Page 74 of Callahan

Adam

I was a shitty friend.

Fuck shitty friend. I was a shitty person.

I was basically living the life Shawn should have had. The one he would be enjoying had it not been for me.

Once we figured out who was threatening Lainey, I was going home to Lancastle and shingle roofs or some shit. Live the life I deserved, not the one where I was inserting myself into a beautiful woman’s life and bonding with her infant son.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Adam

Lainey tasked me with looking through the closet in the nursery for the breast pump while she nursed Conor. I found the box immediately on the top shelf, pulled it out, and opened it up to take out something that looked like an airhorn with suction cups.

“This looks intimidating as hell,” I remarked as I took a second, matching contraption out.

“It can’t be as intimidating as breastfeeding for the first time.”

“Have I mentioned you’re a rockstar?”

“I’m really not. Moms have been breastfeeding for thousands of years. I’m nothing special.”

Au contraire.

“Well, I think you are.”

She glanced down at Conor, who was latched to her breast, then up at me with a smile.

“You’re very sweet for saying that. There are a lot of days that I feel like I’m completely effing everything up.”

“Your kid is fed and has a clean diaper, you showered today, your business is thriving… I’d say you’re ahead of the game.”

“Can you text me that every day to remind me?”

“Well, since it looks I’m your roommate for the foreseeable future, I’ll be sure to just tell you.”

She studied me for a minute, then murmured, “I think I’ll like having you as a roommate.”

I know I’ll fucking love being here with you—even if I don’t deserve it.

“Especially if Conor gets this bottle thing figured out. Maybe you’ll be able to get a full night’s sleep.”

She closed her eyes with a dreamy smile. “Wouldn’t that be lovely,” then quickly opened them. “But thenyouwouldn’t get a full night’s sleep, and you’re going to need your rest with your new job.”

“My new job is going to be a cakewalk compared to being on patrol overseas. I’ll be fine. I’m used to operating on limited sleep.”

“Well, I am, too, now.”

I tried to offer a compromise. “Maybe we can take turns.”

“Maybe. But I’ll bet they figure out who sent that letter in no time, and then it will be a moot point.”

Hopefully not too soon.

“Well, even if we’re not roommates, I still plan on being around, a lot.”

At least until I go back to Lancastle.

---