Hung by the Fire, page 4
Or I could wait for help to come to me. Which it did when Mrs. M made her way to my back door around lunchtime.
“My, my. Look at her,” she exclaimed after I welcomed her inside.
I noticed the wonder, or maybe it was shock in her voice, and couldn’t blame her.
“Right?” I followed her gaze to the baby blissfully sitting in her bouncy seat. It still shocked me that two months ago I had no fucking idea what a bouncy seat was and now I had one. “I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth,” I whispered, though I was not what anyone would call optimistic, “but it’s like she woke up with a whole new attitude. She hasn’t cried once.” I almost fell off the chair when I realized Joy was staring up at the mobile over her crib instead of testing out her lung capacity after first opening her eyes. “I’m a little afraid I broke her.”
I should be thrilled at the turn of events, but I couldn’t help but think I did something wrong. Like she’d finally given up crying for her parents because she knew she was stuck with me.
Mrs. M laughed, a sound that warmed something inside of me. “You didn’t break her. You could never do that.” I didn’t have the same confidence in myself as Mrs. M seemed to, but I let the comment slide. She slipped off her jacket before taking a seat at the small wooden table set up in the kitchen. It looked lost in the large space, but I was one person. Well, one and a quarter maybe. “Last night, I thought she might be teething, so I had Delivery Dan stop at the drugstore and drop me off some soothing gel. I think you may find that helps.”
“Teething? Already?” I hadn’t gotten to that in the baby books yet. I thought I had more time. “Are you sure?”
“Well, I’m no expert, but she definitely calmed down afterward last night, and she seems a little happier this morning. I left the gel on the changing table so you’d have it.” Walking over to the counter, I reached up into a cabinet for a mug and poured her a cup of coffee from the ever-present pot I had going, before handing it off to her. With a nod she continued, “How was your night? You didn’t say much when you got home.”
Not surprising as my every thought had been wrapped up in the woman whose bed I left. I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Mrs. M that. I don’t think she signed up for that when I became her neighbor-slash-friend.
I turned, not wanting her to be able to read anything in my face. “It was fine.” More than fine, but that was my secret.
She chuckled, “You can’t fool me, but it’s none of my business. I’m simply glad I could help.” A sly smile crossed her face. “And that I pushed you out the door. You needed the break.”
I hated to admit it, but I did. From the minute the social worker had placed Joy in my arms, even while I was still trying to comprehend the fact my best friends were both gone, my only focus had been on her. I was probably doing a piss poor job of taking care of her, but I was trying.
“Anyway, since you were somewhere else last night and likely didn’t hear me when you got home, I’ll tell you again.” She took a sip, before setting the mug on the table and reaching out her finger to Joy, who delightedly grabbed hold. And promptly tried to stick it in her mouth. “I think I have a solution to your problem.”
Considering I had more problems than I knew what to do with, I was a little afraid to ask. I settled across from her before asking, “What problem is that?”
“Childcare, of course.”
Okay, that was a big one.
“Mrs. M, I already told you, I can’t ask you to do that.” The woman worked, owned her own business in fact, and there was no way I was adding to her workload. “I’ll figure something out.”
She rolled her eyes at me before looking at Joy. “Your Uncle Cole is not letting me finish.”
I winced a bit because I should only have ever been this baby’s uncle, not her sole caretaker. Talk about getting the short end of the parenting stick. “Sorry. Go ahead.”
“Thank you,” she said with a grin. “Anyway, I think I mentioned Joanne was moving back home.” I vaguely remembered her talking about the woman who’d worked in her shop leaving Evergreen Lake, but hadn’t thought much of it. “Well, I asked my niece to come help out. She could do with a change of scenery, and she loves plants and flowers even more than I do. I’ll say she was a bit reluctant. Evergreen Lake isn’t her favorite place in the world.”
