Heather
I watched William quickly walk away and blinked in disbelief. He just left like nothing happened!
A small frown formed on my face as I watched his back become smaller and smaller.
Even though a part of me was hurt, the reasonable side of me was mentally reprimanding me for giving in like that. I shouldn’t have been expecting everything to turn happy-dandy after a few kisses. He wasn’t going to change and there was nothing I could do.
I heaved a sigh and started my walk back home.
***
After I showered, I got dressed in some comfy clothes and grabbed my purse from the closet. I took my keys and phone before opening the door, coming face to face with William yet again.
I stepped back, startled by his sudden appearance.
Why did he show up everywhere I went?
He had a blank look on face. I opened my mouth to speak, but he stepped inside the house. I moved away fearfully as he stepped forward with a smug smirk.
“What are you doing here?” I asked slowly.
“I wanted to spend the rest of the day with my wife. Now come, let’s go.” His smirk grew and his eyes were amused.
“Who said you were coming? I am going by myself, and you are not following me.”
William sighed in frustration. Before I could even react, he picked me up bridal style.
“What the hell, William? Put me down before I cut your male parts off!” I yelled at him.
He grinned. “Gee, I didn’t know you were into kinky stuff, Heather. I’ll remember that for later.”
My eyes widened and I began to choke on air. Yet the jerk was chuckling. He carried me out to his car and dropped me into the passenger seat before going to the other side.
“Where to?” William asked curiously as he drove around the fountain and out of the driveway.
“Hell,” I muttered sarcastically. He glared at me and I sighed defeatedly. “The shelter.”
Five minutes later, we pulled into Windy Summit’s parking lot. I looked at the brick building that was once a small hotel. I bought it about two years ago when the owners were retiring and didn’t want to keep it. It was a four-story building and had at least five rooms on each floor, so it was a pretty good size for a shelter. There were vines growing on the sides and the windows made it bright on the inside.
I leaped out of the car excitedly and rushed through the double doors that led to the lobby. I looked around the golden interior before finally spotting Hillary at the front desk.
“Is that you, Heather?” She gasped dramatically, putting a hand on her chest.
I rolled my eyes and laughed, pulling her in for a hug. “You saw me almost a week ago, Hillary.”
“That’s true. You brought your husband?” she whispered suddenly, nodding behind me.
I realized I had totally forgotten about William, who was casually walking around the lobby.
“He invited himself,” I whispered back, my eyes following him as he studied the paintings on the wall with great interest.
I shrugged and then said, “So how are the newcomers doing?”
“Well, I gave them their rooms and they fell asleep as soon as they showered and ate. The poor things looked so pale and unhealthy, Heather. I feel like the doctor should come check them out,” she said, pursing her lips.
“I agree, I’ll ask her to come in tomorrow.” I mentally made a reminder for myself to call the doctor later.
“I’m going to go check on the rest of them. Do you want to come?” I asked.
“I have got some paperwork to finish, so you can go ahead.”
I nodded before turning toward the staircase and racing up to the second floor. The second floor was where all the little ones stayed. The other floors contained all the bigger kids. There were more than enough rooms for each of them, though most of the kids shared their rooms with friends or siblings.
I walked over to room two and opened the door quietly. The twins were sound asleep. I tiptoed inside and watched them. There was a baby monitor on each of their cribs, so we could hear them if they woke up.
The twins, Michael and Minnie, were absolutely adorable. Michael had curly brown hair and big brown eyes. Minnie had curly brown hair as well, but her eyes were a dark green, the same shade as William’s eyes.
Why did I always think of him? This wasn’t good.
I shook my head and turned to Minnie as she started squirming. She opened her eyes and looked about ready to cry, but she smiled and began to babble instead when she saw me. I grinned and picked her up after putting a small towel on my right shoulder for her drool. I rocked her in my arms gently while she sucked her thumb and kicked her feet.
“Somebody woke up early, huh?” I cooed.
She stared at me for a few moments and sneezed. She looked so confused and scrunched up her little button nose. I laughed and kissed her temple, and in reply she gave me a toothless grin that melted my heart. She began to look around the room until her eyes landed on something. I turned my head to see what had caught her interest.
William was leaning against the doorframe, watching us, amused. He walked over to where we were and smiled at Minnie.
