Laura took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. She didn't want to hear the drone of an airplane engine in her dreams. She didn't want to remember having to tell Ivy and Dallas that she was going to have to take care of them now. That it was just the three of them.
It sucked, and she hated it.
Dallas mumbled and reached for her in his sleep. He rolled over, his hand finding her stomach. As soon as he found her, he quieted and went back to peaceful dreams.
She hoped she was enough for them. That was she was doing was enough. It didn't feel that way. She wasn't ready to be a parent, but here she was anyway.
Her phone vibrated on the nightstand. Rather than being annoyed at
the message at such a late hour, she was grateful for the distraction. Being careful of her sleeping siblings, she reached for it and read the text.
Going to the hospital! It's time!
-Mia
Laura smiled. Mia was not only Laura's good friend, but she was also the wife of Laura's boss. The two of them were so excited for this baby that it was all they had talked about for the past few months. She couldn't be happier for them as she sent a text back.
Good luck. May 15th is a great birthday!
Laura smiled as she turned off her phone and put it back on her nightstand. A new life in the world was always something to be glad of. She closed her eyes and tried to find sleep, this time thinking of how cute the baby was going to be and whether it would look more like Mia or more like Carter.
She wrapped her arms around both her siblings, pulling them to her as they used her shoulders for pillows. With them both safe in her arms, sleep came quickly.
Chapter 2
Ethan
“Becky, where's my phone charger? The one with the little climber guy etched on it?”
Ethan opened the drawer to his desk just to check that he hadn't overlooked it the first time. He liked this particular charger because it was customized. He could have sworn he had put it in his top desk drawer like always, but it wasn't there no matter how many times he opened and closed the drawer.
“I thought you kept it in your desk?” Becky replied, poking her head in through the open door to his office. She frowned. “Is it not there?”
“No,” he replied, shutting the drawer a little more forcefully than necessary. He sighed. “Will you find me a different one for my trip? My flight's in an hour.”
“Of course, sir,” Becky replied with a cheerful smile.
He mentally wrote off the charger and continued packing his computer bag for his trip. Except, nothing seemed to be where he put it last.
“Becky? Have you seen my pens?” he called out when he discovered his stash of pens was missing as well. “Did you clean my desk?”
Becky came back to the office door. She shook her head, making her short blonde hair fall in her eyes.
“No, sir. You told me not to mess with your desk without permission when you hired me.” She thought for a moment. “Maybe it was the cleaning crew? We did just hire some new staff.”
“Well, all my pens are gone,” he explained, pointing to the empty spot in his drawer. “I was looking for the one the President gave me.”
“The silver one with the gold top?” Becky came over and handed him a backup charger.
“That's the one,” he replied. He looked around his desk, and Becky started checking the rest of the office. He sighed as he closed another drawer on his desk. He wasn't just missing things. His entire desk was out of order. “Becky, will you please make a note to speak to the cleaning crew? I don't want my desk touched.”
“Of course, sir.” She walked around to the far side of the large office and bent over near the bathroom door. “Found it.” She held up the silver pen triumphantly.
“Thank you, Becky.” He couldn't figure out how his pen got on the floor. He kept all his pens in the drawer specifically so they wouldn't get lost. It was strange. He took the pen and placed it in his travel bag before glancing around the office to make sure he had everything he needed to get work done for the next few weeks.
“I've emailed you next week's schedule,” Becky told him. “And I wanted to remind you again that I'm taking off early tomorrow for my anniversary. It shouldn't cause any problems since you'll be out of town anyway, but I wanted to remind you.”
“That's right. You said Mr. Jones' secretary would be covering for you. I remember.” He smiled at her. She was an excellent secretary. She was calm and collected, and most importantly not interested in him in the slightest.