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"Sorry I'm la—" Rush started to say, coming to a stop at seeing Dusty sitting there, giving her a grateful smile. "Good," he declared, nodding.
"Did you call her?" I asked, straightening, offended that he might have gone behind my back.
"Baby, no," he said, snorting. "I wish I had thought of that. But my brain is a little fried," he admitted, walking over to rub the top of Kade's head, but not taking him from his aunt, coming instead to sit next to me, pulling me onto his lap—breastmilk stains, greasy hair, and all.
"I'm Tuesdays and Thursdays in the mornings," Dusty told him. "Someone else is going to take a night a week so you two can reconnect. Be humans and husband and wife instead of mom and dad. It's good for you," she insisted. "Why don't you guys go be humans and partners?" she suggested. "Go get some food. Take a drive."
Rush turned to look at me as my neck craned to look up at him.
"Nap?" he asked, giving me a tired smile.
"Oh, thank God," I said, sighing out my breath. "I was worried you would want to go do something," I admitted as we both untangled, moved off of the couch.
"I barely have the energy to walk to the bedroom," he admitted, rubbing a hand absentmindedly down my spine.
Rush was a great dad.
Attentive to a fault.
Even when I was up with Kade since I was the one with the milk, he would get up too, get me snacks, adjust the blankets, bring the changing stuff to the bed so I didn't have to get up, take the old diapers away, then come back and pass back out with me.
I loved him for doing it even though I knew on a rational level that if he slept while I did the feedings, that he could take Kade when he was awake or just fussy so I could sleep.
"This feels like a vacation," Rush said as we both climbed into the sheets. I didn't remember the last time they'd seen the inside of the washing machine. The next time Helen offered to do the laundry, I was going to let her. Dusty was right, I had this whole tribe, there was no reason to push them away when I needed them most.
"Remember eight hours of sleep?" Rush asked, pulling me in to his side, arm going around me.
"Not really," I admitted, a big yawn escaping me.
"Just think, in thirteen years, we can wake him up at six a.m. on a Saturday morning as payback."
"Sounds like a plan," I agreed.
"But for now, sleep."
"Yes, sleep."
Parenthood was harder than I'd been prepared for, despite all the warnings I'd gotten. But there was no one, no one, in the whole world I would rather go through it with than Rush freaking Rivers.Rush - 4 years"Nope, leave Mom alone," I said, snagging Kade on his way toward Katie's closed office door.
"Mama!" he whined as I snagged him around the waist, hauling him up, tucking him under my arm like a football, getting a little squeal out of him.
"I know. I miss her too, bub, but she's got to work. She's bringing home the bacon."
"Bacon."
"Yep. The good stuff," I agreed, walking him through the house and into the backyard, knowing Katie couldn't think straight if she heard Kade whining for her, and she was on a strict deadline.
It was funny how life worked.
She'd never set out to change careers.
After Kade, we just figured she would work part-time if she wanted to, helping out Fee's ever-growing business. But we never thought there would be any major life change.
But then one of the girls from For A Good Time, Call... messaged her out of the blue, asking if she would be willing to edit a book she was going to be publishing for her, knowing that Katie did, eventually, finish her degree. Even if life did make it take much longer than it should have.
She'd done it as a favor to an old friend.
But that old friend started to get a readership, kept pumping out more books, started recommending Katie around.
Eventually, Fiona got on the case, building Katie a social media platform, automating her web presence, showing her how to build a brand.
And, before we knew it, Katie was living out a dream she'd told me about years before, one she never truly believed she would fulfill.
That said, it meant long hours of necessary silence. And, well, we had a kid. And another on the way. So Katie tended to take to the office for a couple hours late at night and a good chunk of the days on the weekends.
I missed having her around, but it also gave me some one-on-one time with Kade. He was a momma's boy for sure, but he also loved going out, kicking a ball, swinging a bat around. Rarely ever at a ball, mind you, but kids would be kids.
