Page 41 of Untroubled Heart

It’s a real kink!

ME:

Is it good?

ME:

Does Izzy like it? Some women are sensitive in a good way, but it can be painful if they’re new to breastfeeding.

ME:

…Gage?

Hmmm. None of my messages turn over to read. Either my brother has blocked me, or he’s choosing to ignore me. I’ll just have to continue my own research on the matter.

I pull what’s left of my cookie from my back pocket before sitting in my car. As I open the door, my eyes catch on the scene before me. The moon reflecting on the dark ocean, the market stalls lined along the footpath, and the string lights overhead.

I hold the cookie up, showing off the red and pink logo on the paper bag, and post a story to my profile.

Cookie. Sweet.

Company. Even better.

View… Not bad to look at.

I post it, not even sure she’ll see it.

By the time I drive myself back home, bailing entirely on the VIP party I was meant to attend, take a shower and slide into bed, there’s a new notification waiting for me.

@itscallie liked your story.

Chapter fifteen

“How are you both finding the extra commute?” Mum asks Caleb and Lex as she bounces Briony over her shoulder.

Remembering that my brother is building in the same small town Callie grew up in makes my head spin. Could I have crossed paths with her before she moved? There’s not a chance I wouldn’t have recognised her. From the second I laid eyes on her in The Wayside, I haven’t been able to get her off my mind, even if I’ve told myself it’s dangerous to keep her there.

“It’s not as bad as I expected,” Lex says from her usual perch on my brother’s lap. I’m certain it’s him always putting her there. He’s so damn needy. I’d be embarrassed for him if I weren’t the tiniest bit jealous. Not over Lex, but this person she seems to unlock in him. He’s happy, a different kind of happy I grew up seeing. “We get to see my brother and nephew during the week, and within an hour, we’re back in the city for our weekends. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Caleb just nods as his fingers play in the ends of Lex’s long red hair. What a fucking sap. Lucky bastard.

We’re all gathered in Grams and Grandpa’s dining room, having just enjoyed our usual Sunday family dinner. Most of the night has centred around us all fussing over Briony, and Caleb and Lex’s new puppy, Marlin.

Briony takes her cue in the silence to let out a wail.

“Feed time,” Izzy says, glancing at her watch. “Three hours on the dot.”

Gage was out of his seat the second she started crying, accepting her carefully from Mum’s hands.

“That’s because she’s perfect,” he coos in a delicate pitch that I’m sure is only reserved for his wife and daughter. My brother has become a new man, in all the best ways, since meeting his wife. My stomach still tightens a little watching his gigantic tattooed arms cradle his daughter, who’s dressed in a pale pink romper. I know he would never drop her, but she just looks so fragile, and he’s so not.

“Isabelle, your breasts are crying,” Beth says as she walks into the room and slides into the seat next to me.

“Oh, great.” Isabelle looks down at her chest, pulling her shirt away from her. “She cries, and they start leaking like a faucet.”

My thoughts jump back to the other day when the same thing happened to Callie.

I’ve never noticed her pumping at work, but she said she always does it before lunch. The only conclusion I could find was that she was going out to her car or hiding in the bathrooms to do it.