Her Darkest Road (Roughneck #4) by Nicole Hart Page B

said, refusing to let her ruin this time with my daughter.
    I sat in the rocker in the corner and propped my angel against my chest. She fit against me perfectly. My heart swelled with emotion as Samantha bobbed her head against my chest. She was looking for her momma. I kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back until she fell asleep against me. As much as it bothered me that Belinda wasn’t trying to bond with her baby, I knew in my heart I had enough love for the both of us.

Chapter 2
     
    “I think I’m going to get a job,” Belinda said as we walked through the front door.
    “What?” I asked, confused. She had just given birth three days ago and she wanted a job. She hadn’t bothered to work since we got married, but she was ready now? I didn’t understand her anymore.
    “Yeah,” she said with a big smile. “I’m ready to get out of the house.”
    “Bells,” I said calmly. “You just got home from the hospital. The baby needs her momma. You need to bond with her, it’s important.”
    “I know, I know,” she said quietly as she shook her head, letting out a loud sigh, and started to unbuckle Samantha from her car seat. She put the baby against her chest and stared into space. She didn’t blink or show any emotion, she just stared. Samantha started to squirm and grunt; it was time for her to eat.
    “She’s probably hungry,” I said as I stood in front of her, and patted the baby on the back. She didn’t respond, she just continued to stare.
    “Bells,” I said quietly.
    “I need to go lay down,” Belinda said with a sigh, and put Samantha in my arms.
    “You aren’t going to try and breastfeed? I heard you talking to the nurse about it,” I said, hoping she would give it a chance.
    “There’s formula in the bag,” she said as she walked past us without looking back, and shut the bedroom door behind her.
    The cries of my little angel drowned out my thoughts of Belinda. Samantha needed to be fed and I didn’t want her to be kept waiting.
    “Ok. I hear you angel,” I whispered with a smile as I searched for the can of formula in the diaper bag. Samantha started to scream louder.
    “Temper, temper,” I chuckled as I put her down in the bassinet, and jogged to the kitchen to make a bottle.
    Her cries became more demanding by the second. She was determined and wasn’t giving up. I scrambled around the kitchen trying to make a warm bottle as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to keep her waiting for a second longer than she had to. She was spunky already, and I had a feeling this was just the beginning of her temper. I could see it in those big blue eyes of hers; she was a force to be reckoned with.
    “I’m coming, angel,” I said as I walked quickly back to her bassinet. She stopped crying as soon as I scooped her into my arms and gave her what she was demanding.
    “Is that better?” I whispered as I sat on the couch, and watched her devour the bottle. She stared at me while she ate. I read that babies her age could only see shapes, but I didn’t believe that right now. The way she was looking at me, she knew exactly who I was. I had no doubt.
    Once Samantha finished her bottle, she fell asleep in my arms. I didn’t want to wake her, so I stayed still.
    My thoughts drifted back to Bells. Why would she want to get a job right now? She didn’t need to work. The oilfield was booming and I was secure in my job. I had saved every bit of extra money for years to make sure we would be stable if we hit a rough patch. Why wouldn’t she want to stay home with the baby? What was wrong with her these days? I was already worried about going back to work next week. Would she care for Samantha the way she needed? She needed constant attention, and Bells didn’t seem to worry about it. We needed to talk about it. I needed her reassurance that she could handle this; that she even wanted to.
     
    The next morning
     
    I had been up with Samantha for a couple of hours. I didn’t mind, though.