Chapter 67
I ndie sat on the sofa next to Rock, resting against him.
Spencer sat in a recliner across from them with Hope lying on his bare chest. She’d just gotten off the phone to Maggie before.
Her best friend had wanted to fly over as soon as she’d heard that she’d had Hope, but they’d all managed to convince her not to.
It wasn’t like anyone else could see Hope at the moment, anyway.
Margo and Lemon were dying to visit, but they were going to wait until they got back home. That didn’t mean that they weren’t in constant contact with her.
Something had been playing over and over in her mind for the last few days and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought about it before. But now that her mind had latched on, she couldn’t let it go.
“Here you all are,” Quaid said, walking into the room. He moved immediately to her, leaning down to kiss her lightly.
A spark of something lit inside her and she smiled up at him.
“Hi, baby girl,” he whispered.
“Hi,” she whispered back.
Rock and Spencer had stayed last night with her and Hope, she guessed they were now switching over .
“How are you doing?” Quaid ran his gaze over her. “Did you sleep all right?”
She shrugged, not wanting to lie. It seemed like she could only catch an hour or two here and there. She kept waking up in a state of stress. Worried about where Hope was and if she was all right.
Quaid frowned. “We need to get you sleeping better.”
She wished. She hoped she might sleep better once they got Hope home. But that came with other fears and worries.
Rock lifted her onto his lap, holding her in his warm embrace. Oh, that felt nice. She felt herself relax.
Quaid turned, moving toward Spencer and Hope. He rested his hand on Hope’s small back. She was covered in a blanket as she lay on Spencer’s bare chest.
“How are you today?” Quaid asked.
“I’m good thanks,” Spencer told him. “Bit of a headache and I’ve got an itch on my nose. Could you get that for me?”
Quaid shot him a look which would have obliterated someone else. Spencer’s grin just widened.
Did he know no fear?
“Wasn’t talking to you,” Quaid grumbled. “I was talking to Button.”
“No one ever asks how I am,” Spencer said with a sigh.
Quaid stared down at Hope for a long moment. “I want to do that.”
Spencer blinked. “Do what?”
“Sit with her. Skin-to-skin. It’s important for her, right?” Quaid glanced over at Indie.
“It is,” she said quietly. “But you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be comfortable with holding my daughter?”
She sucked in a breath at his words, but before she could say anything, Slade walked in. He was tapping on his phone and frowning slightly.
Was everything all right ?
“But I don’t want to give up my turn,” Spencer grumbled.
One of Hope’s nurses walked in behind him to let them know that she was finishing her shift and helped transfer Hope over.
Indie took a moment to take in shirtless Quaid.
Wow.
She might not be feeling sexy or have any interest in sex right now. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t admire how gorgeous he looked with his shirt off.
Slade eyed Quaid for a moment but didn’t say anything. Instead, his gaze moved to her. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“And hello to you too,” Spencer sang as he put his shirt back on. “What? No kiss?”
Slade looked surprised for a moment, then shook his head, his face filling with chagrin. “Sorry, Boo. That was rude.”
She smiled as he walked over and kissed her. “I missed you.”
“Missed you too,” she told him. “Did you sleep all right?”
“Hmm. I would have slept better with you in the bed with me.”
That sounded like heaven. Their own bed in their own apartment. He cupped the side of her face, rubbing his thumb over her cheek. “Anything I need to know?”
He looked from her to Rock.
Rock shrugged and shook his head.
“Are you hungry? Tired? Do you need anything?” he asked.
That was Slade. Always taking care of them all.
“I’m fine.”
“Better than fine,” he told her. “You’re beautiful. Stunning.”
She didn’t feel it, but it was nice of him to say that.
He settled onto the sofa with them, there was barely any room, but she wasn’t complaining.
She tuned out the conversation, watching Hope resting against Quaid’s chest. It had taken him a while to relax, but now there was an unguarded look on his face. He seemed at peace.
A few moments later, the door opened and one of her least favorite nurses walked in. She stared around at them all, a look of disapproval on her face. Indie stiffened and Rock tightened his hold on her.
The nurses and doctors had been amazing generally, but this nurse seemed to disapprove of their relationship.
Slade eyed the nurse, watching her closely as she picked the baby off Quaid’s chest.
“We’ve got to take Hope for a few tests,” she said abruptly, placing her into the incubator.
“What tests?” Indie asked, climbing off Rock’s lap.
“Just a few routine things, nothing to worry about,” the woman said in a patronizing voice.
