Absentminded Angel [Divine Creek Ranch 20] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Heather Rainier

Whit was already at his sitter’s and Presley Ann had two more hours before she was due at Stigall’s. After putting away her purchases in her trunk, she hurried back into the store, still in shock. When she came out an hour later, she was wearing a new pair of work shoes and toting Christmas gifts for Jared and Kendry, rawhide bones for Thor and Loki, as well as a new outfit for Whit for Christmas morning. The rest of the money would stay on the card for emergency use.

  When she arrived at Stigall’s, the first thing she did was go in the bookkeeping office and give Evelyn a heartfelt hug.

  “Whatever was that for?” Evelyn said with a grin, smirking as she straightened her reading glasses.

  “You know what that’s for.” She explained her trip to the store that day and Evelyn flushed with pleasure at hearing what a great surprise it was.

  “Well, you didn’t want a baby shower, and Charlene and I love you and wanted to help.”

  “It definitely helped,” Presley Ann replied as she showed Evelyn her new, very comfortable and well-fitting work shoes.

  “Here you are,” Willie said in a snotty tone as she poked her head in the doorway. “Chris Potter is looking for his pants, and I think you’d better get out here.”

  Evelyn stepped down off of her stool and came around the counter. “Wilhelmina, Presley Ann isn’t due to check in for another twenty minutes. What is it that you need?” It wasn’t often that Evelyn showed aggravation but her voice vibrated with it as she removed her reading glasses and lifted her eyebrows at Willie. It didn’t matter that Willie was nearly two feet taller and one hundred pounds heavier than the tiny woman. She was still a force to be reckoned with.

  Willie waved a pair of dark gray slacks on a hanger with an alterations tag pinned to them. “Presley Ann messed up an order, and the customer is here to pick it up and needs them for tomorrow. And the store is packed with people, and I don’t have enough help—”

  Evelyn raised a hand. “The store is very well-staffed, Willie. It’s time for your fifteen minute break, isn’t it? By all means, go have your soda and chips and update your Facebook status. I’ll go visit with Mr. Potter and find out for myself what happened with his order.” She took the pair of pants from her.

  “I can tell you what happened. She screwed up,” Willie said, pointing at Presley Ann.

  Presley Ann’s heart sank as she wracked her brain trying to think of what Willie was talking about. Then she remembered. “Oh, no.” She’d hung the pants, which Chris had purchased and needed hemmed, on a rack, intending to turn them in to the alterations department but had forgotten to follow through. The pants had evidently sat on the rack until that afternoon.

  Willie pursed her lips and crossed her arms, a vindictive gleam in her eyes. “And he was pissed, too.”

  “Having gotten to know Mr. Potter myself, I sincerely doubt that.” Evelyn turned to Presley Ann. “You should eat a quick lunch and let me deal with Mr. Potter.”

  Presley Ann put her purse and lunch on Evelyn’s desk and shook her head as she took the hanger from Evelyn. “No, I messed up. I’ll go talk to him and then eat a few bites before I clock in.”

  Willie lifted her hands in exasperation. “I don’t see what you can do, but this is your screw up to fix, not mine. He said he had to have them for tomorrow and you know it’s too late to turn them in to the alterations lady now.”

  Evelyn let out an exasperated sigh as she stared at Willie, her hands on her hips, but she nodded at Presley Ann as she hurried out of the office.

  Presley Ann found Chris at the customer service desk, where he was chatting amiably with one of the other sales associates. He smiled when he saw her and gave her a gentle one-armed hug. The man was seriously tall and muscular, but she’d met few men who were more gentle, and kids seemed to love him.

  “Hey, Presley Ann. You enjoying your new place?”

  “I am.” I so am!

  “I came by to pick up the pants that were being hemmed for me and that other gal told me there was some sort of problem. You told me to come by this afternoon for them, right?”

  “Chris, I’m so sorry,” she said as she held them up, still obviously unhemmed. “In all the hubbub the other day, I forgot to turn them in to the alterations department. It was a stupid, absentminded thing to do. I just walked off and forgot about them.”

