Page 94 of Miss Fortune

Daisy nodded grimly. “She should take all the time she needs. Do you know the baby’s name?”

“I sure don’t. It wasn’t anywhere in the paperwork, and I didn’t see a birth certificate.”

“It’s okay. I just feel bad calling him baby.”

I stepped back, my gaze landing on her shirt. “You have a little something on your shoulder.”

She didn’t bother to check. “Probably spit-up. Do you mind staying to watch him for a short bit while I shower and change?”

“Not at all. In fact, I thought I’d stay the night.”

Her eyes rounded. “Are you sure? It’s bound to be a long one without any sleep, and you have work tomorrow.”

I did have work. Two client meetings in the office, as a matter of fact. “I’m right where I want to be.” It was true. Even given all the craziness tonight and the fact we were temporarily responsible for a baby who wasn’t ours, I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

“Go take a shower,” I told her. “I’ll order some food and haul up the rest of the stuff from the car.”

She squeezed my hand. “Thank you.”

By the time she came out of the shower, I’d brought all the baby gear inside and had ordered Mexican food. “Hope you’re still in the mood for tacos?”

“I’m always in the mood for tacos.”

We’d just settled in to eat when the baby started to wake. Daisy took a big bite of her food and moved to put his bottle in a cup of hot water to warm.

I put down my taco, unable to eat while watching her do all the work. “What can I do?”

“You could put the changing mat down on the sofa and get me a diaper.”

I did as requested while Daisy patiently fed the hungry baby with the special bottle.

“He’s doing better, but the poor thing has a hard time.” She burped him next, changed his diaper, and put him into a ninja-worthy swaddle.

“How do you know these things?”

“I’ve babysat kids since I was a teenager. If we’re lucky, we have maybe two or three hours before he wakes again.”

“Let’s finish eating and get some sleep, then.”

As soon as Daisy got into bed, she cuddled into me. Before long, her breath evened out, and she fell asleep.

If I didn’t already love her, I swear I would’ve fallen all over again after the events of this evening. Her capacity for compassion was breathtaking.

Somewhere in the fog of sleep, I heard the baby start to fuss and Daisy get up. “Need help?”

“No. I’m all right.”

The next time the baby fussed, I woke before Daisy and seized the opportunity to let her get some rest. I’d closely observed how she’d operated the squeeze-type bottle but was worried the baby wouldn’t take it from me. But after several attempts, he finally got it. “There you go, little guy.”

Who would’ve pictured this scenario a few months ago? Yet here I was, feeding a baby in the middle of the night. And the thing was, I could see myself doing so again. Letting Daisy sleep while I took a turn feeding our baby.

Whoa. Heavy thoughts.

Yet I wasn’t freaking out. Wasn’t feeling anxious with such a huge deviation from my routine.

Forty minutes later, I had the baby changed, burped, and put back in his bassinet, finally crawling back into bed at four a.m.

Daisy stirred. “Is the baby up?”