But for now, hanging out with little Master Asher would give her a baby fix.
And hopefully she wouldn’t strangle his father in the process.
Chapter Four
When Jamie’s alarm went off on Monday morning, he swore he’d only slept a total of two hours the entire night. No one really prepared him for what it was going to be like since they had no idea how long Asher would sleep once he was in a crib.
And apparently, his son did not approve of his new bed.
At all, judging by how little he slept in it.
Jamie’s head was pounding and he was mildly delirious, but for now the house was quiet. If he could just make himself a strong cup of coffee and take a scalding hot shower before Asher woke up, he’d consider it a win.
Shuffling out to the kitchen, he cursed his sister’s organizational skills when he couldn’t find where his mugs were. On the fifth try, he found them and he fought the urge to hurl it against the wall.
“I’m just tired and cranky,” he reminded himself. “No need to get violent at seven in the morning.” Putting the pod in the coffeemaker, he hit the button and leaned heavily against the kitchen counter while he waited.
Longest minute of his life.
He added cream and sugar and took that first sip and it didn’t matter that it burned his entire mouth and throat. It was worth it.
Carrying the mug to his bathroom, he put it down on the vanity and stared at his reflection and groaned. He looked like he’d aged ten damn years overnight. With a muttered curse, Jamie turned on the shower and stripped.
And realized he forgot to bring the baby monitor in with him.
Obviously today wasn’t going to be the day where he got to take a relaxing shower to wake himself up. Nope, this was the day he took a super quick one and prayed Fallon would show up early.
“Ugh…this is how exhausted I am. I’m actually looking forward to seeing Fallon.” He shuddered as he soaped up and realized he needed a serious attitude adjustment. If this is how he felt after one night, he really should be a lot more thankful that she was willing to help him out. Of course she was doing it for a cost, but he had a feeling she was going to earn every penny—again, if last night was anything to go by.
Rinsing off, he reached for a towel and got dry before walking into his bedroom and listening to the monitor to see if Asher was awake. He could hear a few little grunts, but figured he had enough time to brush his teeth and get dressed before going into the other room.
In his entire life, Jamie never shied away from hard work or a challenge, and he had a feeling fatherhood was going to be both. If he had known sooner that he was going to be in this position, maybe he wouldn’t feel so completely out of his element.
“Well, dumbass, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself. Jenn kept asking to see you and you thought all your charm would distract her enough to make her go away,” he told his reflection with disgust. Yeah, hindsight and all. He was just as much to blame as Jenn was. Neither of them handled this situation the right way, but there was no way he was going to make his son suffer because he got stuck with two parents who sucked at communicating.
Once he was done getting ready, he drank down the rest of his coffee and put the mug in the kitchen sink on his way to Asher’s room. His son was wide awake and staring up at him and Jamie felt his heart kick hard in his chest.
“Hey, buddy,” he said softly. “You made it a whole two hours in your bed. Good job!” Reaching in, he carefully picked him up before cradling him to his chest.
And instantly cringed.
There must be a secret to securing a diaper better because, clearly, he didn’t do it right.
“Okay, let’s get you cleaned up and in dry clothes. How does that sound?”
Asher blinked up at him and blew a few spit bubbles.
Adorable…
It took a lot longer than he imagined to get his son cleaned up and changed into something dry, but once he did, that’s when Asher really started to cry because he was hungry. With no choice, he had to put him down in the carrier before he could make a bottle. Maybe one day he could handle doing that while holding him, but today was not that day. He spilled the formula, then made it too hot, and by the time everything was just right, the poor baby was almost inconsolable.
“What on earth is going on?” Fallon asked as she walked into the kitchen. Yesterday, Jamie gave her a key so she could come and go when she needed. And right now, he was beyond thankful that she showed up when she did.
“It was a rough night and he was soaked when he got up, so I had to pretty much wash him off and get him dressed before we could eat,” he explained, getting more and more frazzled by the moment. “Then I messed up the formula and…and…”
She was crouched down in front of Asher and gently lifting him from the carrier. When she stood, she took the bottle from his hand and walked over to the sofa while softly talking to the baby.
And then…silence.
Jamie felt like he would never hear it ever again and it almost made him want to cry like his son was not even two minutes ago.
Slowly, he walked into the living room and collapsed on the sofa. Fallon was in the oversized chair and Asher was greedily drinking his breakfast.
“I take it you had a rough night,” she said quietly.
“You have no idea.”
“What happened? He was calm when we all left last night.”
“New surroundings, I guess. He doesn’t seem to like the crib. Every time I put him down, he’d cry. Then I’d pick him up and rock him until he fell asleep and then I’d carefully put him down and he’d wake up crying. At one point, I just brought him out here with me and we both fell asleep watching the TV. He was sound asleep on my chest and when I woke up, I startled him and it started all over again. The longest stretch he stayed in the crib was two hours. My alarm went off at seven and I swear I had only finally gotten into the bed at five. I’m exhausted.”
She nodded. “I think that’s common with most newborns. You obviously have no idea what kind of schedule he had with his mother or what his surroundings were like. I’ll try to see what I can do about getting him better acclimated to all his new stuff today.” She paused. “I know it doesn’t seem possible, but it is going to get better. It was just the first night and I’m sure you were nervous. Babies can sense these things.” She paused again. “Um…is there any chance you can take off today?”
“Why? Already regretting your decision to help me?” he snapped and at her startled expression, he immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, Fallon. Really. I’m just…I can’t even think straight.”
The pinched look on her face said she wasn’t overly sympathetic.
“Anyway…you were saying…?” he prompted.
“I thought that maybe having a full day at home with him—with me here with you—the two of you can start to feel more comfortable around each other. Yesterday was loud and chaotic and it was probably a little sensory overload for him. A quiet day at home where he gets to interact with all his new things and the new people in his life would probably be extremely beneficial.”
“I don’t know…it’s short notice and we didn’t tell my uncle what was going on either. I’d hate to leave everyone in a lurch…”