Page 33 of Unexpected Delivery

If I could just get like three or four solid hours of sleep, I’d be fine.It’s this thirty-minutes-here, two-hours-there thing that’s starting to make me question my sanity.

And I’m only a few days in.

How much worse will it be in a few weeks or months?

Gracie starts to wail, even as Morris rocks her back and forth. He’s sitting on the other side of the bed, splitting his attention between me and the baby.

I shake my head, wiping a hand over my face.

“Here, I’ll take her.” I don’t even think about modesty as I tug the pillow from under the comforter. It’s the one I was using between my knees. I toss it on my lap, move the top of my dress aside, and pop my breast from the nursing bra. “Ready,” I say around a yawn.

Morris leans over, positioning Gracie facing me. This hold works, but I’m most fond of the football hold they showed me in the hospital. It makes directing her mouth a lot easier.

Pinching my boob, I scoot her closer and bite the inside of my cheek when my nipple aches.

Holy shit.

They were not joking about how sore and tender my breasts would be once my milk started to transition.

Gracie gulps greedily, and I hiss at the uncomfortable feeling. During the first few days, I felt my milk letting down, but it was nothing compared to the throbbing going on now. Not to mention, my nipples are raw and sore in a way I’ve never experienced.

“I’m going to grab you a refill.” Morris climbs off the bed, snags my cup, and takes off. “Would you like a snack?” he asks over his shoulder. “I know you get hungry after feeding her. I’ll just bring you one.”

It takes until he’s well out of the room for me to realize I just popped my entire boob out in front of him without even trying to use a blanket or something to offer myself some cover.

My face burns.

Wow, I really need to get my shit together and fast.

The next morning, Morris’s grandma comes for a visit. He calls her Nana, and she’s a very sweet older woman who doesn’t look a day over sixty. She brings multiple pans of breakfast casserole and a giant tin of cinnamon rolls that makes my mouth water.

“I promise I have clean hands,” Nana says, swiping her gray hair back from her face. “And I know how to safely hold a newborn. Can I take her?”

I miss my dads so much.

“Well, I saw that coming,” Morris says, chuckling from his spot at the kitchen table. “She’s a baby fiend.”

I step closer and place Gracie in the crook of Nana’s arm. “Would you mind if I grabbed a plate really fast? I’m not sure what happened, but I woke upstarving.”

Nana grins down at the baby. “I remember those days. Take your time.”

I head to the cabinet to grab a plate, but Hayes slides up at my side.

“I’ve got it. They’re up high.” His curly brown hair is wet, falling over his forehead in ringlets as he smiles. That lightning scent of his hits my nose, and it’s difficult not to shiver. My body aches to spin around, so I can bury my nose wherever his smell is strongest.

“I’m not that short,” I grumble, trying to distract myself.

His hand lands on my left hip, and his warmth cocoons my back as he pulls down several plates with his right. “You’re still healing. No need to risk popping a stitch when I can help.”

My face heats at the same time my heart races.

Delivering Gracie almost feels like a hazy dream, but the truth is, he saweverything.I’m a little surprised he can still stand to look me in the eye.

Childbirth isn’t pretty.

Hayes places the plates down on the counter and nuzzles his furry cheek to mine from behind. “Your scent smells less stressed this morning. Did you get a good night’s sleep?”

I almost snort, but that would be rude.

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