Mrs. M got this far-off look in her eye that I’d never seen from her before. As if she were lost in memories, but almost as soon as it appeared, she shook it off. “Anyway, she decided to come out.” She gave a light-hearted laugh that caused Joy’s little arm to wave up and down. “I think her sister did more to convince her than me, but I’m grateful for the push. So, I thought she could help you.”
I frowned. “I thought she was coming to help you?”
“She is, but that doesn’t mean she can’t help you too.” Mrs. M shrugged, like the solution was the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re not gone every day. We could tag team when you don’t need her and the days you do, she’ll stay with this cupcake.” I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off, “She has experience babysitting, and was even a nanny in college, so she can juggle the work. Besides, you need someone, and I think she could use something meaningful to do right now.”
“Doesn’t sound like she signed on for this added responsibility.”
“She’ll be fine.”
Now it was my turn to laugh as I got up. “Watching an infant, especially for a full day straight, is not something you just spring on someone.”
Mrs. M waved off my offer of more coffee before standing and donning her coat. “She’s coming into town today, and I’ll talk to her before I introduce you. Promise me you’ll at least be open to it if she says yes.” She walked my way, reaching out for my hand similarly to how she did Joy’s. Instead of me grabbing her finger, she covered mine with hers. “You need something, and still you won’t ask for it. Let us help.”
Accepting anything from anyone had never been my strong suit. My parents offered me very little, whether in terms of guidance or help or even love. What they did give me was sometimes brutal discipline and a hesitancy to trust people could actually care about me. I’d clung to that for so long, barely anyone slipped through the walls I put up. Brian and Tricia were pretty much the only ones, until Mrs. M somehow started chipping away at them. Now she was the only one left.
Well, her and Joy, whom I couldn’t do anything but let in.
I knew a losing battle when I saw one. Much like sometimes the flames burned out of control and the team had to let the beast do what it wanted or risk catastrophic human loss.
I smiled her way, one signaling my capitulation. “Fine. If she agrees, we can talk.”
Nothing in my life had ever been that easy.
Several hours later, Joy and I were once again on the back porch, her gums newly coated in a fresh layer of gel that eased her pain, when a shiver worked its way down my spine. The day had lost the biting chill of the morning, so I didn’t think it was the weather. No, this was the type of spidey-sense I got when a fire was about to go sideways. Abort. Abort. My gaze lifted to the backyard abutting mine and the two figures walking across the grass. One I’d known for almost a year and one for only one night.
But the night was emblazoned on my memory.
Whiskey girl.
I considered turning tail, stalking into the house, and locking myself and Joy away. If I thought fighting Mrs. M earlier on her suggestion was a losing battle, it had nothing on right now.
As they neared, I watched the emotions play out on Bethany’s face. Her initial welcoming smile morphed to shock, the friendliness in her eyes changed to heat, and I didn’t think the pink in her cheeks had anything to do with the slight breeze.
I should have known those flames signifying danger wouldn’t be doused that easily.
I had to wonder if the flames of desire would be just as hard.
five
BETHANY
I pulled into my aunt’s driveway and sat for a moment. I’d never seen her home here and instantly fell in love with the Victorian-esque cottage. All the charm of a large Victorian house, just a lot smaller. White Christmas lights adorned the front porch railing and columns, while icicle lights hung from the roof of the house. Even in the daylight, the warm glow of the bulbs were inviting, welcoming a visitor to come inside. And I couldn’t fault the view, mountains and trees rising in the distance. Aunt Nadine must wake up to the most exquisite sight every day.
Not as exquisite as your view last night.
I shut that thought down fast. I, for one, was not meeting my aunt with my heart thudding and panties moistening to the thoughts of my way-too-handsome one-night stand. A knock on the window startled me out of what could have been a very dangerous memory lane.
I turned to see my aunt, grinning from ear to ear, her arms wide open waiting to embrace me. In an instant, no matter my feelings on this little town, I knew I’d make the effort to come visit more. This woman had been a staple of mine and my sisters’ childhood, and we let that slip when she moved here, all because of where she chose to make her home. Location shouldn’t matter when it comes to family.
