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That sounded like it would work.
“Okay,” I told him. “If you’re sure.”
“Yeah. Besides, I’ve not convinced you that life is better as a vegan yet. Until I do, I figure you want the regular cake.”
This man was delusional if he thought I was giving up ribs. Or steak. Or bacon. Not happening.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I replied.
He laughed. “We’ll see. But anyway, I just wanted to hear your voice before I went to bed. I’ve got an early morning tomorrow, and I have some work to get done first.”
“Okay,” I replied. “Good night. Love you.”
“Sleep tight. Love you,” he replied, then ended the call.
I headed back for the living room, and Kye was holding an empty bottle. I tossed the burp cloth over my shoulder and took Jagger from him.
“After he eats, you have to burp him,” I explained, and he watched me until a loud little belch came out, making Kye laugh.
“All right, good job, both of you,” I said, amused. “Ready to go shopping?”
Kye stood up. “Yeah. Let’s go do this.”
I moved Jagger back to the crook of my arm, and he was watching me. “We are going to go get you all the things you need,” I told him. “When we get back, we can get you a nice, warm bath.”
Because I wasn’t sure the last time he’d had one. The woman who had written the letter Kye had shown me didn’t seem like one to bother with bathing her child.
“How do we bathe him?” Kye asked me.
“We will get an infant tub,” I told him. “And baby washcloths and baby shampoo and a baby towel.”
Kye nodded once. “Got it. In other words, I am about to go broke.”
Smiling, I walked over to the infant seat. “I think that’s the general consensus among all parents.”
I buckled Jagger in and covered him back up with the blanket. Kye picked it up by the handle. Why did he have to look so sexy, carrying a baby seat?
Fifteen
Kye
The amount of stuff that babies needed was way beyond what I had expected, and it was clear that Genesis had been trying to just get the basics. The must-haves. There was all kinds of shit she didn’t go near. Still, it had been a fucking lot.
Blaise had texted while we were out shopping, asking if I had things under control. I told him Genesis was helping me and we were currently buying baby things. He’d left me alone after that. I wondered if he’d told Maddie about Jagger and she’d made him check to make sure the baby he’d allowed me to take was okay. I couldn’t imagine Maddie would have been pleased to hear that.
Genesis was really good with baby stuff for someone who didn’t have her own kid, nor did she have younger siblings. Were women just born with the gift? No, that couldn’t be true because Chyna had clearly sucked at it.
I took the baby clothes we’d bought out of the dryer and carried them into my old bedroom, where we had set up the portable crib thing. Genesis put her finger over her lips the moment I entered the room. She was standing over Jagger, who she’d wrapped up like a burrito in one of his new blankets.
I put the clothes on the bed, and she started for the door, motioning for me to follow her.
Once we were out of the room, she started to close the door and froze. She looked up at me. “I forgot to get a monitor,” she whispered, leaving the door open before heading back toward the living room.
“What’s that?” I asked when we got to the living room. “Is it vital? I can go get it now. Walmart is open all night.”
She shook her head. “A baby monitor. It’s not vital, but I can’t hear him if the door is closed. It won’t be an issue at night. I or you …” She paused. “One of us will be in there with him.”
Sleep. Yes. We hadn’t talked about things. It had been go mode since I had gotten here with him and announced I had a kid. The thought of leaving them here without me didn’t sit well. I just hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“I was planning on staying. He’s my responsibility. I just knew I needed help. I was lost, and you’re the only person I wanted help from.”
She walked over and sat down, curling her legs up underneath her. “I didn’t question why you brought him here. I would have expected you to. But what are the next steps?”
I sat down beside her and laid my head back, staring at the ceiling. “I get my name on his birth certificate. Then, the state determines I have full custody after they acknowledge Chyna deserted him and gave up all rights. After all that, then I go through the process of putting him up for adoption.” I turned my head to look at her then.
