After Tommy McMurray rode a little too close to the wall of the building resulting in torn jeans, she figured it was time to make her presence known. Getting out, she approached the group who stood around talking and laughing.
The entire group jumped and turned around quickly to face her when she held up Chuck’s lunch and said, “Did you forget something, Chuck?”
They each shared a look of guilt over having been caught, including Bobby Jackson who attempted to shield the dirt bike with his body as though she hadn’t already spent ten minutes watching what they were doing.
Greg granted her a smile coated with images of sin that must have come from the devil himself. Then he stepped up way too close to her and took the lunch she held from her hand. God help but her eyes went straight to her favorite part of the man and his sexy grin only widened.
Tommy McMurray smacking Chuck on the back of his head while Greg held the lunch out to Chuck was the only thing that made her remember where she was… dragging her back from memories of that mouth.
Heading back to her car, she knew they were all watching her walk away but the only stare she cared about was the one she could feel coming from the most amazing hazel eyes. She couldn’t even look at him as she managed to back out and drive away. Half way to the campus she realized what the group of women saw in these men… they were fun and none of them took themselves or their lives too seriously.
This included Greg for the most part and that was what bothered her the most. Yes, the arrogance they displayed as though shaking their fists at fate was captivating and sexy as hell, but life wasn’t a guarantee. In an instant it could be over and none of them seemed to even care!
Her afternoon was spent touring the campus with a nice young man around Chuck’s age and that only served to make her nervous that she would in fact be the oldest adult at the college. She then stopped at the bookstore and picked up the last book she needed for her classes, just in time to make it to her first class.
When the session ended she sat for several minutes looking through the materials the professor had handed out as well as her syllabus and the book. Stuffing all the information into her bag, she took out her cell phone. Upon seeing the time, she hurried home.
Pulling up out front she was surprised to find Gretchen McMurray and the boys in the side yard. Gretchen’s hands were crossed over her chest and she was burning Ben a dirty look. Matt stood between the two of them as though running interference, holding a football in his hands.
Parking the car, she looked around and realized that while Meredith’s car was gone, as was Chuck’s bike, Greg Sanders’ car was parked out in front of the house. What was going on now?
Getting out of the car she heard Gretchen say, “Because I said so, Ben!”
“You’re not the boss, Gretchen! I am… I’m the quarterback! Mr. Sanders said so…” Ben replied. “Besides… girls don’t play football as a job!”
“Are we going to play? Stop being bossy, Gretchen and, Ben, we can all be the quarterback… we can just take turns,” Matt explained.
Sometimes it was hard not to interfere when the three of them played together. While Matt was quite a bit taller than Gretchen, he had a thin build taking more after her than Doug. Ben on the other hand was all Doug and nearly as tall as Matt but with a husky build. He was nearly twice the size of the little girl.
Gretchen didn’t let her small size stop her. She held her own just fine and won as often as she lost her arguments with Ben and Matt. So rather than getting involved in their childhood spat, she headed inside to find out what was going on.
As Carla made her way into the kitchen she stopped and stared in shock. Greg Sanders had baby Melody strapped to his chest in a child carrier. The baby was squealing in delight as her thin little arms and legs kicked a mile a minute. The baby had so many medical and developmental issues most of the group treated her with delicate gloves.
Greg obviously having no experience with children, especially babies, and must not have noticed this. So rather than facing his chest as Melody normally did with her parents, she was facing outward. Something about the whole scene gave her pause so she just watched and waited.
For the first time perhaps ever, the baby looked and acted her age. As Greg brought a potato chip to his mouth, Melody reached out and grabbed his hand as though to take the chip from him and then watched the progress his hand made to his mouth.
Carla had never been so grateful to have three healthy children as she was when she spent any time around Melody. One wouldn’t know there was any difference at all between this baby and another at the moment.
“Not a chance, girlfriend. Chips will make you fat,” Greg told the baby before putting the chip in his own mouth. “I’m a cop but not a mean one so I won’t make you eat that crap. I got some instant mashed potatoes for you instead… but no chips.”
Stepping back around the doorway so she was less likely to be noticed, she continued to watch him. Would he really feed the baby table food rather than the jar of baby food that set on the counter opened with a baby spoon sticking out of it? Melody was old enough to try some table food, at least by Carla’s estimation but Tommy and Dana constantly worried about her being so small and therefore followed the nutrition recommendations fully.
Even with a flailing infant strapped to his chest and what looked like dried baby food… carrots… smeared down the side of his shirt, Greg Sanders was still one of the sexiest men she’d ever seen.
He took the baby spoon out the carrots and rinsed it off saying, “I know… it gags me too.”
Then he dipped the spoon into a small bowl of mashed potatoes sitting on the counter and took a bite of it. After swallowing his bite he said, “Yea, that’s more like it. Forgive me for not realizing that your parents packed gruel for you to eat.”
With that he dipped the spoon and scooped some more mashed potatoes onto it. Bending around awkwardly to see Melody’s face he spooned it into her open mouth. So much for not sharing germs. Melody obviously liked what she’d eaten and turned her head to look up at Greg after eating the bite and fussed as though impatient for the next. Carla watched him feed the baby. He was grinning like a clown the whole time until the buzzer on the oven went off.
