4. Wolf
4
WOLF
W olf gazed down at Ezra’s chubby little face as the world faded away around them.
The baby was definitely trying to tell him something. His eyes were twinkling and he was kicking his feet out as his little bow mouth formed an o. Wolf could hear him practically panting with effort.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Wolf told him.
The baby squeaked back and blinked at him, as if he were surprised that he had managed to make such a nice loud sound.
Wolf was surprised to find himself smiling.
He had just been dumped in spectacular fashion in front of two strangers. And all his carefully laid plans for the future had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
But he wasn’t getting that tight, boiling-over feeling he normally got whenever something went beyond his control.
In fact, he actually felt pretty good.
Not knowing what was coming next was going to get under his skin sooner or later. He fully expected the frustration he’d heard in Angela’s voice to bubble over in his own chest.
But for now, he found he just couldn’t be bothered. It was so nice to hold this baby.
Ezra.
“I have an idea,” the young woman behind the desk said softly. “Why don’t we just run up to the baby store on Route One?”
“That’s not your job,” he said reflexively.
“Of course it is,” she told him. “I’m supposed to help you get settled. And I don’t see how you can get settled if little Ezra here isn’t settled.”
He looked up from the baby and his eyes finally landed on the girl long enough to really take her in.
She was pretty enough, with long brown hair and a gentle smile. But it was her steadying hazel gaze that surprised him. He was used to seeing expressions like hers on the faces of commanding officers when they were addressing men who were heading into tight situations. As a pilot, he’d been given fortifying speeches more than a few times.
She works with vets , he reminded himself. She probably deals with people who need a lot of help. It’s good to have someone with a calming influence to get them on their feet.
A young girl that had to be her kid sat nearby on a miniature easy chair, pretending not to be staring at him from behind a thick book.
It occurred to Wolf that Samantha Green was awfully young to have a child that age. Looking at her now, he wouldn’t have thought she could possibly have a school-aged daughter.
“Ezra has to eat,” the little girl said suddenly, lowering her book to her lap. “He needs diapers, too.”
“Well, first we have to make sure that Mr. Cassidy has a car seat for him,” Miss Green said firmly.
“He can use my old seat,” the little girl offered.
“That’s a booster seat, Amelia,” Miss Green explained. “It’s really nice of you to offer. But baby Ezra will need a car seat that’s made just for infants.”
“He has one,” Wolf put in.
“That’s great,” Miss Green said, rewarding him with a happy smile. “You’re already ahead of the game. Is it in your car?”
“Technically, yes,” Wolf admitted. “But I couldn’t install it while I was holding him.”
“How did you get here?” she asked worriedly.
“I walked over from Otto Weber’s,” he said. “I didn’t want to be late, since I already rescheduled. I figured I’d get the guys at the firehouse to help me put the seat in once we were done here.”
“The guys at the firehouse?” she echoed.
“They do a car seat-check event every year over there,” he said. “At least we did when I was growing up. Every member of the Trinity Falls fire department knows how to install a car seat.”
“ This town ,” she murmured, shaking her head.
He might have been offended at the dig to his hometown, except that she was smiling fondly, like it wasn’t a dig at all.
“I take it you’re not from a small town?” he asked.
“Very much not,” she said, getting up from her chair. “Amelia and I are from Philadelphia.”
He glanced over at the little girl, but she wasn’t paying attention to them anymore. She looked like she was frozen in place as she gazed at the back of her sister’s empty chair, her eyelids fluttering slightly.
“Is she okay?” he asked.
But by the time Samantha had turned, her sister looked completely normal—like nothing had happened.
“Did I do it again?” the girl asked sadly.
“It’s not a big deal,” Samantha told her calmly. “It was just a few seconds.”
“Okay,” Amelia said. She scrambled up, grabbed her backpack and started rummaging around in it without making eye contact with anyone.
Wolf figured she was probably just a little embarrassed about whatever had just happened.
“Amelia has CAE,” Samantha explained. “She gets little seizures like that sometimes, but she takes medicine for it. I had it too, but they stopped when I was a teenager.”
“Oh,” Wolf said, wishing he knew what to say.
“It’s not a big deal,” Samantha assured him. “We’re very lucky to have medicine for it, right, Amelia?”
