Chapter Eight

She fits in

Lucian

Cassandra is a virtual stranger and already she has seamlessly fallen into easy camaraderie with everyone she's met. Alistair is probably the hardest one of us to win over and he's already smiling at her.

I can't tear my gaze from her as she banters with the people in my life. My heart feels full for the first time in ages. If I can only convince her to let me into her life and her heart, and not just her body. For now, I will accept our arrangement but it won't be long before she realizes she is mine.

Mercedes' voice pulls me from my inner musings.

"A vet?" She asks with excitement. "Zeus has a lump on the inside of his left leg. When are you opening?"

Like everything else the woman does, she speaks a mile a minute.

"Give her a minute," I cut in. "She just got the shop."

"It's fine," Cassandra smiles at me, squeezing my arm before facing Mercedes. "It'll take a couple of weeks to get all the gear I need and have the practice up and running. But I'm happy to do house calls in the meantime."

"Really? That would be so cool." Mercedes hands Tyler over to my brother, who has a terrified look on his face. "Can we go now?"

Cassandra looks torn between laughing and ripping her son out of my brother's big hands. I don't have the same problem. Dana and I both burst out laughing before a flash goes off.

"What the hell, Dana?" Alistair grumbles.

"Your mom's gonna get a kick out of your face," she chuckles. "Have you never held a baby?"

Alistair frowns, thinking. "The last time was when Damien was this small."

"Damien?" Cassandra asks.

"Our youngest brother," I explain with a snicker. "He just turned nineteen, so it's been a long time."

"Wow. It's been a while," she teases my brother and I swear the tips of his ears turn red.

"Can we go already?" Mercedes cuts in, hopping from one foot to the other.

"She'll never let you have a moment of peace," I chuckle. "Go on, I've got Tyler."

Cassandra raises a brow questioningly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, how hard can it be?"

This is something I have to learn to do on my own if I want them both to be part of my life. Why not start now?

***

Famous last words.

Me and my big fucking mouth. Cassandra isn't gone all of five minutes before all hell breaks loose. Tyler goes from a smiling laughing little boy to a little screaming demon dressed in baby blue. It doesn't help that between the three of us, not a single one knows anything about babies.

Dana searches the bag Cassandra left for a bottle but Tyler just spits it out. His diaper isn't wet or dirty and no amount of swaying and cooing seems to do anything. Suddenly, I comprehended why Cassandra was so overwhelmed. I don't know what's wrong and he's too small to tell me. I feel impotent and incapable.

"This worked the last time," I mumble as I hold him against my chest.

Dana looks disbelieving and Alistair keeps looking at his phone.

"Should I call them?" he asks.

"No!" Dana and I shout in unison.

"We can't admit defeat so easily," Dana says with a frown. Tyler is still crying, his fists are clenched and his little face is red. "Is that exactly what you did the last time?"

"I wasn't wearing a shirt."

"I'll table that for later." She takes Tyler from me, lightly patting his back. "Time to strip, bitch."

I don't think this will work but I'm running low on options. So I whip my t-shirt off and hand it to my brother. Taking Tyler back, I cradle him against my chest and sway a bit. It's almost instant, the change in him. He stops screaming, staring up at me. Every couple of seconds he hiccups but I hope that will calm down soon.

"What the hell?" Alistair whispers, leaning over to look at the baby I'm cradling.

"I saw it on TV once," Dana says. "Skin-on-skin contact lets them feel connected."

"Wow." Alistair and I say in unison.

The word is a reverent whisper that falls from my lips. This kid already has me wrapped around his little finger. I thought I was falling for his mother but it seems I have been falling for them both.