by Grady, D. R.
If he did, then she could figure out who she could trust to raise her son.
KC wished she could let someone else tell him. And let someone else figure out who would be the lucky civilian to keep her precious son.
“Ryan, there’s something I have to tell you,” she said after they ate and cleaned up the dishes. She couldn’t let this rest, so figured now would be a good time to reveal the news. How much would a five-year-old comprehend?
“What?” he asked, but she doubted she had his full attention. His eyes kept straying to the overfull toy box in the corner.
“Honey, you know how I have to leave one weekend every month?” Since she joined the Navy before Greg had given Ryan to her, her commitment weekends weren’t new to him.
“Yeah, you alweady did that,” he said impatiently, and this time his eyes followed Spuds.
She tipped his head up with a hand under his chin, wanting him to understand the seriousness of their conversation. His little boy scent teased her as a wave of longing to not miss a moment of his life nearly overcame her. KC fought it and won.
“Yes, I did. But Ryan, I’m going to be leaving for more than a weekend soon.” KC almost choked on the words. She could do this.
“I’ll have to go to Gwandmothew and Gwandfathew’s house?” He sounded alarmed and KC resisted the urge to close her eyes.
“No, baby. I don’t think so. We’ll probably keep your monthly visits, but you won’t stay with them.” Even as she made the statement, KC resolved to find someone else. Her parents were barely tolerable for a weekend, much less eight months. She couldn’t do that to Ryan. But who? Who could she trust to take Ryan? Who wouldn’t mind? Who would love the opportunity? Who loved Ryan enough?
“Who’ll I stay with, Mom?” Ryan asked, and KC realized she had his full attention now.
“I don’t know yet, baby, but I’ll find someone,” she promised. Who? Desperation clawed at her insides.
“S’kay, Mommy, I know who,” Ryan announced and the temptation of the toy box finally overcame him. He wiggled off the couch and scampered to the brimming container of toys.
“Who, Ryan?” she asked, watching him chose a fire truck from the pile.
“Who what?”
“Who’ll watch you?” KC realized she was quite interested in his answer.
He turned and gave her a mysterious smile. Not unlike the one Max often sent her when he was up to mischief. Which now that she thought on it, happened on a frequent basis.
“Can’t tell, Mommy, it’s a secwet.” He made fire truck siren noises.
She sincerely wished she knew this particular secret. It might make her life a lot easier.
Chapter 3
“KC, hello? Can I please have your attention?” And to add insult, Max waved his hand in front of her face.
She batted him away, but returned her attention to their meeting. “What?” Grumpiness laced her voice in liberal doses.
“We’ve got to get these prototypes fixed, and since this is more your area of expertise than mine, I figured you’d want more input than you’re providing.” He didn’t sound completely exasperated with her, which was good. Just a little bit, which she could handle.
“Sorry. I was off somewhere else.”
“Yeah, I figured that out.” He raised an eyebrow.
“I’m here now, what’s up?”
“That’s a good question. What is up?” he returned, and folding his arms on the table, leaned forward.
KC quelled the urge to sit back. Having the full impact of Max Morrison’s attention was a little bit like standing up in front of a thousand people with a speech you might not have practiced enough. Doable, but daunting.
Taking a deep breath, KC stared into Max’s blue eyes and thought about dumping her problems on him. Here was a good friend, her best friend, in fact, and she needed to unload to someone. And he could take it. KC gave in to temptation.
“Max, who’s going to keep Ryan when I leave? Who’s going to keep Spuds? I can’t send them to my parent’s house. And who knows where Greg is? And what if he does come back and decides he wants to be a larger part of Ryan’s life? He’s not reliable. All he’ll do is hurt Ryan.” All her fears and frustrations welled inside until she feared they might spew. She retained the ability to hold onto her emotions for now but hated to gamble with being able to keep everyone safe from the disgorge if her grasp failed.
“Easy, KC,” he said and reached across the table to take her hand. Then, shaking his head, he stood up, maneuvered around the table, and folded her in his arms. She went willingly. KC needed to feel like everything was in control, even if the feeling was fleeting. Inside Max’s arms was the safest place she had ever found.
“Ryan and I already worked all this out,” Max said above her and KC’s heart sputtered, then beat frantically while she processed his words.
“What?” She pulled away to peek at his face. He looked like he meant that statement. Goosebumps peppered her arms and she shivered.
Max shrugged. “Ryan and I have all that taken care of,” he repeated, and quirked a black eyebrow at her.
“What have you worked out?” KC was hesitant to welcome the small, sunlit glimmer of hope, since looming over the horizon was a huge black cloud of dread and doubt.
Max grinned. “We talked this morning. He said you told him you had to go away, so he informed me how he and Spuds will be coming to live with me until you come home.”
“Ryan told you he was coming to your house?” she asked weakly, but an answering grin tugged at her own lips.
“Yep.” Max’s face set into serious lines. “It’s your best solution. I certainly don’t have a problem with him staying with me. I’ll actually enjoy the time with Ryan.”
