Chapter 10
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Pamela watched with mixed emotions as the men took off. This would be a long day, especially starting out on her own so soon into this new day.
She was completely comfortable with the babies, but having three of them would keep her on her toes for the next little while.
Seeing Anderson again and rehashing some of the issues from their teenage years had her spinning.
The fact that it had taken him this long to acknowledge that he’d even recognized her said a whole lot.
Yet to be fair, she hadn’t mentioned anything either.
And she was still very confused about that. It’s almost as if Burton understood her underlying emotions more than Anderson did, but maybe he had just blocked everything out to make life easier on himself. She couldn’t really blame him for that. It had to be easier than dealing with that mess.
Still, it was a long time ago, and plenty of time had passed for all of them to move on, if such a thing were even possible.
She groaned at that. One of the babies gurgled up at her, and she laughed. She grinned as she tickled the pudgy little belly.
Immediately a baby-laugh erupted, then another, and another. She didn’t want to make them laugh too much and upset their tummies, but it was a joy to hear the laughter in their voices as they just enjoyed some downtime. Soon enough, they would be hungry, wet, and needing naps.
The fact that the men had managed to keep them and the house in such good condition was huge.
Interacting with these babies had made her nostalgic.
She was supposed to have been happily married with children of her own by now.
At least, that’s what she had told herself way back when. She had planned for it.
Instead, things had been much harder, much more difficult, and a whole lot unhappier.
She hadn’t had a solid relationship since Angel stole her boyfriend, mostly because the one person she’d always thought of as potentially the right person for her, somebody she had fallen rather hard for, was the same man whose nieces she was looking after right now.
Didn’t that beat all?
It reminded her of that time in the grocery store, where she had seen Angel after the big blow-up. Angel had been absolutely vicious in that conversation with her.
At the same time, it had been freeing to see who Angel really was and how she had just been acting back then.
Pamela had hoped that Anderson would truly see who Angel was, but Pamela’s boyfriend at the time had told her not to interfere because, until a guy saw it for himself, it made no difference.
And, of course, the minute Angel and Anderson broke up, Angel had done everything she could to move in on Pamela’s boyfriend.
The thing was, she hadn’t really cared. So, when he’d broken up with her—and credit to him for doing it and for acknowledging that he and Angel were already having an affair, Pamela had just waved her hand and said good riddance, which had upset him terribly.
It was a shock, but not so much once she really thought about it. Way back when, or maybe just at that age, people did crap like that. They hurt each other, moved on, moved around, and moved out, all in record speed. It was just part of growing up, she guessed.
Painful though, and fraught with righteous indignation.
Full of plans for everything you thought would go a certain way.
Then reality hits, and none of it works out.
Through the midst of her reminiscing, she caught a distinct aroma of that special smell that couldn’t be mistaken.
She looked down at the triplets and grinned. “Now for the fun part, huh?”
They just warbled back at her, and she quickly grabbed the diaper bag off to the side that she had packed, so she didn’t have to leave the babies alone or have to look around for supplies, since she wasn’t familiar with the house yet. Quickly and efficiently, she changed all three.
With that done, she put the diapers in a small trash bag she also had tucked off to the side.
Knowing that it would be time for a nap, but they might need food soon, she put all three on a blanket and gently pulled the blanket through to the kitchen, laughing at her needless actions.
Even though they would be fine alone for a few minutes, she recognized that, in this situation, they needed to be treated differently right now.
Surely anytime someone left them now just led to crying outbursts.
As soon as she got into the kitchen, she checked the time. Too soon for a full-fledged lunch, so maybe just a snack would do for now. They would need more food later, but that was okay. She was prepped for that too.
She quickly warmed up some of the food she had brought, and, plunking them into their highchairs, she sat down in front of them and fed them.
Not very much, just a little snack, just enough to tide them over so they would sleep a little better.
And, with that well in hand, she then picked up two, took them into the first-floor bedroom-turned-office, where she put them into the playpen, and then came back for the third one, who was starting to get fussy and crying in the high chair, but Pamela had her in bed with her sisters soon afterward. “There you go, guys, naptime.”
With things firmly in hand, she took a picture and sent it to Burton and Anderson. Her text read Naptime is on.
Burton called her and said, “That was fast.”
“They were pretty tuckered out,” she replied, keeping her voice low, modulated. “Let me talk to Anderson, please.”
As soon as he came on, he asked about the babies. “They’re doing fine. How’s your job going? Is there any change in Talia?”
“No change. She’s healing, but it’s taking its time, and they’re still keeping her under,” he shared. “They’re arguing about any security. As far as they’re concerned, it’s absolutely not necessary, and they won’t allow somebody who’s not family to be here.”
“Is this anything that you can challenge? Is anybody above you or in your … I don’t know how to say it, but on your team or whatever, who could buck that and who could get an okay from the hospital on your behalf?”
“Maybe there is,” he noted, his tone turning thoughtful. “I’ll have to consider that.”
