Page 28 of Sudden Summer

“You’re already helping enough. I’m gonna wrangle my brothers in on set up, figure we can do it at Lach’s place. Colt can run an extension cord and help Hawk put up that inflatable bounce house they got for Beckett. Ma will want to cook, but I’ll chip in with that. It’s not going to be anything big, but yeah. I just want to celebrate her.”

“Your daddy is a good man, Juniper. He’s going to spoil you rotten, and I’m going to love watching it happen.” She grabbed on to Juniper’s leg and pressed a kiss to the bottom of her bare foot. “I could just eat these little toes up!”

I chuckled. “I think she’s almost ready for another bottle and some sleep. Could you take her? I might set up the paint and get moving on her room. I know you have to go back to work tomorrow; figured I could get it done before with your help.”

“Yeah, of course I can. Just don’t forget to grab the rest of the boxes. Come here, sweet thing. Let's get you ready for some good sleep!” She scooped Juniper out of my arms.

“Shit,” I groaned, reaching over to the stove to turn off the heat. The water for her tea had just hit a boil, but I didn’t fucking want her scalding herself on it when she took a sip. Holding the pot over the sink, I grabbed her mug and poured the scalding hot water over the tea bags, before setting the mug back onto the counter.

“It’s okay. Just let the tea steep. I’ll come downstairs and grab it after I get her settled.”

“You sure?”

“Mhm.” Birdie nodded. “Bring up her bottle with you? Yeah?”

“I’m on it.”

They disappeared upstairs, the floor creaking above my head as I fixed Juniper’s bottle. It was a little warm when I tested it, so I left it on the counter while I walked to the front porch. Birdie was right. There looked to be a dozen packages—or more—still sitting out there. I’d only ordered a few things. Balloons. Streamers. A crown for Juniper to wear. The prettiest matching dresses for her and Birdie. That was going to be a secret until party day, so somehow I needed to figure out which package had those inside and hide them away until the big day.

Would Birdie even like that?

“Beau?” Her voice filtered down the stairs.

“I’m just about to come up!” I replied, jogging to the kitchen where I tossed down the boxes and bags, then grabbed her bottle.

By the time I got upstairs, Birdie was sitting in the rocking chair, a pillow across her lap with Juniper perched on it. Her little hand was in her mouth and her face was turning red.

“Oh, I see we’re at DEFCON 3.”

Birdie laughed. “She’s like you when it comes to food. No one better get in her way.”

I handed the bottle to Birdie, running my hand over Juniper’s head. “Sweet dreams, baby.” I turned to Birdie. “Thank you for going with us today,” I whispered.

“It was nothing.”

“No.” I couldn’t stop myself. Everything about the last few days had left me feeling like I was free falling. But not when I was near Birdie. Not when I was touching her. She kept me grounded. My lips pressed against her forehead. “It wasn’t nothing. It meant everything to me.”

I turned, but not before I enjoyed the surprised look on her face.

“I can’t believe you got this all set up while I got her to sleep.” Birdie’s voice filtered in over my shoulder as I finished taping down the plastic over the hardwood floors.

“How is she?”

“She’s great. You know, Juniper wasn’t even the one who cried during her shots…”

I nodded. Yeah. I’d lost it the second the needle plunged into her tiny little leg. My girl was strong, though. She went wide-eyed for about half a second before crinkling her forehead up and looking at me like I was the bad guy. I wasn’t ashamed to admit I lost it a little bit. Thank God Birdie swore to keep my reaction to herself.

I’d seen the tears in her eyes, too. And I’d known I was right with what I told Marissa: I wasn’t alone in raising Juniper. I hadn’t been from the very first minute I’d learned about her; Birdie was there.

“What do you say, Chickadee? Feel up to helping me paint?”

“Of course.” Her brows pulled together, but she pushed off the wall. “Where did you even get this paint?”

“Oh,” I chuckled, “Hawk left it on the back porch. They had a bunch left over from when they thought Beckett was going to be a girl. Said I’d earned it after he made me paint their nursery to show how sorry I was for being an ass to Jessie.”

She laughed. “So, I guess we can call this color ‘humble pie pink’?”

“It’d be fitting,” I agreed, using the church key to pry open the lid, before pouring the first paint tray half full.