Logan heaved a sigh of relief as the baby stopped fretting and her sucking took on a regular pattern. He squeezed Hana’s shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. “It’ll be okay now,” he lied, sensing she’d forgotten the next part.
Breastfeeding activated the closing of her womb and it came fast, intense and crippling. The tarpaulin contained the mess she expelled and Logan carried the warm, knotted structure to the bottom of the kauri tree. “Keep feeding her,” he instructed. “It makes everything okay.”
Hana closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the quad. The child’s sucking grew less ordered and her head hung limp against the inside of Hana’s elbow. Logan dug a hole with the heel of his boot. As he found softer soil below the parched earth, he dug with his hands until he un