“I mean, as soon as there’s any issue, you know they’ll be screaming all over the place about lawsuits and whatnot.”
“But, until there’s an issue,” he pointed out, “they’ll do everything they can to avoid it. They don’t want anybody else on high alert or thinking they’re in danger.”
“Yeah, and then, if there is a problem,” she stated in a dry tone, “they’ll be blaming you first.”
“Which is another consideration,” he admitted, with a groan.
“Cover your ass,” she suggested, “and I hate to say it, but expect the worst and plan for the best is probably the way to go.”
“Right. I get it.”
When they ended the call, she went and lay down for a few minutes, trying to make sure she had a bit of rest for the next round with the triplets.
Not that she was tired, but she was more keyed up than anything.
She could only imagine what life would be like if this were a full-time job for her.
In a way, it would be absolutely everything she ever wanted, but, in another way, she wasn’t at all sure that she would be happy without doing some work outside the home, maintaining a level of independence. That was important to her too.
Those were some of the many choices that women had to make, and sometimes men did too.
Yet it seemed most often that the primary job of child-rearing fell on the women’s shoulders, even if they had a career themselves.
“Why can’t two people in a relationship more equally share in the responsibilities?
” she murmured out loud. As soon as she closed her eyes, she dropped off into a light sleep, with one ear tuned to the babies, while the rest of her crashed, hoping to at least get in a catnap.
When she heard something, she thought it must be Anderson coming in.
She opened her eyes to check the triplets in the playpen and then looked out into the living room.
Seeing nothing, she wasn’t sure what she’d heard, but she sat up quietly and moved toward the kitchen to check.
That’s when she heard somebody at the back door, trying to open it.
She had locked it by instinct, just a natural thing that she did all the time, and even now she wasn’t sure why but hadn’t questioned her reasoning at the time.
She stealthily walked to the side window where she could peer out and see who it was, hoping it was Burton or Anderson, but it wasn’t. It was a stranger she did not know. She pulled out her phone and tried to get a picture of him.
He kept trying the door and then started swearing, when he realized his key wouldn’t let him in.
She could only think that maybe it was the father of the children, in which case, was he after the children or was he after some more of his belongings?
She tried taking another photo of him, but it was such a bad angle.
She hesitated, wondering if it was safe to change her position and risk letting him know that she was here.
Was that a wise thing? Probably not. Then suddenly his face appeared in the window right in front of her.
She squawked loudly and stepped back in shock and horror. His eyes widened, and he turned and bolted. She didn’t get a chance to take a picture and was cursing herself for having missed the opportunity but quickly texted Anderson to let him know what had happened.
Anderson called her. “Somebody tried to get in?”
“Yes,” she cried out. “He was trying to get in the back door.”
“Can you describe him?”
She took a deep breath. “Maybe thirtyish, early thirties, curly brown hair—no, short with just a bit of a wave to it, but, if it was longer, it would be curly,” she began, closing her eyes. “White, lean, and tall, with freckles across his face.”
“That is the father of the triplets,” he snapped, his tone grim. “You just described Timothy perfectly.”
Her heart in her throat, she muttered, “Oh my God.”
“I know,” he murmured, “and now he knows you’re there.”
“Oh yeah, he knows I’m here all right. I think he was as surprised as I was.”
“Nobody knew where he was, but now we know he’s remained local.”
“Are there any security cameras?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “I’ll check them as soon as I get home. I’ll take a moment and stop at the police station to let them know what happened.”
“Good,” she replied. “I really hope he won’t be coming back.”
“I would like to think not,” Anderson stated, his tone hard. “On the other hand, if he does come back, I want to be there.”
She didn’t like his tone and voiced her trepidation.
“It’s fine. I get it. Nobody likes my tone, but my sister is lying in a hospital, and my friends and connections are pitching in together to take care of the girls and to help solve whatever the hell this. So, if Tim did this …” And his voice trailed off.
“I know,” she agreed. “If he did this, he’ll have to pay, but it will have to be within the bounds of the law. It’s not for you to make him pay. You have to stay on the right side of the law in that regard.”
“I know that,” he grumbled in frustration, “but that doesn’t make this any easier.”
“No, it’s not meant to,” she stated. “None of it’s easy, but it is the law that we’re working with.”
He snorted at that. “I didn’t remember you being such a bleeding heart.”
“I’m not,” she told him cheerfully. “Yet I believe in the law. Otherwise I wouldn’t do the job I do.”
“No, you couldn’t, could you?” he asked thoughtfully. “Anyway, I’ll leave the hospital and head to the cops. If nothing else, it’ll add credence to the fact that Talia needs somebody looking after her here.”
“Don’t leave her alone right now,” Pamela offered cautiously. “It’s not beyond reason that Tim could be on his way over there right now.”
“Right,” he concurred. “As for you, don’t go anywhere, and stay away from the windows. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
And, with that, he ended the call.