Page 17 of Shotgun Spouse

He pushed off the couch. The chill of the hardwood floor bit at his bare feet as he followed the sound to the kitchen. The sat phone was where he always kept it, tucked in a drawer by the pantry. He pulled it out and answered, his voice low.

“Mayor Carter, this is dispatch,” a calm, efficient voice crackled through the line. “We’ve got crews out trying to clear the roads. Do you want us to prioritize your location?”

Teddy's eyes drifted toward the closed door of his bedroom. He imagined Bunny curled up under the covers, her dark hair spread across the pillow, the baby’s soft breaths a faint counterpoint to the storm outside.

“No,” he said. “Make the citizens the priority. They need it more.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then, “Understood. We’ll coordinate with your communications director to get the word out.”

“Don’t bother. She’s with me.”

A pause. “Bunny Chou is snowed in, in your house, with you?”

Teddy opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, a wail pierced the air. His head snapped toward the bedroom door. “Hold on.”

He hurried down the hall, the sat phone still in hand. He opened the door as quietly as possible. The soft creak of the hinge made him wince. Bunny was fast asleep under his covers as he imagined. She rustled but didn't quite wake. The baby’s cries grew louder as he scooped the little bundle out of the car seat, cradling her against his chest.

The dispatcher’s voice came through the phone, incredulous. “Is that… a baby?”

“Shh,” Teddy hissed, bouncing the baby gently as he shut the bedroom door behind him. “You’ll wake Bunny.”

There was stunned silence on the other end of the line. Teddy could practically feel the confusion radiating through the connection. He sighed, shifting the baby higher on his shoulder.

“We’re fine here. Don’t worry about us. Just focus on the town, okay?”

“Uh, okay,” the dispatcher said, still sounding bewildered. “But Mayor… is there something you want to?—”

“Good night,” Teddy cut in, hanging up before they could finish the question.

He set the phone down and turned his attention to the baby, who had quieted to soft hiccups, her tiny fists clutching the fabric of his shirt.

Teddy looked down at her, and she stared back up at him. They studied each other—silent, assessing. She wasn’t crying anymore, which he counted as a win. Most kids liked him. He was used to them running up to him at the after-school program, asking him to referee their games, sneaking him their extra cookies at lunchtime. He knew how to handle scraped knees, stubborn tantrums, and broken shoelaces.

Babies, though? That was new territory.

Still, this little girl seemed to have already made up her mind about him. With one last hiccup, she snuggled in closer, her tiny body relaxing against his chest. She let out a small sigh, her fist loosening against his shirt, like she trusted him to carry her and not set her aside like her parent had. At that moment, Teddy promised her that he wouldn't.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Bunny drifted awake in a cocoon of warmth, like a tea bag steeping in hot water. The first thing she noticed was that she was wrapped in the softest fleece, not her down blanket. It felt good, but off. Definitely different.

The bed beneath her was nice and firm. The pillow beneath her head was just the right amount of plush. There was no buzzing alarm. No phone pinging incessantly with texts from her sisters or emails from work. No frantic thoughts about grant deadlines or town crises. For the first time in years, she felt… peace.

She could stay like this forever.

Her eyes snapped open as the realization washed over her like a bucket of cold water. She wasn’t in her bed. This wasn’t her room. And there was supposed to be a baby.

She sat bolt upright, her heart pounding. Her gaze darted around the unfamiliar space—the dark furniture, the navy bedding, the faint scent of cedar still lingering in the air. Teddy’s room. She was in Teddy’s bed.

And where was the baby?

She strained her ears, her pulse still racing. Then, faintly, she heard it—a deep, masculine voice murmuring softly, followed bythe baby’s light, melodic cooing. Relief coursed through her, and she exhaled, letting her shoulders relax. Teddy had the baby.

Uh oh, Teddy had the baby!

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Bunny caught her reflection in a mirror propped against the wall. Her hair was a tangled mess, a halo of chaos around her head. Her makeup—what little of it had survived the day before—was smeared. She winced.

Great. Just great.

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