Page 59 of Her Loving Hero

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Wyatt lookedover at Emily and wanted to laugh. She was holding Cora like she was a time bomb about to go off.

“How old were you when Kristi was born?” he asked.

“Eight.”

“Did you hold her much?” Kenna asked with a knowing smile.

“I didn’t get to hold Carly or Kristi much when they were babies. We had nannies, so I wasn’t allowed to. I got to finally play with her when she was two. But before that she was in the nursery and out of bounds.”

Wyatt edged closer to her on the couch and put his arm around her shoulders, showing her how to keep Cora’s head upright. “If you go like this, she’ll grab your finger,” he whispered softly into Emily’s ear.

She whipped around to look at him in astonishment. “No, she won’t.”

“Bet she will.”

Emily put her finger near Cora’s tiny hand and the little girl grabbed it. Wyatt laughed, and startled a squawk out of the baby.

“You’re a natural,” Dex said from the love seat where he and Kenna were sitting.

Emily’s face fell. “I wish I was. There’s a lot more to this than I realized.”

“You do great with the kids at the ‘Y’, you’ll do even better with infants,” Wyatt assured her.

“You can’t know that.” Emily’s eyes never left Cora’s face.

“Sure I can. Teenagers are tough, they’re constantly fighting against you, pushing boundaries, infants just look to you for love, support and comfort. You give that in spades.”

“Wyatt, Kane wants to talk to us. Can you come into my office for a few minutes?” Dex asked.

Wyatt reluctantly pulled his arm away from Emily’s shoulders. “You got this?” he asked as he trailed his fingers along the back of her neck. She leaned backward into his touch and looked up into his eyes.

“I could sit with Cora all day.” Her voice was dreamy. Then she realized what she’d said and looked over at Kenna. “Oh, I’m sorry, let me give her back to you,” she apologized.

Kenna waved her hand. “Emily, that’s just fine. Cora’s number my second child, I know how in thrall you get the first time you hold a baby, it’s magical. I’m going to grab the cheese and crackers from the kitchen, and you hold her until she gets hungry.”

“Kenna, you keep seated. I’m Waiter Boy, today.” Dex hopped over to the kitchen and made two trips bringing cheese, crackers, chips, brownies, water, soda, milk, and ice cream.

Kenna leaned back and giggled. “You missed something Sailorboy.”

Dex looked around anxiously. “What?”

“I need a kiss before you go play SEAL Mastermind.”

“Well that’s doable,” Dex said as he dipped in for a slow.

Long. Deep. Kiss.

“Thank you, Mrs. Evans,” Wyatt heard him whisper into Kenna’s ear. “You’ve given me the world.”

Wyatt’s gaze fell on Emily. She was entranced by the baby, and after just ten minutes she was cuddling the little girl like a pro.

Dex stood straight and tilted his head toward the stairs. Wyatt followed him up.

“I still can’t believe you cut a buddy out of the equation,” Dex said as he pressed the number for Kane.

“I heard that,” Kane said when he came onto the line. “When did you become a whiner?”