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. Like, this much.She sauntered to his spot on the floor and knelt beside him. All right.I have an idea. Sherummaged through the baby bag.Kylie screamed with her sudden movements.Trying to soothe her, he rocked her body back andforth. Whatever it is, hurry.She pulled out a squeeze bottle. Bring the baby. She skipped out of the room. Where are you going?Before she stepped through the doorway she turned. To run a bath for her.A bath? Brilliant.Why hadn t he thought of that?He wrapped the baby in a towel and followed Veronica to the kitchen.Warm water flowed out ofthe tap into one side of the double sink. Take off the rest of her clothes.He did as she asked while Kylie continued to scream like she was being tortured by the RussianMafia. How long is she going to cry? he yelled over the baby s wailing.Veronica shrugged. Maybe this will help. She took the sprayer, tested the water temperature onher wrist, and hosed off the baby s backside over the empty sink, then motioned Finn to put her intothe soothingly warm water filling the other side.He lowered Kylie into the bath and held her carefully, while Veronica gently washed her skin.Thebaby squirmed for a minute, then she settled and he heard her quiet sigh, followed by Veronica s.They both hunched over the counter while the baby cooed and splashed in the water.He turned his head and locked eyes with Veronica.Despite the severe trepidation still pounding inhis chest, he was happy they were together.He had shown up here today to talk with her about theirfuture, and he had been given this small taste of heaven his dream of family come true, completewith a baby.But on second thought, maybe she had been right all along.Babies were really tough to take careof, not to mention unpredictable.And he had just seen for himself that when push came to shove, hecouldn t hack it.Maybe it was time to find a new dream.Eventually, Kylie settled and passed out on the warm, soft blanket Veronica had laid out for her onthe floor. That was& exhausting.Veronica smiled wryly. And just as awful as I d always imagined.He didn t comment.Yesterday, his response would have been,  Are you crazy? but today, afterbeing manhandled by an actual infant, he wasn t so sure anymore. She is cute as a button, but taking care of her is way more trouble than those few moments ofpeaceful sweetness.Hopefully, it lasts a for a while. I appreciate the help more than I can say.But for the record, you stink with babies.He pushed out a shaky breath. I noticed.They enjoyed the blissful silence for a few minutes, then she asked,  Why did you come over,anyway? If you re not here to see Cal. I came to talk to you. He sprawled into the corner of the couch. I wanted to talk to you about Man up, O Reilly.You want to talk about your future.Together. Cal.A legitimate excuse to end up on her doorstep, knowing full well the kid would be at work.He told his inner voice to shut up. Did he ever give you a reason why he bailed on university? He said it was stupid. She dropped onto the opposite end of the couch. That he knew he wouldnever finish, and he didn t want to waste our money. Ah. Finn had to give the kid credit.He d come up with a more than reasonable excuse.She shrugged. Sort of valid, right? Yes, but that s not the real reason. He spoke to you about it? She looked at him in awe. He refuses to talk to me or Mark. He probably just needed someone removed from the situation to be a sounding board.When Finn didn t continue, she grew impatient. Well, what did he say?He didn t relish betraying Cal s confidence.But she had a right to know so her family could fixwhat was broken. He s afraid of being left behind again.He thinks if he leaves, he ll lose you.She blinked. That s insane. V, it makes sense.Foster care, Mark leaving.You re the only person he feels he can count on.He s terrified if he leaves, you ll start living your own life and he might lose you, too.She shot him her best are-you-crazy? look. That would never happen. You and I both know that.He doesn t. But  Her eyes drifted away as she contemplated his words. It s ridiculous. Maybe.But it s how he feels.Her shoulders had slowly crept up toward her ears. So, you re the foster child whisperer now.You came here today to tell me I m wrong, and that I m raising my own brother incorrectly.Great. Did I say that? Finn ran his hand through his hair.He should have stuck to his original plan totalk about his feelings.About her. Christ.This is exactly why I swore I wouldn t get involved inyour family drama. You ve made that very clear on many occasions. She shrugged. But why now? I  He d come here to tell her he wanted to take the next step.With them.To try a realrelationship.So much for that idea.Kylie stirred and started to scream from her nest on the floor.His cue to leave.He shook his head sadly. How did we manage to get through weeks of kinky sex and continue alifelong friendship, only to have our parenting philosophies torpedo it all? We knew from the beginning we had different philosophies. Veronica studied the carpet. It wasinevitable, I guess.She watched as he walked across the living room.Just before he got to the doorway, she said, Thanks for telling me.About Cal.He nodded, then walked out the front door.This was definitely the end.He d been too afraid to man up and tell her he loved her, and insteadhe d betrayed the confidence of a teenager because he was a chickenshit.He only hoped their twenty-year friendship could still come out unscathed.And if it didn t, at least he opened her eyes to thereasoning behind Cal s behavior.At the end of the day, he only wanted her to be happy.For Cal to behappy.Then again, even if he had been brave, tonight had proven he was not the man he d thought he was.A baby whisperer he was not.He had been defeated by a diaper.If he couldn t do that simple task,how was he going to deal with the really important stuff? And why would any woman choose a manwho couldn t even take care of his own child?Maybe he needed to seriously rethink this whole family thing.In any case, having blown it with Veronica, now he could move on.And so could she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]