I pushed open the door and was engulfed in her arms. It didn’t matter that I had a good four inches on her. The way she hugged me automatically made me feel cocooned in her love. I returned the embrace, and for a few minutes, we simply let ourselves reconnect on that physical level. Sharing something that words couldn’t necessarily communicate.
She finally stepped back, holding me at arm’s length. “Goodness, you grow more beautiful every day. You’re the perfect combination of your parents.” I’d heard that before—my mom’s hair and build, my dad’s eyes and full lips—it warmed something inside to know he could still be seen in me. “Let’s go inside. We’ll get your stuff later.” Aunt Nadine led me into her house, and I instantly fell in love again.
“Oh my.” Cozy and filled with plants, but not too overflowing as if they were taking over the space. Christmas had fully claimed the space, the focal point being the large tree decorated with flower ornaments. “I love it.”
She shrugged. “It’s home.” Since I started living on my own, I’d never had a place I could say that about, especially in that tone. Like it meant something more than a place to live and sleep. It was a place to rejuvenate your very soul. “This whole area is.”
Evergreen Lake had sort of felt like that as a kid, but now it felt more like a tightrope I was trying to navigate.
I didn’t respond, but I didn’t think Aunt Nadine expected me to. Instead, she gave me a look I couldn’t really decipher before leading me into the cutest country chic kitchen I’d ever seen. We chatted as she made coffee, and I laid out some pastries she’d bought.
“So, how was your drive over today?” she asked after we settled around her kitchen table.
I tried not to blush or let my face give away the fact I’d spent the night in Evergreen Lake, just not here. “Fine. Not bad at all.” It was the truth, even if it had been yesterday. So not really a lie.
“Good. Good.” She took a sip of her piping hot coffee. “I can’t wait to show you the shop tomorrow. It’s everything I could have dreamed of.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” When I was little, I would sit with her and she’d show me pictures of her plants and flowers, teaching me about them until I couldn’t do anything but fall in love with them. Their beauty, their natures, both strong and delicate at the same time. I lost sight of that love for a while, but over the years filling my space with them has given me a bit of peace. “You were one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.” Even if it hadn’t been in the “official” sense of the word, but sometimes we learn more from people with a passion about something.
Aunt Nadine blushed and waved my words off. “That’s silly, but I’ll tell you all my secrets.” She looked out the window, seemingly at the house across her backyard. It wasn’t the first time, and I thought maybe whomever lived there was a secret of hers.
I couldn’t help but joke as I nodded in that direction. “Boyfriend?”
A hearty and happy laugh erupted from her mouth. “Hardly. He’s a little too young for me. I was wondering something though? Something I wanted to ask you.” I worried she was going to try to set me up, which I would have answered with a resounding no. “I know you’re here to help me, and I’m so thankful for it, but I was hoping you could help him too.”
“Um, help how?” Unease tickled over my skin.
“No, nothing bad. Geez, Bethany, what did you think I was going to ask?” I only shrugged because, honestly, I had no idea. “This is going to sound, I don’t know, weird. Out of left field.” Now it was her turn to shrug. “My neighbor’s friends died a few months ago, leaving him in care of their infant.” I gasped, both at the situation and in sympathy of losing a parent. “He’s stayed home with Joy, but is due to go back to work this week and his childcare fell through.” I started to open my mouth. Aunt Nadine needed my help; that was the whole reason I made this journey back. “I know, I know. You’re here for me, but he’s a firefighter in town, works twenty-four hour shifts, and doesn’t have any family here. He’d barely been able to find someone to help, and now that’s out of the question. I thought…” She stopped and stared me down; it was the only way to describe the intense look on her face. “…you could help. The days he’d need you, you can either stay with Joy or bring her in to the shop and then home until he comes home. Oh Bethie, she’s absolutely a doll. They’re both struggling and in pain. I just want to help.”
