Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Even with the baby boom around here over the past few months, I still didn’t have any experience with them other than ooh-ing and aah-ing over the tiny infants shortly after they were born. My sister was four years younger than me, so the only times I’d held her as a baby had been with my parents’ help. “Are you sure there isn’t some other way I can help you?”
Calliope stopped digging in her diaper bag for whatever she’d been searching for and looked up at me. She must have found my panic hilarious because she burst into a fit of giggles that drew the attention of everyone in the store. Our fellow pack members smiled when they saw how happy Tane’s mate was, and my lips eventually curved up in a small smile because her laughter was infectious—even though my reaction was what had caused it.
“Aww, don’t tell me the big, bad wolf is afraid of a little baby,” she teased as she reached for Alena.
“I’m not scared,” I denied, twisting my torso to move her daughter away from her. No way in hell was I going to admit to how worried I was about dropping Alena or holding her too tightly. I was a smart guy. I’d figure it out. “Finish whatever you need to do. I have her.”
“Oh, you’re so going to regret wording your offer that way.” She pulled a pacifier out of the diaper bag and handed it to me. “When I spotted you walking past, I only planned on having you hold her for just a moment while I found her binky.”
Alena wiggled her little body, her eyes blinking open as she let out a soft whimper. Tucking the pacifier between her lips before she started crying, I asked, “Binky?”
“Otherwise known as the thing you just popped into her mouth,” Calliope explained as she flung the diaper bag over her shoulder before walking past me to head toward the store entrance.
“What the fu—” I caught myself before swearing since I figured that wasn’t a great idea while holding a baby. Then I followed after Calliope to figure out where the hell she was going. When she snagged a shopping cart instead of heading out the door, I heaved a sigh of relief. Even though it was highly unlikely, I had wondered for a minute there if she was going to leave the baby with me while she went to run errands or something.
Before reaching us, she paused at the end of the aisle to toss a couple packages of cookies into the cart. “Those biceps of yours better not just be for show. After holding her for a while, you’ll realize that Alena is heavier than you thought.”
“I’ll be fine,” I promised, barely stopping myself from rolling my eyes. There was no way my arms would get tired from holding the tiny bundle I was carrying. Or at least that was what I’d thought before I followed Calliope around the store while she piled items so high in the cart that she had to start putting stuff underneath it, too. By the time we made it through the checkout lane, I’d shifted Alena’s position at least a dozen times.
“I’m so glad we ran into you.” Calliope clapped her hands together before gripping the handle of the cart to push it toward the exit. “This will be the first time since we had Alena that the house will be fully stocked. I’ve been sending Tane to grab stuff when we need it. The poor guy has been here every day this week, and I didn’t have the heart to bother him when I realized we were out of wipes.”
I eyed all the crap she’d just bought and chuckled, shaking my head. “I’m pretty sure you won’t need to send him back to the store for quite a while.”
“Oh, no,” she cried as we walked through the door.
I scanned the parking lot but didn’t see anything out of place. “What’s wrong?”
“I just realized that you must’ve been at the store to grab something for yourself, and I totally hijacked you for a whole hour without letting you get whatever it was that you were there for in the first place.” She flashed me an apologetic smile. “Sorry I got a little carried away.”
“No worries. I just needed some deodorant,” I assured her, pointing my thumb over my shoulder. “Once I help you get all of this into your car, I’ll run inside and grab it.”
Calliope patted my shoulder, her smile widening. “You’re such a good guy.”
“Luke?”