Chapter 14 Nate
NATE
Maya was quiet on the walk back to the station. I flicked her a glance, noting her downcast eyes and the slight hunch to her shoulders. Had I pushed her too hard? I didn’t know. It was just seeing her looking so lost and sad had gotten to me.
Just as the trail widened as we neared the main track, my phone rang.
The sound cut through the quiet like a blade, and I pulled it from my pocket without breaking stride. Kelly’s name lit up the screen.
“Hey, Kel.”
“Nate.” Her voice was tight and controlled, immediately setting every nerve in my body on edge. “Are you busy right now?”
“Just finishing up at the park. What’s going on?”
“Scott’s had an accident at work.” She said it carefully, each word placed like she was walking across ice. “They’ve taken him to the hospital. It’s his back, maybe a slipped disc.”
“Okay. What do you need?”
“The kids.” Her composure cracked, and she pulled in a shuddering breath. “I can’t take them to the hospital, and Scott’s mom is two hours away, and I just... is there any chance you could come? I know it’s a lot to ask, but I don’t have anyone else right now.”
I was already walking faster. “I’m on my way.”
“Are you sure? Because I can try to find—”
“Kelly. I’m on my way. I’m about forty minutes out.”
She let out a shaky exhale. “Thank you. God, thank you. Okay, um, Isla’s bottle is in the fridge, you just need to warm it in hot water for a few minutes.
Jasper’s had a snack so he should be ok, but if he wants more, there are crackers in the pantry.
Bedtime is seven for Jasper, Isla goes down around six-thirty.
Her sleep suit is on the crib, and there’s a spare one in the second drawer if she—”
“Kel.” I kept my voice steady because hers was fraying. “Write me out a list and I’ll figure it out from there.”
“Okay.” Another shaky breath. “Good idea. I’ll do that now. Thank you, Nate. I mean it.”
The line went dead, and I shoved the phone back in my pocket.
“What’s going on?”
“My brother-in-law’s hurt.” I lengthened my stride until I was practically jogging. “Kelly needs me to take the kids.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
We covered the last stretch of trail in half the time it should have taken.
It hit me somewhere in the parking lot.
I was about to be alone with a three-year-old and a six-month-old baby. No Kelly to hand Isla back to when she started fussing. No Scott to handle bath time or wrestle Jasper into pajamas. Just me, in a house with tiny humans and their tiny, incomprehensible needs.
What did Jasper eat for dinner? Where were Isla’s diapers? What if the baby cried and I couldn’t make her stop? What if Jasper asked me a question I didn’t know the answer to, which was basically any question that wasn’t about dinosaurs?
“You okay?”
“Fine.”
“You don’t look fine. You look like you’re about to storm a building.”
“I might be more comfortable storming a building.”
She stared at me for a second, and then realization glimmered in her eyes, followed by a grin she didn’t even try to hide.
“Oh my God. You’re freaking out.”
“I’m not freaking out.”
“You are absolutely freaking out.” She was enjoying this far too much. “Nate, you were a captain in the US Army. You’ve been deployed in actual combat zones. And now you’re panicking about a three-year-old and a baby.”
“Jasper I can handle. I think. He just wants to talk about dinosaurs and show me pasta.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “It’s the baby. What if she cries and won’t stop? What if she needs something and I don’t know what it is? She can’t even tell me what’s wrong, Maya. She just screams.”
“Babies aren’t IEDs. They won’t detonate if you hold them wrong.”
“You don’t know that.”
The grin spread into a full smile, dimples and all. It simultaneously settled my nerves and spiked my heart rate.
“I’m coming with you.”
My knees almost buckled with relief, but I couldn’t let her see that. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t. But you clearly need adult supervision, and I’m the only adult available.” She was already walking toward my truck. “Besides, I’ve been babysitting since I was twelve. I’m basically a professional.”
“Maya, seriously. You don’t need to spend—”
“Get in the truck, Nate.”
I got in the truck.
She climbed into the passenger side and buckled her seatbelt, settling in like this had been the plan all along. The cab of my rental felt smaller with her in it, her scent mixing with the smell of sun-warmed upholstery, her knee close enough to brush the center console.
I pulled out of the lot and pointed us toward the highway.
“So,” Maya said, propping her elbow on the window frame. “Here’s what you need to know. Isla’s probably going to cry when Kelly leaves, because babies can sense when their person isn’t there. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong. You just hold her and ride it out.”
“Ride it out.”
“She’ll settle. And Jasper’s three, which means he’ll either be an angel or a complete disaster, and there’s no way to predict which one you’re going to get. The trick is to stay calm no matter what, because if you stress, he’ll stress.”
“Stay calm. Got it.”
“You say that like you’re receiving a mission briefing.”
“Old habits.”
She turned her head to look at me, the tail end of a smile playing on her lips before she faced forward again. “You’re going to be fine. And if everything goes sideways, I’ll be right there.”
Something about the way she said it, simple and certain, settled the buzzing in my chest more than any amount of tactical planning could have. I loosened my grip on the steering wheel and let out a breath.
“Thank you,” I said. “For coming.”
“You’re welcome.” She stretched her legs out and tipped her head back against the seat. “You can repay me in pizza later. I’m going to need a large pepperoni after this.”
“Done.”
The highway opened up ahead of us, and I pressed the accelerator a little harder, already doing the math on how fast I could get to Kelly’s without getting pulled over.
* * *
Kelly had the front door open before I’d cut the engine.
She stood on the porch with Isla on her hip, a diaper bag over one shoulder, and the barely held-together expression of a woman running on adrenaline and willpower.
