Page 94 of Labor of Love

“Are you sure? What if he cries?”

“Then I’ll check his diaper and give him a bottle.”

“What if he stops breathing?” Rowan’s brow furrowed with worry. He smoothed his hand over Audie’s fluffy hair, then caressed his cheek.

“The odds of that are low, but if it happens, which it won’t, I’ll call 911 and give him CPR.”

“Do you even know CPR?”

“Yes, actually I do…got a card and everything.”

“Ugh. Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” I assured him while gently lifting Audie from Rowan’s arms and cradling him in mine. Rowan gave him one more soft kiss. “Go take your shower, and if you’re feeling wild, take a nap too. Me and the mister are going to find something for dinner.”

“I premade a bunch of stuff if you want to look in the freezer.”

“We’ll figure it out. Go shower.”

7

ROWAN

After two weeks, Silas and I had settled into a routine. I handled the late-night and morning baby care shifts while he worked or slept, and then he took over for the afternoon and evening shifts. Whenever Silas did his Uber shifts, he checked in frequently because he worried during those few hours he was out of the house. This past weekend, Silas had worked until three or four in the morning, taking people home from the bar.

“Holy shit, something smells good,” I said when I pushed open the front door. Silas rushed out of the kitchen to help me with Audie.

“I hope it tastes as good. There’s a concert downtown, so I wanted to get on the road sooner rather than later tonight. I hope it’s okay we’re eating this early.”

“I’ll never complain about eating early, so long as I’m not the one cooking it.”

Silas took the baby carrier from my arms and brought it to the kitchen so he could unstrap Audie for a kiss and a snuggle.

“How did the appointment go?”

“The doctor says Audie’s growing like a weed and is right on track. Actually, he said he is exceeding the track, but I reminded him his papa was pretty big too.” Silas had offered to go with meto the baby’s checkup, but I declined. In hindsight, I should’ve accepted.

Sometimes, I forgot he belonged with us. When I realized I was pregnant, I intended to handle everything on my own. Now, it wasn’t necessary to be so independent. Although, my excuse this morning had been a secondary appointment for myself. Silas had accepted my choice and hadn’t argued, but I’d recognized his disappointment. The gentleness and quiet acceptance I’d seen in him the night we met had never wavered.

“And everything was good with you too?”

“Yes, she said I was healing well, and the danger of blood pressure spikes has mostly passed. Because I haven’t had any issues so far, it’s unlikely to happen going forward.”

“Does that mean you’ve been cleared to stay by yourself?”

“Yeah, she said I don’t need anyone with me now.”

“Oh, okay, yeah. That’s great. Um, yeah, uh, I still have my studio, so yeah.” Silas tried hard to hide the sadness in his voice and expression but failed miserably.

I didn’t have to do this by myself.

“What do you think of our system?” I worked hard to keep my voice neutral and not give away what I was thinking. Or wanting.

“I like being able to take care of Audie, and I’ve never minded working around the house.”

“You’re a heck of a lot better at it than I’ve ever been.”

“Since I can barely do math, I should stick to vacuuming.”

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