it gets better. The reporter is investigating the trafficking situation and smells a juicy story.”
Juicy stories and meddling press were best left to Dottie. Or King.
“Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll talk to King and see how he wants to handle it.”
Stan motioned with his head, wearing a worried frown on his face. “Is she hanging in there?”
He sighed. “It’s minute by minute.”
They looked at each other, and then Stan wandered away to gather everyone and move them out.
Shutting the guesthouse back door, he turned his full attention on Summer.
Pink bunnies. Snow falling on a stream of moving water. The rainbow special effects of sunlight bouncing off a crystal. These were the things she forced her overtaxed brain to concentrate on. Anything was better than the feeling of falling apart.
Ari scooched in her swaddle. She was getting agitated. The sounds she made triggered Summer’s mommy hormones, and bam, her boobs leaked.
Of course.
She took advantage of Arnie’s diverted attention. He and Stan were whispering at the back door.
Rising, she headed for the bathroom to change into something more nursing friendly. The first thing she found after yanking on a drawer was a loose long-sleeve top with a faux wrap appearance. Perfect for exposing her breasts one at a time.
Finger combing her wavy hair, she pulled it all into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic from the basket on the back of the toilet.
Arnie was closing the door when she went back to the living room. He watched her closely.
Not sure what to do or how to act, she shrugged and went about business as usual.
“Come here, sweetie. Let’s get you changed, hmm?”
She lifted Ari from the playpen and cradled her. They locked eyes. The baby let out a long, “Goooo.”
Something was different in her expression. She noticed it after Ari and her daddy had their first face-to-face moment. Her blue eyes always twinkled, but now there was an extra sparkle.
Could the peace and serenity coming from her daughter be chalked up to the three of them finally being together?
Standing in the shadow of Arnie’s big, solid, and mostly silent presence, she felt her heart peek inside a hidden box marked family. What she found there put tears in her eyes.
This man and this baby were her everything.
She needed a deep breath before her feet would move. Arnie followed close as she headed into the bedroom. His boyish eagerness was so adorably sweet that she mentally surrendered her panties with no problem.
“Open the curtains, okay?” She motioned with a tilt of her head, and he scrambled around the bed to part the drapes and flood the room with light.
“What else can I do?”
“Listen and learn,” she mumbled, lowering the baby onto her changing table. “This is called a swaddle,” she explained.
“Oh, I know,” he proudly exclaimed. “Did the research.”
She stared at him with amazement. “You did?”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “When you left me to figure out how to change a baby, I googled that shit.”
Her snort of surprise made the baby wiggle and coo. Ari responded to her mommy’s moods.
“Wrapping the baby snugly calms their heart rate. It’s a form of security.”
She added, “Babies startle easily. The swaddle helps ease the disturbance.”
With Daddy standing guard at the foot of the changing table, Summer went through the unwrapping ritual. Humming softly, she smiled and deftly loosened the blanket until Ari’s delightfully chubby body was revealed. As usual, her daughter immediately lengthened, spreading her arms and wriggling. She pushed her butt out and arched her back.
“God,” Arnie murmured. “I can feel her stretching.”
“You’re bonding with her. I’m glad.”
He leaned over and caught Ari’s gaze. “Are you going to take after Mommy and be a gymnast?”
“Goooo,” the baby replied.
With the efficiency developed after months of going it alone, Summer babbled nonstop while doing a quick baby refresh.
“She needs a bath, but my boobs are leaking, so water play has to wait.”
His expression was priceless. “Did you just say your boobs are leaking?”
Shaking her head at him as if he was too stupid for words, she lifted Ari, and using a nursing pillow for support, she got them both settled in the glider.
Ever watchful, Arnie dropped to his knees.
“Pull the ottoman over and sit here,” she murmured and indicated where he should park himself.
For half an hour, she rocked, hummed, and feathered her fingers on Ari’s sweet little head as the baby nursed. Arnie continued to be mesmerized. He hung close, watched everything, and asked the occasional question.