9. This is a Set Up
9
This is a Set Up
“Well, we’ve determined that we can’t win at home and we can’t win on the road. What we need is a neutral site.”
-John McKay, a former Buccaneers Head Coach
Dylan
“And viola! You now have a crib!”
Natalie beamed at me as she brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and proudly motioned to the crib she had just finished putting together for me.
“And it only took a few tears,” I added. “Mostly from the baby.”
She laughed and stuck her tongue out at me. I loved her laugh. It wasn’t like a bell or musical, but it came straight from her soul and went directly into mine. When she laughed, it made my heart rate surge and I couldn’t help but laugh with her.
“Have you come up with a name for her?” Natalie asked. “I know you’ve named the goat Penelope, but what about the human?”
I shifted the baby in my arms. She was fast asleep, her little mouth a rosebud and her eyes fluttering softly as she dreamed.
“Eleanor.” My voice cracked slightly with emotion as I said her name. I’d been thinking about it and it fit, but I hadn’t said it out loud until now. “That was my mom’s name. But, I want to call her Ellie for short.”
“It’s a beautiful name,” Natalie replied. “I like it a lot.”
“Thank you.” I looked up from my daughter to smile at Natalie. She grinned back at me. “And thanks for helping me get all this baby equipment set up. I know I didn’t do much, so I really appreciate it.”
“You did the important part of keeping the baby safe.” Natalie waved a hand through the air. “I’m happy to help get little Ellie settled.”
When Natalie said her name, I knew it was the right choice. My daughter, my Ellie. It sounded right in both my ears and my heart.
“So, where’s your bedroom?” she asked, looking down the hallway at the three closed doors. One led to the guest room, the middle to the bathroom with the goat, and then the master bedroom.
“Isn’t that a little forward?” I teased her. “I mean, we just met and you’re already taking me to my bed?”
I loved the way her cheeks flushed. She ducked her head, not meeting my eyes and my heart fluttered again.
“The crib should be in the bed, I mean your room. I mean...” She let out a flustered sigh and narrowed her eyes at me. “For safety reasons, the crib should be in the room you sleep in.”
I grinned at her as I stood up from the couch with the baby in my arms. Beside me in the recliner chair, Penelope the goat bleated her dislike of me standing and blocking the TV. We had let her out of the bathroom about an hour ago when she kept bleating at the door and Natalie had taken pity on the poor creature. We had put up a baby gate around the recliner and put on the TV. I had never seen a happier camper than that goat sprawled on the recliner watching Supernatural reruns.
“We’ll be right back,” I assured Penelope. She looked at me with sad eyes, but rolled onto her back, letting her legs splay out as she sat in the recliner. I shook my head and sighed. We’d put one of the large diapers on her to keep the mess down. She didn’t seem to mind it, and it made buying the wrong size diapers feel a little less wasteful.
At least she was eating all the expired food in my fridge. I also made sure to order more cabbage, since she seemed to like that more than anything else. Alex was going to stop at a farming supply store tomorrow to pick up some better goat food and other supplies. I had a feeling that mushy lettuce and week-old chow mein noodles were not good for a goat’s long-term diet.
My daughter was in a heavy sleep as I walked to the table with the box. I was getting used to her soft weight and the way she snuggled her little face into my chest. My heart grew three sizes each time the little girl nestled into me and held onto me like she already knew that I would jump in front of a train to protect her.
Carefully, I laid my daughter in the box, hopefully for the last time. She fussed slightly, but the swaddle held and she stayed asleep. I knew it wouldn’t last for long. She hated any time I set her down. To be fair, I hated it as well. I much preferred to have her in my arms.
“Bedroom is this way,” I told her, pointing to the third door. “Although, I did think we’d at least have a dinner date before I brought you there.”
She stuck out her tongue at me as she picked up her side of the crib and helped me carry it into the bedroom.
“Dang...” she whispered, as she stepped into the room.
I would be lying if I said that didn’t do something for my ego, even though I knew the bedroom was impressive. It had originally been two rooms, but it was now one large room with a giant bed in the center. There were masculine nightstands on either side in dark wood colors. I’d told the room designer that I wanted something masculine yet warm and comforting. She’d delivered. Heavy wood, a dark blue bedspread, and sturdy furniture filled the room, but the paint and artwork were light and warm. I loved how the room turned out, and so did most women I brought in here.
And that was just the room. Women usually ended up with more reasons to be impressed.
Also, thank God the maid came yesterday. All the dirty undies were off the floor and the bed was made. At least I didn’t look like a total slob, and I made a mental note to tip my house cleaner extra in the coming weeks.
Together, Natalie and I tucked the crib against the wall near the head of the bed where I could easily access it during the night. I tried to keep the thoughts of how little sleep I was about to get out of my head, which was easy when I looked over at Natalie.
She sat on my bed, evaluating the crib placement. I knew she didn’t mean anything by it, but seeing her on my bed did something to me. I couldn’t help but notice the shape of her body. Her clothes were loose and comfortable looking, but I could see the line of her leg, the curve of her hips, the soft swell of her chest.
Explicit thoughts started to race through my mind. The way she would flush when I laid her down. Would she be quiet or loud? What would her moans sound like...
Get a grip , I told myself. Stay in the game.
“It looks good,” she said, standing from the bed and flashing me a smile. She had no idea that I was imagining her naked and very much liking the idea.