Under other circumstances, Indie might have backed off. She likely wouldn’t have pushed. But when it came to Hope she was finding that she wasn’t going to be walked over. The last thing she wanted was to let her baby down.
“I’d like to know exactly what tests,” Indie said firmly.
“Oh, you don’t need to know,” the nurse said. But as she turned to leave with Hope, Spencer stepped into her path. He acted like it wasn’t intentional.
But Indie knew better.
He smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You know, I have such respect for all of you nurses. You do an amazing job of taking care of your patients. As well as their families. It’s not just about your nursing skills, either. It’s all the empathy and kindness you show.”
There was a hard look in his eyes, but she wasn’t sure that the other woman would see it.
“Well, yes, of course,” the nurse said. “This job is really a calling.”
“Of course it is,” Spencer said. “And the last thing you’d want is to increase the anxiety of new parents, right? Whose baby is vulnerable and precious and in your care?”
The nurse glanced around, swallowing heavily.
“I know.” Spencer snapped his fingers. “You could tell Indie what tests Hope needs. Then she wouldn’t feel anxious. And I’ll come with you, just to make sure that Hope is fine.”
“Well, that’s against regulations,” the nurse blustered.
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Slade said coldly. “And if it’s not, whoever had a complaint can speak to me.”
“Well, yes, of course. Fine.” She told Indie what tests they were running and why as she got Hope ready to transfer.
Indie still felt slightly anxious. She always did where Hope was involved. But she also knew that Spencer would keep Hope safe. He winked at Indie as he left with Hope and the nurse.
Quaid put his shirt back on, staring at the door. Then he turned to her. “You don’t like her.”
Indie shrugged as she moved over to Rock, who lifted her onto his lap again.
“No. Don’t do that. You tell me the truth,” Quaid commanded.
“I feel bad for saying it, but no. She’s . . .”
“Patronizing,” Rock rasped. “Disapproving. Rude.”
Indie nodded. “Yes. Those things.”
Slade let out a low rumble and tension filled her as she watched him get up. Was he angry?
His fists tensed, then relaxed. Finally, he glanced at her, then let out a deep breath.
“Then you’ll never see her again,” Slade told her before leaving the room.
“Where is he going?” she asked anxiously.
“To take care of you,” Quaid told her as he crouched in front of her. “She won’t be looking after Hope again. And, next time, I want you to tell us straight away if anyone upsets you or makes you feel uncomfortable. You hear me?”
She stared down at him as relief hit her hard. “I hear you.”
“Good girl,” Rock whispered, making a shiver run through her.
Ten minutes later. Slade stepped back into the room.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“I just made it clear that we didn’t want her looking after Hope or you,” he said .
Taking care of her. Of them.
How would she have coped without them?
“I have a question,” she blurted out.
“What is it, Boo?” Slade asked, coming over to sit with them again. Quaid was still crouched in front of her.
“What will she call you?” she asked before she lost her nerve.
“Call us?” Quaid asked.
“Yes. What do you want Hope to call you all? I mean . . .” Yep, her nerve was gone.
“We’re her daddies,” Slade said, sounding upset.
Shoot.
Upsetting them was the last thing she wanted.
“She might be Billy’s biologically,” Quaid said. “But that does not make him her father.”
“No, no, I know that. I just didn’t want to make any assumptions.”
“You are ours. She is ours. Make all the fucking assumptions you want as long as they’re the right ones,” Slade told her.
Right. Like that was easy.
“Anything that involves us taking care of the two of you, loving you both, owning you both, isn’t an assumption. It’s fact.” Quaid glowered at her.
Crap.
Right.
“So you’re all going to be Daddy?” she asked.
Slade’s lips twitched. “Daddy one, two, three, and four?”
Rock snorted.
To her surprise, she found herself smiling.
“We might need to figure that out exactly,” Quaid said. “We could be Daddy S, Daddy Q, Daddy R, and Daddy Nutter.”
“Daddy Nutter?” she asked.
“Spencer,” they all said, making her giggle.
Yeah, she really didn’t know what she’d do without these guys.
Indie held Hope, rocking back and forth in the chair.
Thank God, she was doing better now. It had been three weeks since Hope was born, and they still had a long road to go, but she was doing really well.
Indie hummed quietly as she rocked, her eyelids growing heavy. Shoot. The lights in NICU were usually kept dim and it was so quiet that it could make her sleepy. She was definitely starting to suffer from a lack of sleep. And it was making the guys anxious.