by Tasha Black
“Oh, man, that’s my phone,” Chase said, slipping it out of his pocket and swiping with his thumb. “Dax is here, hang tight.”
“You can stay with Uncle Axel,” Axel told baby Jacob, who was sitting up in his boppy-pillow, wriggling his fingers and chuckling at a fascinated Noah.
Chase jogged down the stairs and returned a moment later carrying one twin, Dax right behind him with the other.
“Soon they’ll be walking up the steps,” Axel said.
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Dax said. But he was smiling.
As far as Axel could tell, Dax tried to be smiling all the time. He had lost his wife the night she gave birth to the twins, but Dax was determined to solider on and give Maddie and Mason the happiest childhood possible.
They were almost a year old now, and it looked like he was smashing his goal. The twins seemed to be made of blond curls and drooly smiles.
“Bane is coming later,” Dax said as he sat down with Maddie.
Chase sat Mason down on Dax’s other knee and seated himself again.
More women came up the stairwell, greeting each other and cooing over the babies.
None came over to the sunny spot the guys had set up.
“Bane’s back, huh?” Axel asked. “How does he seem?”
Dax shrugged. “He just lost his sister, and he wasn’t exactly planning on a life in the ‘burbs with a baby. But he sounded pumped to see us.”
None of the men had planned to be single dads - or part-time caregivers, in Chase’s case. But together they were bringing up some pretty special children, and learning to appreciate the privilege more every day.
“Welcome to Playgroup,” Jessica McAllister’s bright soprano voice chimed crisply. “Your first visit is free. Here’s a form to fill out if you want to come back.”
That wasn’t her usual effusive spiel.
“Thanks,” said a familiar voice.
“Bane,” Chase called, looking over Axel’s shoulder at the top of the steps.
“Please be very careful with those beverages,” Jessica said with a frown. “We rent this space from the College.”
“I guess Jessica’s worried this whole place will be taken over by single dads soon,” Dax whispered to Axel, his eyes twinkling with humor.
Axel turned to see Bane approaching with his nephew Oliver. He had one hand wrapped around Oliver’s, the other held a flat of paper coffee cups.
Bane was tall, dark-haired, and covered in tattoos, though you wouldn’t know it with the long sleeve t-shirt and jeans he wore today. Axel figured Bane was trying to make a good impression on the moms of Tarker’s Hollow too.
Good luck with that.
“Look at your handsome nephew,” Axel said. “You’re getting so tall, Ollie.”
“My handsome son,” Bane said quietly. “The adoption went through last week.”
Axel felt a pang at the mixture of pain and pride evident in Bane’s deep voice.
“That’s awesome, man,” Dax said appreciatively. “Congratulations.”
They all watched quietly for a moment as Oliver immediately began putting together a wooden puzzle. Ollie was a super smart kid - he was only a toddler, but you could already tell.
“So, what’s new with everyone?” Bane asked.
“Axel’s babysitter went back to high school this week,” Chase said immediately.
“Oh wow, what are you doing for childcare?” Bane asked.
“I found a nanny through one of those services,” Axel said. “She’s coming into town today.”
He held his breath, hoping his friends wouldn’t judge him. He loved his son, but he had to work, and he couldn’t keep asking his apprentice to babysit.
“What, like Mrs. Doubtfire?” Chase asked.
“Well, hopefully not exactly like that, but yeah,” Axel laughed.
“Aren’t there a dozen women in Tarker’s Hollow who would love to help you with Noah?” Chase said with a playful wink.
“Very funny,” Axel said. “I’m not looking for any kind of entanglement. I just want a professional.”
There was a moment of awkward silence in which Axel cursed himself.
His friends knew he had some trust issues especially when it came to Noah. After all, the child’s own mother had abandoned them.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Dax said quickly. “You could definitely use some live-in help.”
“Isn’t that kind of expensive?” Bane asked.
“It’s less than you might think,” Axel said. “And it’s an investment in Noah’s future. The service tells me she has a degree in early childhood development, and her references were amazing. Noah will be in great hands.”
“But don’t you have to, like, feed her?” Dax asked with a furrowed brow.
It was no secret that Axel was a terrible, bordering on dangerous, cook.
“They said for an additional fee she’ll prepare meals,” Axel said, “and even teach me to cook.”
“Good thing she has that degree,” Dax quipped.
“What?” Axel asked with mock offense. “I’m not that bad in the kitchen.”
“No comment,” Chase said, his eyes twinkling. “But the fire department might have a thing or two to say.”
“Okay, that was one time,” Axel admitted.
“Yes, but we almost died,” Chase reminded him. “So it’s worth mentioning.”
“Okay, mommies,” Jessica yelled in her cheerful nasally voice, completely ignoring the fact that there were dads and other caregivers in the room. “Time for music!”
“Here we go,” Dax said, leaning into Bane. “Just try to keep up.”
2
Delilah
Delilah bit her lip and signaled a left-hand turn.
