Chapter Twenty #2
Daisy finishes feeding and places a clean cloth on her shoulder before propping Waylon up to burp him. After patting his back for a few minutes, he lets out the kind of burp to rival Sunday dinners with my brothers.
“Holy shit, you need to bring him to supper at the ranch. Show the boys how it’s done. It’s hard to believe that can come out of someone so tiny.”
“That’s not all that came out,” Daisy says, angling her body so I can see the mess Waylon made on her shoulder.
“Still neater than Wade at the breakfast table.” I grin. “Go have a shower, baby mama.”
A little chews her bottom lip. “Are you sure? I can be quick.”
“Take your time. I got this.”
***
Famous. Last. Words. I do not have this. Daisy had been gone for hours. I’d rocked Waylon to sleep with no problems after she’d left, but an hour later, he’d woken—unable to soothe. I’d listened at her door and couldn’t hear the shower running, so I’d knocked quietly and let myself in.
Daisy had been passed out on her bed, a towel wrapped around her head and not a stitch of clothing on her body.
She was exhausted, so I’d tried to be a gentleman, and covered her prone form with a soft blanket from the end of the bed.
She hadn’t even stirred. I could have left the kid in his bassinette and seen myself out, but she needed the rest and I still felt like the world’s worst douche bag for being so caught up in the shit at the ranch and forgetting about them.
That was over an hour ago. Now, Waylon is fussing in my arms, turning his little baby neck as much as he can to root out lunch I can’t make, from a pair of boobs I don’t have.
I check the fridge for breastmilk. There isn’t any.
Damn it. I shove the binkie back in his mouth and he sucks angrily as if it owes him money.
I pull out my phone, set it on the kitchen counter, and keep rocking as I type one-handed to the family group chat.
Me: L. 911. Daisy’s.
Waylon throws his chubby little arms around. I shush him, perhaps a little too vigorously, because he just cries harder. “Come on, buddy. Let’s let mama sleep just a little longer.”
Five minutes later, there’s a knock on Daisy’s front door, and I sprint to open it, baby in my arms and all, so whoever is on the other side doesn’t wake her. Wade and Wyatt stand on the porch.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I heard it was a five-alarm fire,” Wade says, pushing into the small entryway.
“Wade and I were catching a few afternoon drinks while we waited for the ranch order at the Hayseed.”
“I sent that text to Lemon. What the hell are you two gonna do?”
“Well, I guess that depends on the problem.”
While Wyatt is pushing inside and babbling in Waylon’s little face, my sister’s Ferrari pulls in the drive behind my truck.
Lemon and Mamma climb out with grocery bags and hurry up the walk.
And about thirty seconds behind her, Colt’s truck pulls in, with Cash riding shotgun.
Shit. The whole family is here. Daisy is gonna kill me.
“What’s the matter?” Lemon asks.
“Is Daisy-Mae okay?” Mama asks, taking a now screaming Waylon from my hands and instantly soothing him.
“She’s fine. I couldn’t get him to stop crying though.”
“Where’s his mama, West?” Mama rocks him gently against her shoulder, patting his backside the way Daisy had.
“Sleeping. She was so tired, I didn’t wanna wake her.” I glance around at all the bodies in Daisy’s living room. It’s too much. She’s going to freak when she sees my whole brood stomping over her carpet.
Colt and Cash run up the drive as if their asses are on fire. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Wade says, tilting his chin in my direction. “This dumbass doesn’t know how to be a baby daddy.”
“Like you would fare any better.”
“Hey, who do you think carted Lemon and Wyatt around while your grumpy ass was kicking rocks for being left behind by Daddy and the ranch hands?”
I shake my head as Colt walks inside. Cash is right on his heels. “Is Daisy around, I wanna say hi?”
“She’s sleeping,” I snap.
“Still trying to keep her all to yourself, I see,” Cash says, turning his attention to the baby. “Now, let me get a look at this little fella.”
Mama hands Waylon off to Cash and takes the bags from Lemon and Colt, then she heads for the kitchen.
“Look. I appreciate y’all, but y’all gotta leave. I really only need Mama and Lemon here, seeing as they’re the only ones with boobs.”
“Daisy got any of that cobbler left?” Wade asks, ignoring me.
“Oh, that was the shit,” Wyatt agrees. “Let’s go look for some.”
“You’re not going to eat her damn food.”
“Well, what’s Mama doing?” Wade makes a beeline for the kitchen and—like always—Wyatt isn’t far behind.
“Probably not eating a new mother out of house and home,” I mutter under my breath.
“Maybe we should get a pink couch,” Lemon says to Colt—whom she’s already canoodling with on the plush velvet sofa.
