Chapter 5 Jeremiah
Jeremiah
Returning home after the doctor’s appointment, I felt so much better. I was still worried about Ladybug’s omega parent, but knowing this sweet girl was going to be okay now took a huge load off my shoulders.
I brought the bucket seat into the house and set it on the floor in front of the couch.
She was still asleep, so I figured I might as well catch a few Zs too.
I was flagging hard after only getting three hours of sleep and then draining my adrenaline stores.
I was running on empty. I sat back on the couch and put my feet up, closing my eyes for a few minutes.
My mind was still lingering on Dr. Zappek—Lazlo.
I’d never met anyone quite like him before, and I had to admit, I was smitten.
He had been so relaxed, even as my own composure had begun to crack, and being around him had put me instantly at ease.
There was always a lot of pressure on alphas to be constantly in control, but this morning I had felt anything but.
His smile, though, his gentle voice, had instilled me with all the confidence that he would take care of me for a change.
I’d never had that feeling before, and I didn’t know what I would’ve done if he hadn’t suggested coming over tonight with the excuse of checking on Ladybug.
At least I was pretty sure it was an excuse… Gods, what if that was all it really was? Dammit, I should’ve made sure.
As tired as I was, I opened my eyes and blinked up at the ceiling. I needed to figure out what to do for dinner. I felt this overwhelming urge to impress him, but my hands were kinda full with Ladybug at the moment. I felt like he would understand if I ordered pizza instead.
I must’ve drifted off at some point, because I startled awake when Ladybug started crying.
Hungry again, no doubt. “I’m coming, don’t you fret,” I said, pushing myself upright with a groan.
Fuck, I was tired. I was struggling to get my head on straight, but this sweet girl needed me at my best. Unfortunately, she would have to settle for having me at 50% for today, but I would still show her the tender care she deserved.
Once I got her fed, I gave her a warm bath, cleaning off the afterbirth, then popped her into a clean diaper and wrapped her in a tight swaddle like the world’s most adorable burrito.
“There, that’s better, isn’t it, Ladybug,” I said, dropping a soft kiss on her fuzzy head.
Her eyelids were already drooping again. Coming into the world was hard work.
I got the nursery set up, and the crib made with fresh sheets so she could take a proper nap this time, instead of in her car seat.
The room was pretty basic, just a crib, a change table, a dresser, and a rocking chair, all made by a friend of mine.
Bron used to work as a bartender at Mickey’s, before he found the two loves of his life, Nathan and Wesley.
Now he was a stay-at-home dad who built furniture in his spare time.
He was truly skilled at woodwork and sold his pieces at a family-run furniture shop downtown.
He’d donated these for free, though. He knew how important fostering was to me, and he’d wanted to help.
Bron was a lucky man. I would be happy to find one soul mate, let alone two.
Growing up in foster care, my future goals had centered on being a husband and father one day.
It was the only thing I’d ever really wanted.
I longed to fill my house with love and laughter, whatever that looked like.
So far, fostering had filled that need in me for children, but I hadn’t met the right man to walk through life with yet.
My brain immediately called forth an image of Lazlo, his shy smile, his relaxed nature. He was good with kids, obviously, but could he be as good with me?
I heard the rumble of the bus coming down the road and glanced at my watch.
It was already four o’clock. Setting the baby monitor to listen for Ladybug, I carried the receiver outside to meet Sam.
He hopped off the bus, skipping the last two steps, and landed with a puff of dirt in the gravel.
His friend Jacob hopped down next, and the two of them chatted as the bus pulled away.
I heard Sammy say bye, and then he jogged up the driveway, smiling when he saw me waiting.
“Hey, Jer. I thought for sure you’d be passed out on the couch, snoring,” he teased.
“I will have you know, it’s been a pretty eventful day while you were gone.” I held up the receiver and waved it back and forth. “I’ll give you one guess…”
Sam’s eyes went wide, his face split with a massive smile.
“A new baby?!” He was always excited when we had a baby show up, no matter how temporary.
He was such a great big brother to them all, and every time we had to pass the baby on, it broke his poor heart.
It was no wonder he was haunted by the thought of me leaving.
“She’s sleeping, but if you promise to be quiet, I’ll introduce you to her,” I said.
Sam pursed his lips and mimed zipping them up. When we went inside, he set his bag down ever so quietly, instead of dumping it like usual, and toed his shoes off, then tiptoed toward the nursery. I followed behind him, trying to contain my laugh at his exaggerated quiet.
He slipped into the nursery and peeked into the crib, and I watched him absolutely melt. “She’s so tiny,” he whispered, his face scrunched up in concern. “Is she okay?” The babies we got weren’t always healthy, and sometimes they needed extra care.
“She’s okay,” I assured him, setting a hand on his shoulder.
“She has what’s called a cleft palate, which makes feeding her a little more complicated, but I took her to the doctor this morning, and he helped.
He’s going to come over later to check on her, so I thought we’d get pizza for dinner. Sound good?”
“Yeah!” he whisper-yelled, adding an itty-bitty fist bump, making the silent gesture somehow even quieter.
I turned to leave the room, but Sammy didn’t look like he was going anywhere. “I always wanted a baby sister,” he said sadly, staring down at her, and I knew he was thinking about his parents and the family he’d lost. He glanced over his shoulder at me, eyes a little glassy. “Can we keep her?”