“Hey there, baby girl,” he whispered, shaking her flailing hand.
Minnie gave him a big smile and took his huge hand into her two tiny ones. I looked up at William and smiled at the look of awe on his face.
“Would you like to hold her?” I whispered.
William moved his gaze to me and nodded. I carefully placed Minnie into his outstretched arms and he began to rock her slowly. The sight of a huge, muscular man rocking a tiny baby in his arms so cautiously made me smile.
Minnie began to drool while babbling to William, so I took the towel off my shoulders and stepped forward, wiping the drool off her chin. She tried to put the towel in her mouth, and I chuckled, moving it away. I felt someone’s gaze burning through my head and slowly moved my gaze upward.
William was staring at me with an indescribable emotion in his eyes. He gave me a small smile and I returned it warily.
There was something bothering him, I could tell. His hair was sticking up in different directions and his jaw was clenched tightly.
We stood there staring at each other intensely and he began to lean in, when a loud cry broke our gaze.
Michael.
I walked to his crib and picked him up, murmuring into his ear to comfort him. He stopped crying and looked at me with those tear-filled eyes that warmed my heart. I wiped his tears and he turned slightly, cuddling into my chest. I shook my head, amused as he went back to sleep, snoring quietly.
“Uh, Heather,” William said anxiously, “I think Minnie peed on me.”
I looked up, and sure enough, Minnie had peed on William’s white sweatshirt. Her diaper must have gotten messed up. He was staring at Minnie in shock, but she just grabbed William’s nose and pulled it, giggling. I laughed and carefully put Michael back into his crib before taking Minnie in my arms.
“Why do you always pee on the men, Minnie?” I laughed before nodding at William. “Go to the en suite and shower. I’ll put your clothes in the laundry and bring you some different ones.”
He sighed and went into the bathroom. I put Minnie back in her crib after cleaning her up and gave her a toy monkey so she could distract herself. I grabbed a pair of black sweatpants and a white muscle tee from a drawer and knocked on the bathroom door, putting the clothes by the sink before closing the door behind me quickly.
After that, it was time to give Minnie her bottle. “Are you hungry, sweetie?”
Minnie smiled and drooled some more on the monkey’s head. I picked her up and sat in the rocking chair as she drank her milk slowly, stopping to babble from time to time. A couple minutes later, William came out in the sweatpants and muscle tee. He turned and frowned at me.
I raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Why do you have men’s clothes?”
Just who did he think I was? Some kind of whore?
“Those are Alex’s.”
“Oh, um, right,” he said lamely, scratching the back of his neck.
I rolled my eyes and looked back down at Minnie, who had fallen asleep after finishing her bottle. I put her back in her crib and turned to Michael, who was starting to shuffle around in his sleep. Suddenly, he began crying, and William immediately picked him up and began to rock him in his arms. Michael quieted down and stared at William while sucking his thumb.
William stared down at him. “You hungry, little man?”
Michael kicked his legs excitedly and I handed William the second bottle I had made.
We were quiet as we watched Michael chug his bottle down hungrily. After about ten minutes of an awkward silence, the door opened up further and a little girl walked into the room.
“Mama!” she cried.
William just stared at her, bewildered.
“Hi, baby.” I stretched my arms out and she hugged me tightly.
William frowned at me. “Did she just call you mama?”
I nodded and pecked the top of her head. “She has called me that since she learned to talk, and I never had the heart to correct her. It’s the way she recognizes me. Besides, she’s like my daughter. All of the kids here are like my kids or younger siblings.”
William nodded, looking deep in thought. I turned my head back to Cassy, who was staring at him. I sat down and she plopped down on my lap.
“Cassy, sweetie, can you say hi?” I asked, pointing at William.
The little one-year-old stood up shakily and waddled over to William with her arms outstretched. “Dada.”
I watched with amusement as she wrapped her little arms around his leg. William stared at her in shock before kneeling in front of her. “Hey there, princess,” he said, pulling her in for a hug. “I swear, I’m going soft after just one hour with these kids,” he mumbled.
I snorted. “You? Soft?”
He chuckled and patted Cassy’s back gently. “I know that sounds weird, but these kids are all so innocent. It’s refreshing.”
For once, I agreed. It was refreshing to see a side of him that was actually nice.