She’d never heard Caleb sound like that. So scared. Because of her?
“Wolfe, go into the playroom and get a blanket to wrap her. Vivi, please, please breathe.”
She needed to get away. She wrenched her body right and left.
Then Aleki started singing. It was their song.
She stopped fighting. But her heart was still racing in fear. Her breaths came in huge pants. As though she was having a panic attack.
Was she having a panic attack?
“It’s okay, jelly bean. Just breathe. I’m here. Aleki is here. Wolfe is here. Nothing will happen to you with us around.”
Aleki kept singing in the background. She managed to open her eyes, looking up into Caleb’s worried blue ones.
“That’s it, jelly bean. I’m here.”
“C-C-Caleb. I f-f-feel…” like she couldn’t catch a breath. Like her heart was going to race out of her chest.
“Easy, jelly bean. We’re gonna try swaddling you, okay? If you don’t like it, say boo and I’ll take you straight out.”
He laid her down on her back on the bed then wrapped something tight around her, trapping her arms. For a moment, her panic increased.
He paused, checked on her. “Okay?”
She nodded her head.
“Good girl. Remember, if you don’t like it, say boo and I’ll take you out.”
She nodded again. Surprisingly, she started to feel calmer as he wrapped over the other side. Or maybe it was Aleki’s singing.
Or perhaps it was simply being around them.
She closed her eyes then felt herself being lifted and carried in Caleb’s arms.
“C-Caleb?”
“You’re okay, jelly bean. Daddy has you. I’m taking you to the playroom.”
Playroom? Oh, right, he’d talked about that before. She hadn’t seen it though. This was surprisingly nice. It seemed weird. She thought she would panic more. Except, she knew where she was. She was with the guys. They wouldn’t hurt her.
And if she was held tightly in the swaddle then she didn’t have choices. She didn’t have to think.
Just be.
Caleb walked into a room. Moonlight shone in, giving her a slight glimpse of what the room held. A bed with a thick canopy
above it, hanging down. A desk with a chair.
But she didn’t see much more as Caleb headed straight to a rocking chair in the corner. He sat with her on his lap.
Had she ever felt so cared for in her life? So coddled and cherished?
If she had, she’d been too young to remember. With a sigh, she relaxed against him. He started rocking the chair. Aleki sat on the floor next to them, still singing. Her heartbeat slowed.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“Hush, don’t talk,” Caleb said gently. But there was a definite firmness in his tone. “We’re here. You’re not alone. You don’t have to do everything. You don’t have to protect us. Just rest your head and be.”