Aiden: How are you doing, Beckett?
Brooks: LOL. Sara’s grabbing coffee, then we’ll be by to help.
Beckett: That’s so nice of you. The kids would love donuts.
Brooks: Obviously I was talking to Gavin.
Aiden: Gavin?
Beckett: Gav, you okay?
Brooks: I’m coming in.
I groan at the text chain from my brothers. My phone battery is at 2 percent. I fell asleep while obsessing over Millie’s photos like an insane person. Then Vivi was up three times. I feel like a zombie. How do people with babies function daily? It’s torture.
Footsteps sound in the hall, and then I hear Brooks. “I haven’t found him yet. He’s probably still sleeping.” He’s silent for a second. “I don’t know. Black, probably.” Ah, he must be on the phone. “Okay, and get me a protein bar, please. Thanks, crazy girl. I love you.”
I let out a heavy sigh and breathe through the tightness in my chest. Is everyone in love?
I roll to my left side and come face to face with Vivi. She’s still on her back, head turned and brown eyes wide, sucking on her hand.
“You really are a happy baby, aren’t you, Vivi girl?”
She breaks into a gummy smile.
“Oh, you like that name, huh?”
My bedroom door swings open, catching Vivi’s attention, her chubby little body shifting.
“Sleeping in?” Brooks asks.
I heave out a breath and fight the urge to throw a pillow at him. “Make yourself useful and go fix a bottle for her.”
Brooks frowns, running a hand against his cheek. “How do I do that?”
“Ugh, are you really that useless? Mix the powder with warm water, then shake it.”
It only took me two tries to figure it out last night. I tested the temperature on my wrist like Dylan showed me, then stupidly licked at the liquid to make sure it wasn’t too hot. Then I accidentally inhaled the formula powder while I was putting the lid on the container. The powdery taste is still haunting me. But Brooks doesn’t need to know how difficult it’s all been.
“How about I watch the baby and you do that?” Brooks offers, stepping into the room.
“You think I’d trust you to watch my daughter?”
“Considering that you only met her yesterday and you’ve known me my whole life?—”
I growl at him to shut him up, sounding way too much like Beckett for my liking.
He holds up his hands and backs out the door. “Fine. I’ll make a bottle.” Then he’s gone, and a moment later, he’s talking again, probably to Sara. Good, maybe she can talk him through it and keep him from screwing it up.
“Come on, Vivi girl. Let’s get dressed and go to practice.”
“Is that a baby?”
Vivi’s bundled up in her car seat, seemingly soothed by the rocking motion as I lug the thing into the rink.
Fitz, the goalie coach, has been my saving grace since I took over as head coach for the Bolts. He’s been running practices with me and guiding me through this transition. It’s been a month, though, and it’s time to start showing the guys that I can handle this.
“It’s not a puppy,” I retort as War slides to a stop in front of me. I set Vivi down on the bench, keeping my hand on her carrier to keep it from tipping.