“You don’t need to get baby formula,” Jared told him. “Look for meal replacement shakes. Although she still needs to eat. The bottles would just be supplements.”
“I don’t need bottles,” she protested. Although that protest sounded weak even to her ears.
“I think bottles are a good idea,” Jared told her. “Daddy would like holding you on his lap on your rocking chair while you suck on your bottle.”
“All right, ordered. Everything should be there by tonight,” North said.
She thought about protesting some more but decided it was pointless. These two were going to do what they wanted.
“Here we are. Open up your mouth. Here comes the choo-choo train,” Jared said as he moved the sandwich through the air toward her.
She gaped at him.
Never in a million years did she think she would see the day that Jared Bartolli did the choo-choo train.
“This is a strange sight,” North said.
“Would you like me to feed you this way as well?” Jared asked.
“I’d like to see you try. You do remember I have a knife?” North said.
“I don’t think you should pull a knife on Jared again, North,” she said haughtily.
“Really? What about when you pulled a knife on Jared the other day?” North asked.
Oh. Heck.
“Umm.”
“I’m starting to feel a bit abused,” Jared said. “Seems everyone wants to remove my head from my body.”
Both she and North glared at him.
“What? Too soon?” he asked.
“Yes, it will always be too soon,” she whispered.
“Sorry, baby girl. Here, eat some sandwich for Daddy.”
She reluctantly took a bite. The sandwich was actually surprisingly good.
“You make good sandwiches, Northie,” she told him.
“You sound surprised. It’s not that hard.”
“It is if you don’t have any ingredients,” she said. “Once all I had was sauerkraut and bread. I don’t know where the sauerkraut came from, maybe the foodbank. Anyway, it wasn’t good. And I had the toots all day. Embarrassing.”
Now both men were staring at her.
Oops.
“But yours are way better, Northie.”
North grunted. “I should hope so.”
“I don’t like that your father never took care of you, didn’t feed you properly,” Jared said.
She shrugged. “I don’t like that your father killed anyone that you showed you cared about.”