Her gaze landed on Maya climbing out of the passenger side.
“You remember Maya?” I said as we reached her.
“Of course.” Kelly managed a strained smile. “Hi, Maya.”
“She was with me when you called and offered to lend a hand.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was tight. “Both of you. Scott’s parents are on their way down, but they won’t get here until late, so I just need you to hold the fort until then.”
“We’ve got it,” I said. “How’s Scott?”
“I don’t know yet. They’re doing scans.” She hitched Isla higher on her hip.
The baby’s face was blotchy, her expression one wrong move away from a meltdown.
“There’s a list on the kitchen counter. Bottles, nap times, where everything is.
Jasper’s watching a show in the living room.
He’s been fed, but he’ll try to convince you he hasn’t. Don’t fall for it.”
“Got it.”
She hesitated, pressing her lips to Isla’s head. Then she handed her over to me, and the baby’s face crumpled immediately.
“I know, sweet girl. I know.” Kelly’s voice wobbled for just a second before she steadied it. She looked at me, then at Maya. “Call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”
“Go,” Maya said gently. “We’ll be fine.”
Kelly nodded, squeezed my arm, and walked to her car without looking back.
The second the car reversed out of the driveway, Isla opened her mouth and let out a wail that could have peeled paint off the walls.
Maya ushered me inside and closed the door behind us. I stood in the hallway with a screaming baby and absolutely no plan.
“Okay,” she said calmly. “Hold her up against your chest. Higher. There you go. Now just sway a little bit, side to side.”
“This isn’t working.”
“It’s been four seconds, Nate. Give it time.”
I swayed. Isla screamed. The neighbors were probably reaching for their phones.
Maya stepped closer. “Try patting her back. Gentle, like a heartbeat.”
I patted. Isla hiccupped, wailed again, then hiccupped some more. Slowly, agonizingly, the screaming downgraded to whimpering, and the whimpering faded into the occasional shuddering sigh.
Maya smiled up at me. “See? You didn’t even need the bomb squad.”
“Touch wood.”
A small voice piped up from behind us. “Uncle Nate!”
I turned. Jasper stood in the hallway in his socks, a dinosaur in each hand, his face lit up like I had walked straight out of one of his cartoons.
“Hey, buddy.”
His eyes went wide at the sight of Isla in my arms, then immediately shifted to Maya, with the laser focus of a three-year-old encountering a brand-new audience.
“Who’s that?”
“This is my friend, Maya.”
Jasper studied her for a long moment, then he held up the dinosaur. “Do you wanna see my dinosaurs?”
Maya bent down to his level. “I would love to see your dinosaurs. How many do you have?”
“A million.”
“A million? That’s a lot of dinosaurs.”
He grabbed her hand and towed her toward the living room with the unstoppable force of a child on a mission. She went willingly, throwing me a smile over her shoulder that said I’ve got this one, you handle the baby.
With no clue what else to do, I trailed after them into the living room. The carpet was completely covered in a chaotic spread of plastic prehistoric creatures. Jasper dropped to his knees right in the middle of the mess.
“This one’s a T-Rex,” he said, holding it up.
“Wow. He looks fierce.”
“He is. He eats people.” He grabbed the next one. “And this is a steggy.”
“Does the steggy have a name?”
Jasper frowned. “No.”
“What about this one?” Maya picked up a battered green brontosaurus missing half its tail. “He looks like a Gerald to me.”
Jasper’s face scrunched up, and then he giggled. “Gerald!”
“Gerald,” Maya confirmed, very seriously. “He’s clearly in charge.”
I lowered myself onto the arm of the couch, Isla warm against my chest while Maya gave every single dinosaur the attention it apparently deserved.
She glanced up at me, her eyes dancing with amusement.
The sight lanced through me, more intimate than a kiss.
I looked away before the impact could show on my face.
“Anything on Kelly’s list we need to know about?” she asked, already turning back to Jasper’s exhibition.
“I’ll go check.”
I carried Isla into the kitchen and found Kelly’s list on the counter. Diaper change had just been done. Thank God for small mercies. She was due for a bottle in about an hour. I could handle that.
An elaborate crash echoed from the living room, followed by Jasper’s shriek of delight and Maya’s theatrical gasp.
“Oh no! The fort! Gerald, save yourself!”
There was some muffled conversation, and moments later Jasper appeared in the kitchen doorway, flushed and breathless. “Uncle Nate, I need crackers!”
“What’s the magic word?”
He thought about it. “Roar?”
Maya appeared behind him, pressing her lips together so hard her dimples showed. Our eyes met and I had to look at the ceiling to keep a straight face.
“Close enough.” I grabbed the crackers from the pantry and poured juice into a sippy cup one-handed while Isla batted at my chin.
By some miracle, we survived the next hour. Then it morphed into feeding time at the zoo. Isla started fussing just as Jasper announced he was hungry again, and suddenly the kitchen was a two-front operation.
“Here.” Maya held her arms out. “Give me the baby, you handle food.”
I transferred Isla across, and Maya settled her against her shoulder, swaying gently while she murmured softly.
I set Isla’s bottle in a bowl of hot water to warm, while my other hand wedged the phone against my ear to call in a pizza order, hoping delivery would be quick.
Jasper sat at the kitchen table swinging his legs, telling Maya a long and winding story about a boy at daycare who had eaten a bug.
Maya listened with her full attention, nodding at all the right moments, keeping Isla tucked against her.
There was that sensation again. Quick and sharp, like a muscle I’d moved wrong. I turned back to the counter before it could settle into anything with a name.