Hooking - Kristine Allen Page 0,77

am going to stay with a friend tonight. She doesn’t live far from here.”

My eyes narrowed slightly. She was acting a little out of character. “Your dad know?”

It wasn’t my business, but I didn’t want to get on his bad side. He was a big motherfucker, and even though he was damn near old enough to be my own father, I knew he could beat my ass.

“Oh! Yeah. Of course he does. Anyway, I better get going.” It wasn’t my imagination. She was acting fidgety, but I was too tired, and she wasn’t my kid.

I got up to set the alarm after I watched to make sure she got in her car and down the road okay.

Shuffling to my room, I paused outside Isaac’s room. The door was cracked, so I quietly pushed it open. He was lying on his back, tiny little arms up, hands curled softly. His lashes feathered over the tops of his cheeks, and his chubby cheeks moved every so often as he sucked in his sleep.

Fuck, he sure was cute when he was sleeping.

Unable to resist, I feathered my fingertips through his fluffy dark hair. It was amazing how tiny, yet perfect, he was.

With a sigh, I made sure the baby monitor was on and left the room, closing the door most of the way as I did. It was incredible, the number of things a baby needed. Thanks to my brother and his club, I’d been able to borrow a bunch of the stuff for him. Not that I couldn’t afford it, but they insisted.

When I got into my room, I turned back the covers, went to the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. Victor followed me in and hopped on the bed.

After climbing in bed, I checked for messages from Sydney. The last few days had been hard in so many ways. The minimal contact with her was probably the worst. She’d said we’d take it one day at a time, but I didn’t think that meant going to whatever this was.

Me: Goodnight. Talk to you in the morning

She didn’t answer, and I wondered if she was sleeping or if she was out with her friends.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I dropped into a restless sleep.

I jolted awake, heart pounding and disoriented as hell. The shrieking was as bad as the sunlight that blinded me. I’d obviously forgotten to close the blinds before I went to bed last night.

Blinking the sleep away, I sat up and turned the monitor volume down. Yawning, I scratched my chest and reached for a band for my hair. I’d found out the hard way that Isaac had an uncanny way of puking in my hair if I left it down. Not to mention, he always managed to get a handful of it. Kid had a grip like I’d never seen.

After securing my hair in a messy form of a man-bun, I got up and pissed. Then I shuffled my way to the room I’d set up for Isaac. He was raising hell in his crib.

Stopping by the side, I reached in to pick him up. The second my hands touched him, his eyes opened. Tears were running down the sides of his face. “Let’s get you changed and put some food in our guts, yeah?”

He buried his head in my chest and rooted around against my bare skin. I’d never admit it to anyone, but it was damn near the sweetest thing I’d ever experienced. Talking quietly to him, I set him on the changing table and got his tiny pj’s undone.

In the few days he’d been with me, I’d actually gotten fairly adept at changing his diaper. It was a bizarre accomplishment that I’d never anticipated or thought I’d have to figure out. Like I said, kids hadn’t really been on my radar.

Once he was changed and zipped back up into his little footed jammies, I carried him out to the kitchen. The other thing I’d gotten good at was holding him while I made a bottle for him. Who knew babies needed special water to mix with their special milk? I sure as shit didn’t before that.

“This shit stinks, dude. I don’t know how you drink it.” I talked to him as I finished it up and put it in the bottle warmer. He damn near went crazy as he saw it coming close to his mouth. I chuckled at his exuberance.

I held him with one arm while I made myself a protein