A tiny squeak issued from the cot across the room. Serena exhaled slowly and pushed to her feet. “Sounds like someone’s awake.”
Noah reached up and grabbed her wrist, stopping her after one step. For some reason he couldn’t name and didn’t want to think too much about at present, he wanted to hold his daughter. Needed to hold her. “Can I get her? I mean, if it’s okay with you?”
“Uh.” The weight of Serena’s stare prickled on the side of his face even though he wasn’t looking up at her, afraid of what he might see there. “Sure. Yes. Come on over and meet Gracie up close.”
He followed her to the side of the cot, dazed and definitely nervous. What if he messed this up? What if he hurt her? She was so tiny and he was so big. Maybe this was a colossal mistake.
Serena bent and scooped up Gracie, smiling and cooing to her before turning to Noah. “Hold out your arms, pretend she’s a football you’re cradling. Yep, like that. Good.”
Noah froze as the tiny baby’s weight settled on his forearm, like nothing and everything all at once. Then he was staring down into a pair of blue eyes so like his own it was like gazing into a mirror. Unsure what to do, he bounced her slightly up and down like he’d seen Serena do, and smiled what he hoped was a good dad smile. “Hey, baby girl. I’m Noah. I’m your daddy.”
And somehow, saying that made it all real. There were no takebacks now, not that there ever were really. Not for him. Gracie squealed and grinned up at him. Or maybe it was gas. Who knew? Whatever it was, he was delighted and deeply moved, and he reached out one finger to stroke her downy little cheek. She latched on to him, wrapping her tiny hand around his finger, and he was a goner.
Gracie had his heart, totally, completely, irrevocably. From that time forward, he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, no matter what it took.
6
Serena trudged along after Noah through the St. Dourdane rainforest the next day, her feet screaming inside her too large boots. At the time, stuffing them with scraps from sheets to make them fit had sounded like a good idea. Now? Not so much. Her blisters had blisters and her neck felt permanently cricked from the weight of the baby sling across her chest. All she wanted at this point was a big glass of ice water and a long nap.
What she got instead was Noah acting like a Universal Studios tour guide while they hiked through the ass end of nowhere. And yes, perhaps she was a bit cranky, but she was doing the best she could here. At least the baby was sleeping soundly after a full meal at 6 a.m.
“See that tree there?” he said, pointing to a trunk that looked exactly like the other three thousand and fifty other trunks to her. “That’s a rubber tree. It’s where latex comes from.”
She almost said Thanks, Professor Proton but bit the words back at the last second. Just because she was miserable and exhausted, didn’t mean she should take it out on him. He had saved her and Gracie’s lives the day before, so…
Still trying to think of a response that didn’t involve lethal doses of sarcasm, Serena didn’t say anything right away. After a few more steps, Noah looked back at her over his shoulder, his frown troubled. Great. He’d obviously mistaken her silence for something else.
Noah stopped and turned around, blocking her path and forcing her to halt. “Everything okay?”
A million answers zipped through her mind at that moment, but the one she settled for was, “Fine.”
She wasn’t a whiner by nature and considering how much more awful her situation could be right now, she didn’t want to start complaining—regardless of how her cramped toes might disagree.
He narrowed his gaze on her and sighed. “I’ve been with enough women to know that means the exact opposite. Here, give me the knapsack.”
“No. I’ve got it.” She scowled. “It’s my shift and I can do it.” She shifted her weight slightly, unable to hide a cringe when the muscles of her lower back shrieked. “Just let me rest here for a second, okay?”
“Okay.” He watched her for second longer, looking like he wanted to argue but then thought better of it. Smart man. He took a deep breath and backed away a step or two. “While you rest, I’m going to go on ahead a little way and do a bit of recon. Make sure our path is clear. All right? Stay here until I get back.”
Serena gave a curt nod and leaned against the stupid rubber tree he’d pointed out earlier, waiting until he’d disappeared around a large copse of bushes before she allowed herself to slump back and drop the heavy knapsack at her battered feet. Maybe she was being stubborn by not letting him help, but dammit. She was used to being a strong, independent woman and after having her right to make any choices taken away from her for so long in captivity, she wasn’t eager to let her newfound agency go so easily.
While she waited for Noah to return, she eased the sling from around her body and checked on Gracie. Still snoozing away. Lucky gal. She kissed her daughter’s head, the sweet fragrance of baby shampoo reviving her flagging spirits a bit. This. This was why she’d endure any hardship. Why she’d hike clear across the damned Andes if necessary. For Gracie. Always.
After changing the baby’s diaper and feeding her again—it had been over three hours since the last time, after all—Serena had just tucked Gracie back into the sling when Noah returned. Instead of the intrepid explorer grin he’d worn earlier as they’d traipsed through the jungle, faint lines of tension now stood out around the corners
