The Co-Parent (The Relationship Quo Series Book 3)

by Nicole Strycharz

  My eyes couldn’t take it in fast enough and Brianna let go of Jenzy and I to hold the little one close. Willow squirmed and her cries were short but powerful. Her eyes were tightly shut against the new world around her and her tiny hands were in fists. She has long legs and they’re stretching and I’ve never seen a sight like this one.

  Brianna is engulfing her in suddenly steady arms. All trace of pain from the labor is gone and Brianna’s hands are exploring all parts of her baby. Jenzy and I stay close hovering and watching.

  The nurse set a thin blanket over the baby and Brianna wrapped her, careful of the cord yet attached. I’m so in awe I can’t even speak. My lips won’t move.

  “Gabe…” Brianna reached around for me and I came closer so she could feel my chest. “She’s here, Gabe.” She said with tears. “T-tell me stuff,” she sounds so hoarse, “Tell me everything. What does she look like, tell me? Please.”

  “She’s so small,” I managed. “She’s…her nose is like yours but everything is so small.” I moved to touch the baby’s foot but then took my hand back. “Her lips are like mine, but really dark pink…pink like…no maybe its red, red like strawberries…” I laughed at myself but Brianna is waiting for more.

  I looked even deeper, “Her hair is bright red, Brianna. It’s like yours-, it’s orange, like a pumpkin. She’s got a lot of bloody hair. She has- Christ, everything is small.” I finally touched the underside of her foot and she pushed against me. Her tiny toes spreading and closing. “She’s perfect…” I leaned to look closer.

  Brianna was snuggled close to the baby and in time the cord was cut. By me! I really didn’t think I would be able to do it but I did because I’m in a trance. I just kept staring. We made that tiny thing. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a newborn.

  They took her for clean-up and Brianna needed looking after for a second. I followed the baby to where they wiped her down and weighed her. Seven pounds, four ounces. That’s not big enough to hold down a balloon, is it?

  “Dad,” said the nurse in my direction. “Why don’t you hold your daughter while we look after Mom, it will only be a second.”

  I don’t think I nodded because I was too stunned but in a blink, there was a baby in my shaky hands. She was warm and less fussy. I figured out where to put my arms. I brought her up close to my face so I could really look. She makes me feel addicted. Maybe I am. I need to keep looking; it’s not really an option.

  “Hello…” I got that word out. Okay. I smiled when she squirmed. “You look perfect very-. I mean-. Very perfect. Sorry, you make it difficult to talk.” I laughed to myself and shifted her a little. “You look like your mother isn’t that-? Oh, you look knackered. I would be too if I just tunneled my way into the world.” She yawned. I made a thing that yawns. What a mouth. No teeth, just very adorable gums. I almost want her to open up again. Even her mouth is interesting. Her eyes opened to slits.

  I walked over to Brianna and Jenzy hugged her, “Well done Mommy,” she said before sitting up. “Ready to try nursing?”

  I wasn’t ready to give her up yet but I gave a chin lift to a nurse, “Eh, they need you for something…” I told her.

  Brianna and Jenzy laughed. Jenzy inclined her head at Brianna, “Breastfeeding, AKA nursing…”

  “Oh,” I looked back at Willow, “Sorry, Little Love, I can’t help with that…that’s Mum’s department.” I passed her into Brianna’s arms and sat beside her. When they started opening her gown I stood up again but she felt for me.

  “Hey,” her voice was soft. “Don’t go…”

  I inhaled with relief because I have no desire to be anywhere else. Jenzy gave gentle instruction but Willow had no trouble finding milk. Willow was situated very quickly.

  The doctor left, even the nurse and here we were. A long way from this morning. Before we could start to talk the doctor stuck her head in again, “Little warning to you both. Little Willow is the first baby born in America this year since she came about three minutes after midnight. So the press might want to pop in tomorrow. Plus…there’s the Daddy’s fame…”

  Brianna laughed and I shrugged, “We have a long-standing relationship in this family with the press, so…it’s fine.”

