Chapter 2
“Hello!” Callie’s greeting echoed in the entryway, and she immediately felt embarrassed for sounding too eager. Calm down , she told herself. Sasha is probably overwhelmed, and you’re only going to make it worse . “Come in, come in.”
She stepped aside and motioned for the twenty-year-old single mom to step over the threshold.
On one shoulder she carried both a duffle bag and a diaper bag, and her other arm lugged the weight of a baby carrier.
“Here, let me take something for you.” Callie instinctively reached for the baby carrier, but Sasha pulled back and shot Callie a wide-eyed look.
“Sorry,” Callie said, smiling through the awkwardness. “I didn’t mean to—”
“She’s sleeping,” Sasha explained. “She’ll wake up if she gets moved too quickly.”
“Got it. Understood.” Callie helped take the bags from Sasha, who sighed with relief when the straps were removed from her shoulder.
She was wearing a worn pink t-shirt and jeans that had seen better days.
However, aside from her outfit, Sasha was a pretty girl.
She had large hazel eyes, and her thick hair fell in soft ringlets down to her waist. Callie felt a pang of friendly jealousy when she saw how the blond streaks caught the light.
“Gosh, I wish my hair would grow that long,” she said. “But for some reason, it just stops after it gets past my shoulders, no matter what I do. That’s why I keep it cropped pretty short.”
Sasha smiled. “I think it looks cute.”
“Thanks, that’s so sweet.” Callie liked this girl already. Walking into the living room, she set the bags down and then turned to Sasha, offering her hand. “Anyway, I’m Callie. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“Sasha.” The girl took her hand and gave Callie a good shake. “I’m glad to finally meet you too.” She gingerly set down the carrier and both of them smiled down at the beautiful sleeping baby. “And this is Dot.”
“She’s precious.” Callie pressed a hand to her chest. “Where’d those dark curls come from?”
“Her dad,” Sasha whispered.
“Oh right…” Callie’s eyes darted, wincing internally at her own words. She didn’t know the history between Sasha and the baby’s father, but it was obvious the man wasn’t in the picture anymore.
“Where’s your husband?” Sasha asked before Callie could come up with something to say. “The social worker said I’d be staying with a married couple.”
“David’s here,” Callie replied. “He went to make sure everything was ready in your room and—oh, there he is!” David approached from the hallway that led to the staircase with a smile.
“Hi there!” he began, stretching out his hand. “You must be Sasha.”
Sasha didn’t take David’s hand right away, and for a moment, Callie worried something was wrong.
Her stomach muscles tensed. Was this all about to come crumbling down?
She wasn’t exactly sure where this fear came from, but Sasha wouldn’t have been the first downtrodden single mother who’d developed a healthy suspicion of men.
Thankfully, the tension in the room eased quickly after Sasha smiled and shook David’s hand.
“Hi,” she said happily. Callie released her bated breath.
David glanced down at the baby and grinned. “Aww, what a cutie! Reminds me of our oldest granddaughter. She also had a lot of hair from the start.”
Sasha nodded and then rocked back on her heels. The three of them fell into a somewhat charged silence, but Callie didn’t let it last too long. “Let me show you to your room!” She clapped her hands together. “David, can you get her bags?”
“Of course.” He beamed, moving to pick them up.
Callie led the way down the hall and to the second level, where three of the house’s four bedrooms were located.
She stopped at the last door on the right, opening it to what used to be Mallory’s room.
That was where she and David had decided Sasha would be the most comfortable.
Not only was it the largest of the kids’ old bedrooms, but it was also the only one that still felt like a bedroom.
Technically, there were still beds in both Taylor and Ariel’s old rooms, but one of them David used as a home office and the other was crowded with boxes they’d brought up after the basement flooded a few weeks back.
Callie did momentarily hesitate when David had suggested giving Sasha Mallory’s room, since their youngest daughter was quite unpredictable and used to come home sometimes between jobs or break-ups.
But David had reminded her that Mallory hadn’t moved back home in over six years, and that Sasha needed the room more.
“Oh, wow,” Sasha said, glancing about the room.
Callie had cleaned the space until it was spotless and had purchased a new set of sheets, a comforter, and a crib.
“Gosh! It’s beautiful.” She carefully laid the sleeping baby on the side of the bed and then sat down.
“This—this is the most comfortable bed I ever had. Sheesh.”
Callie beamed. “I’m glad you like it! I wasn’t sure what colors you’d prefer, so I went with the purple sheets, but we have plain white ones if—”
“No, purple’s great.” Sasha ran her hand along the floral comforter. “That’s actually Dot’s favorite color. Thank you so much. It’s… it’s really nice.”
There was something in Sasha’s voice that Callie couldn’t quite place.
Was it doubt? Or sadness? She went through a list of possible emotions before realizing it was ridiculous for her to try to decipher what someone in Sasha’s position would be feeling.