“Yep,” Amelia said, popping up from her backpack and looking more self-assured now. “I’m fine.”
“That’s good,” Wolf said. “I’m glad you have your medicine too.”
He stood, wondering if they were really planning to go to the store with him right after Amelia had a seizure.
Ezra wiggled impatiently in his arms, seeming to want to be held upright instead of cradled. Wolf carefully arranged the boy so he could keep supporting his little head.
“Amelia,” Samantha said. “Why don’t you grab your coat and boots. Mr. Cassidy, would you like me to hold the baby so you can take a break and stretch your arms?”
He found himself instinctively hugging the baby closer.
“I’ll take you up on that when we get to the car,” he told her. “If you can hold him while I get his seat installed that would be great.”
“Of course,” she told him. “Now what do you have? And what will you need?”
She had her phone out, like she was getting ready to make a list. He felt a little ping of satisfaction at her efficiency.
“Sam, are we going with him?” the little girl asked plaintively.
Sam?
“Yes,” Miss Green replied right away. “Of course we are.”
“ Yes ,” Amelia said with a big grin. “I can help you pick out stuff for Ezra.”
“Well, he’ll need food and diapers for sure, but he’s got some stuff already,” Wolf explained. “I just haven’t seen it yet. His parents bought a house here in town, and Otto said the movers already put all their things inside. They were on their way here when…”
He trailed off as he realized it probably wasn’t a great thing to talk about in front of the little girl.
“They died, right?” Amelia asked in a calm, clear voice.
He turned to her in surprise.
“Amelia,” Miss Green said softly.
“Our parents died too,” the little girl said matter-of-factly. “That’s why Sam takes care of me.”
“I-I’m sorry,” Wolf said, finding himself at a loss.
“Me too,” she told him, nodding. “And for Ezra. Are you going to take care of him forever?”
“Of course,” Wolf growled, his gaze falling to the baby again.
Ezra was looking around the office, his eyes wide with wonder as he noticed the glow of the wall sconces.
“Sam’s going to take care of me forever too,” Amelia said. “She’s really good at it.”
“Thank you, Amelia,” Miss Green said fondly. “Let’s head to your car, Mr. Cassidy.”
“It’s Wolf,” he said automatically.
“Wolf,” she repeated. “Please call me Sam, and this is Amelia.”
He frowned at the shortened version of such a beautiful name, but nodded to them both.
Samantha darted forward and opened the door for Wolf and the baby. It had gotten dark out while they talked, nighttime sneaking in early as it did in the shorter days of a Pennsylvania winter, and the air was frigid now.
Ezra whimpered, and Wolf wrapped his blanket more closely around him as they stepped outside into the chill air and gently swirling flakes.
Wolf had always loved the snow. He had so many happy memories of chasing his cousins around the Christmas tree rows at Cassidy Farm.
Will that be Ezra one day?
The idea made his heart feel like honey melting in hot tea, and he pulled the boy just a little closer, trying to block the wind from him as Samantha turned off the lights and locked up the office.
As he realized that she must have stayed late just for him, he found himself feeling grateful again for the young woman’s diligence.
“Which way?” she asked, looking up at him again with those steady hazel eyes.
“This way,” he told her, heading down Park toward Columbia.
Otto Weber had been working out of his home at the corner of Columbia and Vassar for as long as Wolf could remember. The walk from his place to town hadn’t seemed so long in daylight. It was really only a few blocks. But in the cold with the baby, it felt like a trek through the Alaskan wilderness.
Amelia darted ahead, admiring the houses and pointing out all the Christmas decorations to her sister.
Wolf found it satisfying to see her acting more like a kid. Back in the office she had seemed so serious, like a tiny adult.
“ Wow, look at that one ,” she said, suddenly stopping in front of one of the houses.
A life-sized, painted decoration of Christmas carolers singing stood on the lawn, with lights pointing up at it.
“Ya’ like that one, sweetheart?” Al Vargas asked from his porch, where he was kicking the snow off his boots. “I made that myself.”
“You made it ?” Amelia asked, clearly amazed.
“You pay attention in wood shop when you get to high school,” Al suggested. “You can learn to make just about anything.”