“No pizza either… mashed potatoes is all you get,” Greg advised the baby.
As soon as he was no longer spooning the food into her mouth, the baby began to fuss as he turned off the timer and the oven. Deciding he could use some help, Carla stepped out from her hiding place and said, “Here, I can get the pizza… I think someone is ready for another bite.”
“Busted… twice in one day! That must be a new record,” Greg said to Melody before scooping up another spoonful of mashed potatoes from the bowl.
After pulling the pizza out of the oven she turned back to him and watched for a few more moments as he continued to shovel food into the baby’s mouth, stopping periodically to give her a drink from a regular cup.
Carla could only hope what she was seeing in the cup was formula and not regular milk, since the canister of formula set next to the cup along with a spoon that very possibly was used to stir the formula. He was making a complete mess and was obviously clueless about what he was doing but his improvising skills were commendable.
“Before you ask… there was only one bottle in the bag and after that was empty I realized you don’t have a brush thingy to clean it with so I just mixed up some more in this. Besides… shouldn’t she be drinking from a regular cup by now anyways?” he asked.
At only eight months old… some babies might be ready for a Sippy cup but this baby was not nearly ready for that, let alone a regular cup. Realizing he was looking for reassurance she simply smiled and said, “You’re doing fine.”
“I sent the other kids outside to play. That’s what my grandpa always did with Becca and me when he needed to make dinner,” he volunteered as though needing to explain his actions when all she really wanted to know was why he’d been left alone with all
four children.
“They were playing just fine when I came inside,” she offered.
“Good… I told Dana I could handle it. She didn’t look convinced but now I have a witness. None of them were harmed while in my care,” he said finally, looking away from Melody and over to her.
“Dana dropped them off here?” she asked incredulously. Dana was the most responsible person she’d ever met. So for her to just drop her children off meant something must be terribly wrong.
“Lilly Jackson went into labor. Chuck and Meredith are somewhere tasting cake or some such. Tommy took a bike to drop off to a customer and Dickie and Becca took the girls to Tampa for the weekend since they don’t have school tomorrow. Dana said she needed to get Edna Jackson to the hospital to be with Bobby and Lilly, plus Dana’s a labor coach… whatever that means. So anyways, she stopped by with the girls and when she found out you weren’t here… I offered to watch em’ instead and yea… I’m making a big mess. This is harder than I thought it would be,” he finished, throwing his hands up as though in defeat.
Seeing that he was definitely in over his head and had obviously taken on more than he could chew in an effort to help out a friend, she stepped forward and put her hand on his arm.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the most I’ve ever seen this baby eat. Why don’t I take her and get her cleaned up and situated while you call the kids in and feed them some pizza and chips. There are juice boxes for them in the fridge,” she offered.
Melody fussed when Carla finally managed to get her out of the carrier and actually reached for Greg. Seeing it as opportunity to re-emphasize that he was doing a good job with them she said, “Well I guess maybe we should trade jobs?”
Greg removed the empty carrier from his chest and then took Melody back from her. The baby unabashedly smiled at him and squealed. She could relate to that feeling. It was hard to look at the man and not giggle… he was just so good looking. Finding the wet wipes in the diaper bag, she opened them and set them on the counter near Greg before heading back outside to call the kids in.
Seeing that life at her house had carried on just fine while she’d been at class made her smile… especially since instead of Meredith or even her father who’d taken charge it had been Detective Sanders. Stepping into the backyard she was shocked to find Gretchen McMurray straddling Ben who lay on his back on the ground still holding the football.
“I said it was my turn now, Bennie… now give me that damn football!” Gretchen yelled a mere inch from Ben’s face.
Instead of crying or being angry, her youngest lay there laughing only to stop long enough to say, “Make me you scrawny shrimp!”
Seeing the look of pure anger that passed the little girl’s face, she hurried over to them and gently pulled Gretchen off of Ben just as Matt said, “I told them to stop it, Mom.”
After making the two youngest kids apologize to each other Carla herded them all inside. Tommy McMurray arrived to pick up the girls just as she’d managed to change Melody’s diaper and re-pack things into the diaper bag. Where twenty minutes earlier her boys and Gretchen had been fighting like siblings… now they all three looked annoyed that Gretchen had to leave to go home.
“I’m so sorry about this… I should have known from personal experience that babies often decide to make their grand appearance at the most inconvenient times. I got here as soon as I could,” Tommy said.
“No worries… any news on the baby yet?” she asked him.
“No. Dana says Lilly’s taking it like a champ but Bobby… not so much,” he laughed.
“You should’ve stopped off and checked on him before you worried about the girls, they’re fine here,” she replied.
“I know but Dana wasn’t sure since you weren’t home,” Tommy replied, looking skeptically at Greg.
“Just like learning how to control a motorcycle… I pick things up quick… you didn’t need to worry,” Greg laughed.
“The girls are just fine if you want to run to the hospital and see how Bobby’s holding up. Besides, Edna might tire out and need to go home before the baby actually arrives,” she suggested.
