Page 183 of Sloane

“Let me try to feed her tonight, so you can sleep.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. If I’m not successful, it won’t take long for you to figure out it’s not working.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that. I haven’t slept through the night since before she was born. Obviously.”

“Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but I’m just glad I can finally be of some help to you.”

“I told you it would happen, you just had to be patient.”

This time her smile was genuine, and I knew she meant more than being patient about our daughter’s feeding habits.

“And as usual, you were right.”

When Ashley finished nursing, I took Millie and burped her, then put her in her crib.

Such a small act, yet it felt monumental. It meant I was going to be able to start pulling my weight as a parent. I hoped it helped lighten Ashley’s load.

~~~~

When Millie started to fuss four hours later, I felt Ash move to get up, so I pressed on her shoulder and whispered, “Go back to sleep, sweetness. I’ve got her.”

“Do you remember how to prepare her bottle?”

“Yep. Are there any up here?”

“In the kitchenette fridge.”

The gods were on my side that night, because my sweet baby girl took the bottle without complaint, and her burp seconds after finishing made me proud.

I even changed my first diaper before putting her back to bed.

Ashley was snoring softly when I laid back down next to her, and I felt like beating my chest. I was finally taking care of my family.

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Sloane

Probably because I’d talked about him out loud at dinner, O’Brien came to me in my dreams that night.

We were back in the desert, eating shitty MREs in camp chairs, while Callahan and Buckley played cards at a popup table nearby.

“You gonna make an honest woman out of Ashley?” he asked with a smirk.

“I hope to someday.”

“Someday? What are you waiting for?”

“The right time, I guess.”

“When’s that gonna be? When you’re dead? Give your girl a ring, Cap’, while you still can.”

I looked at him and realized he’d suddenly started bleeding from his head.

It sounded like he was calling from a distance when he said, “Do it for me.”

I jolted awake, momentarily confused about where I was.

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