Page 108 of Jay Bird

Willow bit her lip to keep from laughing.

She raised her gaze and found Jay Bird already awake on the opposite side of their pint-sized invader. He was lying on his side with his head propped against one hand, watching her with obvious amusement.

“Morning,” he whispered.

“Morning.”

His dark hair was an absolute mess, and the sight made Willow smile even more. She had learned over the past month that Jay Bird’s hair seemed to have a mind of its own on a normal day. Apparently sleep only encouraged it.

“How did you sleep?” he asked quietly.

“Really good.”

“Glad one of us did.”

Her smile disappeared. “You didn’t?”

Instead of answering, his gaze dropped pointedly toward the tiny person occupying most of the space between them.

Willow followed his gaze.

Jay Bird sighed dramatically. “I think I spent half the night in Montana before I got shipped back to the Atlantic Ocean.

She slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from waking Lily as laughter bubbled out of her.

“I’m sorry. How did she even get in here?”

Jay Bird gave her a look. “She didn’t exactly breach the perimeter, sweetheart. I heard her little feet coming down the hall before she made it halfway to the door.” His mouth twitched. “Then she climbed up here with Ellie tucked under her arm, wedged herself between us, and I pretended I was asleep because I wanted to see what she’d do.”

Willow grinned. “And?”

“And apparently she decided this was her bed now.” He glanced down at Lily. “I fell back asleep and woke up twenty minutes later with her foot pressed against my throat. Pretty sure she was trying to take me out in my sleep.”

Willow fought another laugh. “Maybe she was.”

“I’ve been in hand-to-hand combat situations that were less aggressive.”

“She’s twenty-six pounds.”

“Twenty-six pounds of fury.”

Willow shook her head, but she couldn’t stop smiling as she looked at her daughter. She couldn’t believe she had gotten out of her own bed in the middle of the night and climbed into theirs.

For so long, Willow had dreamed about giving Lily a normal childhood, but she had never allowed herself to imagine what that normal childhood might actually look like. Apparently, it looked like a toddler sneaking into a king-size bed and kicking a Navy SEAL from Montana to the East Coast.

Lily suddenly stirred and rolled toward Jay Bird, burying her face against his chest before releasing a sleepy little sigh.

Jay Bird looked down at her and Willow watched his expression soften.

After a moment, Lily’s eyes fluttered open. She stared at Jay Bird. “Jay!”

Jay Bird grinned. “Hey, Peanut.”

“Pancakes?”

Willow started laughing again.

Jay Bird closed his eyes. “Of course.”