Page 17 of Saving Grace
Am I? Or am I already getting in way over my head with a certain blue-eyed boy who still makes my heart go boom?
Chapter 9
Leila
By the time I get back to Kaia, it’s been hours, the longest I’ve been away since she was born, and the pure need to have her back in my arms can’t be described. I probably look like a madwoman holding a newborn hostage with how tightly I have her wrapped against my chest, but I don’t care. Risking a glance up at Kelsey and Drew, I sigh in relief when there isn’t judgment on their faces.
“She was good?” I ask Kelsey, hoping Kaia wasn’t too fussy for her.
“Slept like an angel,” she says with a smile. “Auntie Kelsey will keep her any time you need. I think Jett liked having her around, too.”
Drew snorts. “She had Kaia tucked pretty close when I was in here earlier. Safe to say she may end up with baby fever.”
“Noah would be thrilled, but Jett’s more the ‘borrow and return’ type. She likes her freedom.”
I huff. “Yeah, she definitely doesn’t want a little one, then. I wouldn’t trade this one for the world, but I haven’t slept morethan two hours at a time since the first trimester. And today’s the first time I’ve left her for more than an hour or two.”
I try to ignore the look of concern on Drew’s face as he takes in my statement. It’s true, though. Sleep doesn’t come easily for me. Between the nightmares, paranoia that something will happen to Kaia while I sleep, and her eating every two or three hours, REM sleep doesn’t exist in my life.
“I’ll leave the play pen up in the office, so she’s free to come play whenever you need a break,” she says as she wraps her arms around me in a hug, careful not to jostle Kaia.
“Love you, Kels,” I whisper tearfully.
“Our brave girl,” she whispers back. “Try to trust him, yeah?”
I nod into her shoulder, knowing she means Drew.
As I strap Kaia into her infant carrier, Drew gathers her bag and blanket before slipping the carrier from my hands as well.
“I can carry her,” I say, but it sounds much poutier than I meant for it to.
“I know,” he says before starting for the door.
I glance at Kelsey for help, but she just grins. “Let him help. You know he’s a good man, through and through. He already loves that little girl. You should’ve seen him showing her off to his mama and anyone else who came through that door earlier.”
A soft smile lifts my lips, but I can’t help the caution I still feel in my gut. “I’ve never questioned if he’d be a good father or not. Kaia will always have his heart.”
It’s mine I’m worried about.
When I get to Drew’s truck, I can’t stop the giggle that slips out. He’s staring at the seatbelt like it’s a snake about to strike as he tries to strap in the carrier.
“Need some help?” I ask.
He jumps, smacking his ballcap-covered head against the truck roof.
I wince in sympathy. “Are you okay?”
“How the hell does this thing strap in? It can’t be as complicated as I’m making it.”
I grip his hip while gently pushing him out of the way, my fingersnotlingering once he shifts to the side, before I quickly buckle the carrier into the middle seat. “It’s easier in Gavin’s vehicle. We just have a base that it clicks into.”
“Can you send me the link? I’ll get one that can stay in the truck.”
I keep my face turned away so he can’t see the effect of his words. I’m melting for this man all over, and it is terrifying.
“Leila,” Drew rumbles, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Hmm?”
