Page 56 of The Beat of My Heart
“I’ll just have to be the best freaking uncle in the world then,” I whisper to the baby.
“Hey, dickwad, where’s Tate?” Preston asks.
“He’s in the family room watching Jake’s Pirates or something on Disney,” Dex yells as he tries to find something in the closet.
Glancing around, I notice he has made no headway on packing. Not that I can blame him with the kids and all, but fuck. “Ah, Dex? Aren’t the movers coming soon?”
“Yeah, next week, but we can’t move into the house for a couple of months,” he replies.
“Did you call us here to help you pack, dude? I wasn’t kidding about having a date,” Preston whines.
“No, you asshat, I need help with the kids so I can call the nanny agency. Again,” he tells us.
“How the fu—how do they send a nanny that has no idea how to change a diaper?” I ask.
“It's just my luck, Trevor, you don’t understand the women they have been sending over. I thought Molly would drag one girl out by her terrible weave,” he tells us, laughing.
I can just picture his assistant, Molly, too. She doesn’t have much tolerance for stupid. “At least you can laugh about it,” I tell him. “What moving company did you go with?”
“Ah, Olympic or something, I think? I can’t remember; it’s on my desk somewhere,” he tells me, so I hand Harper to Loki and excuse myself, heading that way.
I’m not usually one to rifle through my buddy’s shit, but Dex is in over his head. Finding the receipt, I call the number at the bottom.
“Hi, this is Dexter Cross,” I lie. “I have you scheduled for next week and I’d like to add packers to my order.”
“Hi, sir, I’d be happy to sort that out for you. Is there anything else I can do for you?” the woman asks.
“No, but a friend of mine, Trevor Knight, will stop by tomorrow to give you additional payment information, he will also give you the new billing address at that time,” I tell her.
“Very well, have a wonderful day.”
“Thanks, you too,” I say. Dexter isn’t hurting for money, but Jesus does he have his hands full, picking up that tab is the least I can do.
Walking down the hall, I hear the TV on, so I follow the sounds to find Tate. This kid will always hold a special place in my heart. “Hey, Tate buddy, I’ve missed you,” I tell him honestly as I sit next to him. He looks at me and smiles but says nothing. Dexter told me he has been having a tough time since his bitch of a mother got up and left.
I watch as he crawls across the couch cushion and into my lap. This isn’t abnormal, I’ve known him his entire life. Other than Preston’s mom, I was his first babysitter, and he is my Godson, but tonight when he climbs into my lap to cuddle, I feel a pain deep in my chest. Something that’s never been there before attempts to cut me from the inside.
Wrapping my arms around him, I hold him in close to my chest. His pirate pajamas clinging to his little body, I breathe in his scent. I wonder if all kids smell like this? Would my kid smell like this? Shaking my head, I try to shut that thought down because I know it leads straight to Angel. I’m tempted to pull up the security footage of her, it’s all I have, but I don’t. I let myself instead get lost in Tate and a show about Neverland.
Chapter 20
-What I Never Knew I Always Wanted, Carrie Underwood
Julia
Motherfucker.My water just broke. It takes me a minute to realize since no one freaking tells you that you piss yourself all the freaking time when you’re pregnant, but pushing aside the covers, there is no mistaking it.
“Okay, Julia. You can do this. You’ve got it. Your bag is packed, and Jimmy from the fire station loaded the car seat. You’ve got this! You will be a badass mother… AAARRRGGGG, Nope. I don’t have it. Not at all.”
“MOM!” I yell, thankful that my parents had insisted on staying over for the last two nights because I was having back pain. I’m trying to stand when Lanie and my mom come flying around the corner, fighting to get through the door first. My dad and Lanie’s grandmother, GG, are close behind them.
“Jesus Christ, do we need the whole goddamn town here?” I ask. Although I’m glad they are here, I feel another contraction coming and it brings me to my knees.
Rushing to my side, Lanie grabs one arm, and my mother takes the other. “Motherfucker,” I scream.
“Jules,” my dad warns.
“Pete, you don’t want to mess with that child right now,” GG tells him, “she’s likely to rip your balls right off just for having them.”
