Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 69555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
I looked around the office that I was standing in, then looked back at the man in the seat behind the rather large desk.
“Take care of yourself, Dr. Messings. And let us know if there’s anything we can do for your family,” I said softly.
Dr. Messings honestly looked quite stunned as I turned my back on him and walked out.
Nodding to his secretary, I went back to work, quite happy where my lunch hour had taken me.
Honestly, I’d been quite happy with quite a few of the places I’d been taken lately.
Granted, I sure wouldn’t have chosen to take the routes that I’d taken to get where I am today again, but they’d gotten me to a place in my life that I really loved.
Looking down at my watch, I realized I didn’t have enough time to get home and visit my little man—my little man that was being taken care of by Reggie, who’d taken six weeks maternity leave from her job.
Instead of visiting, I called.
She answered on the fifth ring.
“Hello?” she said breathlessly.
“Hey,” I said. “Why do you sound like you just sprinted to the phone?”
She continued to pant.
“I’m actually at the park running. I’m trying out the new jogging stroller we bought yesterday. This thing is awesome. And your son actually seems to be enjoying himself. He hasn’t closed his eyes for the entire hour that we’ve been here,” she gasped.
Elation poured through me at the thought of her out, bonding with my child.
“Which part of the trail are you at?” I questioned.
I didn’t have a second to make it home, but I did have a second to meet her at the end of a trail and get a kiss from my two favorite people.
“I’m just about to turn around at the halfway point. I can be at the trailhead in about twenty minutes.” She paused. “Why?”
“I just visited with the doctor that conceived Dare.” I grinned at how that sounded. “Keep running to the end of where you’re at. I’ll meet you there. I want a kiss before I head back to work.”
I could practically feel her smile.
“I’ll be there,” she gasped.
After hanging up, I drove to the other side of the trailhead that she rarely visited because it was too close to where she’d one time seen Eerie walking.
Apparently, there was a risk of her seeing her again since Eerie lived in the apartments right off of the trail, but Eerie wouldn’t be bothering us today.
At least, I wouldn’t let her bother me if I saw her.
I was done being worried about anything Eerie did, especially after meeting with Dr. Messings and coming to an understanding that he would never, ever use anything by anyone without his own visual consent.
I got to the trailhead before Reggie and threw my leg out of the cruiser and waited for them to arrive.
It wasn’t but five minutes later when they both came jogging up.
I grinned wickedly at my girl.
She was wearing a tight pair of black leggings, a tight hot pink bra, a black form-fitting racerback tank, and hot pink tennis shoes.
She looked cute as hell.
I slid out of my cruiser and walked straight to her, dropping a kiss on her mouth.
“How’s the run?” I rumbled against her lips.
She pulled away to answer, reaching for her water.
“It’s really hard to push this,” she admitted, her breath leaving her in pants. “I didn’t think it would be.”
She pressed the bottle to her lips, and I reluctantly pulled my eyes away from her chest to look at something just as important.
I moved the sun shade out of the way and grinned down at my boy who was, indeed, awake.
Which was a rarity for him. He slept a shit ton.
The pediatrician assured me it was normal, so I hadn’t freaked out big time even though I’d wanted to.
“Hey, Dare,” I rumbled.
His out-of-focus eyes tried to follow the sound of my voice, and I grinned before leaning down and putting my face close enough to his that he could see me.
When I did, he blinked.
“Just pick him up already. You know you want to,” she teased.
I did.
Arguing with her was futile, too.
Reaching into the car seat that he was strapped into inside the stroller, I unbuckled belts and buckles, and then picked him up and brought him to my chest.
He was still so fucking small in my hands.
All of eight pounds even as of last night, he was still in preemie diapers and clothes, and barely to the point where he would’ve been born had he arrived on time.
“And who is this?”
I blinked, surprised that I’d let an old lady get the jump on me.
“This is my son, Darren,” I said as I turned him so that he could be seen, but not touched.
Reggie and I were still extremely careful with him.
He didn’t get to go to the store or out to eat just yet.