family. He would take Delilah in, watch
over her, and love her for three months. He knew it would be near impossible to
let her go when Lee came off tour, but hopefully they would make arrangements
at that time for visitation. Who knows? After three months, Erik may decide he
didn’t want to be a father. Yeah, right.
He
felt Lee move closer, but he was probably watching his niece. Erik kept his
mind on the baby and off the heat of the man sitting next to him. Or, he tried.
When he heard the faint inhale of breath, he knew Lee was sniffing him. Again.
“Are you smelling me again?”
“What
can I say? I love your scent.” Lee made a big production of sticking his nose
against Erik’s neck and breathing in deeply.
Erik
couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re an idiot,” he said playfully.
After
Delilah finished her bottle and was burped, Erik handed her back over. “Here
you go. I’m going to go home and get started rearranging furniture. Where’s
your phone?”
Lee
thumbed open his phone, entered the passcode, and handed it over. Erik called
his own phone so he would have Lee’s number. “I will text you my address. Is
noon good for you tomorrow?”
“Yeah,
man, that should work. You sure you wanna do this?”
“I’m
sure. If you have any questions or get lost, give me a call. If not, I’ll see
you tomorrow.” Erik stood and wrapped Duke’s leash around his wrist.
“Okay,
see ya.”
Erik
had a lot to do between then and noon the next day. He didn’t want to overthink
his rash decision. He would need to arrange for someone to look after Delilah
while he was seeing patients, but that wouldn’t be as hard as finding someone
to travel the world with a rock band. He would cut back on his patient load
until she was a little older and more settled. By then, Lee would be off the
road and could take over his part in raising his niece.
Noon
came sooner than Erik expected. He had moved all the furniture out of the room
that was to be Delilah’s. He texted Lee and asked for a list of items he’d be
bringing, and Erik went shopping for other things he thought she’d need. When
it was time for Lee to arrive, Erik stared out the front window until he saw a
truck rolling down the driveway followed by a newer model Corvette. He stepped
out onto the front porch and directed the driver to the side of the house. It
would be easier to go in the side door than try to maneuver around the living
room furniture.
Erik
was surprised to see three large men angle out of the truck. One he knew to be
Cade, the drummer. The other two were either band mates or roadies. They had
that rock appearance about them. Lee got out of the sports car and smiled at
Erik. His hoodie was gone, and in its place was a t-shirt with a picture of
Jim Morrison on the front. His long dark hair was pulled back into a tight
ponytail. He walked over to the other three men. “Erik, this is the band. Cade,
Pauly, and Sloane. Band, this is Erik, Delilah’s doctor.” Erik shook hands
with the two new men. Cade didn’t offer his hand, so Erik didn’t make an
attempt. “And this little firecracker is Echo.” A petite woman had climbed out
of the backseat and was holding Delilah.
“It’s
a pleasure,” she said with a smile.
“Likewise.
All right, let’s get you unloaded. I know how busy you are.” Erik didn’t really
care about the band members, he only wanted to get things unloaded so he could
get Delilah settled. “Echo, if you’d like to go on inside, please make yourself
at home anywhere.”
It
didn’t take long for five men to unload the little bit of furniture they had
for the baby. A couple of duffle bags held her clothes, diapers, and assorted
toiletries, and the few toys she had were in a box. Erik directed them to the
room she would inhabit for the next few months.
“Thank
you. I will get everything settled after you leave.” He didn’t mean to sound
rude like he was dismissing them, but he didn’t like the bad vibe
over her, and love her for three months. He knew it would be near impossible to
let her go when Lee came off tour, but hopefully they would make arrangements
at that time for visitation. Who knows? After three months, Erik may decide he
didn’t want to be a father. Yeah, right.
He
felt Lee move closer, but he was probably watching his niece. Erik kept his
mind on the baby and off the heat of the man sitting next to him. Or, he tried.
When he heard the faint inhale of breath, he knew Lee was sniffing him. Again.
“Are you smelling me again?”
“What
can I say? I love your scent.” Lee made a big production of sticking his nose
against Erik’s neck and breathing in deeply.
Erik
couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re an idiot,” he said playfully.
After
Delilah finished her bottle and was burped, Erik handed her back over. “Here
you go. I’m going to go home and get started rearranging furniture. Where’s
your phone?”
Lee
thumbed open his phone, entered the passcode, and handed it over. Erik called
his own phone so he would have Lee’s number. “I will text you my address. Is
noon good for you tomorrow?”
“Yeah,
man, that should work. You sure you wanna do this?”
“I’m
sure. If you have any questions or get lost, give me a call. If not, I’ll see
you tomorrow.” Erik stood and wrapped Duke’s leash around his wrist.
“Okay,
see ya.”
Erik
had a lot to do between then and noon the next day. He didn’t want to overthink
his rash decision. He would need to arrange for someone to look after Delilah
while he was seeing patients, but that wouldn’t be as hard as finding someone
to travel the world with a rock band. He would cut back on his patient load
until she was a little older and more settled. By then, Lee would be off the
road and could take over his part in raising his niece.
Noon
came sooner than Erik expected. He had moved all the furniture out of the room
that was to be Delilah’s. He texted Lee and asked for a list of items he’d be
bringing, and Erik went shopping for other things he thought she’d need. When
it was time for Lee to arrive, Erik stared out the front window until he saw a
truck rolling down the driveway followed by a newer model Corvette. He stepped
out onto the front porch and directed the driver to the side of the house. It
would be easier to go in the side door than try to maneuver around the living
room furniture.
Erik
was surprised to see three large men angle out of the truck. One he knew to be
Cade, the drummer. The other two were either band mates or roadies. They had
that rock appearance about them. Lee got out of the sports car and smiled at
Erik. His hoodie was gone, and in its place was a t-shirt with a picture of
Jim Morrison on the front. His long dark hair was pulled back into a tight
ponytail. He walked over to the other three men. “Erik, this is the band. Cade,
Pauly, and Sloane. Band, this is Erik, Delilah’s doctor.” Erik shook hands
with the two new men. Cade didn’t offer his hand, so Erik didn’t make an
attempt. “And this little firecracker is Echo.” A petite woman had climbed out
of the backseat and was holding Delilah.
“It’s
a pleasure,” she said with a smile.
“Likewise.
All right, let’s get you unloaded. I know how busy you are.” Erik didn’t really
care about the band members, he only wanted to get things unloaded so he could
get Delilah settled. “Echo, if you’d like to go on inside, please make yourself
at home anywhere.”
It
didn’t take long for five men to unload the little bit of furniture they had
for the baby. A couple of duffle bags held her clothes, diapers, and assorted
toiletries, and the few toys she had were in a box. Erik directed them to the
room she would inhabit for the next few months.
“Thank
you. I will get everything settled after you leave.” He didn’t mean to sound
rude like he was dismissing them, but he didn’t like the bad vibe
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