Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Morris
G racie is growing so damn fast, but it’s clear to see Arbor is in the thick of it. We’re all straddling a fine line between being available when Arbor needs or wants help and not pushing to the point where she says enough is enough. She’s had a hell of a week, especially the couple of nights right before Gracie’s one-month checkup.
Everything went fine, and Gracie doesn’t need to be seen again until she turns two months old, but Arbor was convinced something was wrong. And to be fair, the doctor said Gracie might have a touch of colic, though only a mild case.
I’ve done a lot of research in the days since that doctor’s appointment, and colic is apparently a broad term for anything that causes a baby to cry consistently, even when their needs have been met.
It’s just one of those things. It’s not ideal, but it would be so much easier for all of us if Arbor would occasionally tap us in on baby duty.
Gracie is perfect, even if she’s stretching Arbor’s nerves thin. We just need the stubborn little omega to start delegating duties. She would get a hell of a lot more sleep, and the three of us would feel a fuck of a lot less helpless.
Isn’t support and not having to do everything on her own one of the main benefits of having a pack?
Not that Arbor has accepted that she’s ours, but we’re putting in effort.
We’ve spent the last four weeks quietly courting the hell out of her, and when she’s mentally prepared to accept our interest, we’ll loudly court her.
Every night, Gracie gets fussy around nine or ten p.m. Arbor was watching a movie with me in the living room, but once Gracie woke up, wailing, she took the baby to her room to breastfeed.
She might think she’s being sneaky about the tears she’s shed recently, but she’s not. And I haven’t figured out how to broach the subject.
Do I let my instincts take the lead and barrel in to hold her until she feels better?
Would that just embarrass her even more?
I’ve told her multiple times that I’m happy to take shifts overnight. But ever since the three of us went back to work, she’s stopped asking for help completely unless it’s during the day.
It’s fucking maddening not to know how to ease her stress.
She doesn’t run off during the day if she needs to nurse. That alone tells me it’s not a comfortability issue. It feels like she doesn’t want to burden us with listening to a fussy baby, but truth be told, I have literal nightmares about what it would be like to go back to having an empty house.
My days are brighter now than they ever have been, and I want to ease Arbor’s burden.
I would gladly take all the night shifts and still get up and go to work every day. Seeing how exhausted she is from trying to do it all alone is starting to piss me off.
We’re here.
She just needs to take advantage of the help we’re desperate to offer.
Grabbing the remote, I shut off the movie we were watching. I’m in motion, stomping toward her bedroom before I can stop myself.
The door isn’t closed all the way.
Arbor sways back and forth, not walking but gliding her hips as she holds Gracie in the crook of her arm. She sniffles, shaking her head. “You’re mostly calm when I hold you, but I know the second I put you down, you’re going to start fussing. You really are a sweet baby—during the day, at least. And I know you’re not purposely trying to be difficult. I’m sure you’re crying for a reason. I just suck at being a mom, so I can’t figure out what’s causing you so much distress.”
She sighs, nuzzling her cheek to Gracie’s head. “Everyone says this time flies by, but it feels like I’ve been tired for years. I’m sure I’ll look back on this one day and laugh, but honestly, I’m so exhausted, I’m constantly on the verge of bursting into tears, and I really don’t want those to be your first memories of me.” She turns from the bed to look out the window and continues swaying. “I haven’t showered in two or three days.” She pauses. “God, maybe more like three or four. That can’t be right. And at the same time, if I laid you down and you magically didn’t cry, I wouldn’t run to take a shower. I’d face-plant onto the mattress and pray for at least a two-hour stretch of sleep.”
My chest gets tight.
We’ve fucked up big time.
I thought I’d made it clear that she and Gracie aren’t a burden we’re enduring, but she has no income. She’s offered to pay us back for things here or there out of the money she supposedly has in savings, which we’ve shut down. Still, if I put myself in her position, it’s not hard to imagine she’s worried she might overstay her welcome. Or that we’ll get tired of providing for the two of them.
When we first brought her home, I thought she would grow more comfortable in her place here the longer she stayed, but I think she’s feeling like a long-term guest who’s waiting to be told they’re being evicted.
Fuck me.
With her coming out of a questionable relationship, we didn’t want to move too fast, but the longer we go without declaring our intent to court her, the more time she’s had to convince herself that we aren’t interested.
No wonder it’s like pulling teeth to get her to let us help with the baby. She’s been walking on eggshells while waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Hael had a concept meeting for a new bike build tonight, and he planned to take the guy out for a beer afterward.
I never heard him come in, so I aim for his twin.
Hayes is just climbing out of the shower when I find him. I need him to watch Gracie, so I quickly catch him up on the situation.
