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Chapter Twenty
Bear stirred as heheard a faint cry. He worked to untangle himself from the arms and legs of Phoebe and David. They’d come in to join them around three. He was guessing the cries of the baby had woken them and they’d been scared in a new place.
Winnie had helped them get situated between the two of them. It hadn’t taken any time and they’d both gone back to sleep. Phoebe had whispered as she snuggled in that they could always go to their mommy’s bed when they were scared.
He had no problem doing whatever was needed to make the kids feel secure but he was ordering a king-size bed. Winnie’s queen was a little too crowded. He’d woken up once because David’s foot had hit his crotch as Phoebe’s legs pushed him away from her.
He grabbed the monitor. It was six a.m. so he might as well get up. He’d let Winnie and the kids sleep. She’d gotten up at four and at five. Regina’s timeline of the baby waking every two to three hours had been a pipe dream. They’d been up every hour and had been up for about twenty minutes each time.
He had a list of questions for Regina because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t doing something wrong.
He lifted the baby out of the bassinet and cuddled him close as he got the items ready. Rascal had wasted no time informing him to keep his little buddy covered if he didn’t want peed on. Of course, then Rascal had to share how Bear had peed on him.
Bear laid the baby down and quickly had him changed into a new diaper and a new onesie. He’d leaked through his diaper a little. He grasped him under the butt and held the back of his head as he carried him out to the kitchen. He flipped on a light and swayed as the baby started to whimper.
“I’ve got you, bud. Give me a second to heat this up.” He slid the premade bottle into the warmer, humming as he swayed to keep the baby from crying louder. “Let’s keep this down so your siblings and Winnie can sleep.”
He loved Winnie before this had happened but he had no idea his capacity for love until these little ones had walked into his life. When Winnie had walked over and claimed them all, he’d known he’d fight to keep his family together.
The light came on so he knew the bottle was ready. He was thankful they were able to borrow so much from Regina and Baron. At least he couldn’t screw up heating up the bottle.
He and the baby headed into Winnie’s front room. No, his and Winnie’s front room. He started to sit when he heard a light tapping on the front window. He pulled back the curtain. Rascal and Locks were smiling on the front porch, motioning to be let in.
He unlocked the door and motioned them in. Locks carried an insulated coffee carafe and Rascal had a box of bakery items. They walked into the kitchen, dropping their items on the island, then washing their hands in the sink.
Rascal held his hands out for baby. “I won the toss so I get to feed him his bottle. Locks gets the next time.”
Rascal settled in the recliner with the baby in his arms, motioning Bear back to the kitchen.
Locks had a cup of coffee and was sitting at the island sipping it. “Bear, feel free to go back to bed or grab some breakfast. Once all the guys get here, we’ll get the spare bedrooms cleaned out. The swing set supplies are scheduled to get here at noon. Regina is supplying all the meals for everyone helping today.”
Bear was wide awake so he poured himself a cup of coffee and checked the box. Rascal had gotten a variety. He selected a blueberry cake donut and a twist.
“Were you and Rascal waiting at your house for the lights to come on?”
Locks grinned. “I offered for him to stay the night in the main house. I knew he wouldn’t want to be far from you just like I didn’t want to be. We’re both early risers so I made coffee and he ran to the diner to grab some breakfast for everyone. How’d the kids do?”
“We put them in their own room like Regina suggested but they came into ours around three. We need a king-size bed.”
Noah nodded, taking another sip of his coffee. “If you’re good with it, we’re going to have the spare bedrooms emptied and the items stored in the smaller garage. Since I’ve got two girls who’ve already found men, I think we need a place to store furniture as households are combined. Then as we add new staff or help survivors get a new start, we could offer them some furniture. I know Winnie will want to keep the workout equipment from the fourth bedroom. We’ll see where she wants to set it up but it can be stored in the garage for now. We’ve got king beds in all the rooms at the main house. Why don’t we switch one out today so you have more room?”
Bear loved his MC family and today was just one example of how problems were solved by everyone helping each other. For the first time since he’d found out about the kids, his shoulders relaxed a little. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe there wouldn’t be problems along the way but he and Winnie were surrounded by the best family.
Cassidy would have been a good mom and his heart ached for the baby never knowing how much Cassidy loved him. David might or might not remember her.