“I know that, but, Max, I can’t ask you to disrupt your whole life for me,” KC objected as confusion and elation battled for dominance in her beleaguered mind. Ryan did, indeed, have the perfect solution in mind. What a smart kid. But how on earth could she ask so much of Max?
“Why not? KC, I can easily keep him. And goodness knows if I need to go somewhere on business, I have two hundred immediate family members waiting in line to keep him. All of whom he knows. I’ve got a hundred nieces and nephews he can play with, and does now. At least half are at my house often anyway. It’s the perfect solution. I love Ryan, you know that.” He brushed the wisp of hair that kept tickling her nose off her face.
KC stared up at him, thankful he was her best friend. “Oh, Max, how can I thank you?”
“You already have by being willing to go and serve. Maybe you won’t be fighting, but you’ll be healing those who are, so you’re just as important. You don’t see me out there volunteering to go, do you?” A faint smile stretched his lips.
“I guess not. Someone has to stay home and keep the fires burning.”
“Exactly. And someone has to go. You’ve got the official orders. I don’t. That’s not for me. But I can, and really want to care for your son.” He said it so firmly she had no doubt he meant every word. That thought set her free of the worry and guilt plaguing her.
“Thank you,” she whispered into his chest.
He hauled her back in for a hug she thought maybe both of them needed.
“Sure. Now let’s go tell the kid I convinced you he could stay with me.” Max tugged on her hand. Laughing, relieved, she followed him.
*****
Later that night at home KC stared at the notice in her hand. Whoops. In the chaos created by her looming deployment she forgot about the more mundane details of life. She glanced at the phone and debated for about a minute before she picked it up and dialed.
Max answered on the second ring.
“Morrison.” He sounded distracted, a usual occurrence for him.
“Hey, it’s me. I’ve got a problem.”
“Hey, you. What’s the problem?” KC estimated she had about half of his attention.
“I just got notification that my lease on my apartment is up at
the end of the month. I have to decide whether I want to sign on for another year or not.” She stared at the paper in her hand. With no thoughts of what she should do swirling in her head. It crammed in with everything else, vying for her attention.
“Seems silly to sign a lease when you know you’re going to be gone for at least the next eight months.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“But...?” he asked.
“How did you know there was a but?” Max knew her too well if he could read her scattered thoughts.
“There’s always a but, so what is it?”
“What am I supposed to do with my stuff? How am I going to find time to pack up this apartment? Provided I find another place for my things?” She ran an agitated hand through her hair. Like being deployed wasn’t bad enough, now was she supposed to deal with all the at-home things before she shipped out?
“Relax. The packing part is easy. You either hire movers or you call my mom, which is pretty much the same thing.” She heard something being shuffled in the background. “Where to move your stuff? You’ve got several options.” A crackling noise filtered through the phone and KC decided he must be opening a package or envelope.
She waited.
“I’ve got the barn out back, which has nothing but the lawn mower and some of my relative’s vehicles in it. That’s option number one. If you don’t like that one, there’re lots of storage units, but you’d have to pay up front for one, since you won’t be here to pay monthly. And you probably want to pay for it for at least a year, in case you’re gone that long.
“That’s option two. The other options are all the Morrison family storage areas. We could move your stuff into a cottage. Which wouldn’t be bad, because most of the attics don’t have much in them. Will’s closet alone could use a pile of stuff so I’ll stop getting nieces and nephews.”
“Wait a second.” KC stopped him. She had seen that infamous closet at Will and Rachel’s summer cottage at the lake. Family legend was that all of Max’s sister Laurie and her husband, Greg’s, children had been conceived in that very large, comfortable walk-in linen closet. Apparently, all of the siblings and various partners, as well as many of the cousins had been discovered making out in there at one time or another.
“What?” Max asked.
“Who’s the newest couple to be caught in there?” KC asked in interest.
“Mitch and Lainy. She’s pregnant, by the way.” She could hear the proud brother in his voice.
KC gasped. “Are you serious? They’ve only been married, what, four months?”
“I just got off the phone with her. She’s so excited - I could barely get the news out of her. Mitch was a lost cause. He was just this proud, blubbering idiot. Well, they actually passed the phone back and forth so I could get the news. It was an interesting call,” Max said and she could hear his grin.
She didn’t doubt that, but she was surprised Lainy hadn’t called her as well. KC fumbled with her cell phone and glanced at the screen. There it was, the call she missed from Lainy. She switched the phone back to ring mode. Who knew what other important calls she might have missed?
“Max, that is fantastic news. They must be so excited. I’d better call her.” Then in a less gleeful voice, “This baby wasn’t planned, though, right?”
“Nope. But see, they spent time in that closet,” Max patiently explained.
“I see. So you’d like to see my stuff crammed into it so no more of your siblings and their spouses can use the closet for its other purpose?” KC tried to keep the utter amusement out of her voice.
“Doesn’t that sound like the ideal solution?”
“Unh-unh.” Her negative was emphatic.
“Chicken. Oh, I would like to take all of Ryan’s stuff and move it into the room he’ll have here at the house. And, if you don’t mind, your dining room table and chairs. Actually, you know what, KC, why don’t we just move all your stuff into my place? I could use it until you return, and it’d make Ryan feel more comfortable here. Then, you can leave from and return to here, and you won’t have to go to a hotel or anything.”
