Chapter 25
“Okay,hear me out, kid. We are gonna get you wrapped, snacked and back down to nap before your mama wakes up.” I looked up at Hayes. “You ready?”
He nodded, baby powder in one hand and a diaper in the other. “We got this. Smooth pit stop. We’ve been practicing.”
“The bottle’s in the warmer?”
“Yep.”
Hayes and I had taken over the night-time feedings to let Tally sleep. It had taken a couple of weeks, but we had it down to a fine art now.
“All right. Let’s do this. Box box!”
I made funny faces as I unsnapped Bobbi-June’s sleep suit. I gurgled and blew raspberries, doing anything I could to keep her distracted as Hayes wiped, swiped and floofed baby powder. I lifted her legs up, snapped the new diaper into place and slipped her back into her onesie, then back in the sleep sack.
I lifted my hands in the air. “Clear!”
“Clear!”
I gave her a tiny high five. “Great work, team.”
Picking her up gently, I laid her in the crook of my arm. It had taken at least two weeks before I could be convinced that she wouldn’t break like glass if I held her. I sat down in the rocker that Will and Colin had gifted Tally, and rocked the baby gently. She yawned and let out a kitten noise of protest.
She was a great baby, who barely ever cried, and was so alert and precious. Possibly the smartest baby on the planet, already trying to hold her head up and look around. But she was grumpy if she wasn’t fed, especially if she’d given you enough warning already.
I rocked her gently. “Don’t worry, baby girl. Hay-Hay has already gone to get your bottle. He won’t be long.”
As if her little noises had summoned him from the kitchen, he appeared, a sleepy Norton in tow. My big dog wasn’t mine any more. He was firmly one hundred percent Bobbi-June’s dog now. He’d sit there and look at her in the bassinet for hours on end. When she had tummy time, he’d lay beside her and stare at her lovingly. When Tally nursed her, he’d sit there with his big head on Tally’s lap, like a living nursing pillow. When she cried, he was the first in the room.
Hayes handed me the bottle, a yawn stretching his face.
“Go back to sleep, man. I’ve got this. I’ll put her down.”
It was a testament to how tired he was that he just nodded, leaning down and kissing her cheek. He patted the top of Norton’s head, then headed back down the darkened hallway.
I gave Bobbi-June the bottle, and she latched on beautifully. What did I say? So smart.
“Your mama has a big day tomorrow. And you do too. It’s your first day of work. I gotta say, twenty-three days old and already having to go in for the daily grind seems kinda rough. This current economic climate, am I right? Craziness.” I murmured soothing nonsense to her as I rocked. “Honestly, I can’t believe your mama is even thinking about heading back already. She just pushed a baby out of her body—I think she deserves a few more weeks of rest and relaxation, right?”
The baby blinked slowly up at me.
“Yeah, I knew you’d agree. But your mama’s a warrior; she won’t let anything keep her down. I hope you get that trait from her. I hope you’re a tiny little mini-mama, because I can’t think of anyone more perfect in the world. Except you, of course.”
I rocked and hummed the words to “Everyone Wants To Rule The World” while she finished her bottle, then placed her over my shoulder—the spit cloth already there, because you only needed to be puked on once before you learned. I’d Googled the best way to burp a baby, because I still wasn’t convinced my giant hand wouldn’t hurt her if I patted her back too hard.
As she burped on cue, I laid her back against my chest and rocked her until she fell asleep again. I was ready for her to sleep through the night, but on the other hand, I liked these quiet moments. I felt like her real father in moments like this. Like I was doing something right. Maybe I was meant to be a stay-at-home dad.
I laughed at the idea. My father would have had a coronary at the very thought—hell, maybe my mom would too. They’d had pretty strict ideas about what roles a man and woman should have in a family. But that had meant that when my dad died, my mother had crumbled to pieces. She’d been so busy being Mrs. Banks, she didn’t know what to do when there wasn’t a Mr. Banks to give her purpose and personality.
I’d never have that problem with Tally. She was so gloriously her.
“Ugh, I’m feeling all sappy, baby girl. Let’s put you down before I wake you up again,” I whispered, though she was sound asleep. Gently moving toward the bedroom, I laid her down in the bassinet in the corner of the room. The nursery and all her stuff was in my living room for now, but she still slept in the spare room with Tally.
I held my breath, but she stayed asleep. I wasn’t sure if it was meant to feel like disarming a bomb every time I put her down, but it did.
I climbed in beside Tally as carefully as I could, but I should have known she wouldn’t stay asleep. “Okay?” she asked sleepily, and I kissed her arm.
“Everything’s perfect. Go back to sleep.”
