Exposed (Let Me Love You #3)

Chapter 8

8

DADDY’S HERE

MATT

H alf an hour later, I’m in a power struggle with a newborn.

“You’re strong Simon, but Dad is going to win this battle. It’s time to sleep, little man,” I coax in a gentle voice, but he cries in response. Hearing me call myself Dad is a trip, and I almost laugh at the irony. Almost ten months ago, I was trying to forget the pain of losing Grace. Instead, I helped create a new person.

Simon wriggles and whines in my arms. “When you get older, you’ll love sleeping. You need to rest, especially tonight, because I have to convince the beautiful girl in our living room to stay with us. Help me out here.” He responds by kicking my arms while I rock him.

Why is this so hard? There shouldn’t be a question of if I or my four week old has more stamina, but this little guy is wearing me out.

A throat clearing at the doorway catches my attention. Pepper is leaning against the doorframe, studying me while a soft smile plays on her lips.

Crap. She caught me talking about her. Well, I’m not ashamed of being caught.

“Shh, Simon. The beautiful girl is here,” I murmur, then turn to look at Pepper. “Getting him to sleep is harder than it looks. I don’t know what to do. He knows I’m going to put him alone in his crib, and he’d rather stay up all night.”

“You’ve got this. He likes your voice. Sing to him,” she suggests.

“Hmm. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because it’s hard to think when you’re trying to calm a screaming baby.”

“True,” I groan, then sigh.

I don’t know traditional lullabies, but my parents always sang 80’s songs to me.

When I begin singing, “Lean on Me,” Simon looks at me. I glance over at Pepper, and a curious look crosses her face.

He fusses a little more, then snuggles into me. After another fifteen minutes, he gives up and falls asleep. Gingerly laying him in his crib, I grab the baby monitor and motion Pepper to sneak out with me.

I heave a big sigh when we’re finally in the living room, then I cross to the kitchen to do dishes.

“You can live here until you save up enough money to do whatever it is you need to do.” I told myself repeatedly today that I won’t push her. If she wants to tell me, she will. Selfishly, the most important issue for me now is to care for Simon.

She steps up next to me to help load the dishwasher after I’ve rinsed off the dirty plates.

“You don’t have to help. I’ve got it,” I say, so she stands awkwardly next to me like she doesn’t know what to do. Maybe I should’ve let her help.

We stand in silence for a few moments while I finish loading the dishwasher. When the click and quiet hum of the dishwasher begins, I turn around to face her.

“Stay here,” I insist.

“No,” she shakes her head.

Damn, I wish she’d stop resisting.

“You cried when I cooked you bacon and eggs because no one has ever cooked for you. You can’t lie worth shit. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Simon, would you?”

“I can’t.” Her eyes fill with tears. “I would never hurt Simon, but I can’t stay here.”

When I look at her hair, I notice her light roots disappeared tonight. “Your hair is darker,” I comment, leaning my butt against the marble countertop.

She tucks a strand behind her ear and breaks eye contact with me.

“Who are you hiding from? Tell me, and I can help you.” I grip the edges of the counter to keep from wrapping my arms around her. She acts like a deer in the headlights, and I don’t want her to feel cornered and run.

“I, um, I…” Her voice trails off. She wants to tell me.

“You can tell me, Pepper,” I encourage.

She averts her gaze. After a couple minutes of silence, I realize she’s not going to tell me tonight.

“Fine,” I surrender for now. “Tell me this: does whoever you’re hiding from know you’re in Miami?”

She shakes her head no. “I don’t think so. I have a fake ID. I bought my car off of the classified ads in the newspaper and didn’t register it. If they knew I was in Miami, they would’ve taken me.”

Keeping the shock I feel from showing on my face, I nod and grab a Clorox wipe to clean the countertop. She must be terrified of whoever she’s running from. I’ll do what I can to make sure she stays safe.

“You’re safe here then, since no one knows your whereabouts.” I don’t like that she won’t tell me, but I can’t force her. If I give her space, maybe she’ll open up.

“My parents will be here tomorrow evening and the next day to watch Simon. I told them you’re a friend staying with me, so they won’t be surprised by your presence,” I share.

“What did they say about you having a baby?” She asks with a grin.

“You enjoy seeing me off my game, don’t you?” I grin back.

“Seems like you have it all together. Doesn’t hurt to see you out of your element,” she shrugs.

“With a newborn, I’m definitely out of my element. My parents seemed excited. Shocked, but happy they’re grandparents. I think they’d given up on me getting with someone and having kids.”

“You’re only 27,” she laughs.

“Yeah, but we’re from a small town where a lot of people get together and have kids young.”

“Hmm,” she nods thoughtfully and crosses her arms over her chest.

I struggle to keep my focus on her face, because my eyes want to dip down and check out her tits being pushed up by her forearms.

Simon picks that moment to wake up and wail.

“Poor baby. This new place is scary for him,” she says.

“Daddy’s here, Simon,” I call out as I hurry to my room. Damn. That feels oddly good to say. I think I’m going to like having a son.