The Velcro is loud, and she freezes before moving to the next strap.
Our eyes meet, and she smiles softly.
“Sorry. I know he’s heavy, and you’ve had him for a lot longer than I planned.”
I shrug. “He’s a solid kid, but he’s not heavy to me.”
“I wish I was that lucky,” she says, tugging off his shoe. “He’s reaching the limits of what I can lift, and he’sthree. He’s so much bigger than all the other kids his age, even the ones who are likely to be alphas.”
“I was too,” I say, keeping my voice low. “He’ll be taller than you before you know it.”
“One day, I’m going to put him down and never be able to lift him again. It kills me.”
“Yeah, that’s part of life. I can imagine how hard that would be for any mam…” I chuckle. “Any mom.”
“You have an accent, but Patrick doesn’t. Did you move here before he could pick one up?” she asks, tugging off the boy’s other shoe.
I shake my head. “My fathers couldn’t handle a toddler once they lost my mother. They shipped me off to live with my grandparents until they found a new wife to take over raising me.”
She gasps softly, bringing her hand to my arm. “That’s awful for all of you. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It was a long time ago. I don’t even remember her.” I shrug. “Am I good to put him down?”
Charlotte nods, stepping out of the way. “Just aim him toward the middle of the mattress, if you can. He flops like a fish. I’m going to need to put some pillows behind him.”
It’s slow going to place the kid down, but I put him on his side, facing the inside of the bed rather than the edge. Reaching over him, I grab one of the king-size pillows and tuck it behind him before grabbing the blanket and pulling it up.
Charlotte appears at my side, and her hand comes to rest on my back as she leans over, putting a blue and green dinosaur in front of him.
Her stormy, electric scent hits my nose, making my instincts hum. Fuck if I know what they’re asking for, but it’s clear her scent means something.
Once she’s no longer touching me, I take a step back, followed quickly by another. “What’s his name?”
“Lukas, but I call him Lucky.” She twists to face me, pulling off her jacket.
“The bathroom should be stocked. If you need anything to eat, pick up the phone and hit three. It’ll call down to the kitchen staff.” I nod to the phone next to the bed. “Five reaches my room, and six is Patrick.”
“Thanks, Malachy,” she says, tossing her coat onto the nearby dresser.
“I’ll be around. We can talk more in the morning. Get some sleep.” I start to back away, but it’s hard to convince my body to keep moving. She’s anxious, and my instincts want to comfort the overwhelmed omega. Only, that’s a terrible fucking idea, so I force myself out of the room.
Even if I could convince myself to leave the door leading to Charlotte and Lukas, I still wouldn’t be able to make myself get a wink of sleep.
I’ve been out here for hours.
It has to be close to four in the morning.
There was some shuffling and movement right after I left her to get some rest, but there hasn’t been a peep in hours.
I know because I’ve creepily sat outside her door like some fucked-up, unwanted bodyguard.
Okay, that makes me sound like a stalker, which I’m not.
Usually.
It’s just that this house is big.
It’s hard to find your way aroundifyou know where you’re going. Not to mention, there are multiple sets of stairs. The boy, Lukas, is used to living in an apartment. What if he toddles out, goes exploring, and breaks his fucking neck because he’s not expecting the stairs?
