Breathe Again

Chapter 17

Elliot stared at Sterling in complete silence.

Sterling stared back.

What were you supposed to do with babies? They couldn't carry on conversations, could they? Not when they were this small at least. Did they even speak English?

With a quick look around to see if anyone watched, Sterling gave Elliot a shy smile and decided he may as well introduce himself. "I'm Sterling Hawkins." His voice came out in a low sort of growl that had made Elliot's eyes widen. Sterling cleared his throat and then murmured, "I knew your father, you know."

He let his eyes roam over Elliot's face and hair. "You look like him, a little." Sterling paused as he studied Elliot a few moments longer. "You should be pleased to know that you didn't inherit his beady blue eyes, I think. Fortunately for you, you got your mother's pretty hazel ones."

Elliot bounced his arms up and down while a long string of drool dribbled from his lip.

Wiping the slobber up with Elliot's shirt, Sterling admitted, "I suppose your father was a handsome man—another blessing for you. You don't have to worry about turning into a snaggletooth-weasel like poor Herbert Thornton does. No, your papa was good-looking...at least that is what the women were always telling him. I never understood why they found him to be attractive. Did you know he sounded like a cow when he laughed?"

Elliot's head bobbed up and down as though in answer to Sterling's question.

Growing more comfortable holding the baby the longer he talked with him, Sterling continued, "I think it's only fair to admit that some women found him pleasing to look at. Your mother did, after all. They were never in short supply whenever he was around, but I could always beat him in a leg wrestle or fisticuffs. Did I mention he had beady little eyes?"

Sterling tweaked Elliot's nose, eliciting a happy sound from the baby. "I suppose, if I was honest, they weren't that small...he just had thick lashes. The stories I could tell you about him getting teased over his lashes; it is enough to make any grown man sick to his stomach. But, I must say you are far more adorable than he ever was."

Elliot's chin and mouth scrunched up as though he was prepared to let loose a cry, so Sterling bounced the baby gently against his knee. "I apologize for calling you adorable. I promise never to use the word again if you promise not to cry!"

He smiled and let out a deep breath of relief when Elliot's chin stopped quivering. "Now, what should we talk about... hmm?" After a moment's thought, he asked, "Did you sleep well last night? You must have since I didn't hear you wake up again." Remembering the question Dottie had asked him about whether babies had nightmares, he whispered, "What did you dream of, hmm?"

Elliot responded with happy babbling, as though to answer Sterling's question.

Sterling nodded, "I see. It is just as I thought. You dreamt of breasts, didn't you?" He grinned when Elliot babbled a bit more before pausing.

Once Elliot refrained from making any further sounds and focused instead on Sterling's shirt, Sterling moved Elliot to rest on his stomach, carefully holding him against his chest and favoring his injured side. He ran a hand over Elliot's hair, smoothing the angel-fine curls back into order.

If he was not careful, he could get used to this. His gut clenched with an unfamiliar pang. A foreign comfort he could not deny came from holding Dottie's baby in his arms. Warmth spread throughout his body and surrounded his heart.

Elliot pushed against Sterling's chest and bobbed for a second before his tiny arms gave out. Sterling lightly caressed the soft skin of Elliot's cheek, "Does your mama talk to you about me?"