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Carmen nodded in approval. “And that’s why I let you.” She turned her angry look on her father. “I told you that you were wrong about him. I’m always right, but you never admit it.”
Cane sidestepped the comment by bringing his wife over. “I don’t think the two of you have properly met. This is my wife, Adelina.”
Adelina hugged me right away. She was beautiful like her daughter, with soft brown hair and pretty eyes. She smiled when she greeted me, reminding me of Pearl. “Nice to meet you, Griffin.”
“You too,” I answered.
Conway rose to his feet then came toward me, his son cradled in his arms. “Reid, it’s time for you to meet your uncle Griffin.” He turned his arms toward me so I could get a good look at the baby’s face.
The green eyes were apparent, the same ones that Vanessa had. With olive skin like the rest of the Barsettis, Reid seemed to follow in his family’s footsteps right away. He was quiet, kicking his feet gently as he stared at me in fascination.
Conway prepared to hand him over to me. “Here, hold him.”
I’d never held a baby in my life, and I didn’t want to do it now. “No.”
Conway stilled at my harshness; everyone did.
It was touching that Conway trusted me enough to hold his son, so I knew I had to backpedal. “I’ve just never held a baby before…”
“Neither had I,” Conway said. “Let me show you.”
“No,” I repeated, stepping back.
Vanessa turned her look on me. “Griffin, just hold your nephew.” She looked at me with annoyance, not letting me get my way this time. “You’re making it a bigger deal than it needs to be.”
“This is someone’s kid, Vanessa.”
“No,” she hissed. “This is your nephew. Now, suck it up and do it.”
I looked around at her entire family, who were all patiently waiting for me to do what she asked. Maybe I was the one overreacting, but holding a kid seemed like a terrifying burden. I didn’t want to drop him or do something wrong. My livelihood depended on me being careful, shooting with perfect aim and getting myself out of difficult situations. Holding a child shouldn’t be hard. “Alright.”
Conway moved Reid into my arms and pulled away when his son was secure. “I was scared the first time too. But it’s not so bad.” He pulled away, not the least bit afraid that I would let his son hit the ground.
I stood there with Reid in my arms, the small baby that weighed practically nothing. He looked up at me with his big green eyes, fascinated by my eyes just the way I was fascinated by his. He fit perfectly in the crook of my arm, his length not spanning farther than the length of my forearm. I held Vanessa every day with ease. Not sure why I thought holding a baby would be any different. Now that I was actually doing it, it didn’t seem so difficult. All the stress faded away, and the little boy in my arms actually brought me peace.
“Aww,” Vanessa whispered beside me. “Two peas in a pod.”
Conway turned his back on me and joined his wife on the couch, perfectly comfortable leaving his son across the room with me. He grabbed his wife’s shoulders and massaged the tension out of her back, taking care of her once he was done taking care of Reid.
Crow came to my side and looked down into his grandson’s face. “Pearl and I have been on night duty, taking care of Reid when he cries. I haven’t done that since Vanessa was a baby. It’s tiring, but I enjoy it.”
“That’s nice of you,” I said, still looking at Reid.
“He’s a bit of a crier. He’s usually loud more often than when he’s quiet. Seems to like you.”
“Not sure why he would.”
He patted me on the back. “He feels safe with you, Griffin. As we all do.”
After we had dinner together, people gathered for drinks in the living room. Everyone took turns holding Reid, and whenever he started to cry, Sapphire would either feed him or Pearl would change him.
Crow pulled me off to the side to speak to me in private. “Let me give you a tour of the house.”
It was three floors of luxury, so I was not sure what he wanted to show me. “Alright.”
He took me up the stairs to the second floor. “There’s mostly spare bedrooms here, along with a small gym. When the kids were young, this was their territory. Lars’s old bedroom was down this hallway too. He’s on the first floor now since the stairs are a little hard for him.”
“He’s been working here for a long time.”
“He’s been in the family since I was born,” Crow said proudly. “He started to slow down about a year ago. He does stuff around the house to keep busy, but he relaxes most of the time now.”
