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Chapter Fifty-Three

TAYLOR

I wish I knew what was up with Daryl. That man was so darn confusing at times. He left here happy with Lucas, but when he got back everything got weird. He was mad. Not at me, I could tell that much, but at something. He was grumbling how he had to earn our keep. Did someone say something to him?

He told me he was going to go hunting and left. Just handed me the baby and left. That was so unlike Daryl.

So when Rick came by asking about him, he apparently knew that something was up. I didn't have the time to ask him what was going on as Lucas started to cry. Rick said he'd take care of it and left. I took the baby upstairs to change him. I knew Daryl hadn't taken the diaper bag with him so Lucas was probably wet or worse.

However, when I got him upstairs and undressed, the diaper was fine. For at least thirty minutes he cried and I tried everything from walking with him, to bouncing him, to anything I could think of. I think he simply missed his doting father.

Daryl was around him non-stop and holding him most of the time. The only quality time I got with my son was when he was nursing or when Daryl was out of the house. I love that man deeply, but he was really getting underfoot. I'm glad he got out and when hunting, but I wish I knew what was wrong.

Lucas's crying finally tuckered him out and he closed his little eyes and fell asleep in my arms. I laid him down on his back in the crib and watched him for a little bit. He was my miracle baby.

Miracle in the sense that I never thought I'd be this happy ever. Lucas brought his father and me together. I have a love for Daryl that I never thought possible. I always thought the love I read about in romance novels was fake. It made us want to find that one person that made us feel incredible. It was finding your soulmate and I never believed in that before. It was a made up fantasy...until I met Daryl.

From the beginning, he intrigued me and I never knew why. He was everything any man I had ever known wasn't. His strength and confidence simply radiated off of him. He didn't care how he looked so he kept his hair longer than normal and his clothes were ragged. That was just Daryl.

He had a hard shell around him and did not let many people in. Guarded and cautious would be two words to describe him. So why someone like him would interest me, I honestly don't know. He did and look where we are now.

I found my romance novel hero. He'd saved my life, won my heart, and given me a child. As far as I'm concerned, my life is absolutely perfect. And I have Lucas to thank for making it all happen.

With one last look, I make sure my son is safely sleeping before I gather up some laundry to do a quick load. It's mainly Lucas's clothes and a few items of my own. Daryl has nothing in the laundry basket...as usual. His meager wardrobe is pitiful. I need to get him more clothes. I've asked him to stop by the pantry and see what they have, but he doesn't. That means I'll go and look to see what they have in his size.

He wears the same stuff over and over again and I tried to keep everything as clean as possible but it was tough with him. That man could get dirtier than a three-year-old in a mud puddle.

I pick up the laundry basket when I remembered seeing a bag of his in the back of the closet a few weeks ago. It looked like it still had something in it, but I didn't have the time to ask him about it at the time. I had forgotten about it until now. It was worth investigating, especially if it held more clothes for him.

So I rummaged through the closet it until I found the backpack. It felt full, not real heavy, but there was definitely something in it and soft like clothes. I sit myself down on the bed and I have the pack on my lap. I went to unzip it but hesitated. What if he had something in here he didn't want me to see? I didn't think we had any secrets from each other, but what if he did?