There were probably a lot of thoughts running through the poor girl’s mind, and Callie understood that space was probably what she needed the most.
“Why don’t we let you get settled?” Callie said, nudging David out into the hallway with her.
“You two can rest or take a shower. The bathroom across the hall is all yours. Neither of us use that one, so feel free to put your stuff in the drawers. And of course, if you need anything, just call downstairs. David is going to run some errands, but I’ll be home all day.
The one good thing about a house this old is that you can sort of hear everything.
You don’t even have to shout that loudly. ”
Sasha nodded, her face softening, perhaps with the promise of being able to sleep better now that she was out of the shelter.
“Thanks,” Sasha said again. “I think we both definitely need some sleep.” She brushed her finger over her baby’s soft hand.
“She should be out for at least another hour or so.”
“Sounds good. If she starts crying, I can—”
“No worries. I got everything,” Sasha said, waving her hands. “Diapers and bottles and stuff...”
“Okay. Great. But—well—just so you know, David and I raised three babies of our own. We both have a few tricks to calm a crying little one, so if you ever need help, we’re here.”
“Yeah, she already knows that, Cal,” David said, tugging on Callie’s sleeve to get her to walk away.
“I know, I know. I just thought I’d mention it,” Callie said and then snapped her fingers. “Oh! And there are more diapers in the bathroom. We bought a few different kinds because we weren’t sure what the baby preferred.”
“Got it. Thanks,” Sasha replied with a nod.
“Alright then. We’ll get out of your hair. Sleep well.” Callie stepped further into the hallway and closed the door. After that she headed downstairs to the kitchen to prepare dinner and David followed behind her.
“You didn’t have to yank me out of there like that,” she said, turning sharply on her heels. “I was about to walk out.”
“I’m sorry. It just seemed like she got a little tense when you mentioned us taking care of the baby. Did you notice that?” he whispered.
“I’m sure she’s tense,” Callie answered. “But that’s normal. I’d be feeling the exact same way if I were her.”
“You were never an overprotective parent.”
“I never had to be.” Callie opened the fridge and pulled out the ingredients she needed for her famous butter chicken, a special she’d planned for Sasha’s first night.
“We were always in very safe situations with people I trusted. But put yourself in Sasha’s shoes.
Who knows what sacrifices she’s had to make for her baby?
Think about how scary it must’ve been to be living on the streets?
Not to mention, it’s a miracle she never had the child taken away from her.
The women’s shelter she went to must’ve been one of the good ones, because some of them will call CPS if they think a baby isn’t being properly cared for. ”
David looked over his shoulder with a furrowed brow. “She seems to be taking great care of the baby.”
“Of course she is! I’m just saying, some places have these weird rules and—and I don’t know!
Maybe I’m just talking about things I’ve seen on TV.
It could be all wrong, but what I’m saying is that I totally understand why she wouldn’t be comfortable just handing her eight-month-old to a stranger.
She doesn’t know us yet. We’re going to have to earn her trust.”
David sighed and leaned against the counter. “I see your point... It’s just... I guess after you said that thing about us getting a second chance with a little baby, I got sort of excited. I really wanted to hold that baby girl.”
Callie smiled. “You’ll have plenty of chances, don’t worry.
Once Sasha learns that we’re good people who want to help, I bet she’ll be begging us to watch her.
She hasn’t had anybody help her take care of Dot before, but once she realizes how nice it is to get some alone time as a new mom, things will change. ”
David nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll be patient. But you need to be too. No offense, Cal, but you were coming on a little strong there.”
“I got a little ahead of myself,” she admitted. “I’ll be calmer in the future.”
He straightened up. “Alright, I’m going to run my errands. Do you need anything else from the store?”
Callie tilted her head. “I thought you were going to REI, not the grocery store.”
“I can do both.”
“No, that’s okay,” Callie said, beginning her prep work on the chicken. “I got everything I needed yesterday. But have fun shopping for—” She paused. “What is it you’re looking for again?”
“A life jacket,” he said. “And some waterproof clothes.”
“Oh, right.” She snapped her fingers. “The river rafting trip. How could I forget?” David was going to Dubai in December, and then in January—when it’s summer in Australia—he’d planned a river rafting trip with a few of his work buddies.
“I think you chose to forget about it because you think I’ll die out there on the rapids.”
“You should watch some of the videos I saw on YouTube! Those rapids in Australia are no joke. Don’t you think it’d be a shame to pass away six months before retirement!”
“Taylor never should’ve shown you how to use YouTube.” David rushed to the kitchen island and knocked his knuckles on it. “Don’t say that. You’re going to curse me.”
Callie rolled her eyes and waved David off without further argument, sending him on his way. While she was happy that he was getting out and seeing the world, she wished he’d pick slightly less dangerous adventures to go on at his age.
But for now, the only worry she had the capacity for was putting together a perfect dinner for their guests.