Page 67 of Don't Leave Me

“Ignore him.” Cody palms Jax’s face and pushes him to the side. “We’re happy to sleep on the couch. We can only stay a day or two anyway, we just wanted to see our baby sister. There’s a game on Monday though and we obviously can't miss it.”

“Do you want to hold your niece?” Charlie appears at my side with Carter in her arms.

“Yes! She’s so tiny!” I eagerly take her from my sister and cradle her in my arms. Her bottom lip wobbles for a second and her brows pull together before she settles again.

“Dang, Little Robinson, you look good with a baby in your arms,” Wyatt says softly as he snakes an arm around Charlie’s waist.

“Yeah, I'm sure.” I roll my eyes as I lean down to kiss Carter’s head. She’s so adorable. I can't imagine being a mom and knowing the little bundle of joy in my arms was mine.

“He’s right, you look so natural with her.” Charlie smiles.

“When are you going to start popping out babies? You and Peck are already living together so…” Jax smirks.

“Jax? Shut up.” Dad shakes his head as he comes closer. “I can't wait for our family to keep growing.”

As everyone begins to get ready for bed, I'm still holding Carter. I'm sure I’ll be allowed to hold her as much as I want to this week. I’m still not sure when I’ll be going back to Mulberry Lane and I want to soak up all the time I can with her.

Carter lets out a loud cry and wiggles around in my arms. I try bouncing her and swaying her, but nothing is working. I glance around frantically, hating that she’s upset. I don’t want her to cry. I'm good with babies, but it’s been a long time since I’ve taken care of any. Creed was probably the last baby I dealt with and he’s a teenager now.

“Let me take her.” Pecker scoops her into his arms and places her up on his shoulder. He stands to his full height and rubs her back as she murmurs something softly.

He looks like such a natural with her. Like he was born to be a daddy. As I watch him, I fall a little more in love with the man. I'm not sure I can fall much further, but it seems to keep happening.

Grabbing my phone, I snap a few pictures of him. He looks so sexy with a little baby snuggled into his neck and she’s already calmed down again. I don’t know what he did, but she’s happy.

“You’re so good with her.” I keep my voice low and soft, not wanting to wake her up again.

Closing the distance between us, I place my hand on Carter’s back and lean my head against Peck’s shoulder.

“I can't wait to have a baby,” I murmur.

“When do you want to have one?”

“Now?” I smile up at him.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he chuckles. “Maybe a year? They take like nine months to make, ya know.”

“Hmm, well, I want to get married first.” I tap my chin like I'm thinking. “I wonder who I could marry.”

“Pecker! I vote for Pecker!” Jax bounces into the room, startling Carter awake again.

She lets out a blood curdling scream and it takes Pecker a few minutes to get her to calm down.

“I swear, Jax, you need to learn how to be quiet. Whenever you’re around, she’s screaming because you scare her so much.” Charlie takes Carter out of Pecker’s arms and she instantly calms down and snuggles into her chest.

“It’s Mama’s touch. She always calms when Charlie’s holding her.” Wyatt grins down at his wife and daughter. He’s so happy to be a dad and I'm sure he’s going to be an amazing one, especially as she gets older.

“Oh, please. She already loves you more than me, but she’s smart. She knows your pecs do nothing for her.” Charlie laughs when Wyatt stares down at his bare chest with a frown.

“I feel like I'm overdressed.” Pecker glances around at Wyatt, Jax, Cody, and Dad who are all shirtless. “And maybe a little intimidated,” he murmurs under his breath, but everyone hears him and we all laugh.

“Well, Papa is a beast and I don’t think he’ll ever be out of shape. The rest of us get paid millions of dollars to look like this,” Cody offers, trying to make Pecker feel better.

“Plus, you’re in luck. We’re all related to Soph, so she’s not going to be attracted to any of us. She’ll always think you’re the hottest one in the room, even if it isn't true.” Jax teases him.

“Gee, thanks, Jax.” Pecker rolls his eyes, making everyone laugh even harder.

Chapter 30

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