“An old friend, huh?”
“From the bureau. She thinks her boss is corrupt and wants me to look into him.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing there was no stopping her now that the bit was between her teeth. “I thought we were getting out of this line of work?”
“I thought you were going to show me what you looked like in Wranglers and a cowboy hat,” she said, tugging me to a stop. Her hands slid around my waist and down into my back pockets. “I guess we can’t always get what we want.”
Her eyelashes fluttered playfully as she grinned, tugging me closer.
“Baby, you might want to be careful. The way I’m feeling right now, one orboth of us is gonna end up in the hospital with a piece of glass sticking out of us.”
“Foreplay,” she grinned. “I love it.”
“Guys, seriously!” Wes called out. “I’m right here!”
Chuckling, I sealed my lips over hers, holding her tight to me. “That’s gonna take some getting used to.”
“Eh, we’ve got forever to figure it out.”
34
BLAKE
Six months later…
“Usually,you have the baby shower before the baby is born,” I whispered to Parker.
“Just be glad they all stayed away as long as they did,” he said just as Derek approached, holding out a small package.
Plopping down in the seat beside me, he grinned wide, bouncing around like a kid on Christmas morning. “I can’t wait for you to see what it is. I made it myself.”
“You…made this?” I asked, worried that I was going to get some sort of homemade explosive device.
“Yep! Trust me, you’re gonna love it.”
I had to see this now. Tearing into the wrapping paper, I pulled out a very colorful blanket with the most intricate pattern on it. Derek was smiling the whole time, and I swore I saw a tear in his eyes as I unfolded it to see the whole thing.
“Umm…this is amazing. You actually made this?”
“Well, I learned how to do it a long time ago. See, this is a blanket for swaddling. Have you learned to swaddle? You gotta swaddle.”
“Umm…”
“Come on,” he stood, walking over to the bassinet where our little girl wassleeping. “I’ll give you a lesson. It’s all about the tuck. See, they like to feel like little burritos, all snug and warm.”
Glancing down at Rosie, I knew this was a bad idea. “I don’t think we should wake her.”
“Nonsense,” he said, picking her up and gently cradling her in his arms. He was an old pro at this.
Until she started screaming.
“She just needs to be swaddled,” he shouted above the incessant wailing.
“Well, hurry it up! She’s really upset!”
Laying her down on the couch, he quickly wrapped her up in the blanket, pulling it extra tight, but all that did was cause her to scream louder.
“See, now you just pick her up and rub her back!”
