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“Now, we need to find clothes forher.”
I point to the doll. “She hasclothes.”
“She needs more than one outfit.Geesh.” She pulls on my shirt. “Do you live with only oneoutfit?”
“No, but unlike this doll, I’m a living, breathinghuman.”
“She needs outfits.” She pivots around, and I follow her into anothersection.
Willow picks out three outfits for the doll, and a sense of happiness jerks through me when she demands to pay for the clothes. I’ve been terrified of letting someone else around my daughter. I didn’t want her to feel neglected or jealous. I didn’t think another woman could make Maven feel as loved as Lucy did. But Willow thinks of my daughter, smiles with my daughter, enjoys her company. And my daughter enjoyshers.
“One more stop, and then we’ll head home.” I snag her hand after paying for the doll and hope I’m taking her in the right direction. I haven’t been here since Lucy waspregnant.
“I’m in no rush.” She’s more at ease in this crowd than she’s ever been in BlueBeech.
She stills when we reach our destination, and I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing. It’s a baby store, the largest one in the state, and it has everything you need from clothes to furniture tosupplies.
“I thought we could look around. See if there’s anything we like,” I tell her. She nods in hesitation, and I throw my arm out. “Afteryou.”
“Are you sure we’re ready forthis?”
“One hundredpercent.”
* * *
“Isit bad that I have no idea what some of this stuff is?” Willow asks. “I’ve read every baby book I could get my hands on. Researched for hours and made lists of every necessity needed, but this all seems toooverwhelming.”
I still have Maven’s nursery furniture in the attic. We kept it in hopes of having another baby and saw it as a good-luck token. As much as I want to pull it out, along with the memories, it wouldn’t be right for me to do that toWillow.
“It is at first. I Googled everything of Maven’s to figure out how to use it.” I point to the cribs on the other side of the store. “One thing we know our little tykes will need for sure is somewhere to sleep. Let’s start there, and we’ll work our way through thestore.”
She grins. “Soundsgood.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Willow
Dallas leansagainst the doorway to the guest room I’m converting into a nursery. “There’s still time to change your mind and set the cribs up at myplace.”
“Yes, you’ve mentioned that several hundred times,” Ireply.
Our shopping adventure ended with bags of baby items. We spent three hours shopping and had to get two of everything. Dallas shoved my card away when I tried to pay and nearly threw my wallet out the window when I tried to give him half of it in cash when we got in thetruck.
He wraps his arms around my waist from behind and drags me into his firm body. “I’ll give you the master and crash in the basement. I’ll be the nanny. I’ll get up in the middle of the night and change diapers. Feed them. Bathe them. Whatever youwant.”
“Give you themaster.”
The room where he freaked out onme.
No freaking thankyou.
It’d help me physically with the babies but not emotionally. It’d obliterate my heart. Two babies is hard work, but I’d rather risk being sleep-deprived than take him up on thatoffer.
I’ll fuck him but not walk through his frontdoor.
I’m a hotmess.
He scrapes his hands together. “You want to start setting everythingup?”