  The doctor smiled then left us. Brianna shook her head while Willow fed. “This feels so weird.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  She angled Willow higher and her little mouth worked to comfort herself. “Yes and no…it’s different…”

  There was a comfortable silence. Only the sound of Willow breathing or sucking.

  “So what made you come back?” she asked.

  I give up trying to look away from Willow so I talked while looking. “Because I love you and you’re family.”

  She smiled and used her shoulder to wipe a tear. “So you’ll do it? The co-parent thing thing?”

  I touched Willow’s hand and she opened her fist. I felt the padded soft palm and she closed her fist around my thumb.

  “We should have Danny go home ahead of us so she can make sure everything is ready…”

  I hope that was enough to mean yes. She leaned back into my body so that means she knows. How can I leave? My family is here.

  BRIANNA

  I don’t think I’ll ever get to hold my baby. She’s getting passed around like a football. Moses’ Dad is as much mine as Ray and Tony so she has three grandpas. Three not four. Gabe says he doesn’t want her around his father and nor do I.

  As I sit in the hospital bed listening to Willow getting acquainted with her Aunt Chloe then hogged, by her Uncle Moses, I think I feel the happiest of my entire life. Willow is my purpose in life. She’s everything. She must also be magical because Gabe is positively head over heels in love with her. He hasn’t even left long enough to take a smoke break. She wasn’t put in a bed in the hospital nursery either; she’s either in my arms or his. Her father prowls close to keep anyone outside family away from her. It’s endearing.

  Once it was time to go Danielle returned from readying the house with the driver and our car. Car seat all installed. Everyone went home with us, even Jenzy and a half asleep Chris.

  I went up to my bed and Gabe followed holding Willow. After I got settled on my side he put her in next to me. “I’ll be right back,” he whispered.

  Hearing his footsteps retreat I curled closer to a sleeping Willow. Her scent is like catnip. She makes my heart explode. I pushed my fingers over her silky hair and drew my finger down her rounded cheek. I feel dimples. I put my face so close I could feel her breathing against my nose. Her breath is sweet and warm.

  I’m so in love. Did life even matter before this? What was my problem? Did I have problems? I rested my hand on her chest and the slow rise and fall of her miniature rib cage made me want to cry. Fuck these tears! Will I ever stop crying?

  I can hear my family talking downstairs and it’s so perfect. All the voices of people I love and people that love me back. They’re laughing and sharing.

  I think I fell asleep to it because I woke to the sound of the door opening and closing and footsteps. Gabe. I know his presence like I know my own. He sat at the edge of the bed and I smiled.

  “Hey,” I spoke in a raspy tone.

  “Hello…”

  “What time is it?”

  He shifted on the bed, “After ten.”

  I raised my brows. “At night? How long did I sleep?”

  “You both need the sleep.” He brushed my hair back and I felt Willow moving. “She’s awake…”

  I heard her start to whimper and fuss so I went through all the steps Jenzy had been coaching me with about nursing. Willow seems to find me with no trouble. She uses instincts. I felt her latch on my nipple and cupped her back to keep her upright on her side. “Maybe she can see…” I thought out loud.

  Gabe went back to petting me, “Maybe we shouldn’t worry about it.”

  I sighed, “What if she can’t?”

  “Then she’ll have the best teacher ever…”

&
nbsp; We didn’t talk but then I felt him moving, “You can sleep here with us…”

  He paused. “Doesn’t that cross some kind of co-parenting law?”

  I laughed, “That’s the beauty of co-parenting. The law is what we make it. It’s what we decide is best for our baby and as the two people that made her, I think we’re the best people for the job.”

  He laughed then I heard him getting into bed; flanking Willow. I felt him touch her, kiss her, then me. I don’t know what we are. We must be the oddest family ever. Not in love, but maybe falling. Not together but far from apart. Not married but bonded all the same. I just hope it lasts. I hope he stays but maybe I don’t just want it for Willow…maybe I want him here too.

