The voicemail cut me off, which had me stomping my foot like I was the preschooler. Would he even understand my babble?
God, I was a mess.
Redialing, I leaned against the counter and waited to record my second message. “Let me try this again. I need you, Caleb. I should have reached out sooner, but I was pissed off because I didn’t want you to be just another guy who I trusted too soon. I feel like liking you this much is a bad thing. It…scares me. But not as much as watching your nephews does. If you get this can you bring child-appropriate food and a miracle? I’m going to need both.”
I closed my eyes. “Oh, this is Paisley by the way.”
I slapped my forehead, because that should have been obvious if he had caller ID.
I ended the call just as car doors slammed outside. Jogging over to my window, I peeked out to see a frazzled Iris grabbing Max from his car seat. Andy jumped out after him, dragging a Spiderman backpack on the ground and gripping an iPad with his other hand.
I quickly grabbed my keys and met them outside. “Let me help you,” I offered reaching out to grab the loaded tote bag from her arm.
She gave me a grateful look, following me into the building. “Thank you so much for doing this. I feel like I’m going to explode.”
I pulled her in for a quick hug, careful not to crush Max. “You know I’ll do this anytime you need it. That’s what friends are for.”
She passed me Max and wiped away a tear that fell down her cheek before Andy could see it.
I squeezed her shoulder. “Go on. We’ll be okay.”
She nodded, trying to keep it together in front of her kids. “I’ll call you later, okay? I don’t know what’s going to happen. I put some snacks and clothes in the bag, and I think Andy has some games in his backpack—”
“Iris! I’ve got this. Just go and drive carefully. I don’t want you to get hurt if you’re crying.”
She kissed both her boys, ruffled their hair and left before she showed them her fear.
Once the door closed, I looked down at Andy. Max squirmed in my arms, yanking on my hair.
I cringed. “That hurts, little guy.”
Andy stared up at me. “Where is Mommy?”
“She had to run an errand,” I explained, plopping the tote bag onto the counter. “Have you guys eaten?”
“No,” he answered.
I frowned, hoping he’d tell me they had just to buy me time. “Well, let’s see what your mom packed. Then I’ll order something.”
He made a face. “Mommy cooks for us.”
I winced, digging through the bag and pulling out some pretzels. If he expected me to make anything edible, he was going to be extremely disappointed.
I passed him one of the sandwich bags, giving him an amused smile. “Believe me, kid. You don’t want me to cook.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“Why?”
“Eat your pretzels.”
Max yanked my hair again.
“But why?” Andy pressed.
I sighed. “I’m not a great a cook, is all. I burn things. Do you like charcoal?”
He shook his head frantically. “Santa brings that to bad kids.”
Some of the toast I burned in the past would definitely pass for coal, so I went along with it.
I crossed my arms. “I’m one of his many helpers. So, be good. I’d hate to have to put you on the naughty list.”
His eyes got big, causing me to hold back laughter. Was this parenthood—finding children’s horrors amusing?
Max reached for my hair again, but I intercepted his tiny hand before he could pull the strands again. “No, Max. How about we get you some food?”
He just blinked emptily at me with the hazel eyes he got from his father. Sticking his thumb in his mouth, he suckled and stared.
I’d played with the boys before when I visited Iris and Tony during get-togethers they had at their house. Max never said much, but he was barely three. I’d spend most of my time chasing Andy around their backyard while Max watched from one of his parents’ arms. While I knew they’d had sleepovers at their grandparents’ house, spending time here at mine was new territory.
“So, you like Spiderman?” I asked Andy, pointing toward his backpack. It looked worn down—the picture faded and torn from being dragged everywhere. “I have some of the movies. Want to watch one of them?”
He gripped his backpack and smiled big.
I grabbed some snacks for Max and had Andy follow us to the couch. “Watch your brother for a second,” I directed, setting Max in the middle. I headed toward my DVD collection, picking out Spiderman Homecoming, my personal favorite version of the superhero.
As much as I loathed arachnids, the Spiderman franchise was one of my favorites to follow. Andrew Garfield might have been hot, but it was Tom Holland’s portrayal of the young, nerdy hero that spoke to my soul.
I popped the movie in and turned the television on as Andy played a game on the iPad. Max still had his thumb in his mouth, picking apart the pretzels I’d given him and letting the crumbs coat the couch cushions.
I tried to ignore my OCD, knowing that it’d be much messier by the end of our time together.
“What do you want to eat?” I asked, sitting on the other side of them.
“Pizza!” Andy yelled enthusiastically.
I laughed. This kid and I were going to get along just fine. “That can be arranged, little man. Do you like cheese on it? Pepperoni?”
He scrunched his nose. “Cheese.”
“Boring,” I teased, playfully nudging him.
“Daddy says cheese is the best!”
Tony was picky about everything he ate, which was funny because he’d eat anything people put in front of him. But when he had a choice in the matter, he never made it easy.
I let it slide though, because my sarcasm would be lost on somebody as young as Andy. The kid was hilarious for being serious about everything, as most kids probably were.
“Is Spiderman your favorite hero?” I asked Andy before the movie started.
