"Where are we going?" Larissa asked.
"To the library. Relax."
"I can't. This place is intimidating."
"It's just a house," he said.
"It's not just a house. It's a historical landmark. It's your family's mark on Savannah and I feel like an interloper."
"Relax," he said again. "I didn't grow up here."
He rubbed Peter's head and their son glanced up at him. "Ready to meet your family?"
Peter didn't answer, just stuck his thumb in his mouth and held tighter to her neck. "Maybe I should have gotten a sitter."
"We don't need a sitter," he said. "What a couple of cowards you two are."
"Am not," Peter said, squirming in her arms to be put down. "I'm just as brave as Frodo."
Jake ruffled his son's hair. "I knew you were."
Peter glanced up at Larissa. "Mommy's not so brave."
"Then we'll be brave for her," Jake said, stooping down to Peter's eye level.
Peter nodded and slipped his hand into hers. He gripped hers tightly and smiled up at her. And she felt an infusion of love for her son and for his father. Jake was taking this task of being a father very seriously and she regretted that she'd waited so long to let him know he was a dad.
"Ready?" Jake asked.
She nodded and followed Jake into the library. The librarian in her was in awe. Private collections like this one were the stuff dreams were made of. She almost forgot her nerves. Despite his courageous words in the hall, Peter seemed to have picked up on her apprehension and now clung to her leg. She rubbed his back, focusing on Peter and not the others in the room.
There were five people in the room. Jake's uncle, Abraham Danforth, and Wesley Brooks were at the computer desk on the far side of the room. She knew Wes from college, "Honest" Abe from the articles she'd read in the newspaper about him and his family. Abe was the patriarch of the Danforths, a retired Navy Seal who was currently running for the senate.
There was a couple on the couch who stood when they entered. They had to be Jake's parents. There was too much emotion in their gazes for them not to be. They both eyed her and Peter with curiosity. The other woman with gorgeous red hair and bright green eyes was taller than she was and Larissa was no shorty at five-seven. She had to be Abe's PR manager.
"Is this our grandson?" Miranda Danforth asked, crossing the room. Jake's mom had blond hair worn in a sleek bob. Her eyes were a warm blue that made Larissa feel safe and comfortable.
"Mom, this is Larissa Nielsen and my son," Jake said.
Peter clung tighter to Larissa and wouldn't turn around and meet his grandmother at first. "I'm sorry," she said. "He's not used to meeting new people."
"That's okay," Miranda said, running her hand down Peter's back. "Why don't you come sit down with me?"
Larissa followed her across the room, conscious of all the others there. Wes Brooks, Jake's college roommate, looked up from the desk where he was working on the computer. He gave her a friendly smile and a wink. Larissa smiled back. She knew Jake's not officially adopted brother from their college days. And it was nice to see a familiar face in this sea of Danforths.
Miranda seated herself on a leather sofa and Larissa sank down next to her, pulling Peter onto her lap. Harry Danforth stood on the other side of the room. Jake had followed them and he sat on the other side of Larissa. He dropped his arm over her shoulders and she felt comforted by his presence.
As he'd said earlier, she wasn't alone in carrying this burden. But Peter had never felt like a burden to her. He'd always been her joy. And these people, Jake's clan, were lucky to have her precious son in their family.
"Jake called me earlier about your situation—" Nicola said.
"Pardon me for interrupting, Nicola," Miranda Danforth said. "Peter, would you like to come to the kitchen with me for some cookies and milk?"
Peter lifted his head from Larissa's shoulder. "What kind?"
"Peter."
"That's okay, Larissa. Double chocolate chunk, I believe."
"Mama?"
"You can go, sweetie. Mrs. Danforth is your grandmother."
"Wow. A daddy and a grandmother."
Miranda smiled down at him. "You've got a grandfather as well as a bunch of other family."
"Really?" Peter asked.
"Really," she said. "I'll tell you all about them while we have our cookies and milk."
"Okay!" Peter said, taking Miranda's offered hand and following her from the room.
Larissa felt naked without her little boy on her lap. She laced her fingers together and tried not to pretend that she was the cause of an uncomfortable situation for this very important family.