Page 13 of Axe Backwards
Vic stared at me for a long moment, then shook her head. I couldn’t tell whether she was impressed or weirded out.
“Thank you,” I said. “For feeding her.”
She shrugged. “We had a great time together. Didn’t we?”
Gurgling, Tess smacked her fists on the tray of her highchair. Obviously, she was delighted by Vic, even though she’d only met her last night.
The whole thing was surreal. After being on our own for many months,this new person was here, doing the things I should be doing.
And I barely knew her.
My hackles rose, my protective dad instincts taking over.
But then my beautiful baby girl babbled, garnering my attention, and I willed myself to relax. I’d spent so much of my life playing defense against an invisible enemy. All because I let myself be controlled by my insecurities.
These days, I was determined to do better. For my girl.
“You must be exhausted,” I said.
Vic shook her head. “Nah. I have insomnia. Slept a few hours before I came up here.”
My stomach twisted. “Insomnia? That’s rough.”
She held a spoonful of pears out to Tess, which she gobbled up. “Eh. It’s fine. Since my divorce, I can’t sleep.”
That’s right. My mother had mentioned a divorce.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Her back went ramrod straight, and she turned, giving me a withering look. “No. I definitely do not want to talk about it.”
Noted.
“I figured I’d offer, since we’re friends now.”
She barked out a laugh. “We’re not friends. Tess and me? We’re friends. You’re the guy who snores on the couch.”
Ouch.
Though she was still facing Tess, I caught the way her lips quirked. Vic was a little sarcastic. I liked that.
“Tess has never complained.”
“Because you never taught her the sign for ‘Dad, you snore like a chainsaw.’ If you had, I bet she’d be furiously signing it every night. Poor baby would get an elbow injury from all the sign language.”
Hands held up in defeat, I laughed. “Okay, okay. Maybe I do snore. Sorry about that. It was the couch. But thank you again. I had no idea how badly I needed to sleep.”
“I can stay a bit longer,” Vic offered. “If you want to shower, or, I don’t know, brush your teeth?”
Face heating, I slapped a hand over my mouth. Gross. I had become the cautionary parent tale, having no time to shower or brush my own damn teeth.
I jumped up. “Good idea. I’ll be back in five.”
“Make it ten,” she shouted over her shoulder.
Chapter 5
Victoria
