Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Pete stood, watching the rain come down in one wave of water after another.
There was no way he was getting all four kids home in this safely.
No way.
They stood inside the grocery store, Flynn still in the seat on the cart with their bags.
“That’s a lot of rain,” Belle said, squinting as she looked out.
“Yeah. A lot a lot.”
“I think you should call Uncle Bay,” Eric announced.
“Do you? He’s busy.”
“He’ll know what to do,” Belle told him.
“All right, if you’re sure, I can call him.” Pete grabbed his phone and texted Bay instead.
came back immediately
His cheeks went hot.
There was no reason to bother Bay.
He called Bay, worried, a little sick to his stomach. “Bay?”
“I don’t want you driving in this bad weather, Pete.” Bay’s voice was gruff but sure.
“Well, I don’t have a car, love.” He didn’t have a way to drive home.
“No Uber, either. I don’t want you on the road, okay? It’s too dangerous.”
“I—” Oh. Oh, poor Bay. He got it now—his lover had lost his family, just like he had. “All right. We’ll just hang out. Maybe get an ice cream.”
“That sounds perfect. It can’t storm forever and I’ll come get you as soon as it’s safe.”
“All right. Okay. Sounds good. Thank you.” He hung up and smiled. “Ice cream?”
“We aren’t going home?” Bella asked him.
“We are. But there’s an ice cream store right here. I thought we could have a cone while we waited.” He wasn’t sure his excuse would work, but there was a chance.
“Any flavor we want?” Eric asked.
He nodded.
And Eric pumped the air, Merida said “Cocolate!” and Belle looked happy with the answer.
They headed over, dodging the raindrops on the way to the ice cream with their shopping cart.
God, what a weird situation.
Still, the kids were happy, Eric wanting him to read every single flavor that was available. Belle examining the list of flavors for herself. Merida stuck with her desire for chocolate.
The baby could have a bottle, if he woke up.
They ended up with a chocolate, a strawberry, a mint chocolate chip, and a raspberry dark chocolate chunk.
Then they sat to wait.
They ate their ice cream and talked about what they could do on such a rainy day when they finally got home. And the rain kept coming down.
Finally he shook his head and called Bay back. “I’m getting an Uber. The food’s going to spoil.”
“No. I’ll come now and get you. I’ll be ten minutes or so.”
“All right. Thank you.” He hung up. “Uncle Bay is coming.”
“Good. I’m bored,” Eric told him.
“Well, when we get home, you can play outside in the backyard in the rain. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“Yes! Mud-jumping!”
“Mud! Mud! Mud!” Merida cried out.
“That’s right.” He held up one finger. “When we get home.”
“Wanna go home!” Merida cried out.
“Me, too.”
“Me, too.”
Yeah, they all did.
He looked at his watch. Bay ought to be here shortly, and the rain was letting up a little.
Bay pulled up and he started loading up the kids, moving as fast as he could. Everyone was fussy.
Bay got out and dealt with the groceries, piling them in the back of the van.
“Sorry you had to wait,” Bay said as they both climbed into the front seats.
“No worries. Thanks for coming. The natives were getting restless.”
“I didn’t want you all on the road in a strange vehicle,” Bay told.
“Well, thank you. I know this is… hard.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Bay said softly. “I took one look at the weather and kind of… panicked.” He mouthed the final word, no doubt so the kids didn’t hear.
“I understand.” He didn’t have the same fear, but he did understand.
Bay started the car and pulled into traffic, relaxing as the rain slowed, and then stopped altogether.
“I can’t believe you walked to the grocery store with all four kids on your own.”
“Well, the phone said it was going to be pretty.”
Bay chuckled at that. “The phone lied, man. And what I actually meant was that it was a long way to walk with all of you.”
Bay was wrong about that. It had taken them twenty minutes, tops, and they’d been dawdling too.
“We like to walk. We like to explore and wander. There are times that we walk all the way down to the park and play all day, and then just take the bus back.”
“Yeah? Huh.” Bay turned onto their block, seeming to relax some more.
“Yeah. It tires us all out.” And sometimes, he liked hanging with the other nannies.
“Ah. Everyone sleeps well those nights, eh?” They pulled into the driveway, and Bay turned off the engine.
“Like rocks.” He winked over. “Heavy little rocks.”
Bay chuckled. “I’d like to see that. I don’t thing all four have slept the night through since… I got here.”
“Well…” Things were a little different now.
“I know, I know. I’m just saying that it’s hard to imagine.” Bay grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I’m glad we all made it home safely.”
“Me too.” He held on. “Let’s get the kids and the food in.”
“Yeah. I hope the only ice cream you bought was in cones for the kids to eat while you waited.” Bay got out and went around to the back of the van, started unloading groceries.