Her gaze moved to the window again and mine followed. What would it be like to grow up never knowing your parents? Even though I’d lost my dad way to young, he’d still been there for a time. He’d still been the man I’d compare others too as I grew older. The one who’d brought me flowers to kindergarten graduation. Not the roses or carnations that other parents brought. No, he brought me orange and yellow and purple mums because I’d fallen in love with them after learning about them from Aunt Nadine. He knew because he’d listen to me, even as a five-year-old, tell him all about them. This little girl didn’t have that. Didn’t have a mom either.
I wasn’t known as the hard-ass in my family. Nope, I was definitely the softy, and everyone knew it. If Aunt Nadine had asked either of my sisters, Alexis and Pilar would have gone running in the other direction.
Luckily, for better or worse, she’d asked me.
Even then, I couldn’t simply jump in. I didn’t plan on staying long. Would it even be fair to this man and baby to help for only a little while? From the way it sounded, they needed something more long-term, and that wasn’t what I could give them. Still, I couldn’t turn my aunt’s request down without at least trying.
Heck, I was back here, in Evergreen Lake, because I couldn’t say no to the woman.
“Can you introduce us? I’ll talk to him, and we’ll see.”
A smile lit Aunt Nadine’s face, like the sun coming up over the mountains, the whole room shining in its wake. “Thank you. I may have already asked him, and he said the same thing.” I couldn’t hide my grin. My aunt knew I’d be a sure bet. “We can head over now. It’s going to be perfect.”
Considering nothing in my life ever went perfect, I highly doubted this was going to happen, but maybe luck would finally be on my side.
Oh, luck was on my side, alright. Bad luck as usual. Though that wasn’t the first thought that filtered through my mind as I walked beside Aunt Nadine, crossing over from her yard into her neighbor’s.
Nope, the first was oh shit.
The second, well, that was, God, I can remember his hands on me. I can practically feel them again.
Neither of those were the worst though. Nope, the worst was the third one. Fuck, he looks so sexy holding that baby.
Internally, I screamed at my hormones and my inner voice and anything else that would derail this disaster waiting to happen. I also cringed since there was a good chance all my thoughts played out across my face. I was relatively okay with the first two being noticed. The third, not so much.
I watched his eyes widen as we neared, and for a split second I believed I could see memories of last night flash in them. They were quickly replaced with an urge to run.
I know the feeling buddy.
“Cole,” my aunt called out, not at all aware of the emotions playing out within two of the three adults gathered. “This is my niece, Bethany.”
Having never been in a position of having my “supposed to be only a one-night stand” introduced to me the following day, I didn’t really know how to handle this. Luckily for me, Cole recovered a second sooner.
“Bethany.” He reached out his hand, his other strong arm cradling the baby. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Okay, I could do this. Act like we just met. That’ll work. Until I placed my hand in his and heat raced along every nerve ending in my body. I jerked my hand back and watched my aunt look at me in shock, like I’d embarrassed her. Which I probably did, to say nothing of my own embarrassment. To avoid the look in her eyes, I turned to Cole and that was worse. The corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin, like he knew exactly why I’d reacted the way I did.
As well he should. He was the damn reason. Him and his hands, his mouth, his…nope, not thinking about that right now.
“Sorry about that,” I voiced to fill in the silence and get myself out of this mess. “Got a shock.” You could say that.
Aunt Nadine looked between me and Cole and shook her head. “Anyway, Cole, I told Bethie about going back to work and how you needed help with Joy.”
I noticed she didn’t give any mention of why he had Joy in the first place. The whole situation had to be hard on him, so I understood.
He nodded. “Mrs. M was insistent on asking you to help.” That did not sound like he was high on the idea. “For a few days, she’d been talking about you coming out to help her. I hate to eat into that time.” Cole glanced down at Joy, who was staring out into the trees, content as could be in his arms. I’m with you, girl. “You sure didn’t sign up to watch an infant.”