“Get dressed. I need you to watch the baby for an hour or so while I take care of Arbor,” I growl, shaking my head.
My fists clench. We’ve been so fucking oblivious, trying to respect her boundaries while succeeding in nothing but pushing her further away.
“Give me two minutes,” he says, ripping off his towel to dry his hair.
I nod and take off for the primary bedroom. We’ve done some covert prepping of the space, but we wanted to ease Arbor into moving upstairs with us. The house is old, and it’s well insulated. I’ve never been able to hear the baby crying from my bedroom, which makes helping impossible.
Heading inside the pack suite, I flip on the lights and make my way to the attached bathroom. It doesn’t take long to get the shower going, and thanks to the tankless water heater, I don’t need to worry about the hot water running out before Arbor gets in.
I grab towels and toss them onto the counter before making my way back to the hallway. I don’t aim for Arbor yet. Instead, I stop by my room, collect a few things, bring them back, and drop them onto the bed before heading downstairs.
Arbor is still swaying in the same spot.
Knocking gently to announce my arrival, I stride in with the confidence of an alpha who knows his omega is suffering. Enough is enough—it’s time for Arbor to see the real benefit of having a pack at her side.
She turns and smiles. “She might really be asleep this time.”
“That’s good.” I make it to her a half a second later. Wrapping my hand around her lower back, I bend, nuzzling my cheek to hers. Her cherry blossom scent smells tart, which indicates she’s stressed or unsettled. “Here, let me take Gracie. I want you to grab some clothes for after your shower.” Carefully sliding my hand under Gracie, I scoop her up while Arbor blinks. “We’re going to let Hayes take the baby for a bit, and I’m going to show you the shower in the pack bedroom. I would have run you a bath, but I wasn’t sure if that’s safe yet.”
She still has two weeks before she’s supposed to see the doctor for her postpartum checkup. Gracie starts grunting, and I pull her up to my shoulder, patting her diaper over the blanket.
“The shower down here works fine.” Arbor’s head tilts, like she has no idea what’s happening.
“It does,” I agree. “But it’s small. I’m not. Grab some clothes. I’m going to hand Gracie off to Hayes.”
And with that, I bolt, trying not to obsess about the look of shock I catch just before spinning around.
Jesus Christ.
I just stole her baby and ran away, knowing it would lure her upstairs. Yeah, that’s not pushy at all.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” Arbor says, appearing at the top of the stairs.
“Don’t worry, Mommy,” Hayes says, waving Gracie’s small hand. “I’m going to be well taken care of while you relax.”
Leaning against the doorway to the pack bedroom, I raise a hand, waving her to me. She shuffles forward, keeping eye contact.
I flatten my back against the door, extending my hand to tell her to come in.
It’s like luring a skittish rabbit, and maybe I’m the wolf, but she just willingly walked into my den. She trusts me on some level, and I’m not about to fuck that up.
What I really yearn to do is to take care of her.
“Take a right at the hallway. First door on your left is the bathroom. The one at the end of the hall on the left is the nest. Both doors on the right lead to the walk-in closet.” I push off and follow her.
She makes the left into the open bathroom and spins around, taking everything in. “This is really nice.”
“It is.” I slide up behind her and take the change of clothes from her hand before tossing them onto the massive counter next to the towels. I pull her hair away from her face and kiss her cheek. “You’re dead on your feet, and I don’t want you to slip and hurt yourself, but I also don’t want to push you into anything you aren’t ready for. We can do this one of two ways. One, I help you into the shower and come back when you’re ready to get out.”
“What’s the second?”
My hand lands on her middle, pulling her back against my chest. “The other option is that I climb in with you. I’ll help you shampoo and condition your hair. I’ll even scrub your back. Either way, after the shower, you’re going to come lie down with me in the pack bed and let me cuddle you until you fall asleep.”
“What about Gracie?”
“Hayes has her.”
“Yeah, but?—”
“You need a solid night of rest,” I murmur, nuzzling my beard to her cheek from behind. “I will be happy to grab her bassinet and collect her from Hayes once you’re asleep. I’ll even wake you up if you tell me when you need to pump, but tonight you’re off duty.”
“Gracie is my responsibility?—”
“All three of our names are listed on her birth certificate,” I growl, moving to stand in front of her. “That means something to me. Now, pick an option.”
“You’re very bossy all of a sudden.” Her adorable nose wrinkles, and a shy smile takes over her face as she blinks up at me from under her lashes. “I think I’ll take option two.”
My heart tries to race out of my chest.
Okay, then.
Now it’s time to actually do the damn thing and take care of her.