Chapter 11
Quincy
My younger siblings, Molly, Brayden, and Hannah—or half-siblings technically—were the easiest babysitting job ever.
Brayden had been at a friend’s house all evening, studying for a test tomorrow, until bedtime, so I’d barely seen him.
Hannah’s cross-country meet had run late, and she’d only gotten home an hour ago.
And now that Molly was eleven, she could take care of herself, liked to help cook dinner, and preferred doing things like hair and nails instead of playing with stuffed animals or Barbies.
Tonight she’d insisted on doing my hair.
As I’d learned in the recent past, having this dear tween girl do my hair was a colorful, creative event.
I currently had no less than a dozen-and-a-half tiny braids on the right front side of my head, each of them with several tiny multicolored butterfly clips spaced out down the length.
It looked like a cross between dreadlocks and toddler gone wild, but each time I caught a glimpse of the colorful clips, my heart warmed with love for the girl with the unique way of expressing her creativity.
The younger two were asleep now, Molly since nine and Brayden for over an hour, as it was approaching midnight and they both had school tomorrow.
Hannah was in her room on the lower level and quiet, probably trying to catch up on homework.
I was in the living room of the split-level house I’d lived in since I was eleven, when my dad had married Cynthia.
I wouldn’t say it felt homey to me, because nothing had really felt like home since my mom had died, but it was familiar and comfortable.
Stretched out on the couch, I’d been bingeing a show, but for the past half hour or so, I’d been restless. Antsy. I normally didn’t care how late my dad and Cynthia came home, but tonight, I wanted to get back to Knox’s to make sure he was doing okay with Juniper.
He was starting to get the hang of baby care and becoming more confident.
To be honest, I was still shook by my spontaneous hug earlier.
Throwing my arms around him was a gut reaction, a line I never would’ve crossed if I’d stopped to think it through.
My body’s response to him had been undeniable and not at all nanny appropriate.
It’d been all I could do not to either kiss him or make a hasty, obvious retreat.
I knew those inklings were ill-advised, and I wouldn’t act on them, but I still felt compelled to check on him and Juniper. I’d taken my phone out numerous times tonight, about to send a message asking how he was, but I’d managed to quash the urge each time. He was my employer after all.
My restlessness wasn’t only about Knox. I was getting attached to Juniper as well, for better or worse.
She was such a good baby, especially considering what she’d been through in her short life.
She seemed to have made the transition to Knox pretty well and a lot faster than I’d expected.
It made me wonder what kind of care she’d gotten before.
I hated to think Knox’s ex might’ve been less than adequate as a parent, but I couldn’t deny I had questions.
At ten till midnight, I heard the garage door open and my dad’s truck pull in. I flipped the TV off, hopped up, and got my jacket on. When my dad and Cynthia came through the door, I was standing in the kitchen waiting for them.
Cynthia said a distracted, “Hi, Quincy,” then breezed past me.
“Hi, honey.” My dad came over and kissed the top of my head. “You in a hurry or something?”
“No,” I lied. “Just tired.”
“You’re always welcome to sleep here, you know,” he said as he set his award plaque on the counter.
“Congrats on the award, Dad. You deserve it.” I hugged him and didn’t respond to the part about sleeping here. I knew I was welcome as far as he was concerned, but now that I had a choice, I didn’t care to wake up to Cynthia.
“Aww, thanks. It’s nice to be recognized. In the end, it’s just back to the grind tomorrow, I guess.” He shrugged humbly. “I need to replace a lightbulb out front before I forget.” He went into the pantry to get a bulb.
Cynthia poked her head around the doorway to the living room, glancing up the stairs to Molly’s and Brayden’s rooms. “Are they asleep?”
“Long ago,” I assured her. “Hannah got home about ten thirty. She said she had biology homework to do.”
Cynthia looked semi-appeased.
“You be safe going home, honey,” my dad said as he went out the door to the garage, bulb in hand. “See you soon.”
“Night, Dad.”
“What did Molly do to your hair?” Cynthia asked, her eyes widening as she looked me over.
“She called it an experiment.” I grinned, flipping the ends of the curled side and ignoring my stepmom’s distaste. “Sorry to rush out, but I need to get back.”
Cynthia frowned. “In a hurry to get back to that man?”
“What?” I sputtered in disbelief. I mean, there was maybe a minor attraction to Knox, but no one knew about it, and no one ever would. He was older than me, a lot older, and he was my boss, not my crush.
Mostly not my crush.
He would not be my crush.
