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I blinked, not sure what I’d done to set him off so severely. I mean, he’d been the one to ask if there was anything I needed.
“Alright,” I said slowly, eyeing him warily, growing more worried than pissed. Something was not right here. “I’ll be right back. Thank you.”
He sniffed and turned away. I shook my head, confused, then hurried from the house to fetch my feminine supplies.
11
VAUGHN
I could hear the muffled crying through the entrance before I even rang the bell. Footsteps sounded, and then Lucy’s brother opened the door, his face sheet white.
“Dammit,” he muttered when he saw me. “It’s just you.”
Well…
I pulled back, not sure how to accept that greeting. “Hello to you, too,” I murmured.
Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, Beau stepped aside to let me in. “Sorry. Luce ran to the store. But the baby woke up almost as soon as she left. She wasn’t supposed to do that.”
I sent him an odd look as I entered the house, then glanced toward the opening of the hallway where Ava’s screams were starting to get desperate.
“Did you try...picking her up?” I suggested.
Sending me a disgusted glance, he spat, “Does it look like I’m holding her to you?”
“Jesus.” What the fuck was wrong with this guy? “Fine. I’ll get her.”
Dropping the gift bag full of baby clothes I’d brought this time, I brushed past him and strode toward the hallway. It wasn’t hard to find Ava’s room; I merely followed the panicked cries that increased in volume the closer I got.
“Hey, hey,” I cooed softly as soon as I hit the nursery’s doorway and hurried to the crib. Ava’s face was bright red, her eyes were streaming tears, and both her arms and legs were flailing wildly. “What’s going on here?” I asked, keeping my voice hushed and calming. “What’s all this fuss about?”
As soon as I scooped her into my arms, the major portion of her wailing ceased. She was so upset, though, that she continued to whimper and hyperventilate, her entire body lurching as she tried to regain her regular breathing. Face turning in toward my chest, she inadvertently brushed my shirt with her hand, and her fingers latched on to the cloth, where she kept hold of me in a death grip.
“It’s okay,” I told her, kissing her head. “You’re okay now. There’s no reason to be so scared. You’re not alone.”
She continued to shake as she remained burrowed against me, and I had to admit it was nice to be her savior and calm her down.
“There,” I murmured, noticing movement from the corner of my eyes. “That’s better now, isn’t it?”
Glancing over, I found Beau hovering in the doorway as if too afraid to come inside. He was as pale as a ghost, and his eyes were coated with concern.
“She okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “Smells like she might have a wet diaper, though, so I’m going to change her.”
But I’d get to that in a minute. I wanted to make sure she was fully calm first.
Beau exhaled roughly and leaned in to press his forehead to the door jamb. “Fucking Lucy,” he muttered. “She said she’d be back before the baby woke up.”
Squeezing his eyes closed, he grabbed hold of the very door jamb he was resting his forehead on, then he gritted his teeth until his face went red and the muscles in his neck strained.
“Are you okay?” I finally asked.
Exhaling, he straightened from the door and looked at me as if he may pass out at any moment. “I didn’t think it was going to be this hard,” he admitted, looking wrecked.
I didn’t say anything, since I had no clue what he was talking about.
He swiped a hand through his hair. “I mean, Bentley went right up to her and held her and cuddled her. How the hell could she do that, while I can barely fucking look at her?”
