“Let me have him.” She holds her hands out.
I would love the break, just a minute to rest my arms, but I’m stubborn as hell. “No, I got this.”
“Ridge, let me have him.” She’s pissed off now.
“No, I got him. Just call the guys and tell them tonight is off.” I turn away from her and that’s when I see them. Kendall and Dawn are standing in the doorway, watching me unravel.
Perfect.
Knox is still crying. I bounce him, pat his butt, but it’s not helping. Kendall hands the bag she’s holding to Dawn and addresses Reagan. “Hey, can you two give us a minute?”
“Good fucking luck.” She stomps over to pick up a Crock-Pot, Dawn hot on her heels as they take everything to the kitchen.
“Hey,” Kendall says softly, her eyes on me. “Rough day, I see.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
She pulls my hand from his back and replaces it with her own. Moving in close, she begins to run slow circles on his back. “He can tell you’re tense. He can feel it. Babies are smart, and he’s upset because you are,” she says in a low, soothing voice.
“I don’t know. He’s been fussy all day, and even last night. He didn’t sleep well.”
“Yeah,” she coos, and I feel myself relax just at the sound of her voice. “You’re exhausted, and he senses that.” She steps closer and places her other hand on my back, begins to gently rub there as well.
I can literally feel the tension melt away at her gentle touch. “I’ve missed you,” I whisper in her ear.
She laughs softly. “I was wondering why I didn’t hear from you, thought maybe you changed your mind.”
“Never. I just need to learn how to do this.”
“I agree,” she says, surprising me. “However, you need to remember that even two parents in one household need help and a break every now and then. You don’t have to do this alone, Ridge. You could have called Reagan, your mom . . . Hell, you could have called me.”
“I almost did,” I confess. “I just didn’t want you to think that’s what this was. That I was only pursuing something with you so you could help me with my son. I’m doing it because I want you.”
“I know that. Can I hold him?” she asks.
I nod and slowly transfer him to her arms.
“Shhh, little man, it’s okay. Daddy’s just really tired. He needs some sleep, and I think you do too,” she coos to him.
Instantly, he starts to calm. She’s bewitched me too, son.
“My own kid hates me.”
“Hey,” she scolds me with a whispered voice. If I weren’t so tired, I’d tell her how fucking cute she is right now. “You’ve both had a rough twenty-four hours. How long since he ate?”
“He’s due anytime.” I should have tried to get him to eat. Maybe that was the issue, but I tried that several times today. Nothing worked for long, until she took over. Can’t say I blame him.
“Good. You need to go upstairs and take a shower. Take as much time as you need. I got this little guy.”
“Kendall, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask me, Ridge. I want to. You need help, and that’s okay. Please, for me. Just trust me, okay?”
I lean in and press my lips to hers. I have to; there’s no other way to explain it. It’s quick, but the meaning behind it is no less than what it is. A ‘thank you,’ plus an ‘I don’t know what I would do without you in this moment’ kiss. Sure, my sister offered to do the same thing, but we butt heads; my sweet girl moved right in before I knew what hit me. That’s what she’s done since the day I met her.
“Thank you,” I murmur next to her ear before dashing upstairs. I rush through a shower; even though I would love to stand under the hot spray, the need to be near her trumps that. The fact that she’s downstairs, in my house, taking care of my son . . . Yeah, I take the quickest shower known to man. Regardless of how fast it is, I still feel revived, but then again, that’s probably just Kendall.
I’m just hitting the bottom step when I hear Reagan. “How’d you do it?” she asks Kendall. I stop and listen.
“He’s stressed, Reagan. He just needed someone to help him feel like it was okay to ask for help, and it is. He needs to lean on us.”
‘Us.’ Not ‘you,’ not ‘your parents,’ but ‘us.’ My sweet girl.
“That’s what I was trying to do,” Reagan says, exasperated.
Kendall laughs softly. “Maybe, but you also got pissed off when he didn’t do what you expected.”
“He just wants in your pants,” Dawn teases.
“Maybe, but he also needs support.”
I’ve heard enough. Taking the final step, I walk the short distance down the hall and into the living room. “Hey,” I say, but only to Kendall. She’s all I see, holding my son, who is now blissfully sleeping in her arms.
“Hey, that was the quickest shower ever.” She smiles up at me.
I take the spot next to her on the love seat and lean in to her, my lips close to her ear. “Yeah, didn’t want to miss this,” I tell her honestly.
She runs her thumb over Knox’s hand, which is gripping her finger tightly. “Miss what?” she asks, watching my son sleep in her arms.
I don’t hesitate when I say, just for her, “You, sweet girl. I didn’t want to miss you, here in my house, where I can be close to you. You make it all better.”