The point was that Cynthia had no reason to say such a thing other than she was determined to undermine me always. She had the power to bring out my self-doubt like nobody else. Yes, my insecurities were mine, but she knew the buttons to push. She had since she and my dad had married.
“He’s a handsome man. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed. It’s a cozy setup you have there,” she continued.
I raised my brows and didn’t say anything.
As much as she got to me, I did my best not to take her bait.
I knew the lack of affection between us bothered my dad—a lot.
He rarely said anything about it, probably because Cynthia and I could be civil when others were around.
She mostly saved her barbs for when we were alone, and even then, they were carefully veiled.
“I just worry about you, Quincy. You were so set on having a family with Mitchell, and then that turned into disappointment…”
I flinched. See how she did that? All concern and empathy for me…except somehow she managed to make me feel dumb for ever loving Mitchell, foolish for thinking we were going to have a future.
“I’m over Mitchell,” I told her, and I hated how I became defensive. I let out a frustrated scoff. “I need to go. It’s late.”
“Your dad was enjoying himself with his colleagues, and I just couldn’t force myself to remind him what time it was.”
She rustled through her purse. We’d done this enough times, like probably into the thousands, that I knew she was getting cash out to pay me.
While it was usually less than what I’d make sitting for another family, I appreciated the money, particularly since, until I’d dropped out of college and come back home, they hadn’t paid me at all.
Ever since Hannah, my oldest half-sibling, was born, helping with childcare had been expected of me.
My contribution to the family, they called it.
Mostly I was okay with that, but now that I needed to support myself, the money was much needed.
She held out some bills, and I stuck them in my pocket without counting them.
“Thank you,” I said. “Good night, Cynthia.” I went toward the garage, knowing my dad was still out there so it would be open.
“Night, honey,” she sang out the door after me, loving as could be since my dad might be within earshot.
I couldn’t say whether she even knew she did that. I suspected she bought her own bullshit.
“See you, Dad,” I said as I passed him.
“Night, Quincy. Thanks for staying with the kids.”
“Of course. Congrats again.”
I headed to my car, forcing my stepmom out of my mind. She wasn’t worth my mental energy. Instead I turned my thoughts to Knox and Juniper.
If all was well, they were probably both asleep now.
The baby had likely had her last bottle around eight and usually slept a good six hours.
Though I’d been a night owl for years, I was getting used to going to bed around nine so I could get some good sleep in before she woke me up for a bottle.
Tonight was one of my nights off, so Knox would take the overnight shift, but I planned to peek in on her.
When I pulled into Knox’s driveway a couple of minutes later though, the lights in the main part of the house were blazing.
Concern bloomed in my gut. I pulled up behind Knox’s SUV, killed the engine, and hurried to the front door.
It was locked, and Knox had uncharacteristically not turned the porch light on. That only ratcheted up my nervousness.
Once I got the door open, I could see the kitchen and living area were lit by the fixture over the sink. Knox’s bedroom door, to the left, was open, and another dim light came from there. The hall to Juniper’s room, my room, and the office was dark.
As I stepped into the kitchen and set my bag on the island as quietly possible, I listened for a hint of where Knox might be, but there wasn’t any noise. The house was…peaceful. Not like something was amiss. It didn’t make sense unless he was in the baby’s room. Maybe she’d woken up early.
Leaving the sink light on to illuminate my way, I started toward the hallway, then startled when I noticed someone lying on the sectional. The back of one side faced the front door, so I hadn’t been able to see him when I entered.
Once I walked around the end, I could see Knox, stretched out across one side. He didn’t stir, so I dared to go closer because…
Oh, sweet mother of God, my heart went absolutely warm and liquid in my chest.
Knox faced the back of the sectional. The cushions were tossed on the floor, and in between him and the back was Juniper, sound asleep, her face tilted toward him.
I couldn’t take my eyes from the two of them, especially not in light of the news that she was his daughter.
Several seconds ticked by with me completely entranced by the sight of this handsome man and his tiny baby girl. Without breathing, I took one more step and saw the backs of his fingers rested against her chubby, pajama-covered belly. I could swear my heart did an actual swoon.
Eventually I realized how long I’d been gawking and how awkward it would be to have Knox wake up and find me staring at him, so I backed away, tiptoed into the kitchen, shut off the light, and hurried to my room by the light of my cell phone.
I closed the door soundlessly and then stood there, resting my forehead against the wood, trying to recover from the storm of emotion that had evoked.
I instinctively knew I would’ve been much better off to have never witnessed Knox in such an endearing situation.
Minor crush plus hot guy cuddling his adorable baby daughter? I wasn’t great at math, but I could say without doubt, that added up to a big, fat danger zone.