I throw my head back and tip my nose to the sky, praying God will forgive me if I suddenly turn homicidal. Then I realize there’s nothing I can do now and follow my brothers into the kitchen.
Mama is standing at the stove already searing a rolled roast. Cash is seated at the breakfast table gently rocking the sleeping baby in his arms, and my brothers are pouring glasses of lemonade for my whole damn family.
“Seriously, you guys can’t stay.”
“We’re just having one drink.”
“This ain’t Earl’s, Wade. It’s Daisy’s house.”
“And I’m sure she won’t mind if we wet our whistles. We didn’t even get to touch the beer Alexis poured for us on account of your 911 text.”
“Which, again, was solely meant for someone who knows how to take care of an infant. Not for all you circus folk.”
“Hey, I resent that. I’m great with babies,” Wade says, taking Waylon from Cash. The baby screams bloody murder, and my brother promptly hands him back.
“Sit down before you have kittens, West,” Mama chastises. “Daisy knows what a house full of Winchesters looks like. I’ll fix her some more lemonade before we’re done.”
“Where did you get the pot roast.”
“I bought it from the Piggly Wiggly, along with some other things she might need that men wouldn’t have the first clue about.”
“Thanks, mama.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Son. Daisy’s family. I’d do the same for any of my kids.”
I take the lemonade that Wade slides in front of me and down the glass in one go, wishing it was whiskey.
Waylon fusses and starts up a little cry again. “You need to think about waking his mama. Babies can’t go longer than two hours without food.”
“They can’t?”
“Well, thank god you have us,” my sister says, coming in from the living room.
She walks to the counter and takes a knife and cutting board and starts halving the lemons.
Colt finds her the citrus juicer and he squeezes them.
“If left to your own devices, Daisy might be waking to visit her baby in the hospital.”
“Um ... hi. What’s this about my baby being in the ER?” Her eyes roll over all my brothers, my sister, and mama too. “And not that it’s not nice to see you but ... what are y’all doin’ here?”
“This dumbass panicked.” Wade points his thumb in my direction, a cocky smile on his face. He’s enjoying this a little too much.
“Oh my god. So you called your entire family?” Daisy laughs as she turns her gaze on me. “Why didn’t you just come wake me up? I don’t even know how I got to the bedroom. I am so sorry.”
“It’s ... fine. We had it handled.”
“Oh my gosh, where are my manners?” Daisy shakes her head. “Can I get y’all anything to eat or drink?”
“No, honey,” Mama says, taking the baby from Cash and handing him to Daisy.
She cradles that little boy in her arms like he’s the most precious thing in the entire world, because he is.
Guilt slams into me, guilt for my selfishness, guilt for ghosting her, and guilt because even now watching her with her son, my feelings for her get the best of me.
Why the hell didn’t I ever see this woman before her car broke down on the side of the road?
“I put on a pot roast. Biscuits are there on the counter,” Mama says, pointing toward the kitchen-towel covered basket. “We made those special at home, and Lemon fixed you another pitcher of sweet tea since my brood up and drank it all on you.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that. How long was I asleep for?”
“Not long enough, I’m guessing.”
“I don’t know what happened. I was just so tired. I came out of the shower and sat on the bed for a minute and then—”
“And then you were woken up by a house full of rowdy Winchesters.”
“Hey, I’m here too,” Colt says.
“Same,” Cash agrees.
“You two should really think about changing your name,” Wyatt claps them both on the shoulder. “Well, now that we can no longer point and laugh at West, I’m out. Miss Daisy, good to see you.”
“You too,” Daisy says, no less frazzled.
Wyatt stands too. “He’s my ride. See ya later, Daisy. You have a beautiful home.”
“Boy, what the hell you know about beautiful homes?” Wade says, grabbing Wyatt and roughhousing as they leave the kitchen. “Too much damn Fab Five for you.”
“Pfft. You could use a little zhuzhing in your life,” Wyatt says. “Have you seen the hellhole you call home? Cheeto dust and Coors Lite cans don’t equal decor.”
“As if I would ever drink Lite.”
“Again,” Daisy says, pulling my attention from my idiot brothers. “I’m really sorry.”
Mama takes Daisy’s hand. “You just brought a new life into the world, do not apologize for leaning on others to get a little shut eye.”
She shrugs one shoulder. “Plenty of women have babies on their own.”
“Plenty of women have help, Daisy-Mae. Don’t be too proud to ask for it. I wasn’t.”
Daisy’s eyes spark with tears and I feel for her. I’m worried calling everyone here just added to her stress. Is Mama coming on too strong? “But you had so many, and so close together.”