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The last time we’d seen each other, I’d ended up telling her a bit about my reactions to Hunter. She has no clue about my nightly thoughts and how I’ve been using Hunter’s image in my head to get off. She probably would have cheered me on.
“I did the right thing,” I said, more to myself than anyone else. A low mewl spewed from the monitor, followed by an ear-piercing scream. Saved by a crying baby. “Destiny is awake. Can we talk later?”
“Yup. Go take care of that sweet little girl.”
I hung up and scurried out of the chair and down the hall to the room with the closed door. I’d only peeked into Destiny’s room earlier, now I took my fill of the space, admiring the updates. Little trinkets dotted through the room. A rocking chair off to the corner across from the cream glider, with a matching ottoman. A couple of blankets were thrown over the back of the chair. A book sat on the table next to the rocker. Toys filled containers all around the room. It was neat too.
Standing in the center of a new crib was Destiny. Tears tracking down her red cheeks, which had filled out.
I approached the crib cautiously. Yes, the baby had been in my care, but she might not remember me, and I didn’t want to traumatize the poor little girl. When I stood in front of her, she gave me a toothy smile and stretched her hands out at me and grunted.
Well, there you go.
Picking her up, she cuddled into my chest and gave a soft sigh. I held her tight, nuzzling the top of her head with my cheek. “Did you have a nice nap?” Destiny cooed back. “How about we get you a bottle?” I peeked down at the sweet little girl, who smiled at me. “Are you hungry?”
I didn’t expect an answer back, but I always felt as if you should talk to children, not at them.
Snagging a diaper and wipes from the changing station, I took them with me. I dropped them down on the couch before going to the kitchen. Hunter had told me bottles were in the fridge. I pulled one out and had every intention of warming it up, but Destiny took matters into her own hands. Grabbing the bottle from me, she tried to suck the milk out through the lid, then cried.
“Hold on, baby girl,” I whispered before taking the bottle back and removing the cover. “There.”
Drinking cold formula never hurt a baby, and considering how Destiny was found, the baby had most likely never had a warmed bottle before Hunter. If he even did warm it. A glance around the kitchen didn’t reveal a bottle warmer.
While Destiny noisily sucked down her bottle, I took her back into the living room and quickly changed her diaper, and sat her upright to finish her meal.
Her warm little body snuggled into mine. One of her hands rubbed at my arm, while the other held her bottle tightly. Destiny chugged her bottle like a frat boy. Burped like one, too.
The sweet little girl was content to cuddle, and so that was what I did. The tv was still on, and it was still broadcasting the hostage situation at the hospital. I figured it’d be a long while before we heard or maybe even saw Hunter.
“How about we go for a walk, sweet girl?”
Destiny screeched. I guessed that meant yes.
A quick peek in the front closet revealed a fancy brand-new stroller. Since Hunter didn’t leave me a key, I couldn’t lock his front door, which meant we were stuck walking up and down the street.
I pushed the buggy back and forth in front of the house, down to the stop sign and back. Stopping and kneeling in front of Destiny when something caught her eye. We saw a stray cat, a bunny, multiple birds, a squirrel, and a frog.
Destiny babbled the entire time.
We only returned to Hunter’s house when the little girl started to fuss. No doubt getting antsy to play.
After a snack for both of us, I sat down on the living room floor, reading and playing with Destiny until dinner time. Feeding a baby wasn’t as easy as it looked. It seemed Destiny wore more sweet potatoes on her face than what I got into her mouth. But after a bath, I put her in fresh pj’s and rocked her, while she took her final bottle.
Hunter didn’t seem like the type to rock Destiny to sleep, so once I finished the book and Destiny finished her bottle, I placed her into her crib awake. I kissed her, and she gave me a tired smile, followed by a yawn.
“Sleep tight, sweet girl,” I said as I left the room, bringing the monitor with me while closing the door.
Now that Destiny was sleeping, I could eat.
I didn’t feel comfortable going through Hunter’s cabinets to see what he had, so I placed a call to the local pizza shop and ordered a couple of pizzas. When Hunter returned, he’d be hungry and since everyone knew they could eat pizza cold, it was perfect to have on hand.
Now two pies rested in his fridge, and my hunger had been taken care of. I cleaned up the kitchen and the living room and then went back to tiding up the bathroom after leaving it a hot mess after Destiny’s bath.
I got comfortable on the couch and turned the television off. When I’d checked in earlier, they were still at a standstill at the hospital. I figured I’d be here at least until morning.
At some point, I must have fallen asleep, because I woke to find Hunter crouched down beside me as he gently shook my shoulder.
“Hey,” he said, keeping his voice low and sexy as fuck.