“I will,” Amelia assured him politely before darting back to her sister, as if she had just realized she was talking to a stranger.
Al’s eyes followed her, catching on Wolf and practically doing a double take.
“Is that Wolf Cassidy?” he said.
“Hey, Mr. Vargas,” Wolf said. “Nice to see you again.”
“You all home for good now?” the man asked, his eyes moving curiously over to Samantha and her sister.
Wolf felt an unexplainable burst of pleasure at the man assuming that Samantha and Amelia were his family.
What’s wrong with me?
“I’m just home for Christmas,” Wolf said, not quite wanting to fully correct the man, though he really wasn’t sure why.
“See you at the Hometown Holiday celebration then?” Mr. Vargas asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Wolf told him, giving him as much of a wave as he dared with Ezra in his arms before they walked on.
“Does everyone around here know everyone else?” Samantha asked quietly.
Wolf couldn’t help chuckling.
“It probably seems that way, doesn’t it?” he asked. “And when I was a kid, that was basically true. But my Aunt Alice tells me that there have been a lot of newcomers to town in the last year or two.”
“We’re newcomers,” Amelia told him. “We came out here for Sam’s job.”
“I was very lucky that Captain Anderson offered me the position,” Samantha said. “He’s a generous man.”
Wolf nodded, glad to hear that she was being treated fairly.
From all he’d heard of Captain Erik Anderson, that tracked. The man had chosen to come to Trinity Falls and dedicate his resources to helping vets from all over Pennsylvania assimilate to civilian life.
Wolf could have found some volunteer work for the next few weeks on his own. But both his Aunt Alice and his buddy Axel had encouraged him to come to the foundation and match up through them since they were just starting out and the staff could use the experience.
Glancing over at Samantha, he wasn’t so sure that she needed any practice at all, but he was still glad he’d stopped by. It was easier to feel calm about Ezra when there was someone to help out, even for a few minutes.
They walked on, under a canopy of bare tree branches, past houses twinkling with lights. Ezra was cuddled close to Wolf, his little face buried in his neck. Wolf knew the boy was just trying to stay warm, but it felt like a real embrace.
He’s mine.
The idea still didn’t bother him as much as it seemed like it should. He probably just hadn’t fully accepted it yet.
“Here we are,” he said, pointing out the car to Samantha.
“Wow,” Amelia said admiringly at the big SUV.
“It’s just a rental,” he told her.
“I can take him now,” Samantha said, standing in front of him with a hopeful look in her eyes. “If you’re ready.”
All women love babies , he told himself sternly. It doesn’t mean anything.
Somehow, he still didn’t want to let go of the boy. But obviously he had to get his car seat installed so they could buy the little guy some formula and diapers.
He plucked the boy from his chest, and Ezra was crying before Wolf could even hold him out to Samantha.
“You’re okay,” Samantha said in her soothing voice. “You’re just cold.”
She unzipped her coat and held her arms out.
When Wolf handed the baby over, she tucked him inside her coat, against her soft sweater.
Ezra’s wailing stopped, but he was still whimpering a little.
“That’s better,” she told him. “Let’s warm up. Should we warm up?”
Wolf watched, half-hypnotized as she began dancing in place—quick movements and then a full stop, quick movements and then a full stop. The second time she repeated the pattern, Ezra stopped whimpering. The third time he panted, a big baby smile on his little face.
“ Yes ,” Samantha praised him as Amelia giggled. “Let’s dance.”
She continued her movements, and Wolf remembered what he was supposed to be doing.
As quickly as he could, he retrieved the car seat and installed it in the back. Fortunately, the SUV had an anchor system, and he was able to snap the seat in without any issues. Once it was snapped in, he pulled on the seat with all his might, then tried to twist it left and right, and finally was satisfied that it wasn’t going anywhere.
Straightening up, he turned to take the baby again, but was arrested by the sight in front of him.
Samantha stood under a streetlamp, holding Ezra and speaking to him softly, with Amelia by her side as snow flurries swirled around the three of them. Something about the golden light and the tender expression on her face as she gazed down at the baby tugged at his heart.
“Ready?” she asked, looking up at him, the expression on her face still so soft and sweet.
Wolf thought that he’d be ready for just about anything with someone like this remarkable young woman at his side.