He munched on his snack. “I got bitted by a spider once but got no powers. Mommy told me I’d grow into them.”
I suppressed a smile. I’d probably be disappointed too if I were him. I’d been bitten by my fair share of those creepy bastards, and never had the capability of climbing walls or swinging off buildings.
Then again, I never wanted to try.
I nodded along, not wanting to burst his dreams. “Yeah, I hear powers take a while to kick in these days. Maybe if you eat your veggies, they’ll come in sooner.”
He blanched, making me giggle.
I patted his back. “Give it time, buddy.”
He blew out an exasperated breath. “It’s taking forever.”
He went back to his game, dismissing me.
I glanced at Max. “Don’t you want to eat these pretzels instead of your fingers?” I picked one up and bit into it, showing him how yummy they were.
He reached out for the pretzel, so I passed him a new one from the bag. Max always wanted something if he saw other people interested in it. It was how Iris got him to eat his veggies, by pretending to love broccoli.
Well, that and she told him it was the same type of food that the vegetarian dinosaurs ate. She also informed him that mashed potatoes were magical, showing Andy and Max that they can dip the potatoes in their peas to make them stick.
Halfway through the movie, the boys were cuddling Mashed Potato in a mess of their own crumbs. I grabbed their garbage and threw it away, about to pick up the phone to call for delivery when knocks sounded from the door.
Looking through the peephole, I saw nothing but tussled dirty-blond hair and the edge of a white pizza box.
Caleb lifted the box in offering when I opened up. “I come bearing child-appropriate food. Maybe even apology pizza two-point-o.”
I didn’t he think to remark on his version of an apology before yanking him inside by his wrist.
“You’re heaven sent.”
“That’s what they tell me,” he joked, kicking the door closed with the back of his foot.
I itched to ask who ‘they’ were, but I opted to let it go. There were more precedent issues to think about than my pending jealousy.
“Guys, look who’s here! It’s Uncle Caleb!”
Andy jumped up and ran over with a wide smile on his tiny lips. I thought it was because his uncle was here and he was saved from my pitiful ass, but he asked, “Is that pizza?”
Caleb laughed, ruffling Andy’s hair. It was nearly the same shade as his, dirty-blond that looked browner in the light. You could tell they were related, since the Winters’ family had good genes passed down through the generations.
I playfully nudged Caleb’s shoulder. “Guess we know where you stand now.”
Caleb set the pizza box down on the counter. “I’m used to it. This kid is just like his mother. He has a special relationship with food.”
That sounded like the type of relationship status I should set on Facebook.
I kneeled to Andy’s height. “I like food too.”
Feeling Caleb’s stare on the back of my head, I raised back up.
“Can I have pizza now?” Andy asked.
“Yeah, come on,” Caleb directed, holding out his hand for Andy to walk over to the warm box waiting for him.
I pulled out paper plates and passed them to Caleb. He grabbed a piece for Andy and passed it to him, then got another out for Max.
“Can I have a knife?”
I nodded and grabbed one from the drawer, passing it to him and watched as he cut Max’s into tinier pieces for him.
He served the boys on the couch, pulling the coffee table closer so they could use it. Andy had already dug into his piece, having a third of it gone before Max even had a piece in his hands.
Caleb settled Max onto his lap and passed him the pieces, keeping a hold of him as he watched the movie.
It gave me a moment to soak in the sight of Caleb feeding a toddler, all three boys’ attention locked onto the television screen. This was what I wanted my future to look like—family movie days where we ate food that was bad for us and watched great movies. Days where we were just together, and life was easy.
I grabbed us both a slice of pizza and joined them, sitting down on the arm of the couch to give him space despite the cushion next to him being wide open.
He set his plate down on the coffee table, picking off a chunk of cheese and popping it into his mouth. It was strange seeing him so comfortable here after our period of avoidance.
I picked off cheese from mine, playing with it as I glanced at Caleb from the corner of my eye. What did I say? Do?
He answered my silent question. “You know, there’s room on the couch.”
I eyed the spot next to him. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to sit there or not.”
He shifted his body so it was angled toward me, keeping Max focused on the screen. “After the boys eat, we’ll talk. But I want you next to me, Paisley. I want a lot from you.”
I licked my lip hesitantly, and then slid down onto the cushion. My hip brushed against his leg, causing me to shift away.
“Sorry,” I murmured.
He bounced Max in his lap. “Don’t be.”
We sat in silence as the movie played, his arm brushing mine every now and then. Max moved to Caleb’s other thigh, giving Caleb a chance to eat his pizza with his free arm. When he finished, I brought all our plates back to the kitchen.
When I came back into the living room, Caleb patted the spot next to him, so I’d know where to sit without hesitation. As soon as I settled in, he grabbed my hand and rested it on top of his thigh, interweaving our fingers together—all while his focus stayed on the movie.
My chest eased as I stared at our hands.
Before tonight, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with us. I knew I wanted to talk to him again but couldn’t figure out what to say. Not before I’d let off some steam first. Who knew what I would have said to Caleb if I’d seen him before blowing up at Nathan?
