men in the SUV had nearly caught them. She resolved to keep an eye on her watch and make sure she kept a schedule of regular feedings while they were traveling, as much as possible, to avoid a cranky infant. She could also make sure she cleaned and restocked her cloth diaper supply while here at the hotel. Maybe she could look through the phone book or contact the front desk about having more diapers delivered. Onesies too. She couldn’t be the only new mom at the hotel who’d found herself running short of things without notice, right?
After Noah ended his call, she told him as much. And sure, he’d made it clear before that she needed to keep her head in the present and out of thinking and speculating about the future, but dammit. She had to have something to keep her brain occupied in here or she’d go nuts.
“So, I’m thinking I’ll call down to the front desk in a little while to see what supplies might be available for me to order and stock up on. That way we won’t have to worry about Gracie’s needs as we head to the extraction point and you can concentrate on doing whatever it is you and your team are planning. If I’m lucky, I can get enough stuff to last until we’re back in the states and out of danger. Then, man, I can’t wait to shop at my favorite little boutique again. They had the cutest baby clothes for girls last year and—”
“Please, just stop, okay?” Noah gave her a peeved stare. “Didn’t we have this talk already? I’ve got a lot of logistics running through my head and I need to keep it all straight in order to get us where we need to be. We’re nowhere near safe yet, even though this place is secure enough for tonight.” He shook his head and scowled, turning away to pace the room. “All your chatter about diapers and clothes and what you’ll do when you get home is driving me insane.”
The small bubble of joy that had risen inside her at the thought of freedom and hot baths and a life where she didn’t have to look over her shoulder constantly burst. Deflated, her shoulders sagged and she lowered her head to stare at her toes. She’d only been trying to help, but it seemed she’d made things worse.
Crap. Exhaustion mixed with her depression, quickly morphing into defensiveness. He didn’t have to be such an ass about it. Yes, he was frustrated and on edge. So was she. She still managed to be polite and upbeat, while he was just being a dick.
She rose from her chair with as much dignity as she could muster, head high and chin raised, walking past him without a glance. “Well, pardon me for having ideas. I’m going to take a bath now, if it won’t annoy you too much.” She reached the bathroom door and stopped, looking back at him over her shoulder, feeling every bit as bitchy as he’d acted moments before. “And if it does bother you? Tough shit.”
The bathroom door closed with a resounding thwack and Noah just stood there, staring at it for a long few seconds. What the hell had just happened there exactly, he couldn’t say. What he did know was that his blood was thumping through his veins and if he didn’t know better, he’d say he was turned on as fuck.
Though that situation quickly went away, thanks to the crying baby who’d woken up at the loud ruckus.
Dammit. Slowly, Noah turned to look over at Gracie on the bed and back at the bathroom door. Soon, the sound of running water let him know that nope, Serena wasn’t coming back to deal with this.
Shit. Just shit.
Carrying the kid in that sling through the jungle was one thing. She’d been remarkably unfussy, and when she had started crying, Serena had been quick to step in for a feeding or a diaper change. Picking her up now, when she was all red and squalling and seriously pissed off, and trying to soothe that away was quite another. Great.
Okay. Fine. Think, man. Think.
He set his phone aside and walked back to stare down at Gracie. The first rule he’d learned in conflict resolution as a SEAL was to manage stress quickly while remaining calm and alert. He took a deep breath to ease the tension knotting his muscles, then knelt beside the bed to put him