  GABRIEL

  Before I came up with Brianna I saw everyone out. Then I went to my office- my tiny home office, and dug out my very expensive bottle of scotch. I went to the kitchen and stood by myself thinking about what lay upstairs.

  All I saw was the top of my daughter’s head. A thin covering of flaming red hair all swirled into a circular pattern. Just the crown of her head alone overwhelms me with a word I never understood before.

  Love.

  It’s making everything clear.

  I want and need to see her. I need to stare. She’s changed just in the twenty-four hours she was born. Her skin shaded from pink to porcelain, her eyes open a tad wider, her lips are rosier, her sounds sweeter. I can’t afford to miss a moment but what about years?

  What if my habits led to an accident like Roman’s? What if I wasn’t here to see her born? What if she needed me or her mother did but I was too out of sorts to come to them?

  With a steady hand and no hesitation, I dumped the contents of my booze into the sink. Tony had left me his number. He told me while Brianna slept that he would help if I wanted that. That he understood.

  He even said he was sorry, sorry for pushing me away.

  I’ve never had a father figure but if Tony of all people is willing to get me past the worst of it, then I can try.

  Now I’m lying with Brianna and Willow and when I opened my eyes the sun was up.

  I stayed. I was still in bed.

  Brianna was sitting up against the headboard nursing and I was lying on my stomach beside them still. It was like the curse was broken.

  She felt me move and smirked, “Mr. Gilmore…you talk in your sleep.”

  I smiled and covered my head with my hands.

  She’s the very first woman to know.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  GABRIEL

  Days later I listened to my father rant over the phone while Brianna sat in the bathtub with Willow on her chest. I sat on the floor next to them cupping water in my hand and pouring it over Willow’s back.

  “Are you listening to me?” My father demanded.

  I laughed, “Not even a little. What did you say?”

  “Tokyo!” He shouted. “You were supposed to meet me here this morning.”

  “No father, you must be mistaken. I said in the email, I wasn’t going to be back for another two weeks.”

  He blew, “The fuck you say! Get your arse on a plane and be here-!”

  “Can’t. I’m on holiday.”

  Brianna snickered then hid her smirk behind Willow’s head. I splashed her and she squealed.

  “Gabriel!” my father pressed. “You can’t neglect your business because your heifer birthed!”

  I frowned when Willow frowned, her lips pursing and her hands seeking her mother’s body. Brianna sat lower in the tub and I swirled a wash cloth in the water before laying it over Willow’s wrinkled back.

  “Gabriel!” My father shouted again.

  “Good God, father, stop shouting. I’ll be back in two weeks. What’s the point of being rich if you can’t play…as the Americans call it…” I frowned again then looked to Brianna, “What’s it called, Love?”

  She perked up, “Hooky.”

  “Hooky!” I told him. “Don’t get your knickers all in a twist.”

  He ranted some more and for the first time in my life I hung up on him.

  Brianna raised her hand from the water and we high fived.

  “Do I still have bubbles?” She asked.

  I looked down in the perfectly clear water. “Sure.”

  Two Years Later

  Late Spring

  “Hello?” I said for the hundredth time. “Can you hear me?”

  Brianna’s voice came down the line, “If I say no, it has to be a lie.”

  I laughed, “We just landed in Paris.”

  “Yay! One more trip then you come home, right?”

  “Yes.” I laid my head back on the seat in my car. “I’m so done.”

  “Awe come on, it’s Paris!”

  I made a humph sound, “If you’ve seen one city you’ve seen them all. I want home.”

  “They have pretty girls. You can’t fight the win in that.”

  I made a turn, “Gorgeous… no redheads, unfortunately…”

  She laughed thinking I’m joking as always, “I’m sure you’ll find at least one. Oh! And I bought Willow’s tutu for Tutu and Tot’s. It fits!”

  I stopped at a light, “Have Chloe send me a picture, I bought the shoes and the fairy wings, they’ll be there before me probably.”

  She squealed, “I can’t wait! Gabe, they get to run around with wands and scarves and-.”

  “And be two-year-olds?” I teased.

