Chapter 16 Evangeline
EVANGELINE
Evangeline looked around the house, feeling really pleased with how the day had gone.
When Grayson left in the morning, she had been feeling a little anxious that maybe Leo would be inconsolable without his daddy.
But she was delighted to find that the sweet boy seemed content for her to take care of him on her own. He squeaked back or panted and smiled when she talked to him, and she carried him all around the house to look out the windows at the winter birds and the trees blowing in the wind.
The rhythm of his feedings and diaper changes started to feel comfortable by midday, so she wound up putting him in the front carrier for a bit while she tidied up the house and took all the tags and things off their Christmas decorations so that they would be ready to put up when Grayson decided it was time.
The tree itself was set up in the family room, the top just brushing the ceiling. They had removed the netting last night, and today it was full and gorgeous, its generous branches filling the whole house with a rich, evergreen scent.
This is what it’s like to live in a fairytale, she thought to herself more than once.
When she had everything nice and tidy, her eyes kept going back to the empty walls. Surely there was something she could do with them to make the place feel more homey.
She looked through the decorations and found a garland they had planned to hang from the mantel. There was velvet ribbon too, and so many strings of lights.
Standing at the counter, she added bows to the garland, then strung it with a strand of battery-powered twinkle lights. When she was finished, she carried it over to the mantel and draped it where it belonged.
Stepping back to look at it, she had to admire her work. It cheered the place up all by itself. But it was already sagging to one side, threatening to slip off from the weight of the added lights.
“Oh dear,” she said, rushing over to rescue the garland from falling onto the floor. “I think we need some thumbtacks.”
Leo sighed out a little sign of approval as Evangeline headed into the kitchen. She was pretty sure there was a junk drawer to the left of the sink—she had seen Grayson grab a paperclip from it.
She pulled out the drawer to find an assortment of odd items—paperclips, rubber bands that had probably come off the morning papers, coupons, a multi-tool, a wine opener with the logo of a local sports team, a small hammer, and an old Altoids tin that rattled when she lifted it up.
As she’d hoped, it was full of small nails, screws, and thumbtacks. She took the tin back out to the mantel, where she carefully applied a tack here and there until the garland was secured.
“Perfect,” she said happily, heading back to the junk drawer.
When she put the tin back and tried closing the drawer again, it got stuck on something.
“What in the world?” she said, pulling it open and looking inside.
Nothing seemed to be holding it up, but there had to be something in the back of the drawer.
She stuck her hand inside and felt around until her hand brushed something cool and hard.
“There you are,” she said, grabbing it and giving a tug.
The whole drawer almost came out, but she caught it with her other hand and steadied it as she pulled out the source of the jam-up.
“Oh,” she breathed, looking down at the little shadow box frame in her hand.
It contained medals that were clearly from Grayson’s time in the service, their ribbons in pristine condition, as if they had never seen the light of day.
“Oh, Grayson,” she murmured.
Honors like these didn’t belong in a junk drawer. If Grayson’s house was going to start looking like his home, this display of what he had contributed to his country should have a proud place in it.
She got to work right away, finding a perfect spot for the medals and carefully putting a small nail in the wall where she could hang the shadow box.
He’s a hero, she thought to herself in wonder.
She didn’t know the exact meaning behind the medals, but she definitely knew that one meant he had been hurt in the line of duty, and the other seemed to be for bravery.
She gazed down at them for a moment, until Leo began reaching for the pretty objects in the box.
“Okay,” she told him. “Let’s put them up.”
Once they were in their place of honor, she stood back and nodded to herself.
Leo whimpered and wiggled in the carrier, so she got him out right away.
“Are you ready for a little something?” she asked him. “Is it time to eat?”
He nuzzled her neck and then bumped his head on her shoulder.
“Okay, okay,” she said, laughing. “You’re such a good communicator. Did you know that?”
She managed to fix his bottle while she held him and sang to him a bit. He was definitely ready for a meal and a nap. She probably should have started this round sooner.
This is how I learn, she told herself.
Soon she had a nice warm bottle all ready to go, and she decided to curl up on the sofa to feed him.
Leo looked right into her eyes as he enjoyed his bottle, a solemn expression on his little face that went right to her heart.
Between the soft lamplight, the sweet scent of the Christmas tree, and the warm baby in her arms, Evangeline felt a sense of peace come over her that she had never experienced before.
Tears prickled at her eyes and she didn’t even know why.
“This is nice,” she murmured to Leo. “I wish I could stay forever.”
When he was finished with his bottle, they headed upstairs and she gave him a bath and a fresh diaper and cozy pajamas before bringing him back downstairs and placing him in his bassinet in the corner of the family room.
She was sure that Grayson would want to see Leo when he got home, but at least this way there would be less for him to do after his busy day volunteering.
When she put Leo down, he whimpered and kicked his legs.
“You’re sleepy,” she told him, reaching down to rub his little belly. “You just haven’t noticed yet.”
He stuck his lower lip out and he was so cute she almost couldn’t help picking him up again. But she knew that if she let him get too sleepy without a nap he would be miserable.
Upstairs in his crib, she would just start the mobile, which turned and played music and usually sent him right out.
“Let’s just sing a little, okay?” she said.
She rubbed and patted his belly while she sang “Silent Night” very softly and slowly.
By the time she was finished singing it through once, his eyes were already closed.
He really was such a good baby.
She pulled her hand away and he whimpered lightly for a second without opening his eyes, and then relaxed into sleep.
With the baby happy and the house nice and clean, Evangeline wasn’t sure what to do with herself.
She wandered into the kitchen, wondering if she should start some dinner. Even if Grayson ate while he was out, she was going to have to eat something herself.
