Page 61 of This Wild Heart

“Louise,” I said, and I cursed the tremble in my voice. “I can’t leave right now, and we need … we need some things.”

“What happened?”

I glanced back at the car seat, gently touching one of his little socked feet. “I hope you’re sitting down.”

Ninety minutes later, Louise was bringing the last of the bags into the house. Parker was still in his room, and I had a very hungry Leo giving me an impressive display of his lung capacity. Spike sat on a dining room chair and watched the chaos unfold with a general look of disdain.

I was trying to measure the correct amount of formula into a bottle while I rocked the screaming baby. “I know, sweetheart,” I cooed. “I’m trying to move fast, I promise.”

Louise hustled into the kitchen and gestured for the baby. Her face melted when she had him in her arms. “Oh my stars, look at his little face.” Her eyes glossed over. “Aren’t you just perfect, honey?”

“Thank you for coming,” I told her.

Louise gave me a sad smile. “Has he come out of the bedroom yet?”

I shook my head as I got the scoop leveled off correctly. Once the bottle was capped, I shook it to dissolve the powder with my finger over the opening of the nipple. Once it was mixed, I tested the temperature on my wrist, then handed it to Louise.

The second she brushed Leo’s cheek with the bottle, he latched on hungrily. We both sighed loudly.

“You’ve done that before,” she commented with a small smile.

“I was ten and fifteen when my two younger sisters were born. I know my way around a newborn.”

She gave me a knowing look. “I think that’s going to come in handy right now.”

With a tight throat, I watched her stare lovingly into his face. “What do we do? Parker’s name is on the birth certificate. She doesn’t want to be found.”

Louise tilted her head toward the family room, and I followed her, picking a seat in the corner of the L-shaped couch while she chose one of the rocking armchairs next to the fireplace. “You take care of him. Parker can get a paternity test if he wants, but this young lady isn’t out for money. It’s not benefiting her to lie about anything.” Louise dragged a gentle finger down the slope of his little nose. “This young man needs someone to love him right now. And I believe the two of you can do that.”

“I wasn’t supposed to be here that long,” I pointed out quietly.

Her eyes were full of understanding when she looked up at me. “I know, honey.”

I rubbed my forehead and sighed. “Parker’s complicated, isn’t he? I don’t know what to do with him any more than that baby.”

It didn’t feel prudent to tell Louise that I’d let him screw my actual brains out earlier that day. In light of this giant life curveball, suddenly, that romp in the bedroom felt increasingly naive and silly and … troublesome.

It was chasing pleasure in a situation where I still felt unsteady. Maybe Parker did too. And that wasn’t going to help either of us.

Something about Parker made me lose my head. That was becoming abundantly clear. And I couldn’t help but worry that it wasn’t a good thing, no matter howgoodhe’d made me feel.

Louise was quiet for a few moments, smiling faintly when Leo let out an angry squawk when she shifted her arms and the bottle popped out.

“Parker’s heart is broken, honey. Not in the same way yours was but broken all the same.” A tear slid down her cheek when she looked up at me. “This baby is straight from that time when he was chasing anything to fix those broken pieces. His baggage is a living, breathing human, making him remember how empty he was for all those months.”

“He can’t hide from that, though.” I shook my head, staring up at the stairs that led to the bedrooms like I could magically conjure his stubborn ass. “That doesn’t help anything.”

“No. But it’s easier said than done getting through to that man.” She nodded to the bags. “Now, why don’t you get that bassinet out? My daughter said it’ll be perfect until you can find something permanent.”

The stack she’d brought with her was impressive. A huge box of diapers, a bin of clothes that her youngest grandson had just grown out of, a couple more cans of formula, baby soap, wipes, and one of those activity mats.

I gave her a wry look. “And where am I setting that bassinet?”

“Oh, that’s not for me to say,” Louise answered, an imperious arch to her brow that I quite liked. “You can’t force him with something this precious. People have broken far less fragile things when they can’t get their head screwed on straight. But he might need a little tough love from his wife.”

I snorted. “Let me guess, you’re going to take your leave of us before that happens.”

She smiled serenely. “I’m no fool. I’ll check back in the morning to see if you need anything. You still plan on heading out to his mom’s after breakfast?”

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