  “Okay, so it isn’t real ballet but it’s going to be cute even if I can’t see it. It’s all funded by Chloe’s school Arts and Hopes.”

  I smiled, “What do you want from Paris?”

  “Hmm,” she thought. “A t-shirt will suffice.”

  I rolled my eyes, “I’m taking you both with me one of these days.”

  “You know how I feel about planes…”

  “I’ll drug you. You’ll sleep the whole way.”

  “We would cramp your style with the foreign ladies…”

  She still doesn’t see how much I want her. I’ve never been in a woman’s life this long and now she’s all I really see for myself. We’ve been in a cocoon since Willow was born. Our time revolves around her so dating hasn’t happened for Brianna. I’ve had maybe two meaningless encounters over two years. Two! Me! With the bar life ended I don’t mingle enough to meet women and I keep my work away from home abroad brief. I only want to be with them.

  I ignored her statement, “Where is Willow? Can she talk on the phone?”

  “She’s been kidnapped by her Grandpas for the afternoon. She’ll be back tonight.”

  “Where are you?”

  “At the office. Putting all your stuff together since the redecorating screwed it all up.”

  “When I get back…” I parked and worked up my nerve, “Have dinner with me.”

  “Why?”

  “Mum’s deserve breaks…one dinner.”

  She hesitated, “Don’t forget you have a meeting at the communications headquarter tomorrow. I know you hate those but…”

  “Brianna,” I flicked the steering wheel. “It’s dinner, not a wedding.”

  She laughed, “I know but…”

  I sighed, “What if I take you and Willow out together? There was a time taking two girls out at the same time was a slow night for me.”

  She groaned to cover a laugh, “We graciously accept your offer to dine, good Sir.”

  “Good.”

  When I did finally make it home a couple days later I called up the stairs with all my bags still attached, “Brianna,” I set down two. “Hello?”

  She came from up the stairs with a big smile. “Oh, my God! You’re early!” She made it past the gate at the bottom then came up to me. Once she felt where I was she grabbed me up in a hug. Hugs, I’m greeted like this now. It’s the best it’s ever been. I hugged her so tight I lifted her off the ground a little.

  I breathed her in. This is the only place I want to be.

  No sooner was she down when I heard the
smacking of tiny bare feet on the hardwood floors. Willow came like a bullet down the hall. Bright red hair blowing back in wisps behind her and big, bright, blue eyes shining with joy and the gift of good sight. Brianna’s fears had proven false. Our daughter had perfect vision.

  I bent in time to catch her up in my arms and the joy glowing from her small body filled me up. Chunky arms squeezing my neck and wet lips pressing kisses to mine.

  I truly thought I’d botch this dad role, but I love her. She saved me and I worship the very ground she treads on.

  Danielle has doubled up as our Nanny and she came in from the living room where they’d been playing together to give me a side hug. Then she went to work.

  I shifted Willow to my side and looked down at Brianna, “I missed you girls. France is boring.”

  Brianna narrowed her eyes past my shoulder, “Yeah, sure. Paris. Boring. Nice try.”

  I took in the hoodie-dress thing she was wearing. I think she does this just to torture me. It’s a gray hoodie that’s just long enough to be a very short dress with slits on the side. Her shape since Willow has only improved. Fuller hips, a more rounded bum and incredible breasts but she’s still slender from her workouts and still untouchable.

  Living together has been a blessing and a curse for this very reason. She still turns me on to the point of madness but I can’t touch her. We aren’t together, we don’t have sex. This means I see her scantily dressed, getting ready to go out, taking care of Willow and nothing can be done about it. I think she actually thinks I don’t see her that way even when I make my feelings clear.

  Okay, not clear, but not unclear either.

  She’s also afraid any getting closer would run me off. Maybe it would. She hasn’t let me try.

  I sat with Willow at the table in the kitchen while Brianna cooked that night. If I wasn’t dotting on our daughter I was watching her mother.

  Brianna takes her time when she cooks so she starts very early. Even now she smooths her hand over the surface of the counter to feel for a tomato before washing it in the sink and placing it on the cutting board while we talk.