Page 75 of Second Chance with Seth

“Enjoying a family moment?” he says, and I stop and look up at him.

“You’re gonna make me cry again if you say things like that.”

“Okay… in that case, we’ve got three bottles that need cleaning, but I don’t know how.”

I laugh and he joins in as I take his hand and lead him toward the kitchen. “Remember I told you I got a sterilizer when I bought the formula mixer?”

“Yes.”

“That’s how you clean the bottles.”

“Oh, I see,” he says, although I’m not sure he does, and I quickly collect up the bottles, rinsing them and showing him how to load them into the machine, explaining how it works. “Usually, I’d put in six bottles, but we’ll just do three this time, so you know how to use it.”

“Okay.”

He watches closely, while gently swaying River from side to side, like he’s been doing it all her life, and I find myself getting tongue-tied, and fumbling over the lid and switches, simply because I love having him here so much.

Once it’s done and turned on, I look up at him and smile, and he smiles back.

“If we’re sticking to practicalities, rather than making you cry, would you like me to dress River while you fix your hair?”

I check the time on the microwave and see I’ve only got twenty minutes until I’m due to be downstairs.

“Could you? Her diapers are in the changing unit, and her clothes are in the closet.”

“I’ll find everything. Don’t worry.” He leans in and kisses me as he finishes speaking, and I stare up at him, dumbfounded. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

“I just can’t believe you’re back.”

“Believe it, babe.”

I turn toward the bedroom and he pats me on my ass as he walks to the stairs, making his way up. I’m about to open the door when I realize something, and dash back, looking up at him.

“Don’t leave her on the changing mat by herself, will you? I know she can’t roll over yet, but…”

“She’ll be perfectly safe,” he says. “I’ll put her in her crib while I get everything ready. Don’t worry.”

I feel guilty now for not trusting him, and I bite my bottom lip. “Sorry. I didn’t mean…”

He turns, coming back down the stairs. “It’s fine. You’ve got nothing to apologize for. I know I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’ve been watching everything you do, and anything I’m not sure about, I’ll ask… I promise.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, and he bends over and kisses my cheek, before I turn and rush to the bedroom, wishing we had more time… to talk, to kiss, to be a family together.

The thing is, we don’t. Not this morning, and with that in mind, I quickly dry my hair, putting it up into a ponytail, before pulling on some underwear, followed by jeans and a blouse. I take a moment to pick up our clothes from where we either dropped or threw them last night, and I leave them on the box atthe end of the bed, alongside my folded sleep shirt. It’s the work of moments to pull up the covers and straighten the pillows and I hurry out of the bedroom, running to the bottom of the stairs and getting ready to climb up them to see what I can do to help Seth, just as the door opens above me and he steps out, carrying River.

She’s dressed in her pink leggings and the top that goes with them… the one that has unicorns printed on it, and I smile up at him as he notices me, and says, “That was confusing. She’s got so many pairs of leggings and tops that kinda match all of them.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “That’s because they come in sets, so you can mix and match them.”

“And why so many?” he asks, getting down to my level.

“Because she can sometimes go through three or four sets of clothes in a day.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Just like a woman,” he says.

“I imagine baby boys are just the same.”

“Probably worse.” He leans in and kisses me. “Now, if my reckoning is right, you’ve got about three minutes to get downstairs.”

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