3
" Did Mama leave you all alone in here?"
I picked her up out of bed and rubbed her back for a minute while she hiccuped.
"Daddy's here," I murmured against her bald head, rocking her from side to side. "Let's get that wet diaper off you."
I laid her on the bed and grabbed a diaper from the top of Kate's dresser, talking the whole time. "I don't know what your mommy was thinking, leaving my princess in here all alone," I crooned, my voice somehow keeping Iris calm. "She's outside with your brothers and sister and Daddy's friend Miles. He's a jackass. You stay away from him, okay?"
I smiled as Iris froze, like she was listening intently.
"Daddy was not very nice," I said, pulling her little pants down her legs and unbuttoning her onesie. "I wasn't even there when you were born, and I'm really sorry about that. But your mama came home with me anyway, so that means there's a chance, right? As long as Miles keeps his you-know-what in this pants."
Iris lifted her hand to her face and tried really hard to get it to her mouth, her eyes unfocused as I babbled.
"You're doing so good, princess. Look at you, not even crying while I change you. Such a big girl." I finished re-dressing her and pulled her to my chest. "You think your mama could love me again?" I asked, kissing her little cheek. "Probably not, huh? We'll just have to keep working at it so you can live with Daddy forever. "
― Nicole Jacquelyn , Unbreak My Heart (Fostering Love, #1)
12
" he leaned down and pressed his face to my belly.
"You're having my baby," he announced against my skin.
I felt my eyes well up and tears drip down my face. finally. He'd finally said it.
"Sure am," I replied, my hoarse voice belying the nonchalance of my words.
"I'm going to do my best, okay?" he said nervously. "I promise. I'll be a good dad to him."
"You're already a good dad."
But to this baby," he replied, lifting his face and pressing his hand to my belly. "I'm going to be a good dad to this baby."
"I never doubted that."
"I did," he confessed, his head rising to shamefully meet my eyes.
The truth of his words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I finally understood why he'd ignored the proof of our child for so long.
I nodded once, and he nodded back, as if, without words, we were making a pact then and there to take care of this baby we hadn't planned for or wanted. "
― Nicole Jacquelyn , Unbreak My Heart (Fostering Love, #1)
