“I see you, Joey Lynch,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his cracked and peeling lips. “You can’t hide from me.” His hand moved then, settling on the swell of my stomach, and I swear I could have cried in relief. “That’s it,” I coaxed, gently lifting his head onto my lap. “Come back to me, baby.” Instinctively, he rested his cheek against my belly button, against the part of my body that separated him from his baby. “It’s okay,” I whispered, cradling him when he shook and trembled and clawed at any part of me that he could catch ahold of. “You can’t scare me away,”