In the other room, the baby started to fuss. And the goat began to bleat.
I wondered if the goat was attentive to the baby like a good nanny goat or if she just didn’t like the sound of the baby crying. We’d also discovered that she liked to nibble on the diapers if left alone- both the clean and the dirty ones.
My feet were out in the kitchen faster than I thought possible to pick up my daughter. I didn’t want her to ever think I didn’t want her, even for a moment. I’d already missed out on the first part of her life and I wasn’t about to waste a second if I could help it.
Penelope flopped her head back on the chair and continued watching Sam and Dean slay demons once she saw that someone was being responsible for the baby.
“I think she’s hungry,” I said to Natalie, heading toward the kitchen to get her a bottle. “She’s doing the mouth sucking thing.”
I looked behind me to see her smile. “You’re picking this up quickly. You’re a natural.” The praise went straight to my head.
“Nah,” I informed her. “I’m just good at having people yell at me. Marcus and Coach Frank especially.”
“Marcus?” She raised an eyebrow. “That name sounds familiar...”
“Marcus Johnson.” I popped the formula pod into the bottle maker thing. It was basically a Keurig for formula. Just insert pod, push a button, and boom- a perfect bottle without worrying about boiling water or thinking. The machine whirred and hummed for a moment before presenting me with a perfect batch of baby juice.
“I still have no idea who that is.” She shrugged and looked at me like I was the crazy person for talking about someone she didn’t know.
It was so strange to meet someone that didn’t have any idea about football. In a strange way, it was rather refreshing to not have her already know Marcus’ stats or that the two of us weren’t communicating like we used to. Three guys at the bar last week had told me that I needed to suck it up, swallow my pride, and do whatever Marcus wanted so that we could get back to winning.
“He’s the quarterback of the team,” I said. She still had a slightly confused look on her face, so I continued. “He’s the one that throws me the ball. He’s also the one yelling what we’re going to do most of the time.” I looked down at my daughter greedily sucking away at the bottle. “A lot like her.”
“I get it now.” Natalie nodded and then grinned at me. “Hopefully he poops his pants less.”
“Usually.”
She laughed, the sound making my knees do the wobbly thing that was usually reserved for the five seconds before the game whistle sounded. It was my favorite feeling in the world- exhilarating and like lightning was about to strike.
“So, scheduling?” I needed to get back to business and not think about her laugh. Or the way she smiled. Or the fact that she had looked so good on my bed. I needed to keep this professional.
“Right. I work until 7:30 in the morning. I usually get home around eight,” she informed me.
“I need to leave right around eight,” I replied, letting out a small sigh of relief. “That will work.”
“I will be napping with her, just so you know,” she reminded me. “Downside of working nights is that I still need to sleep.”
“As long as Ellie is safe, I am okay with it,” I said, holding up my hands. “This is only temporary. Once my lawyers have gotten everything settled, I’ll hire someone to watch her full time. For now, I’m not worried about her learning her ABCs or colors during the morning hours.”
Natalie chuckled. “Okay. On the nights I work, I leave at seven. I’ll give you my schedule since it changes every other week. Luckily, I won’t have to work any of the games for the next three weeks. You think you’ll have someone by then?”
“We have bigger problems if my lawyers haven’t figured things out by then,” I informed her. “And your schedule looks good. This week is a bye week and the next two games are home games.”
The football gods must have known my life was going to be complicated and had decided not to make this harder with travel games.
“Okay.” She focused on her phone, making sure that our calendars synced. I found myself admiring the little scrunchy space between her eyebrows. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”
“Anything else I need to know about you?” I asked.
“I’m a serial killer,” she replied gazing up at me and widening her eyes. She snickered, ruining the creepy look. “Um, what do you want to know?”
I wanted to know if she was single, but I didn’t want to be obvious about it.
“I only want you to watch Ellie,” I said. “So no boyfriends or girlfriends or family members over while you’re here.”
“That’s fine,” she said with a shrug. “I’m not seeing anyone and I don’t have any family other than my aunt that live nearby. I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t had time to do anything else.”
Was it my imagination, or did she answer that really fast? I wondered. Had she wanted to tell me she was single? Don’t read too much into it, I told myself.
I was a single parent now. I needed to keep my thoughts on my daughter and my job. Not the hot nanny I’d just hired.
“What about you?” she asked, nonchalantly playing with her hair. “Do I have to worry about a girlfriend coming by and getting mad that there’s a woman and a baby in your house?”
I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling my heart beating in my throat. That was definitely obvious interest.
“Nope. No girlfriends,” I replied, keeping my voice calm. “I’m focused on football right now.”
“Okay.”
We stared at one another for a moment and I was sure she could see right through me. I was sure she could see just how much of an idiot I was and how much I hoped she couldn’t see that.
All I saw was a gorgeous woman that was smart enough to be out of my league.
“Do you want me to stay for a little while longer?” she asked after a moment. “I mean, I know we got most of the baby stuff set up, but I’m happy to keep helping you until I have to go work tonight. Or I could run to the store and get you some new diapers.”
“Stay. I’ll have the diapers delivered.” The smile on my face was genuine. “I can use all the parenting lessons I can get.”
“Yeah, you do.” But she smiled as she said it, giving me a hope I didn’t deserve to have.