“Can’t Gretchen just stay overnight with us, Mom? It’s basically the weekend since there isn’t school tomorrow,” Matt asked.
“I’m sorry for what I said, Ms. Carla and I’ll be real good from now on,” Gretchen chimed in her agreement with Matt.
“Four kids is a lot for anyone to handle, Carla. Are you sure?” Tommy asked skeptically.
“I’ll be here to help. I did get the baby to eat a pretty good amount this evening,” Greg offered, obviously proud of his accomplishment.
“That’s good to hear… she’s been eating like a bird for days now,” Tommy smiled.
“Instant mashed potatoes… she liked those a whole lot better than the carrots. That stuff smelled like it might be bad,” Greg explained, making a face as though disgusted at the mere mention of the baby food.
Tommy laughed and then said, “I slip Melody real food too from time to time. I kind of feel bad for her but she’s Dana’s first baby. So I go along with it and slip her what I can, when Dana’s not looking. My mom did it with me and I turned out okay and Gretchen refused to eat any of the baby food from the store from day one, but Dana’s trying to do things by the book… so what can you do?”
“You go on and one of you can just come by in the morning and pick the girls up then. I have your numbers if we need anything. Go… be with your friends… they need you right now,” Carla insisted.
“Yes!” she heard Ben whisper under his breath.
Once Tommy left for the hospital and the kids had finished eating, Greg sent them back outside with juice boxes and strict instructions not to go near the gate that led to the pool and to share the much sought after football. Matt was placed in charge as he was the oldest and the three of them took off for the side yard where they had been earlier.
Greg cleaned up the table while she situated the baby on the floor with some toys and then went to find blankets and pillows as well as pajamas for Gretchen to wear.
Soon enough she heard Chuck and Meredith downstairs talking to Greg in the kitchen. After Greg explained to them that Lilly was in labor and that he would be around to help out with the kids, the young couple took off back out the door in a rush to get to the hospital.
It was hard not to be excited about the new baby. The whole group was like one large extended family and a new member was always welcome.
After getting Matt’s room set up for both of the boys so that Gretchen could use Ben’s room, Carla went back downstairs to the kitchen where she found Greg holding Melody again while pointing out the other kids through the window. Upon seeing her enter the room he turned and grinned at her.
He had cleaned up the entire kitchen and looked content to watch Melody and the kids. She wasn’t sure if she should feel guilty or what but she couldn’t help but be impressed. The household had always been her domain.
She took care of the family and Doug had taken care of the bills. It was a little old fashioned but she wouldn’t have changed a thing. It had worked well for them for more than twenty years.
Everything in her life had changed when Doug had died. Watching Greg talking softly to Melody who looked absolutely awestruck by him cleared the cobwebs from her mind. There had been a time when she had thought her own life was over… everything she knew and loved had died that night.
In its place was left heartache, grief and an overwhelming sense that she might grow old alone without Doug there. She could remember hitting her knees in church one Sunday praying that God would see her through the pain.
The storm clouds had since cleared and left behind an amazing young man with tattoos and a heart of gold that had stepped in and pulled her family back from the brink in more ways than one. Through Chuck she had then met a group of people who were real friends… not the kind of friends who had shown up at Doug’s funeral and offered awkward words of condolence… but rather th
e kind who felt more like family and held you when you cried.
Then as an added bonus a blonde haired, hazel eyed man with the most kissable mouth had awakened her heart, body and soul that had been slowly slipping away. If only he were a safe bet. She’d thought Doug was a sure thing… he had never been a risk taker and yet he’d been stolen away from her in the blink of an eye.
Greg was the opposite of that… he was… had been… a cop that bad guys shot at and had now begun riding around on motorcycles. He was a bit of an adrenaline junky and Carla just couldn’t allow herself to love like that again… especially a risk taker. Losing another man she loved would surely kill her… and Greg was a far cry from a safe bet.
“Your dad called… I told him what was going on and he said he would just call you tomorrow when things were a little more calm,” Greg smiled.
Walking over to join Greg at the window, she watched as Gretchen threw the football as hard as her little muscles would allow while Ben caught it with hardly any effort at all.
“He’s quite good, isn’t he?” she finally admitted as she watched her youngest son.
“Yes… he is. I don’t profess to know how well other kids his age play but he does seem to be a natural at it,” Greg replied. “Maybe you should take Gretchen’s advice and ask Dana about helping the boy with his school work.”
“Did you ever want kids of your own?” she asked Greg.
“No… never did. I find I’m content helping other people with theirs,” he said and winked at her.
It was nearly eleven thirty before the kids settled down upstairs and the baby fell asleep in a mobile bassinet that Chuck had brought back from Tommy and Dana’s house before going back over to the hospital. Without a word… or a kiss… Greg had wished her a good night and then just left.
He had been such a huge help this evening that she felt a softness toward him in addition to her normal physical attraction. Perhaps along with not wanting kids of his own he wasn’t cut out for dating a woman with kids either. Better to know that now.
Unexpected Ride Page 15
