Chapter 5
Schmidt
I pace the living room as I wait for Winnie to show up.
I keep telling myself I'm just walking with Tali until she falls asleep, but her breathing evened out fifteen minutes ago. I should be placing her in her crib or sitting down with her. It’s ridiculous for me to still be walking, yet I can't stop myself.
I'm so nervous about seeing Winnie again.
Her car pulls down my driveway a few moments later and I practically sprint to the door. I swing it open before she can even get out of the car and head her way.
“Hey!” She smiles as she climbs out of her SUV and grabs her purse.
She’s wearing a pair of black jeans and a white sweater with knee high boots. She’s gorgeous with her long dark hair gathered into a high pony tail. The ends swish around her shoulders. She looks like she belongs on a ski slope, not standing in my driveway.
“Hey, Winnie.”
“Is she asleep?” She sticks out her bottom lip in a pout. “I swear I’ve barely seen her awake.”
“Next week, you’ll be wishing she’d nap so you can have some peace for a few hours.”
“Nah, we’re going to have so much fun together.” She toys with Tali’s hair, something she does quite often. “What did you have planned for today?”
“I was thinking we could go to the zoo, but it will be better if I put her down so she can nap first… I realized I never showed you around the house. We could do that while she sleeps.”
“Lead the way.” She grins up at me. She’s easygoing and constantly has a smile on her face. I’m sure Tali will do great with Winnie. They’ll be best friends by the end of the first week.
Winnie follows me inside the house. She drops her purse by the front door and I head towards Tali’s room first.
After placing my little girl in her crib and covering her with her blankie, I show Winnie where Tali’s things are.
“Her closet and drawers are fairly organized. Martha was a neat freak and I think she just switched out Tali’s clothes that were too small…
That might be a job for you? I’ve never really had to do it.
” I run a hand through my hair. I feel stupid saying I never did such a basic thing for my daughter.
“I'm here to pick up the pieces, Jamie. Remember that.” Winnie places her hand on my forearm, meeting my gaze with so much sincerity.
“I know… It’s just, I'm not used to this. Like I said, Martha was like a mom and grandmom to us. You aren’t. It’s like I have a partner in this now and I'm not used to that.”
“As long as we’re not playing tennis, I'm a pretty good partner.” She smirks.
“Dang, and I signed us up to play doubles next week.” My lips lift into a half smile.
“You did not!” Winnie laughs softly, her gaze snapping over to Tali, making sure she didn’t wake her.
“She’s a pretty sound sleeper. Not much will wake her up. C’mon, let me finish showing you around the house.”
I point out the spare bedroom, the office I don’t use, the gym, and the library. It’s filled with books from the previous owner and I never had time to go through them. Winnie’s eyes light up as she runs her fingers along the spines.
“This is a pretty interesting collection. I love so many of these books, but I'm shocked you have them. Are you a big romance reader?” She quirks a brow, her eyes lighting up with amusement.
“They were left by the previous owner. They were an older couple and didn’t want to pack everything up.” I lift my shoulder in a shrug. “I didn’t really care, so I said to leave them. I know it’s surprising, but I don’t get a whole lot of time to read.”
“Really?” She gasps. “What do you do all day?” She knocks her shoulder into mine and grins up at me.
I could get a little too used to spending time with Winnie. She’s easy to spend time with and to let my guard down around. I have a feeling she’d be easy to love too… For Tali I mean. She’s my employee. Nothing can ever happen between us beyond friendship.
“This is my room. If you like taking baths, you can always use mine. You have one, but it’s not nearly as nice. It’s just a normal tub.” I motion to the large tub with multiple jets and all the perks most women love.
My mind keeps drifting to my room. I wonder what she thinks of my space. Is it what she’d imagine me sleeping in or did I surprise her with how neat my room is?
“Do you use it a lot? I know Wheeler uses his and his hot tub all the time.”
“Not as much as I should. Normally by the time I finish practice and get Tali to sleep, I'm exhausted. I pass out watching TV or just go straight to bed.”
She nods her head like she gets it. I hope she does. I hope she’s the perfect fit for us. Someone who will understand how things are and not try to change them.
I lead Winnie to the other side of the house and open the door at the end of the hallway. There’s a small living room with a tiny kitchenette off to the side. There’s a full bathroom and a nice sized bedroom down the hall.
“This is all yours. You have your own entrance and kind of a kitchen. You can use the main kitchen whenever you want though. And the living room. Don’t feel like you need to hide away in here or leave if you don’t have to watch Tali.
You’re free to spend as much or as little time with us when I'm home.” I run a hand through my hair again, more than uncomfortable with this. Why am I so awkward all the time?
“Hey, Jamie?”
“Yeah?” I glance over at her, finding her striking blue eyes already on me.
“Take a deep breath. No matter what you say or do, I'm not running away. I'm here to stay and honestly, you’ll probably get sick of me.” She wrinkles up her nose in that adorable way she does. “I’m a people person. I'll constantly be crashing your space, just so I can people.”
“You’re allowed to go out and people too.” I offer her a weak smile. I don’t want her to go out. I want her to stay here with me and Tali.
“I know, but I'm also a homebody, so that makes it difficult. I’ve always lived alone so I was forced to leave the house if I wanted to socialize, but you just made it easier for me.”
I nod, unsure of how else to answer her. Winnie’s unlike any woman I’ve ever met. She’s so happy and easy to talk to. She makes you feel at home almost instantly, like you can spill all your secrets to her.
I wonder what it will be like to have her in my life. In my home. To be able to go to her any time I want to talk and know she’ll listen and offer up some good advice.
As much as I'm going to miss Martha, I'm really excited for Winnie to start taking care of Tali. I think she’ll be good for my little girl.
“When are Smithy and Wheeler helping you move?”
“They both said they’re free this weekend.” She wrinkles up her nose like she isn't sure if I’ll like her answer. “I was thinking of bringing a bag and starting to sleep here tonight. I want to spend as much time as I can with Tali before the season starts. Anything to make her more comfortable.”
“I can help you move too… If you don’t mind watching Tali.” I smirk.
“Not at all! I’ll call the boys after we go to the zoo and settle everything for this weekend.”