Page 73 of Daddy's Little Mama Bear

Janie nodded her head. She had finished all of her soup and it was absolutely delicious.

“I can do that,” she whispered as he picked up her bowl.

“I’ve got it. You just sit and relax,” he replied.

“But you’ve already done so much. And you’re still holding her. You’ve fed her and you watched over her while I worked and took a nap,” she said as she stood up. “Which, by the way, I’m not impressed. I said I didn’t want to take one.”

Mac gave her a smile as he stacked the now empty bowls. “And I’ll continue to do more. It’s okay to relax every once ina while and let someone else help. It doesn’t make you a bad mother. I promise. And as for your nap, you needed it. I bet it didn’t take you long to fall asleep.”

He was right about that. After he kissed her forehead, she found herself falling asleep. It was strange. She hasn’t taken a nap in years and honestly didn’t think she needed one.

Okay, that was a lie. Janie knew she was exhausted and any sleep would help her. It was just weird for someone else to take care of Eleanor while she slept.

“I’m going to go put these in the dishwasher and run a load,” Mac said. “Once I’m done, I’ll put her down in her crib and leave.”

Janie looked at Eleanor in his arms to find her falling asleep.

“H-how?” She whispered.

“Sometimes you just need strong arms to hold you,” he said before he walked away.

Her mouth was hung open as she replayed his words in her head. She had imagined falling asleep with his arms around her. Or him using his strong arms to discipline her. Janie squirmed in her chair as she got turned on just thinking about that.

“Do I want to know what you’re thinking?” Mac asked as he walked back into the room.

A little squeak left Janie’s mouth and her eyes went wide. “Shit. I didn’t hear you.”

“Language.”

She ducked her head. She had been so good at curbing her language around Eleanor. Not that she said much to begin with, but every once in a while it would slip out.

“I’m going to go place her down in her crib and I’ll be right back,” he said. “I want you to continue to sit there and relax.”

Janie nodded her head and relaxed in the chair. Or to her best ability she did. It was weird having someone else put Eleanor down in her crib. What had she done to deserve this?

“Alright,” Mac said. “If you need anything, let me know. I’m here to help with anything.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

Mac walked over towards her and kissed her forehead. “Can you follow behind me and lock the door?”

She nodded her head. She was starting to become dead on her feet. Maybe Eleanor would sleep through the night and she would be able to as well. Though, it was unlikely. Eleanor was sick which meant she was going to wake up at some point.

“I’ll see you later,” he said, kissing her forehead again.

Janie sighed as he closed the door. She quickly locked it and took a deep breath in. This was going to get harder to deal with when he was around.

Screamingand crying woke Janie up from her sleep. What was going on? She pushed herself out of bed and walked towards her daughter's room. Did she have a nightmare? Got uncomfortable while she was sleeping?

“What’s wrong, baby?” Janie whispered as she walked into the room.

No blanket was on Eleanor as Janie looked down at her. She was crying and screaming her head off. Her face was red.

Janie’s heart rate picked up. This didn’t seem like a nightmare. She placed her hand on Eleanor’s forehead for a couple of seconds. Panic went through her as her forehead was really warm. Eleanor had never gotten this warm before.

Shit.

She picked Eleanor up, securely holding her. Janie grabbed a blanket and wrapped it over Eleanor as she rushed towards the front door. Something was wrong with Eleanor. She had never gotten this hot before.

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