The sign for Tarker’s Hollow indicated a shaded, tree-lined street. Hopefully the town wasn’t too sleepy.
As soon as she pulled in, branches met overhead, forming a green canopy. Beautiful old Victorians peeked out at her from behind the dappled shade of the enormous trees and hedges.
She felt as if she were driving into another world.
Two women approached each other on the narrow sidewalk, one with a dog, the other with a stroller.
Delilah glanced back at them, expecting a showdown.
But the dog lady stepped onto the grassy shoulder and the two waved to each other in the soft morning light.
Wow.
She’d been in the city so long, with nothing but concrete, glass and unfriendly faces. This town looked like something out of a fairy tale.
A person like Delilah didn’t belong in a place like this.
Even the misty air tasted too pure.
A few minutes later she passed the Tarker’s Hollow College campus and a little village came into sight. It was just a train station and a block or two of small shops. The library seemed to be the largest building in the whole town.
Delilah glanced around, anxious to find a mechanic or service station.
She had hoped she’d be able to dump the car at a big franchise, but that wasn’t going to happen, which was too bad. Small town people asked too many questions. And this was a pretty fancy car.
But the low fuel light had kicked on when she was still on I-95, so she’d had to take the Tarker’s Hollow exit and hope for the best.
The village shops passed by quickly, and she found herself back in the residential section. The trip had been a bust after all.
Just as she was about to give up hope, she saw the sign.
Swann Automotive
It was a tiny shop. Behind it, a gravel road seemed to lead into the woods.
She pulled in, hoping she could drop off the keys without much conversation. The last thing she wanted was to be remembered.
Her heart pounded as she approached the door and read the sign on the other side of the glass.
Closed - please use key drop!
She checked her phone.
It was after 9 am, surely this couldn’t be right. Sh
e was under the impression that all auto shops opened up at dawn. Just how sleepy was this town?
But there were no lights on, and the door was firmly locked.
Counting her lucky stars, Delilah dropped the car keys in the wooden drop box next to the door and looked around.
She could probably make it back into the little town center in ten minutes on foot. Hopefully, the change in her pocket was enough to get her on a train to Philadelphia.
From there, she just needed to find a place to lay low for a few days and she’d be home free.
She had found her way out of a con that had gone wrong.
She’d thought she was done for, but it looked like she was going to make it after all.
Just then, she heard the crunch of gravel as a car pulled into the lot.
Delilah spun on her heel, intending to try and get as far away as possible before the person got a good look at her. Hopefully it was just another customer, not an employee.
“Hey there,” a masculine voice shouted, stopping her in her tracks. “You’re early.”
I am?
She thought for an instant about just bolting, but the car door was already opening, and a man was climbing out.
He was more of a mountain than a man, really - tall and burly, his blue eyes twinkling at her.
She smiled back instinctively, her mind racing as she vacillated between flight and fight.
You can’t fight him. He’s freaking enormous, a little voice in the back of her head said appreciatively.
But there was no time to ogle and no time to run, because the man had already gotten something out of the car and was heading her way.
“The service said you’d be here this afternoon,” he called to her from the other side of the car. “I hope we haven’t kept you waiting too long.”
We?
She blinked back her amazement at the tiny bundle he carried.
He was carrying a baby - a baby that looked absolutely tiny in his massive arms.
“I haven’t been here long,” she ventured. She had no idea what he was talking about, but the first rule of a good con was not to ruffle the mark.
“I’m Axel,” he said. “And, as you already know, this is Noah.”
The baby gazed at her with large, blue eyes, just like his father’s. His tiny lower lip was pushed out slightly and the swirl of silky hair on his head gleamed in the muted sunshine.
“Hi, Noah,” she heard herself murmur. “I’m Delilah.”
“Oh, shoot, here you go,” the man said. “I should have introduced you properly.”
He held out the baby, enormous hands wrapped around the tiny ribcage.
Delilah had never held a baby before, but she couldn’t think of a way to decline. There was something decidedly alarming about seeing the tiny baby dangling in the air even in those big hands.
She took him in her own arms, where he still looked pretty small, and cradled him to her chest, wondering at the incredible scent of him.
He laid his head against her shoulder and she didn’t want to breathe for fear that she might startle him like a deer.
“He likes me,” she whispered.
“Yeah, he’s a good boy,” Axel said tenderly. His voice was so deep it was almost a growl. “Let me show you the house.”
She followed the big man down the gravel path that led behind the shop.
His impossibly wide shoulders narrowed at his waist and hips. He reminded her of the cartoon version of Tarzan she’d crushed on as a tween.
The path led not into the forest as she’d suspected, but to a little cottage with a covered front porch. It was the first in a line of three small homes that bordered the trees.
“I never had a nanny before,” Axel said. “A high school girl was watching Noah for me this summer. I did my best with your room. You’ll let me know if you need anything else in there?”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” she replied.
A nanny. He thought she was a nanny. It was starting to come together.
