Manny Included

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Bayer Swanson got off the redeye and checked his messages as he waited for his Uber to show. There were a number of them from Will, his assistant, giving him the details of the funeral, as well as confirming the address of his brother’s place so he knew where he was going.

His ride pulled up, and he tossed his garment bag and his carry-on into the back, sliding in after them and settling back with a sigh.

He’d been doing business in Japan when he’d gotten the news that his brother and sister-in-law had been killed in a car accident, leaving behind four kids.

He’d put Will on organizing the funeral while he made his way back.

He’d had one meeting he couldn’t cancel but had been on the first flight back after that.

Even with an overnight from LA, it had taken three days to get back.

Three days with very little sleep and he was grumpy as fuck.

Will had cleared his calendar for four days; the man was a miracle worker, honestly.

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, the driver was telling him they’d arrived.

With a clipped, “Thanks,” he grabbed his stuff and got out of the car before heading up the front walk and the stairs to the front door.

The house was midsized in an older neighborhood.

Bay seemed to remember something about a big backyard and good schools, but he honestly hadn’t been paying that much attention when Tony had told him about the place they’d bought.

He put down his carry-on so he could ring the bell. Nobody answered, so he rang again. Twice in quick succession.

“I swear to god, if you wake up Merida or Flynn, I will beat you!” A lean, exhausted looking man with a mass of wild curls appeared through the door open, wearing a tiny pair of shorts and a Sesame Street T-shirt. “What do you want?”

“A coffee, breakfast, and if at all possible, a nap,” he snapped back.

“Not a B Will was the best assistant he’d ever had; the man worked miracles on a regular basis, no way had he forgotten to let the children’s carer know he was coming.

“Watch your mouth!” The guy blinked at him. “I’m Pete. Can I please see some identification?”

Bay would be annoyed by the question, except he supposed it was a good thing this guy was being cautious—it was his job to look after the kids, after all.

He let the ‘watch your mouth’ go. This time.

He put his garment bag down on top of his carry-on and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.

He opened it to his driver’s license and showed it to Pete.

“Happy?” He really did need to sit and to get some coffee into himself, even if he had to Doordash it.

He’d been awake for a fucking long time.

“Yes. Sorry, it’s been an awful week. I have a pot of coffee going and there are doughnut holes.” Pete opened the door wider.

“That sounds like it’ll hit the spot, thank you. And yeah. It’s been shitty.” He went in past Pete, bringing his carry-on and his garment bag. “I’m straight off the plane from Japan. Where can I put my stuff?”

“Let me show you. The kids have been—understandably—hysterical. The babies have only been down for a couple of hours, and Belle made herself sick crying. Eric won’t come out from under his bed, but they are all asleep.”

“Under his bed?” That didn’t sound healthy.

But it had only been a few days since their parents died, and he figured the manny knew a hell of a lot more about kids than he did.

Thank god they’d had one because he wasn’t sure what he would have done if not.

“I wanted to say thank you for dealing with all of this.”

Pete shrugged. “I’ve been with them since two days before Belle was born. It’s my honor.”

“Belle’s the oldest!” That was all the kids’ lives. And the last seven years of Tony and Cindy’s too. Seven? Eight? Nine? He’d ask Will.

“She is. It’s been the most amazing eight years of my life so far. They’re my kiddos.”

Well, they’d been Tony’s kiddos, but he wasn’t about to argue with the man taking care of the kids. “Well, I can’t fault your commitment.”

That earned him an odd little look, but a functional little bedroom door was opened, and he was ushered in.

“Here you go,” Pete whispered. “The coffee’s in the kitchen. The bathroom is down the hall.”

He looked around, frowning. This was tiny. He supposed it would do for now, but if he wound up staying here, he’d be using the master.

“Thanks. I’ll wash up first.” He might even grab a shower, actually change into a pair of sweats or something, see if he couldn’t get an hour or so before he checked in on work.

Pete nodded to him, then turned away with a frown.

“PETE! PETE, HELP ME!”

The man was sprinting before the first syllable was out, sliding into one of the bedrooms and pulling a screaming little boy out from beneath the bed.

