Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
“You know what Dad would say, right?” Declan asks.
“Love her harder,” Brooks and I answer.
“Do you love her?” Brooks asks.
“I don’t know. What does love feel like? Is it me thinking about her all the time? Is it the fact that when something good, or hell, even something bad happens, she is the first person I want to call? Is it that when I see the pain in her eyes and the tears threatening to fall, I want to tear the fucking world apart to find every fucker in her life that never had the common decency to even give the woman a fucking hug?” I’m breathing heavily, and I know I need to calm the hell down.
“Damn. Okay. Here they come,” Declan whispers. “Beers soon. We’ll work this out.”
I nod and give them both a grateful smile. “Thanks again, man. You too, Crosby,” Brooks says, looking over my shoulder. “We won’t be gone long. It will be nice not to drag the babies into the hospital.”
“We’re happy to help,” Crosby answers for us, and I grin. She might be pushing me away, but that little slip of the tongue tells me I’m heading in the right direction.
“I made chicken and noodles for dinner last night, and there are leftovers in the fridge. Help yourself to anything you need,” Kennedy tells Crosby. She then turns to me. “Make yourselves at home.”
“Blake, you be good for Crosby and Uncle Rush,” Declan tells his daughter.
“I will, Daddy. I’m going to be the helper. M— Crosby already said I could. I’m the bestest helper, right, Daddy?”
Declan’s eyes soften for his daughter. “The best helper ever,” he confirms.
I can’t help but think about Crosby not having that when she was growing up. No one to tell her she was the best helper, to tell her they love her before leaving, no one to hug her. Fuck. I have to stop thinking about it. That’s something I can think about when I have time to empty my head of all she’s told me and dissect it when she’s not here to witness the array of emotions cross my face.
After a round of hugs, and a baby for me and one for Crosby, with Blakely between us, my brothers and their wives leave with the promise to be back soon.
Blakely immediately grabs Crosby’s hand, that’s not holding onto Beckham, and guides her to the couch. She begins talking about how much her baby brother sleeps, and Crosby never takes her eyes off my niece. She’s giving her the attention she craves, the attention she didn’t get as a child.
Actions, I remind myself. This woman needs action. Time to prove she’s worthy of someone sticking around. She gives the best fucking hugs, and her heart is huge, even if she’s not ready to accept and give love.
Without me telling them, my family is showing her all of that as well. Get ready, baby, Kincaids love hard.
I love hard.
Something I didn’t know about myself for anyone outside of my family until I met her.
Until Crosby.
Fuck me. I’m falling in love.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Crosby
“How are Piper and baby Penelope?” I ask Palmer.
Her eyes light up. “They’re both doing great. Penelope is adorable. She looks just like her daddy, but I see some Piper in her too. I’m so excited that she and Remi will be so close in age. Beckham and Orion too.”
“That will be nice for them to have other kids their age in the family to play with,” I agree. I know I would have loved that when I was a kid, but we’re not going there tonight.
“I see lots of sleepovers in our future.” Kennedy smiles.
“I can’t believe we let them talk us into taking all the kids,” Palmer says with a pout on her lips.
“Are you worried?”
“No. Not at all. I miss her.” She smiles. “If anything, I need to worry about Brooks trying to think of ways to knock me up again.” She chuckles. “I know I’m a mess. Right now, I’m taking her to the studio with me, and I’m only working part time. I need to hire another photographer soon. As she gets older, I’m not going to be able to take her to shoots. The days of her sleeping through them are going to come to an end.”
“I thought Aunt Carol was going to watch her?” Ramsey asks.
“She is, but Brooks and I talked about it, and if I can find a good photographer to hire, I can cut back. His schedule allows him at least one day a week with her, and I want that too.”
“That’s definitely a perk of being able to work from home. However, there are times when I know I’ll be calling Carol, begging for help as he gets older.”
“Can we even call what you do work?” Alyssa laughs. “I have job envy.”