He stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to do as he said. I snatched her up and tucked her against my shoulder, patting her gently as I swayed from side to side.
“Huh,” he frowned. “Maybe try the bouncing strategy.”
“The what?” I asked, barely able to hear him over her crying.
“The bouncing! You know, bounce from side to side.” He bent his knees, then rose up, moving from side to side.
What the hell did I know? So, I started bouncing, sure this would be the magic cure. But it didn’t help. Nothing helped. Not swinging, walking, or even singing to her. She just screamed louder and louder.
“Huh. Swaddling usually does the trick,” Derek frowned. “Well, good luck with that.”
“But—”
He took off, leaving me with a very grouchy baby, and as I turned to find Parker, I noticed he’d vanished as well. Typical men.
“Hey, baby girl,” I cooed, continuing to walk around the living room. The screaming was getting to be too much for me. Nothing seemed to calm this child down. It had been only two days, and I was already failing as a new mother.
By the time half an hour rolled around, I was losing my mind. She wouldn’t stop screaming, and everyone else was avoiding me like the plague. Tears pricked at my eyes. I was going to lose it, and I hadn’t even been a mother for very long.
“Need some help?”
Spinning around, I nearly burst into tears when Wes held out his hands for his little sister.
“Really?”
“Why not? Go get something to eat. I’ll take a turn with her.”
I felt horrible handing her off, but I was starving, and the thought of escaping her screaming for just a few minutes was very tempting.
“If you’re sure.”
He practically grabbed her out of my hands. “I’ve got this.” He cradled her head gently, holding her against his chest. Her cries didn’t die down, but they didn’t get worse either.
Slipping away, I grabbed a glass of water and chugged it before snatching a piece of bread. It was the closest thing I could find, and I was desperate for a quick snack.
“Hey, where’s Rosie?”
Spinning around, I glared at my husband. “With Wes. Why did you abandon me?”
“Uh…abandon?” he chuckled nervously. “No, see what I did was leave so I didn’t stress her out. You know, studies show that too many people in a room can have disastrous effects on a baby’s psyche.”
“What a load of bullshit,” I hissed. “You couldn’t stand the crying, so you left me to deal with it.”
“Now, Blake, let’s be honest here. If anyone could get her to stop crying, it’s the woman with the milk supply. I have tit-like substances, but they will never be able to feed another human being. Unless I attach one of those weird boob contraptions, which I will never do.”
“Well, thank God for?—”
I stopped talking the moment I realized it was quiet. “Oh God. He’s killed her.”
“What?”
I rushed past him into the living room, coming to a screeching halt when I saw Wes laying down on the couch with his shirt off, and his baby sister naked on him with a blanket covering her.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“Skin to skin,” he said as if I was stupid.
“Where did you learn that?”
