Page 12 of An Uphill Battle

“What happened?” she asks, inspecting me from head totoe.

“I just wanna go.” Those are the only words I can manage without turning into a blubberingmess.

Myla Rose doesn’t ask any questions. She just wraps me in her arms and holds me. “C’mon, sister-girl, let’s go. I’ll text Simon to meet us at thetruck.”

We wait several minutes for Simon to emerge, and when he does, he wastes no time reminding me that he tried to tellme.

“Wish I woulda listened,” I tell him, my voice raspy fromcrying.

“What happened?” Myla Rose asks, twisting around in the passenger seat to faceme.

“I really, really”—my voice breaks, and I hate it—“don’t wanna talk aboutit.”

“Did someone hurt you?” Myla demands to know, and I can’t help but smile. She looks as innocent as anything, but make her mad, and you’ll see just how feisty she can be. “Want me to kick someone’sass?”

Even though I’m sad and humiliated, I crack up at her question. Simon does too. Myla Rose is all of five foot nothing and probably only weighs one hundred pounds soakingwet.

“Nah, it’s not worth it. Love you,Myles.”

Brody’s popping the bottle from his mouth breaks the spell and brings me back to reality. The reality in which Drake and I are sharing a bed while never sharing our hearts. Hefting Little Man up onto my shoulder, I quickly coax a burp out of him, and after a quick diaper change, I have him re-swaddled and back in the crib his daddy built for him. The amount of work and detail Cash put into that crib is breathtaking. It really speaks to his love for Brody and Myla Rose... the kind of love I hope to havesomeday.

Back in the guest room, I slide under the covers, and as if he can sense my presence, Drake instantly wraps an arm around me. “Don’t you wanna wear your PJs?” he murmurs in my ear, his breath hot on my neck. I hate the way his voice affects me, but at the same time, it’s the most comforting sound Iknow.

I shift from my side to my back. “No, I’m okay in my leggings andtank.”

“Yousure?”

Releasing a deep, drawn-out sigh so I don’t snap at him, I tell him to go back to sleep. He once again flips me to face him and, together, we fall back asleep—though it takes me longer, as I do my best to focus on the here and now, and not thepast.

The next time I open my eyes, the guest room is lit up with sunshine, and judging by the cool sheets next to me, Drake has been up for a while.Farmer’s hours, he callsit.

I stretch and groan before padding into the en suite to make myself presentable. After brushing my teeth and running a brush through my wild mane, I swap my leggings for a pair of holey jeans and a cream-colored long-sleeved thermal and head downstairs in search of coffee, something I know Myla Rose has inabundance.

The old wooden floors creak under my weight as I step into the kitchen, alerting Drake to my presence. “Well, if it ain’t Sleepin’ Beautyherself!”

“You hush! I got up with B-Man while you snoozed away,” I say, hip-checking him as I walk past him to get to the coffee. “Did you makethis?”

“Yes, ma’am. Made it just how you like it,too.”

“You know how I like my coffeebrewed?”

“Bit, I know damn near everything about you. From how you like your coffee brewed—with an extra heaping scoop of coffee—to the brand of toothpaste you like, Arm & Hammer with bakingsoda.”

“You sure seem to have a fixation with the things that go in mymouth.”

I realize my mistake as soon as it happens. Drake places his mug on the counter and stalks toward me. He grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilts my face up toward his, his eyes laser-focused on my lips. “You’re goddamn right I do. This mouth is enough to bring a giant to his knees. It’s perfect and pouty, and the way you roll your bottom lip between your teeth when you’re nervous is enough to drive any man insane. Add to that the fire that comes outta your mouth every time you talk? Yeah, Little Bit, it’s safe to say I’m just about always fixated on yourmouth.”

He presses a chaste kiss to my lips before turning and walking away like he didn’t just drop a bomb in my lap, like he didn’t just rev my engine from zero to sixty. I slump back against the stainless steel fridge, relishing in the way the cold metal cools my overheated skin. Lord, the way that man gets tome.

Once I have my body—and my mind—under control, I pour myself a cup of coffee and doctor it up with cream and sugar. I inhale the first cup and take my second with me to the living room, where Drake has Brody on his belly on a quilt on thefloor.

“Myla’s list said tummy time was of utmost importance,” he tells me with a sly smile, one I can’t help but to return as I claim the seat next tohim.

We spend the rest of the morning sharing baby duty, and when we hear the sound of car doors shutting, I think we’re both surprised by just how quickly the day passed usby.

“Hello!” Myla Rose calls out as she enters thehouse.

“Hey, Myles, we’re in here,” Drake callsback.

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