Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Chapter 11
Colton
I’m jolted awake from my son's cries through the monitor. I scramble out of bed, and turn off the monitor, so it doesn’t wake Hollis, and rush down the hall. Milo doesn’t cry. My heart is pounding in my chest as I make my way to his room.
“Hey, bud,” I coo, lifting him from his crib. I immediately notice he’s burning up. His cries begin to quiet as I rock him in my arms, running my hands up and down his back. “Daddy’s got you. You feeling bad?” I ask him. Not that I expect him to answer, that’s just what we do. I talk, and he listens. It’s our thing. “I wish I knew what was wrong,” I say, rocking from side to side. “Let’s go get you some Tylenol.” Grabbing his blanket and binky from his bed, I carry him to the kitchen. I’m struggling with getting the Tylenol and the dropper filled with one hand, so I carry him into the living room and lay him on the couch sitting in front of him to keep him from rolling off. As soon as I lay him down, he begins to cry. Not just any cry. No, this one is loud, a piercing wail. It’s a mix between I’m pissed off and Daddy it hurts.
“I’m sorry, buddy. Daddy has to get your medicine.” I try to keep my voice soothing, even though I’m nervous as hell. I hate it when he cries, and it puts me on edge. “It’s okay,” I tell him, but I don’t even think he can hear me over his cries. I fumble with the Tylenol bottle, and I’m finally able to get the lid off. My hands are shaking. What if there is something really wrong with him?
“Colt?”
I look up to find Hollis standing in the kitchen. Her hair is a mess, she’s wearing my T-shirt from yesterday, and her eyes are sleepy but soft. Somehow through my son’s tears, I was still able to hear her. I don’t have time to figure out what that means. “I’m so sorry,” I tell her, continuing to work to get the dropper full of medicine. Milo’s little arms and legs are flailing, and he hits my arm, and I drop the bottle, spilling it all over my lap.
“Hey.” Her soothing voice is next to me. Before I know what’s happening, she reaches around me and lifts Milo into her arms. He shudders a breath, and his cries quiet. “I’ve got you, handsome. What’s going on, huh? Are you not feeling well?” She continues to talk to him in a calm, soothing voice, and his cries stop completely. Shuddered breaths and whimpers are all that you hear.
“Thank you. I’m sorry we woke you.” I stand and grab the bottle and rush to the kitchen to clean up the mess and start over.
“It’s not a problem. What’s going on with him?”
“I’m not sure. He woke me up screaming, and he’s burning up. I’m trying to give him some medicine, but as you can see, that’s not working out too well.”
“Let’s go change your diaper while Daddy gets you some medicine.” She breezes past me and down the hall to his room. I wait for Milo’s cries, but they never come. Instead, all I hear is the low hum of Hollis’s voice as she talks to him.
Bracing my hands on the counter, I let out a slow breath. This single-dad thing is hard. I’m so thankful she’s here right now. I grab a towel from the counter and wipe off my lap, but it’s no use, the sticky medicine has already soaked into the material of my boxer briefs. Tossing the towel back on the counter, I fill the dropper to the correct amount and go in search of my girl and my son.
“That’s better,” Hollis says softly, lifting Milo into her arms. He’s no longer crying, as he stares up at her. “I’m sorry, buddy. I wish I could make it better for you,” she tells him, and he shudders a deep breath.
“Looks like you already have,” I say, stepping into his room.
“There’s Daddy.” She smiles down at Milo. “Nah, he’s still feeling bad. You can see it in his eyes, then there’s the fever.”
Her words strike me in my gut. This woman, so new to our lives, yet she knows my son. She pays attention to know he looks ill in his eyes. She cares enough to pay attention. I’m falling hard and fast for her. Seeing her like this, comforting Milo, getting up with us in the middle of the night. That’s sexier to me than anything else she could have done, any seduction she could have offered. A year ago, I would have told you that you were crazy if you said that’s how I would feel someday. Today, however, that’s just not the case. She’s never looked more beautiful to me than she does right now. In my clothes, hair a mess from our lovemaking before bed, holding my son.