Page 64 of Before You Can Blink
Fuck my life. Just when I thought I might be making some headway with a small step forward, I was shoved back three giant paces.
Irritation crawled up the back of my neck like a bad rash. “Fine,” I grumbled. “Better get outta here before I change my mind.”
Sufficiently dismissed, my mother turned on her heel and began walking away. But she didn’t make it far before she tossed over her shoulder, “Whatever baby-making position you used, steer clear of it for the next one.”
I almost snorted. The idea of another baby was laughable when I held the biggest cockblocker known to man in my arms. I’d barely gotten within three feet of Daisy since his arrival.
Looking skyward, I silently asked God why he continued to test me. Was his intention to see how far he could make me bend before I broke? Because if so, He was going to be sorely disappointed. I was just as stubborn as the horses I used to ride and now raised. I refused to break. Not when my family was counting on me.
“I just don’t know what we’re going to do,” Daisy lamented as we sat around the dinner table inside the Atkinses’ homestead.
Since we had hired Caroline to cook for the ranch hands, she insisted that she feed us as part of the deal until we had our own fully functional kitchen. So, most nights, we found ourselves dining with our friends, whowere all-in on this venture with us. The success of this ranch was vital to both families’ survival.
“I take time away from my classroom to pump for him, but he won’t take a bottle. After nearly a month of this, his weight’s dropped off, and Doc Stevens has expressed his concern.”
I flinched at the mention of that doctor’s appointment. It was a hard enough pill to swallow to hear that my son was essentially starving, but to see the effects of that becoming visible caused me physical pain.
There was barely any meat on Tripp, whereas, at the same age, Aspen’s arms and thighs had featured countless rolls, showcasing how well-fed she was. Clearly, the calories he consumed in the evening and overnight weren’t enough to replace the ones he lost during the day.
It scared me to think that he couldn’t survive like this much longer.
Tripp’s lips popped off his mama’s breast, and without delay, came the ever-present howling when he was brought to her shoulder to burp.
“Here. I’ll take him,” I offered. Allowing my wife the chance to enjoy a hot meal was the least I could do after she’d been forced to learn how to do everything one-handed since giving birth to our son.
“Thank you.” Daisy sagged in her seat once the handoff was complete. This whole situation was wearing on her too. She wanted to give our children the world, and right now, we were struggling to figure out how to keep our baby alive while at the same time keeping a roof over our heads.
The dull throbbing behind my eyes intensified when Penny let out a high-pitched shriek, banging both hands on the tray of her highchair.
Great, now there were two of them.
Caroline reached over to undo the buckles of the seat before settling Penny onto her lap. Without warning, the baby girl lurched from her mother’s arms, and if I hadn’t been quick enough to grab her mid-flyingleap—thank you, rodeo reflexes—she would’ve cracked her head open on the linoleum floor at our feet.
Wade let out a chuckle, beaming with pride like his daughter hadn’t just gone full kamikaze at the dinner table. “Got a wild one on our hands.”
“No kidding.” I figured saying it under my breath would have been drowned out by Tripp’s deafening cries, but when my words carried out over silence, it shocked me to high hell.
Three sets of wide eyes were aimed in my direction, but they were focused squarely on my chest.
When I peeked down, I found that seven-month-old Penny, resting on my knee, had placed a chubby hand on four-month-old Tripp’s back where he was propped against my opposite shoulder. And miracle of miracles, for the first time in his short life, that boy wasn’t crying.
Afraid to move, afraid to breathe for fear that whatever magical spell had been cast over our inconsolable baby would be broken, I whispered, “What just happened?”
Dazed, my wife shook her head. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, we need to bottle it and take it home with us.”
“Let me try something.” Chair legs scraped against the floor as Wade stood.
He grabbed Penny and took a step away from where I sat, holding Tripp in my arms.
Instantly, both babies began to scream bloody murder.
Wade stepped forward. Penny reached out for Tripp, making contact, and silence ensued.
Step back. Screaming.
Step forward. Silence.
Holy shit.
