Backseat Driver (Wilkins Brothers Book 3)

Chapter 28

LANDRY

“Jasper! Jasper, wake up, please. Something is wrong with Everett!” I knew that my words were coming out as more of a cry than anything, but Jasper heard me loud and clear. He jumped out of bed and his feet landed on the floor in just a moment in time.

I had been up for the last hour with Everett and couldn’t do anything to calm his crying. I had tried every latching method the lactation consultant had shared with me as well as warming a bottle of milk, but he didn’t want anything. In addition, what started as him sounding a little congested throughout the evening, turned into a louder cough that he couldn’t control.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Jasper reaches for Everett and I hand him over. He goes to work with his normal soothing motion, but our sweet boy wants none of it and he begins to cough again. 

“See? That’s what I was talking about. Look how red his face is turning!” My hysterics might not be helping the situation, but Jasper brings his arm around my waist and pulls me in for a soft kiss. 

“It’s okay, Landry. Whatever is going on with him, we’ll figure it out.” I nod my head and take some cleansing breaths. Everett stops coughing, but goes back to crying, even rooting on Jasper’s chest like he’s hungry. “Why don’t you try feeding him again?”

“I’ve tried a hundred times, Jas. He doesn’t want it.”

Jasper takes my hand and walks into the nursery with me. I sit down on the recliner in there and grab the nursing pillow once again. “Just keep trying and I’m going to grab the thermometer to check his temperature.” Jasper lays Everett on the pillow and I unhook my nursing tank and try to get him to latch again.

“Do you think he has a fever?” I press the back of my hand to his tiny forehead and he does feel kind of warm, something I missed before. “Oh God, I didn’t even notice. I’m the worst mom, Jasper, I didn’t even know he had a fever!”

“Hey, hey, I don’t want to hear you beat yourself up. This is all new Landry and we just have to learn as we go. Do you remember where we put the first aid kit?”

“Below the sink in the bathroom.”

Jasper kisses my forehead and then kisses Everett before going into the bathroom. I do my best to rock him and get him nursing, but once again he only nurses for a bit and then starts crying and coughing again. I hear Jasper talking on the way back to the bedroom and it sounds like he’s on the phone. I turn and see the phone pressed against his ear while he inserts the thermostat into Everett’s ear.

“I’m doing that right now. He keeps coughing and it doesn’t sound like a normal cough. Landry also said he isn’t nursing. I don’t know if she’s tried that, I’ll ask her. Okay, it says 101.2, so yeah he has a fever, what do we do? I don’t want to bother you anymore, Mom. Okay...yeah, I hear you. Love you too.”

He hangs up the phone and puts away the thermometer. “You called your mom?”

Jasper shrugs, “Yeah, I didn’t know what else to do. I figured raising four kids through infancy she has to know what to do.”

“What did she say?”

“She said if he has a fever to start a warm bath, just lukewarm, not hot, and let him soak in it a bit to bring his body temp down. I’m going to start the water now if you want to help.”

“She’s coming over?”

“Yeah, I could tell she was getting dressed while we talked on the phone.” Jasper heads into the bathroom and begins filling the baby tub with water. I follow close behind with Everett, holding him against my chest, still trying to calm him. “I know that I should have probably told her no more, but the truth is I could really use a mom right now, you know?”