Page 66 of Can't Win 'Em All
“Thank you, Rex.” He really would get over whatever he was feeling. It was a trick of his mind because of the baby. At least this way, nobody would get hurt.
Right?
I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it because Rex distracted me by grabbing one of the bags from the luggage cart. “This is what you were talking about, right?”
Confused, I looked inside the bag. My heart grew ten times in size with a single glance. “Where did you find this?” I jerked the medium-sized Charlie Bear from the bag and held it up. It wasn’t exactly like the bear I’d fallen in love with as a kid. It was pink more than purple and the fur was a little longer than I remembered. It was absolutely perfect, though.
“There’s a store,” he replied. “I had to call around. After talking to the clerk, she was fairly certain these were the bears you were talking about.”
“It is.” Tears burned the back of my eyes. “Our little girl is going to love this.”
He gave me an odd look.
“What?” I asked, swiping at my cheeks. I’d never been a crier before getting pregnant. Things were starting to get out of hand in that department.
“I’ll get fifty of those for our daughter,” he said. “Whatever she wants, she’s going to get. I’m going to spoil her rotten.”
I laughed. “That seems like a healthy mentality for parenthood.”
“That bear isn’t for Rexanne.”
“Stop with Rexanne!”
He pretended I hadn’t spoken. “That bear is for you, Ruby. Your father should’ve bought it for you. He’s a jerk, though. Now I bought it for you. Better late than never, right?”
Everything inside of me rocketed to a standstill. “You got this bear for me?”
He nodded.
“But why?” That’s what I didn’t understand.
“Because I want you to have everything you’ve ever wanted too.” He went back to rubbing my feet. “Now, close your eyes. Pretend you’re on a beach and you’ve never been happier in your life. Can you hear the waves?”
All I could hear was the beating of my own heart. It was saying his name over and over again.Rex. Rex. Rex.I lied all the same. “I can hear it.”
“Good. Now just give in to the feeling. You need to be calm. Otherwise, we’re going to have a high-strung baby.”
“Was that a dig?”
“Nope. I’m here to make sure you’re happy, Ruby. One way or another, I’m going to make sure it happens.”
I believed him. And how dangerous was that?
18
EIGHTEEN
THREE WEEKS LATER
Iwas at my limit.
I couldn’t take a single second more of this … this … feeling.
Whenever I looked at Ruby, all I felt was yearning.
When she smiled, I wanted her to smile at me.
When she cried—which she did often now, and at everything from commercials to poignant songs—I wanted to be the one she curled into so I could soothe her.