“Smart choice with the movie,” he told me quietly, since Andy had already shushed us once when we tried to talk.
“Figured it was a safe bet.”
“You should have been at his third birthday party,” he mused, leaning toward me. “He wanted Spiderman everything. All the plates, cups, napkins, balloons, cookies, and cake were Spiderman themed. Tony dressed him up in a costume and gave him a toy web gun.”
“I bet he loved it.”
“Oh, he did.”
We sat quietly for a few minutes, just holding hands and waiting for the hidden scenes after the bloopers to appear on the screen.
“Thanks for coming over with food.”
He squeezed our palms. “You sounded like you were going to cry in your message.” He laughed. “Well, from what I understood of it. The first one was kind of jumbled.”
My face heated up. “I was stressed.”
I wasn’t sure stressed was the right word. Overwhelmed to have two kids to look after was probably better. And when Andy thought I was cooking for him? Lord, we would have all died from food poisoning. Iris would never forgive me, and I’d be locked up all because my cooking skills were nonexistent.
“I’ll stay as long as you need,” he promised.
Max let out a soft snore in Caleb’s arms, slowly falling to his side until he was propped against Caleb’s chest.
My ovaries screamed at the sight of them cuddling. How could they not? There was a hot guy holding a cute baby.
“You’ve got a little drool,” he teased, gesturing toward the corner of my mouth.
I blushed. “I’m just impressed. You’re really good with them. Max cried so loudly the first time I held him I thought the police would be called for child abuse.”
Seriously, the kid scarred me from ever holding babies again.
Caleb chuckled. “It took him a while to get used to people. But he’s doing a lot better than he was, although he’s still pretty shy.”
“I don’t see how with who his parents are.”
Iris was an eccentric person. Her personality was loud and colorful, which was why I loved her. And Tony may have been a little calmer, but not by much. They balanced each other out.
Of course, Max wasn’t his own person yet. It’ll be interesting to see who he becomes when he’s older. Even Andy’s age.
I rested my head against the back of the couch, staring at the speckled beige ceiling. “It amazes me how well Iris and Tony keep it together. I saw how hard it was for them at first, but through the house renovations, drama, and every little life event that tried knocking them down, they survived. And their kids are great.”
“Nothing in life is easy, Paisley.”
I know.
“But some things are worth it,” he added just as quietly, the implication of what he said between the lines resting in the silence between us.
How You Know It Will Work:
He agrees to meet your father even after the threat of pigs
The sound of giggling boys and splashing water came from behind the closed bathroom door, where Caleb was helping the boys take a bath and get changed for bed. Andy came out first in red and blue pajamas that had webs all over the shirt. Caleb appeared next with a wobbling Max in a camo onesie, flicking off the light on his way out.
The sight of Caleb playing Dad made my heart melt into a puddle on the living room floor. The small grin on his face rose higher when he saw the way I watched them. I gave him a tiny smile back, standing up from where I was making up the couch to sleep on.
I pointed toward my bedroom door. “The bed is made for them.”
“Want to help me put them to bed? Iris usually reads to them before they go to sleep.”
I frowned. “I didn’t see any books in the bag. She must have forgotten to pack it.”
It wasn’t like I had any kid-friendly books hanging around. Even t
he young adult novels littering my shelf were way above their realm of understanding.
Caleb patted his back pocket, pulling out a tiny cardboard book with a dinosaur on it. “I stopped by and grabbed it before coming here. Iris figured they’d be at the hospital a while, so I wanted to make sure they had everything they needed.”
Iris had called to tell me that Tony would have to stay at the hospital for observation. While he seemed fine, the doctors were worried about a mild concussion and preferred monitoring him there rather than releasing him. The boys were too busy riding on the back of Caleb while he bucked them around to mind the news.
Caleb gestured toward the bedroom, walking the boys there. He helped Max on the bed, tucking him in the middle while Andy got onto the other side. Caleb sat on the edge of the bed, patting the space next to him for me.
After I crossed one leg over the other and settled in next to him, Caleb opened the book. “The only rule is that you have to make different voices for each character. And let me tell you, these guys are critics.”
Andy giggled. “You say the names wrong, Uncle Cal.”
“These names are hard.” He looked at me, playfully jabbing Andy in the shoulder. “But this little dude can correct me in a heartbeat and be right about it.”
I gave Andy a high five, fully impressed.
“Ready?” he asked, holding up the book.
Caleb was right, half the names were nearly impossible to pronounce. But he did it, acting out the little scenes—tickling the boys and pretending to attack and fly and roar like they did in the book. It sent them into a fit of giggles until their tiny eyelids began fluttering.
Seeing the interactions between them had me grinning so much my face hurt. When both the boys fell asleep, I snuck out of the room while Caleb tucked the blanket around them.
Moving the pizza box into the fridge to busy myself, I waited until Caleb came out. I had the garbage picked up, counters cleared, and dishwasher set up for tomorrow when he appeared, keeping the door cracked open.
I turned around, gripping the edge of the counter. “That was probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. They love you so much.”
Way To My Heart Page 15
