Page 21 of Unlikely Souls

“Can you come with me?”

Her soft, strangled voice broke at the question, and I was shocked she was asking for something. But I would deny her nothing.

“Anything you need, babe, I am there.”

“Thank you, Gyth,” she whispered.

I never thought there’d be a woman I’d do anything for, but Summer proved that thinking wrong.

She also had me palming my damn self like some fifteen-year-old boy because I couldn’t just have her like I wanted to. But after what I’d learned in the hall about her not seeing a naked man, I was pretty sure that meant Summer also hadn’t been with any man intimately.

How is that even possible?

I couldn’t help but be flabbergasted at that tidbit of information, but I had found myself beyond happy at the notion. Because to be her first, God I had never wanted something so badly in my entire life.

And to be her last.

Chapter Ten

Summer

“Oh my gosh,I can’t believe how much stuff a baby needs,” I said to the girls.

It was finally Saturday and our day out to celebrate and go hog wild buying baby stuff for Jurnee and Braxton’s little man, who was just a couple of months away from making his big debut. They already had the nursery painted and the big furniture in there, but now we were all out doing the rest.

It was a quaint baby shower outing with me, Alley, Jurnee’s mom, her friend Gemma, and little Embry. Damn that five-year-old was cute, and she looked like she may put us all to shame shopping, trying to buy her baby brother everything under the sun.

Jurnee was glowing and it brought tears to my eyes to see her so freaking happy. She was in her cute maternity jeans, and a maroon sweater, showcasing her adorable baby bump. We’d also made her wear a pin that said, ‘Baby on Board’ and a sash that read, ‘Mommy in Training’.

We needed to have a little fun since we were not throwing a huge shower, but this was what Jurnee wanted so it was exactly what she got. Although, once we got back to her house there would be a small surprise she didn’t know about.

We’d had lunch at a cute cafe, and then we had started hitting the baby stores. Jurnee had her trusted list made of everything she needed to grab, but we were all piling stuff in our arms, and carts to buy them too. It was a little crazy, but then my heart melted time and time again listening to Embry talk.

As I stood next to Jurnee, Embry had approached in a full-out sprint, squealing, arms filled with a stuffed teddy bear bigger than she was. How she hadn’t toppled over headfirst was beyond me.

“Mommy, I found a present for my baby!” she exclaimed in the cutest sing-song voice.

My baby… Oh my God, the cuteness just kept on coming. Hearing her call it her baby, had everyone dissolving in laughter around us, and all our hearts a pile of goo.

“I think it’s absolutely perfect, baby girl, he will love it,” Jurnee told Embry, hugging her tight. Then there wasn’t a dry eye around us when Embry kissed her momma’s belly and whispered to her brother inside, a tradition that Braxton had started at their wedding and one that Embry picked up on and did all the time.

Full of happiness for my amazing friend and her perfect family, I sighed thinking about the journey they had been on and the happy ending they had received. Then for a moment, tears pooled in my eyes. Not only at that thought, but also the fact that this was and always had been exactly what I had dreamed of as a little girl.

It wasn’t the first time recently that I also thought it was highly unlikely to happen, but I couldn’t give up hope that someday it still would.

No time to wallow, we have shopping to do.

I squared my shoulders and put on my happy face. I was wearing out, and not feeling a hundred percent, but today on the outside that’s what people would see.

Or maybe not.

“Hey girl, want to talk about how you're feeling because you can’t pull one over on me?” Jurnee asked as she laid her hand on my arm and looked at me with her sympathetic, big, brown eyes, that would have me confessing everything under the sun.

It's easy to see how she caught Braxton with just one glance.

It had been important to me today, to not let one thing get in the way of her day, so I felt myself panicking a bit. My other girl must have caught on because she saved the day.

“Hey, you two,” Alley called out, approaching us. She looked at Jurnee. “You have to come take a look at what your little angel found now.”

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