Page 96 of Labor of Love

Silas: Yikes on that. The answer is still yes.

Rowan: Thank you.

Silas: Anything for you.

This morning, I shot straight out of bed when I realized how high the sun was in the sky. I had managed to sleep until nine a.m. I raced to take care of the baby, but when I realized Silas already had him, I returned to my room and took the most luxurious shower. I’m fairly certain all the hot water was gone, and I had a tankless. When I was finished, I headed downstairs to see what Silas and Audie were doing this morning.

What I found took my breath away. Silas was at his laptop in the office while baby-wearing Audie. He was working on his story and Audie was his co-writer.

“Baby A, we have choices to make. Do we break them up, or do they get friendly with each other? And no, I’m not going to explain what that means because you are way too young to worry about it.” Audie gurgled his answer. “Oh, that’s a good idea. We intro a villain who wants to steal one of them away.” Audie’s noises sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “Oh, you’re a clever bunny, aren’t you?” Silas dropped a soft kiss on the baby’s head.

The trouble with having an alpha, one named Silas to be exact, in my home was I forgot we were essentially roommates. Sure, we accidentally made a baby because of a surprise heat, but we weren’t a couple. As best I could tell, Silas wasn’t dating anyone. His buddies had stopped by to meet the baby, and there’d been no mention of anyone being upset about Audie’s existence or our arrangement.

The more time I spent with Silas, the more I wanted to be around him. He’d jumped headlong into being a full-time papa, and he was effing outstanding at it. He bathed the baby, cleaned around the house, changed diapers, and happily incorporated Audie into everything he did. It was sexy as hell.

And everything else about Silas was sexy too. The muscles that played across his chest. His hair that practically gleamed. The way his laughter was easy and often. His breathtaking multicolored eyes. Unfortunately, Silas had never made anything that could be classified as a move on me.

It was annoying as hell.

8

SILAS

Finally, I was done.

Tonight had been busy with a large convention downtown, so I’d completed plenty of rides and made a decent amount in tips. Still, it was getting close to one a.m., and I wanted to be home. Audie and Rowan were waiting for me, and I couldn’t get there quick enough.

After finding a parking spot on the street, I let myself into the house. Usually, when I got home this late, I returned to a silent house. But tonight, the lights were still blazing, and the baby was wailing. Above that, I heard what sounded like an adult crying too.

“Please, Audie, what’s wrong? I need you to quit crying. I don’t know what you want. Please stop crying,” Rowan begged while Audie screamed.

I tossed my jacket and dinner bag onto the couch and hurried over. “Hey, what’s going on?” I asked, laying my hands on his shoulders.

Rowan turned to look at me with red-rimmed eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. Audie’s eyes looked equally upset as he squirmed in Rowan’s arms.

“Audie has been screaming for hours, and I don’t know what’s wrong. He doesn’t want a bottle. He screams if I lay him down. He screams louder if I pick him. What kind of parent doesn’t know what their kid wants? Oh my gods, you should be worried about leaving him with me. You always know what he wants.” Rowan began crying again as he vented.

“Oh, babe, shush. No, don’t cry. Babies are hard, and screaming ones are the worst.” I took Audie from Rowan and cuddled him against my chest. With my other arm, I gathered Rowan close, tucked him into my side, and kissed his head. “You’re a fantastic parent, and Audie is lucky to have you. Does he have a fever?” Rowan shook his head. “Has he peed?” He nodded. “Maybe he’s just mad. People get mad, sweetheart, and babies are people.”

“He hates me.”

“Audie doesn’t hate you. He loves you, but he’s just not feeling very lovable right now.” I stepped away to lay the baby in the living room cradle.

“You’re just going to leave him there?” Rowan sounded outraged at the very idea of it. Audie was pissed and his cries intensified.

“No, I’m going to lay him down temporarily and return in a few minutes. He’ll be fine for a few minutes until I come back.”

“Where are you going? Where am I going?”

“You’re going upstairs to take a break, and then I’m coming back down to try and figure him out.” I took Rowan’s hand and led him up the stairs before he could argue with me.

Audie’s cries followed us, and I knew Rowan was actively fighting the urge to go back downstairs. Proof positive he was a good dad, even if he didn’t feel like it tonight. We went straight to the bathroom attached to his bedroom.

“C’mon, you need to relax.” Once in the bathroom, I started the hot water in the tub, then rummaged under the sink untilI found the bubble bath I’d discovered when I was looking for cleaning supplies. “You stay in the tub until you’re melty. Did you eat anything tonight?”

“Ugh, no. I didn’t get around to it.”

“Babe, you gotta eat.” I pulled Rowan close again and kissed his forehead. “Take your bath. I’ll handle Audie and bring you some food. You don’t leave this room. All relaxation, no chaser.”

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