“I would have been way more panicky otherwise.” Pete got the baby in, and everybody else went straight outside in the backyard to go jump around in the mud. “No one come back in until I get the groceries in, so we don’t get mud everywhere, okay?
“Okay!”
Bay chuckled, helping him take in all the bags. “They’re going to be a mess, aren’t they?”
“They are. They work off the ice cream, and they can bathe, have food, and then go to bed. Well, maybe not Belle, but you know what I mean. In fact, I got hot dogs so that dinner is easy.” Pete winked at Bay. “Hot dogs for everybody, chili dogs for us.”
“Which are just hot dogs with chili and cheese on them.” Bay was learning.
“Yep. Maybe even diced onions.”
“Ooooo. But no mustard,” Bay said, winking.
“No mustard. Got it.” He grinned over and put the lettuce and peppers in the fridge.
Bay helped him, emptying the bags and setting everything on the counters for him.
Every so often, he peeked out of the kitchen window, searching out the kids.
They were well and truly muddy. It was going to be fun getting them all cleaned up.
But they were playing, having fun, and no one was fighting. He’d take it.
Bay leaned against the counter next to him, watching the kids for a moment. “They don’t need a lot to make them happy, do they?”
“No. Love, food, a little fun—that’s enough.”
“Yeah…” Bay kept watching, seeming far away.
“Are you all right?” He touched Bay’s hand, stroking it nice and gentle.
Bay blinked a couple times, then nodded. “I am. I was just… I guess I hadn’t really thought about them in a while. Today sort of caught me by surprise.”
“Yeah. Grief surprises you sometimes.” He knew that.
Bay nodded and slid an arm around his shoulders, gave him a side hug.
He leaned in, sighing softly. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Yeah. I’m just having a day. I’ll find a happy face for the kids, I promise.”
Oh, poor Bay. “How can I help?”
He hated this… sorrow.
“A hug?”
“Anytime.” He turned and hugged Bay, folding the dear man in his arms and holding on. “I have you. I promise. I won’t let go.”
Bay’s arms wrapped around his waist, head buried against his neck, and just held on.
It was easy to let Bay rest, to comfort him. He stroked Bay’s head, humming deep in his chest.
Eventually Bay took a deep breath, let it out, and then stepped away. “Sorry.”
“For what? I care for you.” And he didn’t mind at all.
“I try not to fall apart. I need to be strong for them.”
“We both do, thank god we have each other, huh?”
“Yeah. We can take turns falling apart.” Bay gave him a wink. “So what’s the game plan for getting the mud off them?”
“I’m totally using the hose. Totally.”
Bay laughed. “I’m looking forward to seeing that.”
“Merida will love it, so will Eric. Belle will squeak.” He knew how this worked.
“Well, I guess if she doesn’t want to get hosed, she shouldn’t play in the mud, right? And they’ll get baths right after, eh? We can let Belle have hers in my en suite so we can get them all warmed up at the same time.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea. They’ll like that.” Pete chuckled as Eric went sliding through the wet grass on his butt.
“I know Tony and I must have done something like this all the time, but I can’t remember doing it.”
“No?” He hadn’t, but he didn’t like to think about his childhood.
“Nope. It seems like so long ago most of the time.” Bay looked at him. “You know, I’ve never asked about your family. I don’t even know if you have any brothers or sisters. I’m a self-centered ass, aren’t I?”
“Of course you’re not! You’ve been mourning.” He understood that. He felt it in his soul.
“Yeah, but you have too and you’ve managed to keep everything together for all of us. I don’t know where we’d be without you.”
“I’m glad you don’t have to know, you know?” He squeezed Bay’s hand.
“God, me, too.” Bay turned his hand over and twined their fingers together. “Thank you. For being you and loving this family so much.”
“I do.” He met Bay’s gaze. “I love you and this family, so much.”
“That makes me happy. You make me happy.” Bay swayed toward him.
He lifted his face for a kiss, begging the connection.
Bay pressed their lips together, his eyes dropping closed as they kissed.
He breathed out into Bay’s lips, his belly going tight. Bay deepened the kiss slightly, hand sliding behind his head, tilting it.
“Mmm…” He slid one hand behind Bay’s neck.
“Uncle Bay, why are you kissing our Pete?” Belle’s voice sounded so loud in the kitchen.
Pete blinked. He couldn’t wait to hear this.
Bay pulled away and cleared his throat. “Because I love him.”
“Oh. Cool. Can we clean off now? I’m cold.”
Huh. That was that, eh? Had to love the kids.
“Yeah, let’s get the hose out.”
Pete tossed a bunch of towels in the dryer on his way to hose the kiddos down.