He walked over and set up the humidifier on the dresser, then filled it with water and pulled it in close to the chair, the quiet stream of vapor oddly comforting in the silent room. Then he moved to stand next to the rocking chair to peer down at Gracie. A bit of color had returned to her tiny cheeks, though she was still paler than he liked.
“How’s she doing?” he whispered to Serena.
“About the same,” she said, turning worried eyes up to him. “I’ve been holding her since you left since she cries whenever I put her down. But my arms are aching and I’ve got a crick in my neck. Can you take her for a little bit?”
“Oh. Uh…” Noah’s eyes widened.
“Please?” Serena said, standing up carefully so as not to jostling the sleeping infant. “I just need a minute to myself. Here.”
Before Noah could protest, she thrust Gracie at him. It was either grab her or drop her and he sure as hell never wanted to do the latter. In fact, he’d started having nightmares about accidentally dropping the kid on the floor or somehow otherwise injuring her. He’d told himself that was probably normal father stuff, right? Now he wasn’t so sure.
Still, he had little choice but to cradle his baby daughter in his arm while Serena headed for the bathroom. “I need a long soak in the tub to ease my muscle aches. If she starts crying again, try singing to her. She likes that. I’ll be out in a bit, if you need me.” She stopped and looked back at him. “And thanks for picking up the humidifier.”
Noah stood there blinking at the closed door for a moment before gazing down at Gracie. She was scowling in her sleep, her little face wrinkled and red, like she was mad at the world. Or at him, for dragging them through the stupid jungle. Man, this was all his fault.
Shoulders slumped, he sank down into the rocking chair just as the baby stirred, fussing and squirming, though not a full-blown cry yet, thank goodness. He rocked more vigorously, hoping to head off a complete meltdown. He’d gotten her to stop crying before, he could do it again, couldn’t he?
Singing. Serena had said Gracie liked people singing to her. Except the only songs he knew were from heavy metal bands and not really appropriate for infants. Great.
Think, dude.
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember a tune from Sesame Street, anything that might make his daughter feel better since her fussing was edging closer to a rip-roaring cry now and there was no indication that Serena would emerge from the bathroom anytime soon. So yep. This was on him.
In the end, he went with one he knew by heart. Not a kid’s song, per se, but it had child in the name anyway. “Hey, baby girl,” he said, bouncing Gracie slightly to get her attention. “You want daddy to sing you a song? I’m not very good, but I’ll give it a go. Yeah? Would you like that, huh?”
Gracie stopped squirming and stared up at him with what Noah could only describe as adoring wonder. His heart swelled to near bursting and he suddenly didn’t care if he sounded off-key and foolish. For more of that look from his daughter, he’d turn cartwheels on his head while whistling Dixie.
“She’s got a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories…” He serenaded his daughter with one of his all-time favorite Guns and Roses songs, grinning when Gracie actually did smile up at him. By the time he got through the second verse and a repeat of the chorus, they were both smiling from ear to ear and he felt like he could move mountains. He was so into it, that he didn’t even notice when Serena came out of the bathroom and stood there listening to him.
When he was done, Serena came over and took the baby from him to check her temperature again. Finally, it was back to normal. He’d never felt so grateful for anything in his life. Once she’d fed Gracie and burped her and put her down for another nap, Noah got into the shower himself. He was shaving in the bathroom when Serena came in.
“Seems you really do have a knack with kids,” she said, softly closing the door behind her, shutting them into their own private world. “I’m so glad she’s doing better now.”
“Me too,” Noah said, wiping off his face, then brushing his teeth, aware that he was only wearing a damp towel around his hips while Serena stood behind him in a robe the B&B had provided. He spit into the sink and set his toothbrush aside, feeling a bit more relaxed now that he was clean again. “I called the guys and told them what happened. They’re going to take care of adjusting our reservations since we’ve been delayed.”
“That’s good,” Serena said, leaning her hips back against the edge of the vanity beside him, the heat of her and the sweet scent of shampoo from her hair making him dizzy with want. He wondered if she had any idea how she affected him. As if reading his mind, she slowly traced her finger up his bare arm, making him shiver. Her words emerged as little more than a seductive purr…and based on the heat in her eyes, yeah, she knew. Thankfully, she seemed to be just as affected by him. “You have a knack with me too.”
Picking up on her flirty vibe, he shifted slightly to face her, placing one hand behind her on the vanity and the other on the wall behind her, effectively trapping her with his body. “I do, huh?”
“Oh yeah.” She reached down and flicked open the belt of her robe, giving him a full view of her
