I stretched out my right arm and locked my elbow so it wouldn’t shake.

She laid the sleeping boy in the crook of my arm, settling his little shoulders until he lay safely against my chest.

The baby weighed next to nothing, his warmth soaking right through the heavy cotton of my work shirt.

He let out a tiny breath and turned his face into my ribs.

“Keep your hand under his neck,” Megan whispered, sitting back down on the bench beside me.

I cupped the back of his neck in my fingers and felt the soft, steady pulse against my palm.