Wait? What? “McKinley, you don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t have to do that. I want to do that. This way you will be rested tomorrow and can get little miss in her daily routine. I don’t have anything in the studio for the next few days, so this is the perfect time. You need the help, Evan. Say, ‘Thank you, Kinley.’” She smiles.
She had to go and throw my smile out there, didn’t she? Damn girl, I swear she’s trying to get me killed. “Thank you, Kinley.”
“You’re welcome. Now I’ll be upstairs taking a nap if you need me.” Just like that, she’s back up the stairs in my shirt. That’s when it hits me that my room is the only room with a bed. She’s going to be sleeping in my bed, in my shirt. Holy shit, she is trying to kill me.
“You know how she is when she sets her mind to something. You might as well give in,” Aaron says.
“Yeah,” is pretty much all I can say at this point. McKinley is upstairs in my bed. I need to stop thinking about it, need to change the subject. “So, did you see the new wheels out front?”
“Hell yeah. I meant to tell you I liked your choice. The black looks sick.”
“Yeah, it’s got coolers in the backseat in the floorboard. Thought with this little one that feature might come in handy someday.”
Aaron laughs. “I’m sure it will. So you going to hog my niece all night or can I hold her?” he asks.
“Where were you a half hour ago?”
“That’s my uncle psychic abilities showing through. I know when she’s clean, fed, and a happy girl.” He says that last part in a high voice as he talks to Lexi. She’s wide-awake as she watches him.
“Your mom made a big-ass pan of lasagna, you hungry?”
“Always,” he says, keeping his attention on Lexi.
I stand to go make us both a plate. I wish Kinley would’ve eaten before she went to sleep. “You good?”
“We got this, Daddy,” Aaron says in a girly voice, moving Lexi’s arm, telling me to go away.
I fight the urge
to run upstairs and see if Kinley has fallen asleep yet. I can’t go to her while Aaron is here. I know for a fact I don’t have the kind of willpower needed to not steal another kiss or a simple touch, not when she’s curled up in my bed, her long brown hair spread out on my pillow. Nope, definitely not going upstairs.
Aaron eats his plate of lasagna with one hand, refusing to put Lexi down. She’s still wide-awake. “I think this is the longest she’s been awake at one time.”
“You know why, don’t you?”
“Enlighten me, old wise one.”
Aaron tsks like I should know the answer. “She refuses to miss out on any Uncle Aaron time, duh,” he says.
I don’t bother to argue with him, because to be honest, I have no clue. He could be right. Could be that my little girl already knows her Uncle Aaron is going to be a big part of her life. Kinley said babies are perceptive.
“I think it’s time to give her back,” Aaron says, scrunching up his nose.
“Again? How can you have anything left, kid?” I ask my daughter as I take her from Aaron.
“I got to get up early anyway. Looks like you are on your own until Kinley wakes up. She’s a bear when you wake her up, so I would not advise it if I were you.” He laughs his way out the door.
After getting Lexi changed, I make her a bottle. She went longer this time between feedings. By the time she’s finished, she’s sound asleep. I carry her up to her room and ease her into her bed. Reaching over, I turn on the baby monitor. Leaving the door open so I can hear her, I head to my room. Kinley is curled in a ball, my t-shirt riding high on her thighs. Careful to not make any noise, I set the baby monitor down on the opposite side of the bed and turn it on high. No way do I want to miss hearing Lexi wake up. I’m a little nervous with her being in the other room, but she’s just right across the hall. I refuse to let her sleep with me after all the horror stories I’ve read. Slipping out of my jeans, I place my cell phone on the nightstand and pull my shirt over my head. Without a second of hesitation, I slide into bed, pulling the covers up and over both of us. I lay there, stiff as a rail, staring at the ceiling. I’m tired beyond words, but can’t seem to let sleep claim me when I’m lying here next to Kinley.
Finally, after staring at the shadows on the ceiling, wasting away precious hours of rest I could be getting while Lexi is sleeping, I start to drift off. It’s also in this exact moment that Kinley decides to roll over. And by roll over, I don’t mean just to face me. No, she rolls over and pushes her tight little body next to mine. On instinct, I wrap my arm around her and pull her close.
Suddenly, I’m once again wide-awake.
I tell myself I’m just going to hold her. That I’m going to enjoy having her this close to me. That gets shot all to hell when I run my hand through her silky hair. It’s so damn soft, not to mention the simple movement causes Kinley to burrow further into me. Stroking her hair leads to my fingers trailing ever so softly up and down her back. My heart is pounding in my chest just from this simple act. That shows me right there how much she affects me. Never before has this happened.
Only McKinley.