Page 83 of Embers in the Dark

“I’m not kidding. She’s very precious,” he says.

Tucker looks over at Abby. “You’re going to dinner, not leaving the country, right?”

“River, what did you do?” Kennedy makes her way over.

“He typed a fucking thesis.” Tucker holds the paper above River’s head.

Kennedy laughs. “I thought you were kidding.”

“Absolutely not.” He looks shocked she would suggest such a thing.

“We aren’t doing any of this. Now go, before Baylee and I decide we’re going on a date and you guys are shit out of luck,” Tucker says.

“At least look it over, man,” River says.

“Sure, whatever you say.” Tucker starts folding it and putting it in his pocket.

Clay laughs as he kisses his daughter, and Abby says her goodbyes as well. Then he hands me Ella.

Soon they’re waving and closing the front door and we’re alone with a baby and a dog, and I look over at Tucker. “You really going to look over that list?”

“You kidding me? Absolutely not.” He scoffs. “He’s so fucking crazy.”

“Why is Lola obsessed with you tonight? Sheisfollowing you everywhere,” I comment as I notice she hasn’t left his side since we arrived.

“Oh, I stuck a bag of bacon in my pocket to screw with River.” He laughs.

That makes me start laughing and then Ella joins in and she grabs my cheeks with her chubby hands. She looks at me with those cute dimples popping out and her beautiful blue eyes. She’s absolutely stunning and it’s hard not to imagine what my babies will one day look like. That day being far down the line, when I have my life in order, but one day nonetheless.

“What should we do, pretty girl? Should we sit on the play mat?” I ask her as I bounce in place. She giggles and I take her over to her little play area in the living room.

Tucker joins us and we lay down as she starts playingwith the objects in front of her, kicking her feet and babbling with joy.

“I love hearing her sounds,” Tucker confesses.

“I know. There really isn’t anything better,” I say.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard her cry. She’s one of the happiest babies.”

“Remember when my sister’s baby cried for, like, three hours straight for her first Thanksgiving?” I cringe.

He drops his head into his hands. “Oh, gosh. Don’t remind me. I think I lost my hearing for two days straight. I remember walking my mom home and asking if all babies came like that.”

“I think I used that memory to keep from having sex with my first boyfriend because I was scared.” I laugh.

“Dude, she had some lungs on her.” His eyes go wide. “Now she’s all shy. So weird.”

“I know. Nothing makes sense.” I shake my head. My niece is quiet all the time now and my sister says of her kids, she’s the quietest one.

We soak in all of the little coos and giggles Ella lets out as she plays. She soon starts to rub at her eyes, and we realize it might be time to start to wind down. I get her bottle ready and as I head back, I see Tucker has taken her back to her room.

While in her room, he’s gotten her changed into her pajamas and has started reading her a book. She’s focused on touching the pages and babbling along with him. He smiles when she tries to read along and I swear my ovaries explode yet again as I watch them interact. He’s the whole package and I fall in love with him more each second I watch him in all these different parts of life.

Once he finishes going through the book, he looks up and I move into the room. I hand him the bottle and instead of getting up, he decides to feed it to her, as if he’s done it a million times before. She’s eager to take it and starts drinkingquickly. He moves slowly in the rocking chair, his gaze fixed on her, and she moves her hand up. She tries to touch his face, but is only able to graze her fingers on the bottom of his beard.

I let them finish up the routine and walk out with the monitor. I see him place her in the crib. I can see she’s out cold; it’s good to see her parents being gone tonight didn’t affect her too much in her routine.

I feel Tucker’s arms wrap around me as I wash a few dishes in the sink, his beard nuzzling into the crook of my neck.

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