She glanced at the clock. He’d told her this morning that he thought he’d be home about half an hour from now, so she didn’t have a lot of time.
But there were chicken breasts in the fridge and plenty of fresh vegetables.
She decided to pan fry the chicken and prep a salad, and maybe bake some biscuits too.
She couldn’t resist turning the radio on at a low volume before she got started. John Denver was singing “Christmas for Cowboys” and she smiled and found herself humming along.
The kitchen was so nicely set-up and so well stocked that it was a real pleasure to cook in it.
Back home, part of the process of cooking included finding creative ways to substitute for expensive ingredients and how to make it all work in the wrong pots and pans for the job.
She and Rory always managed, and they usually had a lot of fun while they were at it.
But cooking with fresh ingredients on such a nice stove was a luxury.
“Wish you were here, big brother,” she murmured to the empty kitchen.
The more she let herself think about his situation, the more she worried. She’d been frantic at the thought of him in jail, but being free with a debt owed to the gang might actually be worse.
Please don’t do anything you shouldn’t, she thought to him across the miles.
It felt incredibly unfair that she was here, enjoying the high life while her big brother paid the price back in the city.
But she knew from their call that all he wanted was for her to stay safe and take care of herself.
I’m doing my best…
But that wasn’t really true. He’d been worried that Grayson might want something more from her than being a nanny for his boy.
As it turned out, it was Evangeline who kept finding herself wanting something more. Even right now, she couldn’t help picturing herself not as an employee, but as a young wife, preparing dinner for her husband after she put their baby down for a nap.
It was such a sweet fantasy that she let herself indulge in it while she fried the chicken, cut up the veggies, and threw a batch of biscuits in the oven.
She pictured Grayson’s handsome face when he came home. The big man would stalk in the front door with his usual energy. His expression would be as serious as always, but he would break into a tender smile when his eyes met Evangeline’s, a smile that was hers alone.
Then he would sweep up the baby in one arm and wrap the other around his wife, holding their little family close in a protective embrace.
She couldn’t help sighing at that idea.
It was a nice thought, but the more she learned about her employer, the more she understood what different worlds they came from.
She was poor as a church mouse, and he clearly had money. She had lived her life in one city, and he had seen the world.
And when things got tough she ran, while Grayson Ward was a hero, with the medals to prove it.
He deserved a different kind of woman—someone smart and brave like he was, someone who knew how to fit in with the people of this town.
Someone who wouldn’t bring danger to his doorstep.
She was hiding her location from her brother and his trouble, but what if the wrong people somehow found out? What if they came here looking for her to use as leverage against Rory?
She put those thoughts out of her head and pulled the biscuits from the oven.
The whole kitchen smelled good now. It would be so perfect if Grayson came in just as it was ready.
But she figured she would probably end up putting the chicken and biscuits in the oven once it cooled a bit, to hold them warm.
Just as she pulled the chicken off the heat, she heard the front door open, and familiar footsteps coming down the hall.
She quickly took the band out of her hair and let it fall around her shoulders, feeling silly about it even as she did it. It didn’t matter how she looked. She was here to do a job.
“Hey,” Grayson said, his handsome face breaking into a smile as their eyes caught—a smile that was hers alone. “It smells good in here.”
“Thank you,” she said, pleasure swirling in her chest. “Leo is taking a nap in his bassinet. He’s had his bath already so you can mostly relax.”
“Thank you,” he said, his voice heartfelt. “That’s really nice.”
“How was your day?” she couldn’t help asking.
“It was great,” he told her, heading to the kitchen and swiping a cherry tomato out of the salad bowl in a way that reminded her of her brother. “We built the stage for the event this weekend. It’s going to be so much fun.”
“That’s great,” she told him, grabbing some salad dressing from the fridge.
“Are those biscuits?” he asked, sounding very interested.
“Yes,” she told him. “My grandmother’s recipe. And I pan fried two of the chicken breasts you had in the fridge. I hope that’s okay?”
“It’s amazing,” he told her. “You don’t have to do all these things, you know. You can just watch Leo.”
“I like it,” she told him softly, wishing she could tell him the whole truth and say, I like taking care of both of you, but knowing it would probably make him uncomfortable.
“Hey, you put up the garland,” he said, stepping into the family room. “It looks so good with the lights and ribbons.”
She smiled proudly, glad that he was happy with the way it turned out. She liked it a lot too.
He moved to the bassinet and smiled down at his sleeping baby and hummed along to the radio, which was playing “Winter Wonderland” now.
Though all she wanted was to watch him gaze at Leo, she figured she’d better plate their dinner and bring it out to the table if they wanted to eat before he woke up.
She busied herself getting their meals together and she had both plates on the table and had gone back to pour two glasses of lemonade when she realized Grayson hadn’t joined her, and he wasn’t humming anymore.
A funny feeling went down her spine, and she turned just in time to see him rip the shadow box of medals from the wall.
“No,” he roared, his voice breaking along with the smash of the glass as he fell to his knees in the mess on the floor, howling into his hands like a wounded animal, his massive shoulders shaking.
Before she could try to understand, Leo began screaming in his bassinet.
Instinctively, she ran to the baby, pulling him into her arms while his father’s own wails filled the air.
She took the long way around the family room to avoid the broken glass and hurried upstairs with Leo, who was crying furiously.
When she reached his room, she curled up in one of the chairs and hugged the little boy to her chest, stroking his back.
He was almost rigid in her arms, and she tried to calm her own racing heart so that he would understand that he was safe.
“You’re okay,” she murmured to him. “Everything’s okay.”
She repeated her words, slowly and calmly, until he relaxed a little into her chest.
“Everything’s okay,” she whispered to him again.
But she wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince the baby, or herself.