Page 6 of Scarlett's Mountain Man
I shake my head. I can’t come to any conclusions until I talk to her, and even when she wakes up, I’m not going to ask. There is a lot we need to talk about, and her being a Little is really far down on the list.
“Don’t think she would be that concerned about a stuffed animal when she has a newborn daughter.” I shrug, looking over at Scarlett.
Aiden hooked her up to an IV to hydrate her and checked her over. But I can’t help but still worry. Is she actively in danger? Do I need to have Roman look over the car to see if there are any trackers?
“Remind me to get Roman to check the car for any trackers,” I say to Aiden.
“Trackers?” he looks at me, confused. “Why?”
“I don’t think she would have driven hours to get to the lodge after having a baby if she wasn’t on the run,” I reply. “Gut instinct. I have a feeling she is running from someone, and I don’t want them to find out where she is if she’s in danger. Her or her daughter.”
Everything in me wants to claim them both right now, but I need to be patient.
“Ourdaughter,” I declare before I can stop myself.
Aiden looks at me, shocked. “Claiming her already? You don’t know her situation.”
“I don’t need to know her life story to know that she belongs to me; her daughter is mine too. I am going to take care of them. I feel this pull toward her and I’m not letting go,” I explain.
I could have waited a day or two to claim them, but I couldn’t help myself.
“They are under my care and protection. Anything that involves them now involves me, understand?” I raise an eyebrow at Aiden.
He growls. “I’m not your submissive who you can order around and I’ll blindly obey.”
Sighing, I close my eyes for a second before looking at him again.
“I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry, I’m just on edge. When is she going to wake up?”
“I don’t know. We don’t know how long she was on the road or her condition before she drove,” Aiden explains. “We won’t know until she wakes up, so we’re just going to have to be patient. Now, what was your idea about feeding Juniper?”
I look over at Scarlett, my heartbeat speeding up. The urge to go after whoever made her run is running strong through me. The only thing stopping me is the precious bundle in my arms.
Juniper.
Someone needs to watch over her while Scarlett is unconscious, and that is going to be me. I’m not going to allow anyone else to do it.
“We don’t have formula. What’s the only other thing? Breastfeed her,” I point out. “I know it probably breaks the rules, but it’s the only option. We lie Juniper against her chest and help her latch on. I’ll burp her afterward and help rock her back to sleep if she doesn’t self-soothe while feeding.”
Aiden looks at me, blinking several times.
“I’m just thinking things through. We can’t give Juniper milk, and we don’t have formula. Sure, Scarlett might feelviolated, but we would have kept her baby alive. Maybe she’ll get over it.” I shrug at the end.
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Well, then she doesn’t. I’ll help her any way I can. If that means leaving, then it means leaving, but I’ll give her cash. Not that I want her to leave,” I ramble. “But you said she shouldn’t move for several days. So if she wants to leave after that, she can. I’ll help in any way I can.”
“I agree. Have you helped a baby latch on before?” Aiden asks.
I glare at him. “Does it look like I have boobs?”
He winces. “That sounded wrong. You don’t have a wife and haven’t had a girlfriend in a long time.”
“I do have a sister who has kids. She lives here, remember. We’ll call her and ask. Then it won’t be as weird and Scarlett won’t feel as violated,” I suggest. “But I’m still winding Juniper.”
“Not going to let her go for a while?”
I shake my head. “Exactly. I can already tell I’m not going to like being away from her while she’s being fed. Even when Scarlett is awake, I don’t want either one of them out of my sight.”
