Passion's Instinct

Fifty Two

Natalie

It was almost time for the baby to arrive and Hayden kept coming up with different techniques to make the due date as early as possible. He said it had been too long waiting. I disagreed.

I could wait a little longer.

His favorite lately was the 'scare the baby out' technique, and I hated it so much.

One afternoon while the kids were at school and Hayden was apparently taking a nap upstairs, I was cleaning downstairs.

I looked around from where I stood in the kitchen and sighed. Looking into the living room, it was a complete disaster.

Plus, the puppy was really getting on my nerves because we had just finished training with him, and it was hard to get used to all the new principles.

But, I admit, Rex wasn't my biggest problem.

Sawyer was getting bullied at school, and as much as I wanted to something about that, I had to tend to Temple at the same time. She was having problems with leaving home for school over the past few weeks.

And on top of all that, Kota was sick with something that I didn't have time to take her to the vet for.

I was beginning to think I had bitten off more than I could chew at one time.

But then again, it wasn't my fault. Or, really, anyone's at all. Kota had been there since the beginning, and her being sick wasn't something anyone could help. Rex was just a puppy, and he did well with his training and it would just take a little patience to get used to everything new with him. Sawyer was getting bullied by someone else's kid, who wasn't my responsibility. Sawyer wasn't the one causing trouble, so that was good for our side of the issue. Temple was just struggling with attachment, which is a difficult thing when you're young.

But no matter what I told myself, I still was overwhelmed and convinced that all this chaos was my fault.

As I thought this all over, I tried to calm myself and was immediately distracted by the dust on the fireplace mantle, quick to tend to it by dusting it off. I even started to hum to myself, happy that I was getting a start on this mess of a living room.

Sometimes, despite all of the other problems, time to myself was great.

That was until a pair of hands grabbed my shoulders an shook me, causing me to throw the duster and squeal.

And just as expected, I turned around to see Hayden standing behind me, a huge grin on his face.

"Did you feel anything?" he asked me, pressing a hand to my stomach.

"No," I said firmly, turning my back to him. I attempted to place the decorations that belonged back on the mantle, but Hayden spun me back around to face him.

"Maybe if I woke you up in the middle of the night and scared the crap out of you, then the baby would decide that it's about time."

I rolled my eyes at Hayden as he crossed his arms and leaned on my stomach, then pretending to slip off and fall, cursing and saying that he hit a Lego block on the floor.

"Get up, you goof," I told him. I couldn't help but smile at how cute he was, even though I was trying to stay mad at him.

He stood up, adjusting his collar and looking in the mirror above the mantle to fix his hair. "Better?" he asked, tugging his collar and cocking an eyebrow, setting his face in a smirk.

I rolled my eyes again and he laughed, his white teeth flashing. Taking me behind the neck and kissing me one time, taking his lips off of mine slowly, he ran a hand through my hair and held me close to him, staring into my eyes. The corner of his mouth quirked up into a small smile.

"You have to go," I said, laughing. I pushed him away, but he pulled me back towards him and leaned in, kissing me again. As he let go, he decided one more. He pressed his lips to mine, and I kissed him back, savoring the time his lips lingered on mine.

One more.

And...

One more.

Finally I stopped him, laughing to myself. "You're too much," I joked, reaching up to take his face in my hands.

He smiled. "I love you," he said, the words rolling off his tongue with meaning.

"I love you too," I told him back, looking at that one tooth that came out the slightest bit at the front of his mouth. "You're so cute," I said, smiling. My eyes met his.

He shook his head, closing his mouth. "You are." He pulled his phone out, glancing at the time. "I have to go, Nat. Flirt with you later," he said, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. He gave me one more little smile, before turning away. "By the way, don't take on too much, alright? I don't want you to be overwhelmed."

I was grateful for his effort, but I was already overwhelmed. More than he knew.

I offered a small smile, when he said, "Hey. When I come back from that photoshoot, I'll schedule an appointment and take Kota to the vet. Oh, and, I'll bring dinner back after that. From your favorite place," he said, smiling. He slid his phone in his back pocket and waved at me, walking towards the door.

"Wait. Hayden?" I called, following him into the front of the house. He opened the door and turned back around, looking at me. "Um... I love you. And thank you."

He nodded, stepping out. "See you soon."

"Okay," I said, and the second after that, he shut the door behind him and left.