Chapter Forty-Nine
Alan
I placed deferential kisses on her inner thighs before standing up with a smug smile. Yeah, I felt like a fucking stud while Jess lay sprawled out motionless on the counter, as if I’d rendered her unable to move.
Ruthie’s cries came from the living room, which seemed to rouse Jess.
Leaning down, I whispered in her ear, “I’ll get her.”
She murmured, “Thank you,” and I planted a kiss on her forehead before going to tend to our daughter.
No, we weren’t legally married yet, but that little girl had stolen my heart the first day I met her, when she’d smiled in her sleep.
Right now, she was red in the face as her cries grew more insistent.
“It’s okay, starving girl,” I soothed as I unbuckled the straps of her car seat. “I got you, peanut.”
Since I lacked the necessary equipment, Ruthie didn’t give a damn that I had her. She wanted her mama and her demands proceeded to get louder.
Jess took her from me the second I walked into the kitchen and pulled her blouse down. The sounds of Ruthie suckling on Jess’s breast soon filled the room.
“When can she start taking a bottle?”
She let out a sigh. “Everything I’ve read said I should’ve introduced one this week.” She looked over at me and smiled. “But I’ve been a little busy. I’ll start trying tomorrow.”
I hated that I was leaving and wouldn’t be able to help her next week.
“Can I be with you tomorrow when you do?”
My question seemed to catch her off guard because her brows drew together before she replied, “Um, sure, I guess.”
“Do you still want me to go to church with you tomorrow?”
“No, maybe next week. My dad’s gotta work tomorrow, so Mama doesn’t normally go if he’s not home. Plus, I’m sure she’s going to be cleaning and cooking up a storm in preparation for your parents coming to dinner. There seemed to be a little grandmother competition today.”
I pulled out the bag of potatoes from the cupboard so I could wash them.
“Uh oh. Hopefully there were no punches thrown.”
I was joking; I hoped.
“No, nothing like that. Just a rivalry on who got to change her and hold her. It was kind of weird… my mom never volunteers to change or burp her, but once your mom did and seemed to love it, my mom made sure to take the next turn.”
“Good,” I said as I scrubbed the potatoes with a silicone brush I’d found in the utensils drawer. “If a little battle of the grandmas gets you more help, then I’m all for it.”
We talked while she nursed the baby, and I finished prepping dinner by putting the potatoes in tinfoil and placing them on the grill before washing the asparagus. Then we switched, and I burped Ruthie while Jess set the dining room table.
I thought we made a pretty good team.
****
Jessica
Oh dear, I’m in trouble.