His eyes move back and forth between mine, looking for any hidden melancholy. While I do still feel sad and wish we were pregnant, the answer I gave him was the truth. I do feel better.
“Are you sure?”
I give him a smile to ease his worry. “Yeah, I’m sure. As much as I wish it otherwise, I know we’ll get pregnant when it’s time.”
“That’s good. If recruiting your mom didn’t work, I was going to have to break out the old guitar and have the kids help me serenade you. You know what happened the last time I did that.”
I laugh at the memory. We were seventeen. I had a pet rabbit named Mr. T because he was dark brown with a golden ring around his neck. My parents got him for me for my seventh birthday. Each morning before school I let him roam around my room when I fed and watered him. He was always so happy to see me, jumping around my feet and rubbing against me as he waited for attention. One morning, I woke up and he didn’t come out of his hut, and I knew right away something was wrong. Mom said he died from natural causes because he was so old. I didn’t care the reasons why. I just wanted my little buddy back. I was sad for days after that. One evening, while I was lying in bed, a blast of music came from my window. When I went to see what it was, I found Lincoln outside my window with his guitar. I broke down in tears when he started singing “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan. By the time he was done, I was laughing.
“I remember,” I reply softly.
His eyes twinkle. “I’m surprised your ears weren’t bleeding after it was over.”
I laugh. “You weren’t that bad.” Of course, he wasn’t that good either. His guitar skills were great, but his singing definitely wasn’t. It was his attempt at trying to make me feel better that made it so special. “That was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen.”
“Anything to make my girl smile again.”
My heart melts into a puddle of goo.
After pecking the tip of my nose, he looks around the hallway. “Where are the kids?”
“They’re due home any minute.”
“I thought you were supposed to pick them up?”
I frown and purse my lips. “No. We made plans for them to be dropped off around three.”
Lincoln looks at me strangely, like I’ve lost my mind. “Uh, Molly. You spoke with Lindsay yesterday. I overheard you tell her you would pick them up around three.”
“Wait. What?” I ask, having no clue what he’s talking about. “The kids aren’t with my sister. Gray’s at Dylan’s and Gemma’s with Sophia.”
“Baby,” he says slowly. “That was last week. Your sister picked the kids up yesterday to take them to the movies, remember? She and Joe were taking Aubree and figured Gray and Gemma would like to go too. You spoke with her yesterday evening on the phone after they got back. Lindsay asked if they could spend the night. You made plans to pick them up today.”
I wrack my brain for this conversation he says I had. It takes me a moment for the vague recollection to come to mind. It’s there, but it’s so distant that it feels like an old memory. Like it’s something that happened weeks ago instead of less than twenty-four hours.
“Wow,” I state, a little discombobulated. “I have no idea how I could have forgotten.”
“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”
My brows knit. “I know. I don’t know what’s going on.” I think back to a couple of days ago when I was on the phone with Mom and she mentioned throwing Lindsay a surprise birthday party. Normally, I’m really good with remembering important dates, but it took me several moments to remember when Lindsay’s birthday was. The notion of not remembering had me so stunned Mom had to call my name three times to get my attention.
Lincoln’s arms tighten around my waist, bringing me back to the present. “I’m sure it’s from all the stress lately.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “I’m sure that’s it.” I release a deep breath and let the confused feelings go. “I’m gonna go call Lindsay and let her know I’m on the way to pick up the kids.”
He dips down for a kiss. “Why don’t you stay here, and I go get the kids? Relax for a bit. You look tired.”
“I didn’t sleep well last night. I couldn’t get comfortable, and my legs were restless.”
“Maybe you should make an appointment with Dr. Becker.”
I nod. “I’ll give the office a call tomorrow.”
Lincoln regards me for a moment. “Are you sure there’s nothing else going on?”
I slide my fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck. “Nope. Everything’s fine. Like you said, I think it’s just the stress of everything. The kids being out of school, going to the lake house, hiring and training a new vet, you taking on this commission, deciding to have another baby—there’s been a lot of changes recently.”
“Maybe you and I need to take a vacation on our own.”
“That sounds heavenly,” I sigh.
“After this commission is over, we’ll do it. In the meantime, think about where you want to go.” He gives me a long, lingering kiss before stepping back. “Grab that small box, and I’ll grab the others.”
Picking up the smaller of the three boxes, I bring it to the family room while Lincoln follows with the others. After he leaves, I call my sister to apologize for being late and to let her know Lincoln is on the way. Once I have dinner started, I go back to the family room and open one of the boxes. I’m amazed at how well the notebooks are preserved, especially the ones from the nineteenth century.
I take a seat in one of the chairs and open the first notebook I pull from the box.
Chapter Four
LINCOLN
“Come here and give your Gammy a kiss.”
Molly and I laugh as Nancy, Molly’s mom, squeezes Gemma’s cheeks and plants a kiss against her lips. Gemma squeals and wraps her arms around her grandmother’s neck. When Nancy lets go and looks to Gray, he drags his long, lanky legs over to her.
“Get used to it, Gray,” I warn him with a chuckle. “No matter how old you get, you’ll never be too old to get lovin’ from the females in this family.”
His expression is comical when Nancy cups one of his cheeks and smashes his other cheek against her lips.
“Nancy, let the boy go. You act like you didn’t see them a few days ago,” Douglas tells his wife as he walks up behind her.
Nancy lets Gray go, but not before saying, “Ignore your grandfather. Your dad is right. No matter what age you are, you’re never too old to get kisses and hugs from your grandmother.”
To prove her point, Nancy’s eyes dance with humor when she lifts them to me. Reaching over Gray’s head, she grabs my cheeks and pulls my head forward, laying a loud kiss against my forehead. The action causes both of my girls to giggle, while Gray tries to hold back his own laugh.
“See?” Nancy asks, her eyes darting back to her grandson. “Never too old.” She finishes with a wink.
“Hey, Mom,” Molly greets, stepping forward to be enveloped into her mother’s arms.