23. Chapter Twenty-Three

Saturday took forever to finally roll around, and I paced my house, wanting everything to be perfect. Straightening one of the red throw pillows on my couch, I glanced at my watch. Wyatt should be here in about ten minutes with the baby, for my first alone time with her.

Restless, I paced to my stove, idly stirring the pot of vegetable soup I had simmering. September had a toe creeping towards October and the day had a slight chill to it. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but the trees outside my door were just beginning to lose some of their brightly colored leaves. Fall was definitely in the air.

The crunch of tires in my drive had me racing towards the door, and I just barely stopped myself from running excitedly out to meet them. As much as I was looking forward to spending time with my princess, I was just as excited to spend time with Wyatt.

He was right; we would never get anywhere in our relationship if every time we were in the same room our clothes fell off. Not that I minded that, because I was one hundred percent on board with being naked with Wyatt pretty much all the time. It didn’t bother me that we couldn’t engage in penetrative sex for a couple more weeks. There were plenty of other inventive things we could do. The other day had been hot enough to linger in my memory and might have been shower jerk off material every day since.

Wyatt was sexy, beautiful, and that mind of his–what a fucking turn on that was. But Jamie was right–damn him–I had been coming at Wyatt like a bulldozer, expecting him to just do what I said. Even if my intentions had been good, which they were, because I really did have Wyatt’s well-being in mind, my actions had been horrible. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what had gotten into me, except maybe it was my alpha hormones going wacky being around my omega and our pup.

That and having my fated mate within touching distance probably hadn’t helped the situation.

At the gentle knock on my front door, I paused with my hand on the knob, taking a deep breath before I opened it.

Wyatt stood there, looking tall and gorgeous, the sun behind him throwing a glow around his wild tawny curls. I was glad when he had cut it he had left some length on the top. I loved his curls. He had Jules’ hot pink diaper bag on his shoulder and was holding her, still strapped in her car seat carrier, in the other. Smiling, I reached out to take her from him, since I knew he really shouldn’t be lugging her around.

Omegas have been carrying babies around for years, you nut job,my wolf snickered.

It’s only been three weeks since he gave birth, I countered, ushering Wyatt in with a soft smile and closing the door behind him.

He deposited the diaper bag on the sofa, his nose twitching. “Something smells good.”

Unbuckling Jules, I lifted her up, giving her a kiss on her soft hair. She was awake and wide eyed, gazing up at me as I cradled her in my arms. She felt like she’d gotten bigger since I had last seen her, which was crazy, because I saw her on Wednesday night after my shift for a couple of hours.

“Vegetable soup,” I told him, giving him another smile. “I thought soup and sandwiches, if that’s okay?”

He nodded, running a hand over Jules’ curls. How Wyatt couldn’t see her curls were just like his was beyond me. Though admittedly, there was curly hair on both sides of her D.N.A. “Sounds great, thank you. She ate an hour ago, so she should be okay for a bit. And she slept on the way over, even though it’s not that far. She woke up when the car stopped.” He rolled his eyes, “Seems like as soon as she is in the car she’s out like a light.”

“So if she gets cranky before you’re back, I should just drive her around then?” I joked.

“Probably,” he grinned, then ran a hand through his hair, “I was going to do a grocery run, then come back and go for a shift, if you don’t mind.”

“Wyatt, this is your time to do whatever you need to do. Lunch can wait until youre done with your shift. Take all the time you need.”

“I just don’t want to take advantage of you,” he nibbled his bottom lip, something I noticed he did when he was feeling unsure of himself.

“You’re not,” I assured him. “This is technically my parenting time. You don’t need to ask my permission to do anything. Though I do appreciate you telling me in case I need to get ahold of you. But that’s what cell phones are for. Go and enjoy some time on your own. I imagine even grocery shopping without a baby can be less stressful than it is with her.”

He shrugged, “I guess I’ll find out.”

Still, he hesitated, shuffling his feet from side to side. I wanted to tell him to go and do what he needed to do, but I was afraid it would come out like a barked order and I didn’t want to do that. Finally, I said softly, “She’s going to be fine, you know?”

He glanced at me sharply, “I know! It’s not that. I trust you with her, I do! It’s just…”

“It’s weird right, this co-parenting thing?”