  “Hmm,” a grating, familiar voice said from behind her. Presley Ann wanted to crawl under a rock. “Forgetfulness has always been a pattern with you, Presley Ann. But such forgetfulness can have lasting implications. Alterations are one thing, but you have a little baby boy who trusts in you. Summer is coming on, you know. What if you were to just walk off from your car with him forgotten inside?”

  Chris cocked an eyebrow as he looked over her shoulder.

  Presley Ann turned and faced her aunt. “Not now, Aunt Dorothy.”

  Dorothy shrugged her shoulder and gave Chris a quick glance before she continued. “That’s fine, don’t pay any attention to the voice of wisdom—until it’s too late. Right now it’s only a paltry pair of pants but what about when it’s your son dead of heat stroke?”

  Presley Ann shuddered at the morbid thought and grew a little dizzy just imagining it and then shook her head. “You know I’m not giving Whit up, Aunt Dorothy. Why in the world are you pushing this adoption thing so hard?”

  “Because it is obvious to everyone but you that you should give that child up so he can be raised in a proper home and not in the midst of a perverted relationship. The offer still stands, dear.” She flounced away.

  A gentle hand on her shoulder got her attention. “You okay, Presley Ann?” When she turned back to him, Chris was watching her aunt walk away with disgust in his eyes. “Are you related to her?”

  Presley Ann let out a long sigh. “Unfortunately. Yes. That was embarrassing, and I’m so sorry that you were subjected to our family drama.”

  Chris grunted, and a big grin broke out on his face and he started laughing. His laughter was contagious and she couldn’t help but join him. “Darlin’, I got ya beat on the family drama. The stories I could tell you.” His expression grew serious. “I hope you didn’t take to heart what she said.”

  There was a kernel of doubt in her heart. She heard of kids being forgotten in cars all the time. “Just the thought of that happening…”

  Chris leveled his gaze on her. “Sweetie, you’re a good mom. I can spot a relative enjoying taking a family member down a notch or two anywhere. She’s just mean.”

  “Thank you. Now, about these pants…” Presley Ann offered to hem the pants herself that night and deliver them to him in the morning, since there was no longer time for the alterations lady to fit them in. Because he definitely needed them for the following day, which was the day before Christmas Eve, he agreed and she added, “Thank you for not being upset about my forgetfulness.”

  Chris put his cowboy hat back on his head as they walked toward the door. “Never occurred to me to be upset. Did that other sales clerk tell you I was?” Presley Ann simply shrugged. “I figured as much when you came running out of the back office after she disappeared with my pants telling me she’d get to the bottom of ‘this mess.’ That gal needs to get some people skills.”

  “She’s also my cousin and that woman is her mother.”

  Chris snorted as he stopped at the door. “Why am I not surprised? Listen, we’re all human and you’ve had your fair share of burdens to overcome lately. One of my sisters has ADD and she’s pretty forgetful, too, but she doesn’t want to take meds.”

  “What does she do? How does she handle it?” Presley Ann asked, really curious about her strategy.

  “She uses lists and reminders on her phone. She manages one of the family restaurants, and she does a great job. I’m telling you that to encourage you. Don’t let your aunt and your cousin shame you—or scare you like that.”

  “I’ll try. How is Gwen doing?”

  “She says she’s doing fine, but I can tell she’s tired. Last time she was in fo
r a checkup, Emma told her that the baby was measuring longer than where he or she would normally be at this stage.”

  “Well, but…that’s okay, right? I mean, you and Julian are both pretty tall. Maybe she got her dates wrong.”

  “I dunno,” he said with a slight shrug but she could see the genuine concern in his eyes. Chris was such a sweet man and she imagined that he’d be concerned no matter what. “Hey, uh…I wanted to ask you about somethin’,” he said as he lowered his voice and turned toward her.

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  He gestured at his broad shoulders and torso. “Those…thingies that you’re making…”

  “You mean the baby slings? I’m making one for Gwen soon.”

