Chapter 5 - First Steps in the Salt Mist
Summer turned into a crisp autumn along the coast. Leo grew steadily, his bright hazel eyes wide with curiosity and a sweet, easy laugh. Bella spent her mornings walking along the shoreline with Leo strapped safely to her chest in a canvas carrier.
She befriended Martha, the town’s seventy-year-old baker, who taught her how to bake sourdough and knead bread before dawn. In exchange, Bella helped manage the bakery’s inventory and rebuilt its modest website.
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For the first time since her early twenties, Bella felt her mind engage with simple, tangible work. She wasn't Mrs. Sterling hosting charity galas in designer silk gowns; she was simply Bella, a mother learning to rebuild herself from the ground up.
One afternoon while sitting on the dock, Leo reached up and grasped her thumb with a surprisingly firm grip. Looking down into his bright eyes, Bella whispered, "I promise you, my darling, you will never have to earn my presence."
