’s go before Uncle Grayson’s grumpy face gets worse.”
They sprint out the door, Avery still in his arms and her laughter floating back to us.
Stomping off, I follow after them with Emryn and Georgia on my heels.
I can hear Avery’s laugh downstairs now. As satisfying as it would be to stomp down the steps, I stop and wait for the two pregnant women behind me to catch up before I head down the stairs in front of them—just in case.
My annoyance follows me down the steps until I reach the bottom. Then I see what Avery and Brooks are standing in front of, and my mind goes blank.
“What—what is this?”
Brooks shrugs. “Looks like a crib.”
I glare at him. “I got that, Captain Obvious, but where did it come from?”
“I made it.”
Beside me, Georgia gasps, her hands coming up to rest over her mouth as tears fill her eyes.
“Brooks,” she chokes, walking closer and running her hand along the wood. “It’s beautiful.”
I can still smell the sawdust from the freshly cut wood as I try to swallow around the thick lump in my throat.
Brooks steps forward, a serious look on his face now. “I made one for our baby a couple of weeks ago. I figured this would make a good baby shower gift. So I made you guys one too. If you don’t like it, you can sell it. Don’t feel obligated to keep it.”
His hand reaches up, rubbing the back of his neck. There’s a vulnerability in the way his eyes dart from me to Georgia, and if anyone ever asks, I’ll deny the next thing I do.
Stepping forward, I wrap my arms around him and clap his back. “Thank you, Brooks. I couldn’t ask for a better brother.”
Chapter 11
Georgia
32 Weeks
Grayson’s finger taps a steady beat against the steering wheel as we drive.
It’s been doing that for the last ten minutes, and my eye has started to twitch along with the beat.
Today is our baby shower, and I know he’s nervous. So I’m trying to let him get those nerves out in whatever way he needs to, but I’m slowly losing my grip on my hormones. I might explode before we make it to our destination.
Since we got married, the town has been less harsh on him. They’ve started to get to know the man I love, but it doesn’t stop Grayson from feeling uncomfortable when he’s in the limelight.
He spent most of his life under constant scrutiny from the town—never feeling like he measured up—so I get why he still gets nervous when going out.
Grayson’s foot joins the tapping. And even though I understand why he gets nervous, I cannot take it anymore.
“Grayson,” I snap. “Stop it.”