  “I heard one of the girls talking about that. I wondered…” he said again, gesturing at her red sling and at himself as he glanced around. “I wondered if you ever make those for men.”

  “Oh,” she said, realizing what he was getting at before quietly asking, “Would you like me to make one for you?”

  “If you could, yeah.”

  “Well, I don’t see why not. I’d just need to measure you and maybe extend my pattern a little bit to allow for your height and size. Sure, I would be happy to make you one.”

  “You think you could do it in something that looks more…”

  “Masculine?” At his expressive nod, she said, “I’m sure I could make you something that looks hunky. Do you like dark brown or green, or navy blue?”

  “Any of those, as long as it’s not a girlie color or pattern. I’ll need you to teach me how to tie it, too.”

  Presley Ann giggled and nodded. “I get it, and of course I’ll help you. Maybe you’ll be a trendsetter among the Divine daddies.”

  “Well, I don’t care about that so much as I do about being helpful to Gwen.”

  Presley Ann could so easily picture this big, lovable teddy bear of a man wearing his little baby in a sling. Chris swiftly changed the subject as Clayton Carlisle walked in and greeted them.

  Thinking she really didn’t deserve such awesome friends, Presley Ann patted his arm and told him she’d deliver the pants and measure him for the sling the following morning and then turned back to face the busy store. She had just enough time for a few quick bites and then she needed to get started. Chris’s words echoed in her mind as she grabbed her purse and lunch from Evelyn and entered the employee break room where the time clock was located.

  “You need a keeper, you know that?” Willie said over a mouthful of chips. “If you can’t even keep up with a simple job, I can’t imagine how you give that baby the care he needs.”

  “No, what I need are loyal family members who aren’t obsessed with whether or not I keep my baby. I’m your coworker, Willie, not your flunky in need of advice or a daily dose of shame. I wish you and your mother would butt the hell out of my personal life.”

  Over the last ten months, Presley Ann had believed, mistakenly, that given how she’d lived her life to that point she must deserve all the hatefulness Willie seemed determined to heap on her. But this wasn’t karma, or reaping what she’d sown, that Willie visited on her. It was hate and jealousy.

  “You think you can put a spit shine on your life and adopt a sweet demeanor and fool everybody else, including all your pervert friends, but you don’t fool me. I know the old, spoiled, entitled Presley Ann is under the surface just waiting to be served like some princess.”

  “There is no ‘old’ Presley Ann. It’s just me doing my best to live my life and take care of my son. You’re not happy unless there’s drama and strife all around you. I’ll take my life with all its mistakes and imperfections over your game playing any day. Why don’t you type that up in a Facebook status update and cyber-shove it.”

  Willie gasped and slammed her bottle of soda down on the table and it frothed all over her hand and the table as Presley Ann walked out. Presley Ann decided to just take her lunch back out to Evelyn’s desk and eat there, knowing Evelyn wouldn’t mind. This was going to be a long work day so she might as well hurry up and get it started.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kendry grinned at Jared when they heard Presley Ann’s car come down the drive. Rubbing his hands in anticipation, he followed his brother out the front door. She was murmuring to Whit as she finished tying on her sling and then lifted him from his car seat. “Yes, I missed you, too, sugar pea pie. Come to mama.”

  She looked up in surprise as they stood waiting for her on the stoop. She made an attempt to smile, but then her expression crumpled as she wrapped her arms around the baby.

  Kendry and Jared both ran down the steps, all romantic plans forgotten, and closed in around her. Kendry lifted her chin and saw the tears in her eyes and felt the way her jaw trembled. “Kitten, what is it?”

  “It’s nearly ten o’clock. I hate leaving him all day like this,” she said, her voice breaking, and then she sobbed. Whit looked dazed, as if he’d been awakened from sleep once already that evening, and appeared ready to fall back asleep any moment. Another sob escaped. “I missed his whole day.”

  Kendry exchanged a worried glance with his brother and they did their best to comfort her until she sniffled and said, “I’m sorry for being a ninny. I knew it would be like this and I need to just suck it up.” She shook her head and cleared her throat. “I need to get him bathed and into bed. It’s going to be another long day tomorrow.”

