Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 182075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
“You’ll be fine,” Slade said. “She’s tiny right now, but she’ll grow.”
Rock just shot him a look of disbelief.
Quaid got it. He felt the same way. Hope was small and so fragile. He’d never been so scared of hurting someone else in his life.
“We use the schedule,” Slade ordered. “We keep ourselves healthy and rested. And we look after our girls. They come first.”
Of course they did. Nothing mattered but Indie and Hope.
66
Indie woke up, staring around her.
Where was she? What was going on?
“Hey, you’re all right,” a deep voice said soothingly. “You’re okay. You’re in the hospital suite. Remember?”
Remember?
Yes. It rushed back to her. She’d had her baby just over a week ago. And now that she’d been discharged, she was staying in the private suite the guys had secured. They had a bedroom, living room, and even a small entrance.
It was nice and comfortable. The only thing missing was her baby. But Indie knew she’d have to stay in the incubator for several more weeks yet.
When she wasn’t resting or sleeping, Indie wanted to be with Hope, touching her, talking to her quietly. Reassuring her.
Shit.
She wasn’t sure what had woken her. A bad dream, maybe. She was having trouble getting more than an hour or two of sleep at a time.
“Do you need the toilet? A drink of water?” Quaid asked.
She stared at him for a long moment. Indie knew what she really needed but did she dare ask for it from Quaid?
And where was Rock? Wasn’t he staying with them tonight?
“Rock is watching a movie in the living room. He couldn’t sleep,” Quaid told her as he set his tablet down. “Do you want me to get him?”
She shook her head.
Quaid frowned slightly. “What is it, baby girl? You can tell me anything.”
“I want a hug.”
“Oh.” His eyes grew wide.
Please don’t let him reject me.
Because she felt a bit out of sorts and scared of his reply, she simply pointed to him.
Something filled his face, almost a sense of wonder and relief.
And then he got up and sat on the bed next to her, carefully pulling her onto his lap. “I have you. I’m here. I’ll keep you safe. Did you have a bad dream?”
“I think so. I can’t remember it, though.” She buried her face into his chest and he tightened his hold on her.
“It’s all right. I’ll keep all the bad things away. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head.
Even though she knew that was impossible, she felt a lot safer in his arms. It felt like he could keep the whole world at bay, even if just for a few moments.
Rocking her back and forth slightly, he hummed a tune and she felt herself relax.
“Could you not sleep?” she asked him. She hoped they weren’t burning themselves out taking care of her and Hope.
“No. I’ve been looking into the next stages of Hope’s care and if there was anything more we could be dong. Are you looking forward to holding her tomorrow?”
God, yes.
She just hoped it happened. The nurse said that she was starting to stabilize and they wanted Indie and Hope to have skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible.
“Yes, so much. And I’m a bit scared. She’s so tiny.”
“I know. But we’ll be here for you both. We’ll always be here.”
“I know.”
Rock walked in and came to a stop, glancing at her in surprise. Then he signed something. She didn’t know what it was. She’d barely had the energy to shower, eat, and visit Hope. Anything else was beyond her.
“He said are you okay?” Quaid told her. “The sign language I learned years ago is slowly coming back to me. And I’ve downloaded an app on your phone for when you feel up to it. But only once you are up to it.”
“Thank you,” she told him before turning to Rock. “I’m good. I just couldn’t sleep. Maybe it was excitement about maybe holding Hope tomorrow. Would you both . . . maybe you’d both sleep with me now?”
“Of course we will,” Quaid replied for them both as he carefully settled her into the middle of the bed. Rock climbed in on one side and Quaid on the other side. They surrounded her, grounded her, and kept her safe.
“Did the two of you get any sleep last night?” Slade asked as he and Spencer arrived to take over the next shift with Indie and Hope.
They changed things up so they weren’t always taking nights or days. Rock would come back this afternoon to stay with Spencer for the rest of the day since Slade had a meeting this afternoon he couldn’t push back.
Quaid glanced over at Rock who looked as rough as he did. Then he shrugged. “I had things to do.”
“You need to sleep when you get home. Both of you,” Slade ordered.