Page 68 of Destined for Eternity
Chapter 24
Bartol
The living room was filled to the brink with visitors. Under any other circumstances, Bartol would never have been sitting in the middle of that many people, but with Sybil cradled in his arms, he felt a certain degree of calm and peacefulness. She had a way of doing that to him. As if it was her special gift, she could bring joy and happiness with her mere presence. No one could look upon her without appearing uplifted.
It had been two days since his daughter was born. All the fears he’d had before about caring for her and holding her had been swept away. She was a part of him, tiny and precious. He would love her and protect her from the world no matter what it took.
“You should share the baby, Bartol,” Melena said, her soft gaze on the infant he held.
Joy sniffed. “He will hardly let her go except for Cori.”
Normally, he enjoyed the company of his mate’s mother and her lively spirit, but he finally understood why Cori found Joy overbearing. The woman wanted to be involved in every little thing. She had her own style of swaddling and way of cleaning the baby. If they didn’t do things exactly to her standards, she could get quite upset. Having said that, she had been rather helpful when they needed a little rest. Their newborn daughter did not keep a consistent schedule and had managed to exhaust them all already.
Bartol lifted his gaze from Sybil to address Melena. “You had the privilege of delivering my daughter. I did not get that pleasure, so I must make up for it by spending extra time with my child.”
“Well, I didn’t do that much…” the sensor began.
Cori, who sat next to him on the couch, shot Melena a warning look. “You did plenty!”
The details Bartol had been given of Sybil’s birth had been sketchy. He’d learned that the midwife did not arrive in time, but his mate didn’t go into details other than to say there had been a complication, and they’d had to clean the baby’s lungs.
“What am I missing?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” Cori replied, not meeting his gaze.
Bartol lifted a brow. “Honesty, remember?”
It had been a promise they’d made between each other and one he planned to uphold.
She fidgeted with her hands. “It’s nothing. It’s just that Melena wasn’t the one to catch Sybil when she came out.”
He stiffened. “Then who did?”
Silence.
“Cori…”
She let out a sigh, and the words rushed out. “It was Kerbasi, okay? We didn’t have anyone else, and he wouldn’t leave my side through the whole labor. He even healed Sybil of the lung problem with help from Ariel. I know you’ve got your issues with him—I totally get that—but he was there for me when I needed him.”
Bartol handed the baby over to Joy, who happily took her. He was too angry for the child to remain in his arms. “I knew he would stay nearby and guard you, but I did not expect you to allow him in the room.”
“In her defense, the midwife couldn’t get there yet, and I had no idea what to do,” Melena said, attempting to pacify him.
Lucas, who sat next to his mate on the love seat across from them, shook his head. “I would not be pleased with the guardian witnessing such an act, either.”
Cori stood, glaring at both men. “What were we supposed to do?”
Sybil began to cry. Joy calmly took the baby upstairs while making soothing noises.
“Don’t blame them,” Ginny said where she sat with her daughters in the corner. “When you’re having a baby, you need all the help you can get.”
“Anyone would have been better than Kerbasi,” Bartol growled. It was all he could do to rein in his temper, keeping in mind the baby upstairs had just stopped crying. He would not scare his daughter again, though it was difficult to keep his voice down under the circumstances.
Cori crossed her arms. “That’s not true. Kerbasi did a great job, and our daughter is alive and well because of him.”
The guardian had requested to visit since they’d returned to Cori’s home, but Bartol had refused. He didn’t want that man anywhere near his daughter. Finding out Kerbasi had delivered Sybil couldn’t have made him more horrified or angry. What were the women thinking?
“He saw you…where he shouldn’t have.” Bartol could hardly contain his jealousy at the thought. “You knew I would not approve.”