“I’m here, buddy. I’m right here.”

“Don’t go! Don’t leave!”

“Eric! Where would I go? I belong with you and your brother and sisters. I swear to you, I will not leave you.” Pete rocked and petted, his own expression one of devastation. “I will not leave you. I’m your Pete, right? You guys are my kiddos.”

Jesus. What a fucking mess. If Tony wasn’t already dead, Bay would…

do what? It was too soon for where that thought had been heading.

Everything was still too fresh. He needed to get these kids into therapy.

He made a mental note to get Will on it.

Then he went through his bag and grabbed a pair of sweats and headed for the bathroom.

If Pete had needed his help, he would have asked, right?

A sharp whistle cut through the air, little Belle standing there, her hair a mass of tangles, a huge bathrobe wrapped around her. “Stranger! Pete! Stranger in the house!”

“Jesus fuck, Belle. It’s Uncle Bay—you don’t remember me?” Granted it had been two, no probably three years since he’d seen the kids, but still.

She stared at him, searching his face. “You… you sent the babies from Japan?”

Well, at least she remembered the gifts he’d sent.

“For your birthday. And then more at Christmas because you said in your thank-you card that you really liked them.” He’d bought her the whole damn set over the last couple years.

Tony always got persnickity if he just sent them a check, so he’d been happy there was something he could just buy time after time.

“They’re in my bedroom. Have you seen Mamma and Daddy?”

His heart clenched. Did she think they were coming back?

Hadn’t the Pete guy told them? Of course he had, he’d said they were hysterical.

Was this denial? He didn’t have a fucking clue how to handle this.

Give him a boardroom full of angry men and he was all over it, but kids were not his thing.

He realized she was staring at him, and he swallowed. “What do you mean, honey?”

“Petey said that we couldn’t see their bodies. That either you and he would go and look at them. I want to see them.”

Oh no. No way.

He shook his head, going down onto his haunches so he was at her level. “No, honey. You don’t want to see them, trust me.”

“I have to! I have to give them goodbye hugs. Please!”

No, the coffins were going to be closed because they’d been pretty messed up according to Will, so he didn’t think this was a good idea at all. “We can figure out another way for you give them goodbye hugs, okay?”

“How? How? Pete said they’re in Heaven. Did he lie?”

“No. No, of course he didn’t lie. They are in Heaven.” Would she understand at all about how they weren’t in their bodies anymore, either? Christ. “Pete?”

“Coming.” Pete came back out, holding his arms open and Belle ran to them. “Hey, sweetpea, how can I help?”

“I need to see Mamma and Daddy and hug them goodbye, but Uncle Bay says I can’t go see them.” She was ramping up to be hysterical.

“Okay, listen to me. Your Uncle Bay loves you, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“If he says you can’t, there’s a reason. They’re gone, baby girl. I will hug you as much as you need, but you need to trust us. There’s a reason.”

Her lower lip quivered, but she took one breath and then another. “Why?” she asked.

Bay pursed his lips and decided to go for honest. “Because seeing them would be really, really hard and something that kids shouldn’t have to do.”

“But they asked me for a hug goodbye, and I was mad… I said no.”

“It’s okay, honey. They loved you very much and they understood. They knew you loved them too.”

Pete nodded to him. “That’s absolutely right. Come on, would you like some milk?”

Please go with Pete to get milk. He could not deal with this on no sleep and he really, really did not want to lose it right now. That was the last thing any of them needed.

She nodded. “Can I stay home from school today?”

“Yes. You and Eric both can.”

“All right. I want milk and to stay with you, Petey. Please.”

“Of course. Let’s get your Uncle Bay a coffee and we’ll make you milk.”

“I’m going to have a quick shower first. Wash the travel off me.” And if it wasn’t just water running down his cheeks, no one would be the wiser.

When he got to the kitchen about ten minutes later, two of the kids were up in the kitchen with Pete, but his main aim was that coffee that Pete had said was available.

There was bacon and eggs, toast and orange juice, milk and coffee.

