Page 5 of Doc's Decision

A fucking week of stumbling through this fatherhood thing blind as a bat.

My old man was a deadbeat waste of space who never gave a rat’s ass about me, so it’s not like I had much to go on as far as father figures.

Hell if I’m not trying my damnedest to figure it out.

This kid deserves better than I had.

Kash starts fussing, and I bounce him gently, humming some random tune.

He quiets for a minute but then ramps right back up into pissed-off wailing.

I’ve changed him, fed him, burped him, but nothing’s working. “Come on, buddy, give your old man a break,” I mutter.

I pace back and forth across the clubhouse, patting his back.

The guys are probably taking bets on how long before I lose my shit completely.

Fuck ‘em.

Most of them don’t know the first thing about babies either.

I’m so focused on the screaming infant that I don’t even notice Mandy, Zoe’s friend, walk in.

She’s a cute little thing, watching me with a hint of a smile quirking her lips.

She saunters closer. “Need a hand there, Doc?”

I blow out a heavy breath. “Darlin’, if you can get him to stop howling like a banshee, I’ll owe you big time.”

Her smile grows as she holds out her arms.

I pass Kash over, wondering if she has some kind of magic touch.

Lord knows I could use a miracle about now.

Mandy cradles Kash close to her chest, cooing softly. “Hey there, little man. What’s all the fuss about, huh?”

Damned if the kid doesn’t instantly quiet, blinking up at her with those big blue eyes.

I shake my head in disbelief. “How’d you do that?”

She laughs, the sound light and musical. “Oh, you know. Just my natural charm.”

I snort. “Right. Well, feel free to use that charm anytime. Seriously.”

Mandy keeps rocking Kash gently, and he seems completely content now as if he wasn’t just screaming his head off a minute ago.

I run a hand through my hair, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of the past week catching up to me.

“You look beat, Doc,” Mandy says, her voice laced with sympathy. “When’s the last time you got a decent night’s sleep?”

I shrug. “Fuck if I know. Feels like a lifetime ago.” I watch as she sways back and forth, Kash’s eyelids starting to droop. “Guess I’m still trying to wrap my head around all this. Being a dad and shit.”

Mandy nods, her gaze soft as she looks down at my son. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a great job. It’s not easy, but you’re clearly giving it your all.”

Something in my chest warms at her words.

It’s nice to hear, even if I’m not so sure I believe it myself.

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