She snuggled back down into the pillows, her breaths already returning to their soft rhythm. “Okay. Love you,” she mumbled, and my whole body froze. But she was already humming soft, sleepy breaths.
I resisted the urge to drag her into my arms and kiss her. “Love you too,” I whispered back, knowing she wouldn’t hear.
I did, though. So fucking much.
The morning came and went so fast, and then I was alone. Just me and Norton, and I wasn’t sure which one of us stared more pathetically at the door, waiting for them to come home.
The house was almost finished now, and I had mixed feelings about it, really. I was excited to have this project that Tally and I had worked on finally completed, but the future after that was so up in the air. Would she take the money and get a place of her own, somewhere further away? Would she move in here, if I asked?
Everything was happening so fast. I felt like we’d skipped so many different steps, but I couldn’t find it in me to regret it. Especially not after last night.
My phone rang in my pocket, and I fished it out. I groaned out loud, scaring Norton, when my mom’s name flashed across the screen. We didn’t talk much; she had her life and I had mine, and we didn’t need to cross over that often. She was on the other side of the country, so that was always a decent excuse. I felt like we had started being strangers the day she’d shipped me off to Texas while I was grieving.
My uncle had become my support; he’d been Dad’s older brother and had only died about two years ago. I usually spent my holidays with Hayes’s family. My mom was a non-event in my life. Still, I answered when she called.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Jesse. I thought you might call your mother, but after a couple of months, I figured if I wanted to speak to my only child, I better do it myself.”
I cleared my throat. After I was sent to Texas, she hadn’t spoken to me for six whole months. Talking to me was too painful, she’d said. She didn’t get to be on her high horse now, but I let it go.
“Sorry, I’ve been really busy.”
She snorted. “Riding your motorbike and having no responsibilities?”
I looked skyward, hoping I could make it through this conversation without saying something I’d regret. “No, I bought the house next to mine, and I’ve been doing renovations on it. I’m almost done, actually.” I paused. “And I got a girlfriend, so I haven’t been traveling as much.”
The silence at the other end of the line was long. “Oh? What’s her name, this new girlfriend? Anyone I’d know?”
I didn’t know how my mom would possibly know her, unless she was in her fundraising circle or the lead actress on her daytime soap opera, but I still answered. “Unlikely. Her name is Tally. She’s a friend of Hayes.”
“Oh,” she sniffed. “I see.” Yeah, my mom wasn’t a huge fan of Hayes. She thought he was a bad influence—like he was the reason I was a loner who didn’t want to move back to DC. Hayes told me I had mommy issues. He was probably right.
You know what? In for a penny, in for a pound. “Actually, both Hayes and I are seeing her. We’re in a polyamorous relationship, and she just had a baby, which I’m beginning to love like my own.”
Mom snorted. “Very funny, Jesse. I don’t know why every time I call, you have to be so flippant. I wanted to invite you home for Christmas, but I think I might just go with the girls to Cabo.”
I would bet my entire fortune that had been her intention the entire time and she was just guilt-tripping me. “I couldn’t have made it out there anyway. Enjoy Cabo, Mom.”
I expected her to hang up, but she paused a little, then asked, “Are you really dating the same girl as your friend?”
Well, shit. I’d been kind of hoping she’d just continue to believe I was kidding and let it go. Might as well rip off the bandaid. “Yes.”
“And she has a baby?”
“Three weeks old, yesterday.”
There was a long silence. “Is the baby yours?”
“Not legally. Or biologically.” But that baby had already become the center of all our worlds, and hopefully one day, that wouldn’t matter at all.
She let out a long breath. “Thank goodness for that. I thought some girl was baby-trapping you,” she snapped. “I think I might need to come out there and ensure that you aren’t blinded by a pair of perky breasts and your best friend. You’re financially well-off, Jesse. You need to be careful of people’s intentions.”
Anger washed over me. This woman, who hadn’t even seen me in five years, had the nerve to lecture me about people’s intentions? Plus, I was hardly generationally wealthy. I had a couple of houses and enough money in the bank that if my place fell down around my ears, I could rebuild it without stress. I wasn’t on the Forbes rich list, for fuck’s sake.
“Don’t bother, Mom. Have a great time in Mexico.” Then I hung up, hissing out a breath through my teeth. “Come on, Norton. Let’s go get a pup cup and go to the hardware store.” The dog stared up at me, his head cocked. “What? Coffee and power tools are cheaper than the therapy I so desperately need after that conversation.” He still stared. “Fine, we’ll get fries on the way home.”
Norton barked and sat near his leash. I’d been hustled.