Page 11 of Falling for Autumn
“Okay, pretty girl. Mommy’s about to feed you very soon. We’re home now,” I stated, looking into the mirror that hung over Auburn’s car seat.
Her chubby little cheeks were turning red as she hollered at the top of her lungs. I had gone back to the doctor’s office today, because of some severe cramping that I was experiencing in my abdomen.
Dr. Callaway said that it was normal. Because I was breastfeeding Auburn, it stimulated the release of oxytocin, which caused my uterus to contract. The pain had gotten so severe, which was why I had gone back to the doctor. She had recommended acetaminophen and using a heating pad to soothe me and bring comfort.
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and then at Cozy Fusions to pick up an online order I had placed. There was an accident on the way that shut down the normal route I took. I had to turn all the way around and take a much longer route. With all that, I was twenty minutes behind on my baby’s feeding time.
I jumped out of the car and rushed to her side. Opening the door, I heard October’s door open behind me, but kept my focus trained on Auburn.
“It’s okay, sweet girl. Mommy’s got you now,” I declared, unstrapping her from her seat.
I cradled her to me and saw that her pacifier had fallen into the bottom of her seat. As I reached for her pacifier, she turned her face into my boob, trying to feed.
“I know, munchkin. Any minute, we’ll be in the house, and you can nurse your heart out,” I declared.
“Hey, let me help you with those bags,” October suggested in that deep, gravelly voice.
I looked up to see that October had come to stand behind me.
“Oh, you startled me. Where are you coming from?” I asked and turned around to face him.
“I was coming to take the trash can to the front when I saw you. I heard the princess screaming, so I decided to see if I could help.”
I laughed. “She does have a set of lungs on her.”
“Yeah, she does.”
“Does she disturb you?”
“Nah. I don’t hear her. I’m talking about when she was born. Li’l mama let the world know she was here,” he stated with a teasing chuckle as he moved behind me to look at my baby.
“And she still lets the world know,” I replied and patted Auburn’s back to soothe her.
She didn’t stop crying, but she did quiet down a little once she was in my arms and resting against my shoulder.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I moved out of his way so that he could grab my bags. I took the opportunity to check him out, not for the first time. He was six feet, two inches of caramel fineness wrapped in a muscular package. His arms and neck were covered in tattoos.I knew that his legs were, too, because he often wore shorts in the summer. He was a thick zaddy who slightly resembled Shemar Moore. His face was lightly sprinkled with freckles, and long lashes curled away from chestnut-brown bedroom eyes that were very observant. A raven-colored beard, mustache, and soul patch surrounded heart-shaped lips. He wore a heavy gold chain around his neck and onyx earrings in his ears.
Despite the beautiful, gleaming dark hair on his face, there was none on his head. He always wore his head bald, but he kept it covered with a grey, black, blue, or white beanie in the fall and winter, like he did at the moment.
I often noticed him jogging in the mornings or sometimes at the park on the weekends. I wasn’t sure what else he paired with his workout routine, but the man was fine and toned. His ass was just beautiful and made me want to bite it.
“Is she hungry?” October asked and broke me from my scrutiny of his body.
“Uhm, . . . yes. It’s past her feeding time. I was running a little late because I stopped to get something to eat. I hadn’t eaten all day, and I ran into an accident on the way.”
“Hey, why don’t you go eat, and I can feed her if you don’t mind,” he declared and followed me into my house with my bags.
“Uhm, . . . I breastfeed her.”
“Oh. That would be a problem then, huh?” he asked as he scratched his head.
I giggled. “Kind of.”
No one had fed Auburn yet. I planned to pump, and I had bought some bottles, but I hadn’t allowed myself to feed her from the bottle yet. Breastfeeding her was a special time for Auburn and me. It was our time of bonding.
“Well, I can put your groceries away, if you’d like.”
