Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 95678 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95678 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
When there was trouble, Wildes showed up.
I took a moment to be grateful I had so many people who loved me. My thoughts turned to Nico, and I wondered how he was faring with all this insanity.
Hallie came plowing into the room. She paused dramatically on the threshold and clasped her hands together in front of her chest. “Oh Weston,” she cried. “Of course we’re all here. It’s not every day your brother becomes a father.”
I’d had enough of the drama. “I’m not her father goddammit!”
The chatter in the room stopped, and everyone looked past me in the direction of the front door. I turned to see what they were staring at and saw Nico cradling a bundle of pink blankets in his arms. He looked stunned, and I realized he’d heard my words. I quickly tried to explain myself.
“Nico, I—”
“She’s sick,” he croaked. “Something’s wrong with her, West. I think she’s having trouble breathing.”
It was then that I realized he also looked terrified. I hurried over to him and took the baby out of his arms. “Doc,” I called out.
“Take her in the family room. I’ll grab my bag,” he said without needing any other information before springing into action.
My family all scuttled away from the area, and Aunt Carmen began whispering for everyone to leave the room and give us some space.
I got her to the sofa and noticed someone had thrown a blanket down to protect the surface of the cushion. I quickly laid Pippa on the blanket and began to peel her own blankets away to see what was going on. Her lips were blue, and my heart sped up as my mind spun through possible causes.
Doc slid to a stop next to me on the coffee table, yanking his bag open and barking orders at me so we could work as a team to assess her as quickly as possible.
“There’s a neb under the sink in the master. Go get it,” he said.
I jumped up and raced to my grandparents’ room, ignoring Nico’s shouted questions. I found the nebulizer under the sink and saw a bag next to it with various mouthpieces. I grabbed it in hopes there was a infant-sized one.
I ran back to the room, unfurling the cord and asking Grandpa for an extension cord. In the meantime, I plugged it into the nearest outlet and rifled through Doc’s bag, looking for the medicine we’d need to go in it. I found a tiny mask and got to work. Once it was all set up, I met Doc’s eyes.
“RSV?” I asked, knowing the diagnosis could be dangerous but also knowing it would be better than something stuck in her throat or needing surgery.
“That’s my guess. I swabbed her to double-check. Hand me the mask, and I’ll give her the breathing treatment.”
I helped get Doc settled onto the sofa with a bundled-up Pippa in his arms. After placing the tiny dinosaur-style pediatric mask on her face, I stepped back and took a breath. Nico was standing off to the side with his hands in front of his mouth and his eyes still wide with terror.
My heart lurched, and I grabbed for him. “Come here,” I murmured, pulling him into my chest. “She’s going to be okay, Nico. You did the right thing bringing her.”
His arms came around me, and he held on to me for dear life. I tried to reassure him it was all going to be fine, but he was trembling all over.
“Shh,” I whispered into his ear. “Baby, she’s okay. I promise.”
“West, fuck. I don’t know how to do this. I can’t do this. Thank god, you’re listed as her father. It’ll be better that way.”
“That’s not true,” I said with as much conviction as I could. “That’s not true, and we both know it. You love that little girl. She’s your family.”
I felt him sigh against me. “No. I should go.”
My jaw tightened, and I wanted to shake the man. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Chapter 29
Nico
I felt like I was going to come out of my skin. When I’d noticed Pippa was having trouble breathing, I’d raced to the car and headed to Doc’s house immediately. I didn’t want to show up at West’s house and have to admit I’d let Pippa get that sick before asking for help.
I’d panicked so badly I was halfway down the driveway before I realized I’d left Griff and Rebecca standing on the porch. I called Griff’s cell and apologized, explaining I needed to get the baby help as soon as I could and would call him when I knew something.
When I’d walked in to Doc and Mr. Wilde’s house and seen West standing in the middle of a roomful of people, I’d felt light-headed. He was going to know. They were all going to know how shitty I was at taking care of one particularly easy baby.