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She pushed the baby at him, much like she’d done the other day Stiffly, he accepted the child’s weight into his arms Ruby looked at hiently on the cheek Alexis had the stroller up in two seconds flat and she put the diaper bag in the basket on the underside before placing the picnic bag in the seat

“Shouldn’t she go there?” Raoul asked

“Nope, she’s fine right where she is Aren’t you, precious?”

She reached out to tickle Ruby under her chin and was rewarded with a little chuckle The delightful sound nited an ember of warmth deep inside He rapidly quashed the sensation He couldn’t afford to soften, it just laid you open to so ain Not ever

“No,” he said e it on the ground before buckling Ruby firmly into her stroller “She’s safer here,” he said, once he was satisfied she was secure

“She was fine with you, you know, Raoul”

“I knohat you’re trying to do, Alexis It’s not going to happen You can’t make me fit into the mold you want to squeeze me into”

Heat flashed in her eyes and her lips drew into a straight line So he’d noticed she did whenever she was annoyed with him—which was pretty darn often come to think of it

“Is that what you think I’ to do? Squeeze you into ato do any such thing You’re Ruby’s father and it’s about time you stepped up to your responsibilities” She softened her tone slightly as she continued “Look, I know youyour child isn’t going to bring Bree back If anything it’s only pushing her memory further away”

The perer and he dragged in a breath

“I’ with this the only way I kno The only way I can,” he said quietly “Just leave me be, okay?”

With that he picked up the picnic bag and walked toward the gathering group This was hard enough as it ithout fighting with Alexis every step of the way at the same time Deep down he knew she had a point Bree wouldn’t have wanted this, wouldn’t have been happy that he’d left Ruby with Catherine After the amount of time the baby had spent in hospital, he was terrified to even hold her and it had seehter’s baby about astouch It had appeared to be the best choice for everyone for hihter to financially providing for her care After all, what did he know about babies? What if he did so or missed some vital clue that could lead to illness or, even worse, death? Wasn’t it better for him to take the time to mourn in his oay, safely alone where there was no one he could hurt—and no one who could hurt him?

Better or not, Alexis was dragging him out of the dark, and he wasn’t happy about it Her presence alone had been enough to spark a part of hione forever Basic human instinct, human need, had unfurled from where he’d locked it down, hard She had a way about her—a warun to thaw out the eer deserved

Es They insidiously wrapped themselves around yourwent to hell in a handbasket they squeezed so tight you could barely draw breath He wasn’t ready to risk that again Not for anyone The pain of loss was just too much It was

He lifted a hand in greeting as one of the guys over by the barbecue area shouted a hello and began to walk toward him Raoul steeled himself for what he anticipated would be an aard reunion, but to his surprise he found hiht of his friend’s war

“Good to see you,“We’ve missed you”

Raoulappropriate in response and accepted the icy bottle of beer being thrust in his hand Before long others joined them and, to his immense relief, no one mentioned Bree or his absence froinning to relax when one of the guys gestured over to where Alexis was sitting with the other women and the little ones