I wanted to say yes, but I wasn’t in the habit of making promises I didn’t know for sure I could keep. “I don’t know, buddy. It’ll depend on who will take the best care of her.”
“Well, that’s you, obviously. You’re already the best at taking care of me.” He said it so matter-of-factly that I couldn’t help but beam with pride.
“Thanks, bud.” I dropped a kiss on the top of his head, ruffling his hair. “Come on, let’s let her sleep. She’ll be up soon, and then you can help with the next diaper change.”
“Ewww,” he whined in disgust, but he followed me out of the nursery, and we closed the door.
“Do you have any homework?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Even if the school hadn’t had an app that posted all the assigned work, the way he’d tried to sneak off to his room would’ve clued me in.
He made a face but fessed up. “Yeah, just some reading, and my teacher wants us to write a poem, but I don’t know what to write about. Poetry sucks.”
“Maybe you just haven’t found the right poetry yet.
I happen to think some of it is pretty awesome.
How about this one.” I cleared my throat, coming up with a quick rhyme.
“Orange or yellow, marbled or holey, the best kind of cheese is the one that’s not moldy.
” He looked skeptical, and I laughed. “Tell you what. How about you go feed and water the chickens, and I will find you some epic poems. We’ll bang out that homework real quick, and then you can watch a movie after dinner. How’s that sound?”
“Okay, thanks, Jer.”
While Sammy went out to take care of our girls, I sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out my phone.
I stared down at it, debating whether or not I should call CPS.
My brain said yes, it was my responsibility.
There were programs in place to help children like her, but my heart had dug its heels in.
If I told them, they might take her away from me, and I just had this feeling, deep inside, that told me she needed to stay.
Sighing, I turned my attention to another call I needed to make. Dialing my boss, I brought the phone up to my ear. “Hey, Mickey,” I said when he picked up. “I really hate to do this to you…”
He was one step ahead of me, as usual. “You’ve got yourself a new kid?
” he asked. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, he always stepped up, no complaints, no questions asked.
Mickey and I had been in the system together, once upon a time, so he knew how important it was to have a safe place to land.
“Yeah, a newborn. She’s gonna need some extra care for a bit.”
“Don’t you worry, we’ll hold down the fort. I can shuffle the bouncers around to cover any gaps in the schedule, and you know Jordan is always happy to pick up extra shifts. You just tell me what you need.”
“Thanks, boss. I really appreciate it.”
“Not nearly as much as those kids do, I promise you that. What you do is important, and don’t you forget it.” Maybe it was just because I was so damn tired, but his words made my eyes sting with the threat of tears. I was not a crier, but it’d been a long day.
By the time I’d hung up, I was feeling better about the current situation.
I could handle this. If I didn’t call CPS, I wouldn’t get paid for keeping Ladybug here, but the money wasn’t what mattered.
Nothing but her health and safety did—and that of her missing parent.
I wondered if I called hospitals or clinics and explained the situation, they could tell me if they’d had any patients there who matched her omega parent.
I doubted it, what with patient confidentiality and all that.
Besides, maybe they didn’t want to be found…
I spent a few minutes looking up some poetry for Sammy, choosing a few silly ones, plus one more emotional one that I thought might resonate with him.
I glanced out the window toward the barn, wondering what was taking him so long.
Normally he would be out and back in no time.
Pushing back from the table, I was about to head outside to check on him when the barn door flew open and Sam ran back, cheeks flushed.
He bolted in the back door and ran straight upstairs.
He was back down to the kitchen a few minutes later, a bag over one shoulder, and headed straight for the cupboard.
“Hey, Jer, can I have a snack before dinner?”
“Sure, bud. We won’t be eating until six.” I watched with a smirk as he set out bread, peanut butter, and grape jam across the counter, making a whole bunch of sandwiches, heaped with filling until it oozed out the sides. He licked jam off his thumb and then stacked them one on top of the other.
“Three sandwiches?!” I balked.
“I’m a growing boy,” he said in explanation, before he grabbed the bag again and made to run back outside.
“Hey, where are you going?” I asked before he could make his escape. “I thought we were working on poetry.”
He paused, one foot out the door. “Uh, yeah. I, um… had a good poem idea about chickens. I’m gonna go write it out there in the barn, so the girls can help.”
I frowned, wondering what he was up to. “Okay. I guess whenever the mood strikes, you’ve gotta follow your muse. I’m looking forward to hearing it.”
Without another word, Sam was out the door and bolting to the barn, slipping through the door.
My bullshit meter was pinging something fierce, but I wanted to give him as much freedom as was safe.
Trust was important, and he’d already earned mine ten times over.
He was a good kid. He couldn’t get into any trouble out there in the barn.
I figured he was probably just texting a girl or boy from school, someone he had a crush on.
If that was the case, it wasn’t really my business.
I was sure whatever it was, he would tell me in his own time.
My thoughts were interrupted by the first sound of fussing through the baby monitor, and I smiled to myself.
As much work as it was to care for a newborn by myself, I knew I was up for the challenge.
She was one special girl, and I would do whatever it took to make sure she ended up with the family she deserved.