Page 4 of Bravely Yours

Without waiting for a response, he stepped out into the hall.

I spent the next twenty minutes trying and failing to not ogle the man. His forearms and back muscles flexed as he worked, and I chastised myself each time I found myself staring.

After he left, my body was lit up in ways I hadn’t experienced in years. Even using my favorite toy in the shower later that night wasn’t enough to satisfy the hunger that had consumed me. Instead, it left me only semi satisfied and feeling stupid for fantasizing about my youngneighbor.

I had to get it together. Right now, the last thing I needed was to be distracted by a hot guy.

Keep your head down and don’t do anything stupid. Elliot’s words ran through my mind again.

He was right. If I screwed up, there was a good chance it would cost me my daughter. And that was one loss I’d never be able to live with.

Chapter Three

JAY

Forty-eight hours later,any carnal thoughts of the gorgeous blonde and her smile had been replaced with annoyance. I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep last night. Again. Nora could stand up, so she had to be around a year old, right? Didn’t babies that age sleep through the night?

I was a pro at braiding hair, and I knew all the best filters to use on TikTok. I could even take a perfect selfie, thanks to my two younger sisters. But babies? I didn’t have the first clue.

And it didn’t help that I was on shift today. It had been arelatively busy day, thank fuck. For as exhausted as I was, I gladly welcomed the adrenaline rush. But did it make me an asshole for being thankful for emergencies? Maybe.

I scoffed. The guys were all scattered around the firehouse. The crew from the next shift were filtering in, and a few of the guys from the current shift were finishing a game of rummy.

“Still not sleeping?” Owen asked as he stepped up next to me.

Side-eyeing him as he poured himself a cup of coffee, I grabbed my full travel mug and pushed away from the counter. I had twenty minutes before I was off. Then I needed to stop by the grocery store before heading home.

“No.” For the life of me, I didn’t understand how he’d functioned when he lived there. “Didn’t all the crying keep you up?”

“I was at Cece’s more than I was at my place.” His brows pulled together. “I really don’t remember the baby crying a lot when I was there.” He chuckled. “But I can sleep anywhere, through anything.”

A lot of the guys here were like that. It was a great skill in our line of work, but it was one that I didn’t possess. Maybe someday I would, but right now, I still needed a dark, quiet room to fall asleep. Sleeping at night wasn’t the only issue I was dealing with. Each evening, the crying started a little after six p.m., so I couldn’t even relax at home.

“Lucky you,” I mumbled. “Cece will love that when the baby comes.”

He shot me a smirk. Lately, he’d found my disposition quite entertaining. Most of the guys did. Assholes.

Even my loud, chaotic sisters didn’t drive me nearly as nuts as this baby had in the last few weeks.

Maybe, eventually, I’d get used to it, but thirty minutes later, as I made my way down the coffee aisle in the grocery store, I was sure that would never happen.

Because as my cart rolled across the waxed floor, crying broke out in a nearby aisle.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I mumbled. Jesus, not here too. Was I imagining the crying? It was pretty likely, since it was all I heard anymore. I turned the corner and instantly froze.

Sarah was halfway down the aisle, standing on her tiptoes. Her shirt rose high, showing off inches of creamy skin as she reached up to grab a can off the top shelf.

I was mesmerized, but only for a moment before Nora’s cries brought me out of my trance, the shrill sound sending a shudder down my spine.

“Mommy’s right here. You’re fine.” Sarah shook a toy that made a rattle sound.

With a frustrated grunt, her little girl swatted it away and reached out.

“Can’t hold you right now, baby. Need to finish our shopping.” A sigh left her mouth as she moved her cart forward. She’d made it a couple of feet before she looked up and locked eyes with me.

Nora was wailing again, and before I knew what was happening, my feet were moving. I couldn’t take it anymore. If it wasn’t used already, the sound of a baby’s cry could easily be utilized for wartime torture.

“Here.” I reached out. “Give me the baby.”

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