But that wouldn’t be wise. No, not wise at all.
5
Jonah
I toss in my bed, unable to shut down my mind. It’s not much wonder. When I woke up this morning, my only plans for the day were to nurse a damn hangover. Never in a million year would I have guessed that Shari would drop a baby into my arms, or that Quinn would be sleeping in the room across from me.
I lift my head slightly and glance out into the hallway. Her door is cracked but her room is dark, so I can’t tell if she’s awake or not. Unlike me, she’s probably fast asleep, not fantasizing about what it would be like to be in bed together, doing all the things I’ve dreamt about doing to her since she grew curves at sixteen. Christ, she’s by far the sexiest girl I’ve ever set eyes on. But she’s in the hands-off zone, and I damn well plan to keep it that way, no matter how much my cock is begging me to go in there and put my mouth on her sexy body.
It’s the wee hours of the morning and sleep finally pulls at me. I allow my lids to drift shut, my mind to settle, when a loud cry rips through my slumber, jolting me awake.
I jackknife up in the bed, try to orient myself, figure out where the crying is coming from. That’s when I remember Daisy is in the next room. I tug on a pair of boxer shorts and hurry to my daughter’s room.
My daughter.
Christ, I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that. Her cries grow louder, almost frantic, and I pick her up, settle her against my bare chest. The child is so confused and frightened, it tugs at the protector in me, and once again I’m angry that Shari just left her like this.
“It’s okay, little one,” I whisper quietly, not wanting to wake Quinn, but wanting to wake her just the same because I am so out of my element here. “Are you hungry, need a diaper change?”
“She probably needs both,” a soft voice says from behind me.
I turn to see Quinn leaning against the doorjamb. “Hey, sorry we woke you.”
“It’s okay.” Light from the hall filters in and Quinn narrows her eyes as she looks at me. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Not much.”
She crosses the room and holds her arms out. “Why don’t you give her to me and go back to bed. I’ll take care of her tonight.”
“No, you go back to bed, I got this.” Okay, that’s not entirely true. I don’t got this, and I don’t want Quinn to go back to bed. I really need her.
She shakes her head, not believing me for a second. Thank God. “You want to change her, or get the bottle?”
I quickly hand her over, and Quinn chuckles. “That’s what I thought.”
I head for the door as she walks to the changing table, the room a bit tight with the double bed still in it. I’m going to have to get rid of it and make the space more suitable.
“The table looks nice,” she says, and then she stifles a yawn.
“Thanks.” I hurry down the stairs and prepare Daisy’s bottle, checking the temperature on my arm like I’m a pro. I’m not. I’m so not equipped to take care of a child, and scared fucking shitless because I have no choice now.
Daisy is still bawling, and Quinn is humming to her as she finishes changing the diaper and dressing her. I wait at the doorway for a second, the sight totally catching me off guard. I never thought about having kids before, or a wife. I guess it was always just off in the distance, something to think about later, but the vision is fucking me over a little, tugging at something deep inside—scaring me even more.
“Hey,” I say quietly as I step up to Quinn. Her body tightens as I reach around her, my chest against her back, and I put the bottle into Daisy’s mouth and hold it there. Daisy gulps fast.
“She eats like you do,” Quinn says quietly, as she rubs her hands over the child’s legs.
I laugh. “All she does is eat…and cry.”
“It will get better,” she assures me. “Soon, she’ll start sleeping through the night, and just wait until she develops a personality.”
Quinn steps away from me, and I don’t want to think too hard on how much I miss her closeness. I pick Daisy up and sit on the edge of the bed to feed her. Quinn lowers herself down next to me.
“I think she’s getting used to you already.”
I nod, not quite sure I believe that. She’s just happy to be getting her bottle. “Quinn?”
“Yeah.”