7. Rowan
7
ROWAN
A fter two weeks, Silas and I had settled into a routine.
I handled the late-night and morning baby care shifts while he worked or slept, and then he took over for the afternoon and evening shifts.
Whenever Silas did his Uber shifts, he checked in frequently because he worried during those few hours he was out of the house.
This past weekend, Silas had worked until three or four in the morning, taking people home from the bar.
“Holy shit, something smells good,” I said when I pushed open the front door.
Silas rushed out of the kitchen to help me with Audie.
“I hope it tastes as good. There’s a concert downtown, so I wanted to get on the road sooner rather than later tonight. I hope it’s okay we’re eating this early.”
“I’ll never complain about eating early, so long as I’m not the one cooking it.”
Silas took the baby carrier from my arms and brought it to the kitchen so he could unstrap Audie for a kiss and a snuggle.
“How did the appointment go?”
“The doctor says Audie’s growing like a weed and is right on track. Actually, he said he is exceeding the track, but I reminded him his papa was pretty big too.” Silas had offered to go with me to the baby’s checkup, but I declined.
In hindsight, I should’ve accepted.
Sometimes, I forgot he belonged with us.
When I realized I was pregnant, I intended to handle everything on my own.
Now, it wasn’t necessary to be so independent.
Although, my excuse this morning had been a secondary appointment for myself.
Silas had accepted my choice and hadn’t argued, but I’d recognized his disappointment.
The gentleness and quiet acceptance I’d seen in him the night we met had never wavered.
“And everything was good with you too?”
“Yes, she said I was healing well, and the danger of blood pressure spikes has mostly passed. Because I haven’t had any issues so far, it’s unlikely to happen going forward.”
“Does that mean you’ve been cleared to stay by yourself?”
“Yeah, she said I don’t need anyone with me now.”
“Oh, okay, yeah. That’s great. Um, yeah, uh, I still have my studio, so yeah.” Silas tried hard to hide the sadness in his voice and expression but failed miserably.
I didn’t have to do this by myself.
“What do you think of our system?” I worked hard to keep my voice neutral and not give away what I was thinking.
Or wanting.
“I like being able to take care of Audie, and I’ve never minded working around the house.”
“You’re a heck of a lot better at it than I’ve ever been.”
“Since I can barely do math, I should stick to vacuuming.”
“And writing. You should stick to writing too. What if you just stay here? You said your studio was a week-to-week, right? I could clear out my stuff from the office, and we could get a bigger bed for you.”
“I don’t need a bigger bed. The one in there is fine. And I accept,” Silas answered in a rush.
“I just offered you the room. I won’t change my mind in two seconds.”
“You might, but I’ve already said yes, so it’s too late now. I never answered about what was for dinner. It’s spaghetti, salad, and fresh bread.”
“You made fresh bread?”
“Yeah, I did because I needed to soften up my temporary roommate for when I suggested we make my living situation more permanent.”
“So you were going to suggest what I just suggested?”
“Maaaaaaaaybe,” Silas answered with a wicked grin.
“I like being around Audie, and you, obviously. Hopefully, I’m not too annoying. Although you couldn’t have known whether I was or not before now, which is likely why you threw my number away.”
“That’s not exactly what happened.” I laughed nervously.
“Oooooh, do tell,” Silas said and leaned forward eagerly.
Sighing, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet.
I found the worn piece of paper in the bill section, unfolded it on the table, and smoothed it out.
“You kept the note?”
“I intended to call you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“By the time I worked up my nerve, I already had symptoms with that little guy,” I answered, gesturing to the baby Silas still held, “and then I didn’t know what to say.”
“I would’ve picked up the phone.”
Silas: Got one ride left tonight.
Need anything from the store?
Babydaddy: Is buttered popcorn a need?
Silas: I gotchu, babe.
Babydaddy: Yay!
I’ve been craving it all night and too lazy to go myself.
Silas: All you have to do is ask.
Rowan: Do you think you can rearrange your schedule on Saturday?
Silas: Yep.
What’s up?
Rowan: Uhh, my parents are coming to town to meet the baby, and they’d really like to meet you.
Silas: I did make you meet mine…
Rowan: An excellent point that I wasn’t going to mention unless you said no.
Silas: You think I don’t know your tricks, but I’m on to you.
Rowan: I’ll try harder.
Silas: Also, did you know we live together?
You could have just asked me when I got home.
Rowan: It’s easier to ask if I can’t see you when I do it.
Silas: Yikes on that.
The answer is still yes.
Rowan: Thank you.
Silas: Anything for you.
This morning, I shot straight out of bed when I realized how high the sun was in the sky.
I had managed to sleep until nine a.
m.
I raced to take care of the baby, but when I realized Silas already had him, I returned to my room and took the most luxurious shower.
I’m fairly certain all the hot water was gone, and I had a tankless.
When I was finished, I headed downstairs to see what Silas and Audie were doing this morning.
What I found took my breath away.
Silas was at his laptop in the office while baby-wearing Audie.
He was working on his story and Audie was his co-writer.
“Baby A, we have choices to make. Do we break them up, or do they get friendly with each other? And no, I’m not going to explain what that means because you are way too young to worry about it.” Audie gurgled his answer.
“Oh, that’s a good idea. We intro a villain who wants to steal one of them away.” Audie’s noises sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
“Oh, you’re a clever bunny, aren’t you?” Silas dropped a soft kiss on the baby’s head.
The trouble with having an alpha, one named Silas to be exact, in my home was I forgot we were essentially roommates.
Sure, we accidentally made a baby because of a surprise heat, but we weren’t a couple.
As best I could tell, Silas wasn’t dating anyone.
His buddies had stopped by to meet the baby, and there’d been no mention of anyone being upset about Audie’s existence or our arrangement.
The more time I spent with Silas, the more I wanted to be around him.
He’d jumped headlong into being a full-time papa, and he was effing outstanding at it.
He bathed the baby, cleaned around the house, changed diapers, and happily incorporated Audie into everything he did.
It was sexy as hell.
And everything else about Silas was sexy too.
The muscles that played across his chest.
His hair that practically gleamed.
The way his laughter was easy and often.
His breathtaking multicolored eyes.
Unfortunately, Silas had never made anything that could be classified as a move on me.
It was annoying as hell.