She could tell he was sincere. “Max, that’s so much to ask of you.” KC bit her lip.
“How is it too much to ask? I’ve got bare spots all over the place. No table, a ratty old sofa I’d love to throw out, but don’t have anything to replace it, and I don’t want to take the time right now to look for a new one. Besides, like I said, Ryan would feel more at home with familiar things around him, especially if the two of you came to live here before you leave.” His firm voice meant she probably wouldn’t be able to talk him out of his plans.
This was good, because right now, she needed someone she trusted to take over a few key aspects of her life. And finding a place for her things was something she didn’t want to deal with. Ryan was her main priority and it did make sense for them to live with Max for a little while before she left. That would make Ryan feel more at home, even though she doubted he would have problems. He had stayed with Max before when she had to go away on business. Plus there were the many times the Morrisons had something going on, and invited him along.
Ryan was used to the chaos of the Morrison family. He’d visited the lake with Max countless times and played with the Morrison offspring enough that he knew all their names and preferences. (He didn’t enjoy playing with most of the girls, but did great in the company of the Morrison boys his own age.)
He would be fine. Max would also make certain Ryan spent a little time with her parents, but not too much, which was perfect. He had a good feel for that situation, and she trusted him to do what was right.
In fact, she completely trusted Max, which was more than she could say for her own family. Because she probably could never trust her brother. And her parents... Since she had tuned into reality at around the age of six, she realized they were different than other people. Aliens, is how she tended to describe them and their set to her closest friends. Only interested in perching at the top of the social rung, with all the right friends, possessions and memberships, her parents moved in circles KC could have entered but saw nothing there to entice her. Give her a Morrison family picnic any day.
“All right. I think your idea is the best one I’ve heard so far. The important person here is Ryan. You and I will adjust easily enough, but with me gone for so long, I don’t know.” She bit her lip again. This was so much to ask.
“He doesn’t understand that you’ll be gone for eight months, but we’ll help him through it. And Lainy’s already working on new phones for us to keep in contact. I don’t know when they’ll be ready. She thinks it’s important for Ryan to talk to you as often as possible, and I agree. She’s been through this, so she’ll be a big help.”
“Bless her,” KC said wholeheartedly. KC had every confidence things would work as best as Lainy, an electronics expert, could manage. Plus, she had endured a year of being parted from Mitch, whom she got to know when she took in his dog. [The Nerd and the Marine – Book 1] They came to love one another over that year long span and exchanged marriage vows soon after he returned to the United States. So yes, Lainy would know.
“Yeah, she’s pretty decent, for a sister,” Max said, but KC heard the love in his tone and not for the first time, wished she could have a family as large and loving as Max enjoyed.
“I’ll be sure to tell her that. Okay, now, I’ve got to get off the phone.” She studied the living room, dreading all the work she saw in just this modest space.
“Don’t panic, I’ll call Mom. Let her worry about the packing. She likes this sort of thing, and she and some of the aunts are bored. I heard her say so the other day. She’ll love the packing project,” Max assured her, and the funny thing was, she believed him.
“Thanks, Max,” she said, but he had already said goodbye and hung up. His amazing mind probably already working on the next problem.
*****
“Max, slow down a second and run all this by me again. Your dad�
��s talking on one side, you on the other, and I’m not following either,” his mom said the next morning when he remembered to call her. He heard her tell his dad to pipe down a second. The familiar masculine rumble in the background ceased and his mom came back on the line. Max grinned.
“Okay, run that by me again?”
First things first. “You know KC got called up to go overseas?” Thinking if he gave her the whole scoop, hopefully he wouldn’t have to repeat anything.
“Yes. Lands, you told me that days ago. You’re keeping her son, which I think is just wonderful, Max. We’ll have to have a welcoming party for Ryan.” His mother launched into detail with all her ideas, speaking eighty miles an hour, as usual.
“Yo, Mom, can you stop for a minute and listen?” He wondered, for the one-hundred-and-seventy-three-thousandth time, how his dad kept up with her.
“Sorry, Max. Continue please,” she said piously and he rolled his eyes but grinned. He really did wonder how his dad hadn’t gone crazy all these years.
“Well, KC’s lease is due on her apartment at the end of the month. She’s leaving in the beginning of October. So, I talked her into moving Ryan and her stuff into my place. Well, her too, that way when she leaves, Ryan will sort of be familiar with the situation. We’re hoping to get him into a routine before she leaves.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” his mom said, and he figured she didn’t like the idea of two unmarried people moving in together. He didn’t either, but this was the best solution. And Ryan would be there, and little kids talked, so there would be a chaperone, of sorts. Not like KC thought of him in a romantic way, anyway, so no worries, there, either. Unfortunately.
“Right so KC is stressing—” he said, and his mother interrupted with, “Well of course, dear, she’s got a lot going on right now,” and he took a deep breath and kept talking. “So, I’m wondering if you and some of the aunts would mind helping her pack? She’s got so many other details to work out and Ryan....” and that was as far as he got before she started talking over him.
