Page 69 of Waiting to Love You

Not wanting to ruin this family bonding moment, I put a cap on my emotions. Rebekah needs to be my focus. Although I’m desperately in love with her father, she needs to be my priority. I’m the reason she’s spent the last eight and a half months without a relationship with her father, and I won’t do that any longer.

Chapter 19

Seth

We work in tandem as we get Rebekah into the bath. I run the water, checking the temperature frequently, as Bristol quickly undresses Rebekah and places her in the tub. I watch the two of them together as Bristol tickles her belly lightly before placing a few toys and a washcloth in the tub to keep her attention.

She gently leans Rebekah back in the water, splashing a little water onto her head to get her hair wet before sitting her back up. I kneel beside them, wanting to be as close to them as possible.

Bristol gives me a shy smile as she points beside me. “Can you hand me the shampoo?”

I turn and notice a yellow bottle of liquid beside me, grabbing it quickly and handing it to her.

“Thank you,” she mumbles before opening the bottle and pouring a little into her hand. I watch as Bristol lathers the liquid for a few moments, letting it bubble, then rubs her soap-covered hand over our princess’s head.

Wanting to be of more help, I grab the pink cloth hanging from a hook beside the tub and dunk it into the water. I glimpse a purple bottle of lavender body wash where I got the shampoo and pull the cloth out of the water, dropping a dollop of soap into it and rubbing the sides together. After a few moments, I reach under Bristol’s arms and lather up Rebekah’s belly, stopping to give her a tickle before running the cloth along both arms and then down her back.

“Where did you learn how to give a baby a bath?” Bristol’s eyes widen in shock.

I chuckle as I run the washcloth down Rebekah’s back, dunking it into the water to rinse it before going back and wiping the soap from her skin. “There were younger kids in some of the foster homes I was in. I never gave any of the girls baths, but I figure the general mechanics are the same.”

“Yeah.” She gives me a bright smile as I finish washing our daughter, then leans her back once again and rinses the shampoo from her hair. “I’d better give her some time to play, or she’ll have a fit.”

Rebekah squeals in delight as she smacks the largest cup into the water repeatedly, splashing me.

“I didn’t plan on having a shower while giving you a bath, Princess. Can we cool it on the splashing a little?” I say, grabbing one of the other cups in the bath and filling it with water before dumping the contents into the cup Rebekah is holding.

She watches in wonder as the water fills the cup, spilling over into her little hands, and I refill my cup and dump the water into her cup again. After a few moments, she squeals in delight.

“I think you have a new fan,” Bristol says softly as she reaches over my head for a hooded towel thing and grabs Rebekah with the other arm.

She whines in protest, but Bristol wraps her in the towel quickly, pulling the hood over her head.

“Mama has spoken, Princess. I’m sure there’ll be more time to play in the water next time.” I smile brightly at them as I push up to my feet and follow Bristol out of the bathroom and down the hall.

There is a room to my left that seems to be an office with large bookcases covering one wall. An oversized chair is tucked to the left of the window with a fluffy-looking blanket draped over the arm.

“Your favorite spot,” I say to no one as I remember Bristol talking about her favorite spot, curled up in her favorite chair with a good book.

Not wanting to be left behind, I continue down the hall, peeking into a room directly across from the first, which is decorated in soft pinks and purples. Rebekah’s name hangs above a beautiful white crib that’s pushed up against the wall.

“Is this her room?” I question, wondering why we aren’t continuing down the hallway.

“Yes. The girls helped me decorate it,” Bristol says as she lays our daughter down softly on a changing table. “It took me forever to decide what I wanted, but as soon as I decided, Leia, Seli, and Audrey were here the next day with paint, and we got it knocked out.”

“Those girls are a force to be reckoned with, that’s for certain.” Bristol raises her eyebrow at me. “That night, after I cooled off, I called Selina and Audrey. Between the two of them and Connor, I was able to get everything I needed to make sure my place was ready for you and Rebekah.”

“Your place? How did Brady take you wanting to baby-proof your apartment?” She smirks at me as she quickly puts a diaper and pajamas on Rebekah before picking her back up.

“My house. I bought Audrey’s old place.”

I run my hand across the back of my neck. This isn’t the way I wanted Bristol to find out about my preparations for her and Rebekah in my life, but she needs to understand I’m here for the long haul.

“I still need some furniture, but they made sure I had everything Rebekah needed. I set up a room for her and painted it a pale yellow color with sunflowers and elephants around the room.”

“Sunflowers…” Her voice trails off as she lifts Rebekah into her arms and snuggles her nose into her neck.

“Your favorite flower. And elephants… well, I chose those mostly because I thought they were cute.” I take a deep breath and step closer, wrapping them in my arms.

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