Thank god.

He opened a couple cupboards and found the mugs. Grabbing one, he filled it with coffee, black, and blew across the top of the mug. Then he went for it. If he burnt his mouth, so be it. He needed the dark crack.

“You’re welcome to make a plate, and if you don’t like scrambled eggs, I can make other kinds.”

“Scramble eggies are best,” Eric murmured and shoved another handful in.

“Scrambled is great. And is that bacon?” He hadn’t had a plate of eggs and bacon in he didn’t know how long. Breakfast was usually a cup of coffee and whatever was available at a meeting room side table, if anything.

“Yeah. I thought today needed bacon.” Pete handed him a plate and a fork. “Do you need jam for your toast?”

“No, I won’t have any toast.” He was already days behind on his working out. Hell, his routine had been nonexistent since he’d gotten the call.

“All right. No problem.” Pete grabbed a slice of toast and slathered strawberry jam on it.

Bay didn’t look because he didn’t want to be tempted. He just ate his breakfast, then sat back with a sigh and drank his coffee.

“You no like breads, man?” Eric asked.

“You don’t like bread,” Pete corrected.

“I try to avoid too many carbs.” He patted his belly. “I don’t want to get fat, and I haven’t worked out in four days, so…” He would totally have several slices especially if there was jam if he just let himself go.

“Body shaming is wrong, Uncle Bay, especially shaming your own body.” Belle sounded so sure.

His eyes opened wide in surprise at her words. “Uh… I wasn’t…” Huh. Maybe he had been. It was good to keep fit, though, right?

“Momma says that restrictive diets aren’t healthy. Eat good food, mostly plants, not too much.”

“Isn’t mostly plants restrictive?” he asked. Otherwise, it would be eat whatever the heck you want and he’d bet the kids weren’t allowed to do that. When he and Tony had been little, that kind of thinking would have seen the two of them eating nothing but candy, day and night.

She blinked at him, her eyes filling with tears. “Sugar is from a plant. So is flour. So is chocolate and vanilla.”

“Breathe, Belle. He’s tired too…”

And he was shit at talking to kids, that went for all the time, not just when he was tired.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Christ knew she had enough reasons to cry.

“I’m sorry I made you mad. I wasn’t… I wasn’t trying to be bad.”

“I wasn’t mad…” How had this gone so off the rails? He really was shit at talking to kids.

“See? It’s so easy to misunderstand each other, especially when your heart hurts.” Pete smiled at them both, sweet as hell.

Wow, Tony and Cindy had found the male Mary Poppins. Well, good, because he didn’t know thing one about raising kids, and they were his responsibility now.

“I’m not mad, I promise, okay. And I need to check in with the office. Thanks for breakfast.”

“Of course. The wifi password is ‘mykidsarethebest’.”

Of course it was.

He rolled his eyes as he stood. “Thanks.”

“Can I have a hug, Petey?” Belle asked. “My belly hurts so bad.”

“Oh, baby girl. Always. No matter what.”

“Are you sick, Belle?” Bay asked. He assumed Pete knew who the family doctor was.

“She’s just worked herself into a sick tummy. Her mom did that too.”

“Ah. She needs tools, eh? For stress?” He wasn’t hurting for money. Whatever the kids needed, they could have, and he imagined a family therapist could help a lot with the grief.

Pete nodded. “She’s processing a lot.”

“I’ll have Will look up family therapists who specialize in grief. Are the kids going to be okay with the funeral tomorrow?” If he could, he’d forbid them to be there, but he had a hunch they needed to be able to say goodbye.

Pete gave him a wide-eyed stare. “Can we talk about this later?”

He nodded. “Not too much later, though. This thing is happening whether we want it to or not.” Just like the accident that had torn Tony and Cindy from their lives, from their children.

“Excellent.” Pete turned and poured himself another cup of coffee. “Come on, kiddos. Let’s watch a minute of TV.”

He sighed as Pete and the kids headed out of the kitchen, and he did the same. He went up to his bedroom and grabbed his laptop before hitting the button for Will on his phone. It was time to get organized.