  “Come with us,” Kendry said as he took her hand. The desire to fix the situation growing ever stronger.

  “It’s late, guys, and I’m exhausted and obviously not the best company right now. I wanted to work some more tonight after I get him settled.”

  He caught the look in Jared’s eyes and knew they were both on the same page. “I think you need some tender loving care of your own, first.”

  “He’s right, angel,” Jared said as he kissed the side of her neck. “Come with us. We have a surprise for you.”

  They led her through the house and out the back door, down the path and to her front door. Once inside, Presley Ann inhaled and said, “What smells so good?”

  Jared slid her coat from her shoulders and Kendry handed her a glass of wine and said, “I know it’s late but are you hungry?”

  She chuckled and put her hand over her stomach. “Starved. I didn’t have time to finish my lunch and I worked through suppertime since the store was so busy. Commissions will be great and I got to run off some of this excess weight.”

  Kendry cocked an eyebrow at her and said, “Don’t lose too much. We like you just the way you are.”

  Presley Ann tilted her head, her eyes full of warmth, and she kissed him. “I was just planning to fix myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and work, once I get him in bed. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.”

  Kendry wrapped his arm around her and said, “It’s no trouble and we knew you’d have a long day today. We want to take care of you.”

  “Food first,” Jared said as he pulled out a chair for her at her small table.

  “But—”

  Jared raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you trust us?”

  With a small smile she nodded and slowly lowered herself into the chair as she eyed the pots warming on the stove. “What did you make?”

  “Shrimp jambalaya,” he said as he grabbed three bowls and quickly ladled three servings and placed them on the table.

  Whit stirred and the men shared a smile when she got the baby settled nursing, using just the sling to cover him a little, and then spooned a bite into her mouth.

  “This is wonderful,” she murmured as she pulled off a hunk of the bread. “But you didn’t have to make this and then wait for me to get home to eat.”

  “Not a big deal. It’s the same with us,” Jared said. He nodded at Whit and said, “I’ll finish eating and then start a bath for him.”

  “But—”

  Jared shook his head and grinned at Kendry. She was a hard nut to crack. “Angel, remember that we know our way arou
nd babies. I know where all of his stuff is already. I’ll take care of getting him bathed, rocked, and down for the night. You and I had last night together, and I want Kendry to enjoy tonight with you. Let him take care of you.”

  Looking a little shocked, she sat back and smiled down at the baby, her lip trembling a little as she stroked his coal black hair. This was a big issue for her, allowing someone else to bear the load, but if they had their way about it, they’d be doing this more often, to help her and because they wanted her, wanted Whit, in their lives permanently. They’d talked about it that afternoon, and knew it was what they both wanted. Her. It was just a question of finding the right time and place.

  When the meal was done, Kendry washed the dishes, listening to the sound of the tub filling in the bathroom. Once that job was done, he leaned against the door and smiled at Presley Ann as she questioned whether Jared was sure he wanted to do this. Jared just grinned at her and held out his hands for the baby.

  “His sleepers are in the second drawer and his diapers—”

  Jared chortled to the baby as she handed him over and said, “I know where the diapers are. We’ll be fine. He’s in good hands, mama.” He rose from his seat on the closed toilet as he secured the baby in his arms and kissed her. “Why don’t you go have a soak of your own in our big tub?”

  “But—”

  Jared shifted his gaze back to Kendry and quirked an eyebrow. “She keeps being difficult like this, I guess you’ll need to spank her.”

  “Oh.” Her blue eyes got big as she switched her gaze between the two of them.

  She likes that idea?

  Jared’s quirked eyebrow confirmed what Kendry thought.

  “Can we light the fireplace, even though it’s not that cold tonight?” she asked as he shuffled her out of the room after one last kiss on the baby’s head and one more long kiss for Jared. “I feel bad for leaving him.”

  Kendry kissed her cheek. “Don’t feel bad. Even mamas need attention and time alone. Whit’s in great hands.”

  “Do I need to pack—”