“I’m not opening that door. Don’t you dare get attached to Ruby.” Her words come out as a warning, and I don’t have the heart to tell her that it’s too late. She picks up her phone, taps on the screen, and puts it to her ear. “You pathetic, fucking loser. I’m going to stick my foot so far up your ass that—”
I snatch the phone from her, end the call, and toss it away. I pull her up and position her on my lap.
“I wasn’t done telling him off.” I wrap my arms around her waist, pull her close, and bury my face in her chest.
“Forget him. This is supposed to be our honeymoon.”
“Exactly. You should be spending your time spoiling me, not changing shitty diapers.”
“I can still spoil you. Have you eaten?” She shakes her head no. “Let me cook for my wife. I’ll bring you a glass of wine, make us an early dinner, and then we’ll go to bed, and I’ll make you scream.” I slide my hand underneath her shirt and graze my fingers across her silky skin.
“Okay.” Encouraged by her quick agreement, I put my hand behind her neck and pull her to me. We kiss, but I don’t let it get too passionate before I end it. I’d rather take my time with her tonight.
“Let me get you that drink.” I tap her ass, and she slides off my lap. I bring her back a glass of her favorite white wine, but just as I start looking through the fridge for ingredients, Ruby starts to cry, and Cori groans.
“This is getting out of hand.” She stands abruptly and stomps to the bedroom, and I follow. The baby is sitting up in the middle of the bed, crying and rubbing her eyes. Cori picks her up before I can get to her, and she puts her head on Cori’s shoulder. My wife rubs her back, and I lean against the wall and watch.
“It’s not your fault your father is a worthless piece of shit, Ruby,” Cori says in a soothing voice. “But, please, munchkin, stop crying. It’s giving me a headache.”
“I think she might be hungry. Was there any food in the bag?” I ask from a few feet away.
“There was nothing but dirty clothes in there.” Cori is doing her best to speak calmly, but her anger is palpable. Now, I’m getting a clearer picture of her issue with her brother. “Maybe she can have some of my chicken sandwich from yesterday.”
“Sweetheart, she only has two teeth. She can’t eat a sandwich.”
“Yeah, but the bread is probably soggy by now.” Cori gazes at me and shrugs.
I shake my head at my wife and tell her to follow me into the kitchen. “I can make her some oatmeal.” I pull out the oats from the pantry. “Can you boil some water?”
“Boil water? Why are we doing this when that lazy loser is—”
“It doesn’t matter now. He’s not here. We are, and this is our niece.” Ruby’s cries resume. She sees me and reaches for me, and Cori hands her off.
“See? Even Ruby knows I have no maternal instinct. I don’t know how people do this.” She shakes her head, stomps to the kitchen in search of a pot. “Now I’m supposed to eatoatmeal for dinner? I want lobster. Oatmeal is a mushy, disgusting mess.” I stare at the ceiling while I bounce a very fussy baby.
Chapter 36
Cori
Instead of whatever Dax was going to make, I made us breakfast for dinner. He has Ruby on his lap, and every few seconds, she lets out a belly laugh. My husband either bounces her on his lap or tickles her belly. The latter makes her laugh uncontrollably.
Dax leans over and stares at my plate. I give him some of my eggs, but he keeps staring at my pancakes. I put one of mine on his empty plate.
“This is not what I had in mind for dinner, so tomorrow better be epic. And that needs to include me watching you beat the shit out of Devin.”
My loser brother still hasn’t answered his phone, and when I called my dad to tell him what happened, all he said was that he didn’t know where my brother was, and at least Ruby was with family. He didn’t offer for us to bring her to him, and when I suggested it to Dax, he said he liked having Ruby around.
“After dinner, let's go to the store and get her some toys.” I give him the side-eye and flare my nostrils.
“You don’t want to open that door with Devin. Trust me,” I warn. “He’s always looking for someone to dump his responsibilities on, and it’s not going to happen this time. No one told him to have a baby. He should have kept it in his pants or chosen a woman who isn’t a complete loser.”
“Cori, none of that matters now. Ruby is already here.”
“That’s what everyone says when a woman has a baby with a loser, so I figure—"
“Those people are idiots. Babies need toys. We’ll give them to Devin, but if she’s going to be here with us, she needs things.” He puts Ruby on his other leg. “Listen, sweetheart, I understand how you feel about Devin, but Ruby is an innocent baby. Her mom is not in her life, and with her father’s issues, she will need us.”
Dax puts a hand on my knee and squeezes it.
