Ollie’s sitting in the chair by the window, his arms wrapped around a tiny bundle. A baby. A real one. Pink hat and small against his chest.
My breath leaves me all at once. “Ollie,” I whisper, surprised. “Whose baby is this?”
He looks up at me, and his face crumples. “My dad’s,” he says. “The mom left her here.”
The word hits me hard and soft at the same time. My heart swells so fast it almost hurts. Confusion riddles my body. I step into the room on instinct, like my body already knows where it belongs.
“What?” I stare at him, my pulse hammering. “Why?”
“I just found out,” he says, voice shaking. “I didn’t know. My dad had gotten someone pregnant. Apparently, he’s into drugs now and has nothing to do with the mother who left.”
My chest tightens when I really look at him. He’s wrecked. Like the ground dropped out from under him, and he’s still falling. No wonder he called me freaking out.
“Did you call Cami?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Not yet. I needed you first. To help me figure out what to do.”
Neither of us says anything for a while. The room feels too small, too quiet. He looks terrified. He wipes at his eyes and rocks her like he’s afraid to stop moving, afraid she’ll disappear if he does.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers.
That’s what breaks me.I don’t think. I don’t weigh it or talk myself out of it. I step closer and put my hand over his, steadying the rocking, grounding him.
“Why are you sorry?” I say softly. “We’ll figure it out.”
Relief fills his eyes, and he leans into me.
My eyes flick down to the baby in his arms. She’s so pretty. My stomach twists, fear and something else tangling together so tight it steals my breath. This isn’t what I wanted or planned.But neither was Owen. And I have had the best life with him and don’t regret him one bit.
I look back up at Ollie and force myself to be honest, even though my heart is pounding. But dang she is a cute baby. Seeing him hold this baby is doing something to me that I can’t explain or put into words.
I move closer. “Can I hold her?” I ask gently, like I’m afraid the question might break something.
He nods immediately, stands, and carefully passes her to me, hands lingering like he’s afraid to let go.
The second she’s in my arms, something in me shifts. She’s warm and light and real. I settle into the chair and rock her without thinking, my finger brushing over her tiny hand. She curls her fingers around me like she already trusts me.
“Oh,” I breathe. “She’s naked, Ollie. She needs clothes.”
He seems so overwhelmed that he lets out a broken laugh, more like a sob. “Yeah. I know. I didn’t even think about that. I don’t know what to do, Poppy.”
“Okay,” I say quietly, because it’s the only word that fits yet. “Okay. Tell me what happened.Where’s her mom?”
He lets out a frustrated sigh. “She left her here and told them to call me.” He drops into the chair across from me, elbows on his knees, face in his hands for a second before he looks up again. “She needs us, Poppy,” he says. “And I know I’m just springing this on you. I don’t even know what to do. If you want to leave me, I’d understand. I know Cami and Jack will help, too. But I can’t risk her being left again. That bothers me so much.”
But when he says the last part, he looks at me as if that would destroy him if I left. That thought was never in my mind.
“Don’t be silly.” I stroke her cheek, soft as air. “You’re right. She needs us.”
My chest aches as I look at him, really look at him. The fear. The love was already there for this unexpected baby. The way he’s trying to hold it together for everyone else, like he alwaysdoes. Only now he needs to be loved and doesn’t know how to let anyone in.
“You have always been there for me and Owen,” I say quietly. “You didn’t hesitate. You just jumped right in with me. And I needed you. I tried to pretend that I didn’t, but I did.”
“I know. And I love you both,” he says firmly.
I look down at her again and rock her gently. “I’m not leaving you alone with a baby, Ollie. We’ll figure it out.”
His eyes fill again. “You’re not?”