They walked through a charming living room with a fireplace and headed upstairs.
“This is Noah’s room,” Axel said, indicating the room at the top of the steps with handprinted wooden letters that spelled out the little guy’s name.
Little as he was, Noah was feeling decidedly heavier in her arms after the trip up the steps. He had definitely seemed smaller when his enormous father had been the one holding him.
“My room is here,” Axel said, pointing to the door next to Noah’s. “And yours will be at the end of the hall.”
He opened the door to her room and stepped aside for her to enter.
Bright sunlight greeted her from a bank of windows that extended on both side walls and across the front of the house into the branches of a huge maple. She felt as if she were in some kind of tree house.
A full-size bed in a simple white frame with a matching dresser next to it took up most of the room, though a cozy rocking chair fit perfectly in the far corner.
It was beautiful, maybe the most beautiful room she had ever seen.
“I know it’s really small,” he said. “It used to be a sleeping porch, but the former owner converted it. The house just isn’t that big. It’s only me and him, and now you…”
“It’s perfect,” she told him. “I love it.” She looked around for a moment, pretending that she was really going to live here and sleep in this magical room.
But that wasn’t the case. The real nanny would probably be along any minute. She had to figure out a way out of here before that happened.
“He’s sleeping, isn’t he?” Axel asked, looking down at the baby. “Here, I’ll put him down this time.”
He took the baby carefully from her arms, which suddenly felt empty and cool without Noah’s sweet weight.
“I’m, um, gonna check out the living room again,” she lied as she catapulted herself down the steps.
She was almost at the front door when the phone rang.
It wasn’t a cell phone. This was a true, jangling ring, like the landline at her grandma’s house.
“Cozy Cradles Nanny Service,” the machine announced in a robot voice.
On pure instinct she grabbed the receiver.
“Hello,” she said softly into it.
“Hi there, ma’am, this is Elaine from Cozy Cradles,” said a polite voice on the other end. “I’m very sorry to tell you this, but your nanny has the stomach flu that’s been going around. We’re working hard to find a substitute but with the fall weather there’s a lot of illness, and we’re stretched pretty thin.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” Delilah said smoothly. “Don’t bother with a sub for us, we’ll be okay. What does she need? Just a few days before she can start?”
“Oh thank God,” Elaine said in a relieved way. “Yes, just a couple of days and I’m sure she’ll be ready to report for duty.”
“That’s just fine,” Delilah said. “You have a nice day now, Elaine.”
“You too,” Elaine said happily.
Delilah hung up just in time to see Axel heading down the stairs.
“Was that the phone?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I saw it was my agency and I thought I’d better pick up, so the phone didn’t wake the baby. They just wanted to make sure I made it here okay.”
“That’s very nice of them,” Axel said.
“You picked a great agency, Mr...” she thought of the sign over the shop. He must be the owner. “Mr. Swann.”
“I hope so,” he said. “But please, just call me Axel.”
“Axel,” she echoed with a smile, remembering her mom’s old obsession with ‘80s hair bands. “So the shop out front is yours?”
“Guilty as charged,” he said with a smile. “I’ve always liked working with my hands.
It was hard not to think of what else he might like to do with those hands.
The living room suddenly felt very tiny and the space between them charged with electricity.
&nb
sp; “So where are your bags?” he asked, clearing his throat.
“It’s um, just this,” she said, holding up her backpack.
“You don’t have a suitcase?” he asked uncertainly.
“Oh, well I did have one,” she lied. “But I left it on the train. I’m such an idiot. I’m sure I’ll get it back.”
“Was your cell number on your luggage tag?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t have a cell phone,” she lied. All she needed was him asking for her number. She only had the burner phone from the con.
And no way was she giving him anything that could get him entangled in that mess.
It was bad enough that she had left the car at his shop.
“Want me to call Septa’s lost and found?” he asked.
“Oh gosh, no, I’m sure you have work to do,” she said. “Is it okay for me to use your land line to do that while Noah naps?”
“Sure,” he said. “I guess it worked out that I had the landline for Hannah.”
“Who’s Hannah?” she asked, looking around for signs of a woman. If the baby had a mother, she might be more perceptive than Axel was. It could make it much harder to hide out here even for a day or two.
“She’s the high school student who helped with Noah for the last month or two,” he said. “She doesn’t have a cell phone either.”
“Okay,” Delilah nodded, feeling better. He had told her it was only himself and Noah in the house. And now Delilah.
“Well, I’ll be at the shop if you need me for any reason,” Axel said. “Please make yourself at home.”
“Thank you,” Delilah said. “I will.”
He had no idea.
***
Thanks for reading this sample of Axel.
Will Delilah hold onto her cover story long enough to make it out of Tarker’s Hollow, or will the call of Axel and baby Noah be too much for her to bear? (See what I did there?)
Grab the rest of the story right now to find out!
https://www.tashablack.com/axel.html
Tasha Black Starter Library
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