Rolling with the Single Daddies (Daddy’s Good Girl)

1. One

One

Bane

Enjoying my day off, I stare at the clouds through the windowpane. My late wife loved finding shapes in them. They’re just white collections of water droplets now. A twinge of sadness tightens my heart and I turn away from the window.

Evie’s little fingers wiggle in her sleep. I wish she had a chance to know her mother. Sometimes I wish I could move on, but I work too hard protecting our toddler to even consider it seriously. The love of my life got ripped away. She can never be replaced.

All I have is the moment… and Evie. I step to her playpen, reaching out a hand to touch her dark hair.

My phone rings. Thankfully, my ringtones are all set to gentle sounds, exactly for situations like this. Nevertheless, I scramble away, ripping it out of my pocket to stop the sound from waking Evie .

It’s one of our local employees with bad news. I step into my home office. “You’re kidding me, right?” The words come out harsher than intended.

“I’m sorry, boss. I can’t find anyone to take my shift.” Jake’s voice crackles through the speaker. “Food poisoning hit me hard. You don’t want me anywhere near the shop.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to stave off a headache. “Fine. Get some rest. I’ll figure something out.” I hang up before he can respond.

Firing off one text after another to the other employees, each negative response ratchets up my anxiety. I’m pacing the living room, considering that I may have to go in. Guess I better call the nanny.

“Dada?” Evie’s tiny voice calls from the living room.

Evie peers at me from her playpen. Her big brown eyes, so much like her mother’s, ground me for a moment. I hoist her up and kiss her cute little button nose.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Daddy’s just got a work problem.”

The doorbell rings. It’s Mara, Evie’s nanny. She’s such a godsend.

Evie snuggles into my chest as I pull the door open.

“Are you psychic?” I greet Mara. “I was just about to see if you could work today.”

My excitement is stifled as I realize something’s off. Her usual cheerful demeanor is replaced by nervousness .

“Mr. Bane, I need to talk to you.”

My stomach drops. I know that tone. Nothing good ever follows it. I usher her inside.

“I wanted to tell you in person. My daughter just got diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy. She’s on emergency bed rest and I have a plane ticket out today.”

“You don’t have to explain. Go take care of her.” I squeeze Evie tighter and face the reality that even when they grow up, we still have to care for them. Parenthood is a long road. How many fucking bumps are ahead of us?

“Thank you for understanding.” Mara steps past me to round up the items she usually leaves here. After gathering her things, she says a quick goodbye to Evie. The door closes behind her, leaving me in an even bigger bind.

I slump onto the couch, grab the teddy bear from the floor, and let Evie play on my lap while I think. My options are limited. I’m not going to take Evie to the cigar shop. That means I either call Diego and ask him to cut his fun day short or the store doesn’t open.

Pulling up Diego’s contact in my phone, I decide I’d better give him the option since not only is he co-owner of the cigar shop, but also my roommate. We’ve basically done everything together since we met in high school: went into the military, got out, joined the local motorcycle club… We’re like brothers. Except he has an unshakable adventurous spirit and I’m the reserved one who thought I’d settle down and start a family .

Today’s the perfect example… I’m at home with my daughter and he’s at a mixology convention in the city.

I press the call button.

The sound of laughter and clinking glasses fills my ear. “Bane, it’s not too late to come on out. We’re learning cocktail recipes with Kinky Pink.”

Diego’s enthusiasm is palpable, as always. I can picture him now, surrounded by exotic ingredients, soaking up every second of the experience.

“That sounds great.” I try to keep the strain out of my voice. “Listen, I hate to ask, but I need your help.”

“What’s up?” The background noise fades as Diego presumably steps away from the group.

I explain the double whammy of Jake’s absence and Mara’s sudden departure. With each word, I feel worse about disrupting his plans. “You’ve been looking forward to this conference for weeks, so I get it if you want to stay. It’s your call.”

Without missing a beat, he says, “I got you. I’ll head to the shop now. I can hit up some of my new friends later and get them to practice their newfound mixology skills and show me what I missed.”

Relief washes over me, quickly followed by guilt. “Are you sure?”

“That’s what partners are for.” Diego’s tone is light, but I can hear the underlying disappointment .

“Thanks, Diego. I owe you one.”

“You owe me several, but who’s counting?” He laughs, and he’s not wrong. He always helps with Evie. “See you later, alright?”

I hang up. The immediate crisis is averted, but at what cost? I’ve inconvenienced Diego again. And now I don’t have a nanny. Even though I usually work from home, I’m not going to be able to manage our nationwide stores without someone to care for Evie. And the international expansion involves way too many video calls for me not to have help.

Evie’s incoherent babbles pull me back to the moment.

“What are we going to do, Baby Bear?” I murmur into her hair.