He huffed out a short breath, his chest shaky, “Yeah. I know it’s stupid. Because I let Bash and Jamie watch her last week while I shifted and we–” his cheeks turned a lovely rose color, and I quirked my mouth at him in a small, knowing smirk, “–did what we did, but this is for longer. And it just feels different.”

“Tell you what,” I bounced Jules with my arms, because she had that look on her face she got when she realized she was no longer in motion and was about to put in a complaint with management, “feel free to check in with us when you come back to go on your shift. Get some baby cuddles in. I don’t mind.”

“But it’s technically your time with her,” he hesitated, uncertain.

“How about we don’t look at it as your time or my time?” I suggested, “It’s just our time. Both of us, just doing whatever we can to help each other out, and take care of our daughter. And in the process, we get to know each other better. You go run your errands, have a shift, and we’ll have a nice lunch together.”

He mulled over my suggestion for about thirty seconds, and I could almost see the wheels inside his head moving rapidly, analyzing everything I had said and coming up with scenarios and outcomes. Someday, I’d like to play a game of chess with him, just to watch the sheer brilliance I imagined his playing would be.

“Okay, that actually sounds really good.” Wyatt reached into the diaper bag and pulled out some folded pages. Probably instructions for me to follow for Jules’ care, no doubt.

Taking them from him, I asked, “What’s this?”

He gave me a trembling smile, looking unsure of himself again. “I wrote these down. I usually keep them in my head,” he shrugged, looking flustered.

He was adorable when he was like this, and I found myself liking both sides of Wyatt. One minute he was all aloof self-confidence, the smartest person in the room and he knew it. The next he was all shy innocence, looking at the world with wide eyed wonder. It was charming, and I found myself wanting to uncover all of the hidden sides to his personality.

“It occurred to me that we don’t know each other that well. Not really.”

Looking at the folded papers, I asked, “And this will help us do that?”

Jules, at her limit for being ignored, finally put up a fuss, her little arms jerking in a new baby version of an attention-getting wave. Crooning to her, I sympathized softly, “So sorry we weren’t paying you enough attention, princess.”

Wyatt gave us a wan smile, his hazel eyes shrouded. “You’re good with her.”

“So are you,” I assured him. He’d come a long way in the last three weeks, and he and Jules were both much more relaxed with each other now.

“Anyway, I’ll get out of your hair now,” he kissed Jules on the top of her head, then hurried to the door. “I’ll stop in when I get back before I go for my shift.”

Smiling at his awkwardness, I took Jules’ little hand and moved it in a waving motion. “Say bye to Papa.”

Wyatt gave a little wave then was out the door. Smiling at the baby, I sank down onto the sofa cushion and unfolded the papers he had all but shoved into my hands.

Lists. They were lists. But not just any lists. Lists of things Wyatt wanted to do and experience. Two separate lists. The first one was titled ‘Sexual Experiences’.

Reading it, I smiled at the crossed off items, noting they were things he and I had done together. More than a little pleased that the only items crossed off were the things he and I had done. Folding that one up, I made a mental note of a few on the list that I’d be more than happy to help him cross off.

The second list was of things he wanted to do or experience, and my heart fluttered reading this list. There weren’t as many things crossed off this one, mainly big things like drive cross country, and use my early education degree. Buy a business. Buy a house of my choosing. I smiled when he had underlined Must have a porch!

But it was the smaller things that nearly broke my heart.

“Oh Wyatt,” I whispered, “you’re killing me, here.”

Have a picnic.

Go to a fair or festival.

Try a funnel cake.

Ride a roller coaster.

Go to a drive-in movie.

My suspicions had been spot on. He’d been so busy with school, racking up degrees, and using his brain for whatever special projects people wanted him for, he hadn’t had a chance to live. To do things most people experienced as a kid, or during their high school and college years.

But Wyatt had been twelve when he had started college. Freaking twelve. He’d been much too young to do anything his fellow peers would be interested in doing. And it was clear from this list that his parents hadn’t ensured he had any experiences that most kids should have.

An idea popped into my head as I looked around my small living space. “What do you think, princess? I think we might be able to help your Papa with both his lists. Starting this afternoon.”