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Mary Jo made a halfhearted effort to stifle a yawn "Noelle kept , but no such luck Whenever I put her down, she starts to cry all over again"

"Is she sick?"

She shook her head "I talked to the nurse and she said it’s a classic case of colic It generally hits at about three weeks" She sighed "All Noelle does is fuss and cry I don’t think I slept ht"

"You should’ve phoned We could have rescheduled" He would’ve been disappointed but could easily have stopped by soreed, "only I’d been looking forward to showing you how ed since you saw her"

On his initial visit Noelle had been sleeping peacefully, wearing a tiny pink knit hat She’d slept the entire tiaze at her adly

Mack set down the teddy bear and saw that Noelle had already acquired a dozen or so stuffed animals

"My brothers spoil her terribly," Mary Jo said, pointing to the heap of plush lions and puppies and bears "Especially Linc He’s the oldest, and really should have a family of his own by now His problem is that he takes his responsibilities--or what he sees as his responsibilities--too seriously I think that’s what caused his breakup with…Oh, you don’t want to hear all this" She nodded toward the sofa "Please make yourself at home"

Noelle squir aard, since she was still standing Mary Jo paced and patted the baby’s back, but Noelle sent up a wail that startled him with its intensity

"Do you want ood"

Mary Jo looked as if she was about to fall asleep standing up

"Let ht Thank you I’ll put on a pot of coffee I need caffeine if I’ to function for the rest of the day" She placed Noelle in his arms

Mack hadn’t spent much time--virtually none, in fact--around babies, so this was a new experience Noelle continued to yell and thrash her ars He stared down at her Her ser as she lay on his lap Not knowing how to calrasped Then he rested his large hand on her tu to him He didn’t recall the words, but the melody had stayed in his mind

Noelle blinked up at hih it was highly unlikely, it seenized him

Mary Jo poked her head into the room "What did you do?" she asked "How did you convince her to quiet down?"

"I…hummed," he replied, a bit e I think she reer was any indication, Noelle was happy to see hi was mutual

Mary Jo watched the two of therateful"

When he glanced down, he saw that had closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep The poor kid was probably as exhausted as hereffect on women," he joked

Mary Jo smiled and Mack smiled back He felt bad about the way David Rhodes had lied to her and mistreated her The man wasn’t just scum, he was an idiot to walk away from someone as wonderful as Mary Jo

A fewtwo filled coffee cups, along with a sar bowl She placed it on the table in front of the sofa, then took Noelle from his lap and tucked her inside the bassinet

While she covered the infant with a knitted blanket, he added cream to his coffee

"This is the first time she’s slept since about five," Mary Jo whispered, obviously afraid of waking the baby

"I can’t believe how aze rested on her sleeping daughter "I know…What I can’t believe is how de motherhood is"

"Your brothers don’t help?"

She sat down on the other end of the sofa and reached for her coffee with a soft laugh "You’re joking, right? All three of my brothers are scared to death of Noelle," she said as she spooned in sugar and stirred "I don’t think Linc’s held her more than once and he looked terrified the entire tirew "If Noelle even burps, they co diapers, there’s no way"

Mack could understand their fear Noelle was so sine dropping her…

The conversation fell off, and Mack broached the subject that had been on his mind "Have you heard from David Rhodes?"

Mary Jo stiffened noticeably "No, and I’usted with the otherresponsibility for his child, and he couldn’t resist co "He is Noelle’s father"