Chapter 3 #2
Gracie let out a loud yell. Ava pulled her hand from his and dashed down the hallway, calling over her shoulder that she’d be right back.
She’d left the monitor so he watched her talking softly to the baby as she got her out of bed and changed her diaper. They both came back into the room a few minutes later. Gracie saw him and threw her entire body forward he reached up to take her from Ava.
“Told ya she missed you.”
He laughed as the baby girl’s hand wrapped around his finger. Her eyes were big and brown, and as he looked down on her rounded face, he felt something tug deep inside of him. She looked like his people. The DNA had already proved that she was one-quarter Diné and shared genetic markers with him.
Could she be the child of a half brother he’d never met?
As always when it came to his mom he had more question than he’d ever get answers for.
It would be easy to just write it off because she was dead, but the truth was even when his mom had been alive she’d been elusive.
He had never known her, not really. And he’d wanted that.
Wanted to know the only parent that had been alive when he’d been a kid.
That strengthened his resolve to find a good family for Gracie on the Navajo reservation.
To ensure that she grew up close to her relatives so she’d know where she came from.
His grandmother had been a strong figure and raised him to know his past and directed him to find his own path to the future.
Something he truly respected and appreciated.
There was no one he loved as much as he loved her.
But that didn’t mean he hadn’t still missed out on having his mom.
Watching Chay hold Gracie made Ava feel warm all over.
She took another of the blue corn cookies to distract herself from the domestic scene.
It wasn’t like she wanted to date a guy who wanted kids.
The world they lived in made her think twice about wanting to bring children into it.
But there was something about Chay that was changing her mind.
He’d be such a good father. She doubted he even saw that in himself.
Though she was still getting to know him, it was easy to see that he projected himself as a loner.
Yet he’d brought her cookies his grandmother had made.
He was determined to find out who had kidnapped Fern and keep the Navajo Nation safe as well as the town of Dark Canyon.
He cared. Way more than she suspected he wanted the world to know. Maybe it was the fact that she was a psychiatrist that gave her insight. But she didn’t believe that. Chay was gruff at times, but there was also that way that he smiled, joked and looked after others.
When he’d put her hand over hers, not saying words that she would struggle to believe, like promising her safety, she’d known that the like that had been slowly blooming within her was starting to grow.
She’d struggled to explain to her parents and younger brother that nothing anyone could say or do would ever make her feel safe again.
Something that she might need to share with Fern to help in the other woman’s recovery. Ava really liked to keep her past in the past. But her mom’s call had stirred up those old feelings, and there was no shaking it.
The deep breathing had helped, and having Chay here was going a long way to reminding her of all the good men there were in the world. Watching him hold and play with Gracie made her smile.
She shoved aside her own feelings. “Has Marg reached out to you yet?”
“Marg?”
“From Family and Child Services?” Ava asked, getting up to refill both of their coffee cups. She’d been talking to the other woman about Gracie’s DNA results and trying to find her biological father.
“She did. I referred her to the Tribal Children Services so they can work together to find the right family for Gracie,” he said, then looked down at the baby. “Yes I did.”
He tickled Gracie’s neck, and the baby laughed when he did it. The sound was so sweet and happy that Ava couldn’t help but smile.
She appreciated that he must be using proper channels to ensure Gracie ended up with a relative. Ava was a big believer in finding the best families for her foster kids…well, that one other time. “Do you have cousins or siblings?”
“None that I know of, as I mentioned the other day. Why?” he asked. It was odd for her to think of him having such a small family when she was related to half of Dark Canyon.
“Just wondering who Gracie will end up,” Ava said. “I really love this little girl and want the best placement for her.”
“I think everyone does,” Chay said, taking a sip of his coffee while still holding Gracie.
“Was your grandmother excited to have a new grandchild?” she asked him. Her mom was itching for grandchildren but didn’t really pressure her or Ryan.
“No. Gracie isn’t ours,” Chay said softly.
“But she could be, right?”
He stood up and handed the baby to her as he paced away from her to the kitchen sink looking out the window on her backyard.
“No. She’s not going to be living with me. I’m a workaholic who lives in a very remote cabin. I’m not going to be her permanent family. I’ll check in on her and make sure she’s okay, but she needs a real family.”
Ava rocked the little girl, who caught a strand of her hair and tugged on it. “Families come in all shapes and sizes.”
“I appreciate that.”
He put his hands on his hips, his head falling forward.
“Sorry if I’m pushing, but I just want her to be with the right people,” Ava said.
“She has no family that we know of—yet. I’m not the right person to raise her,” Chay said.
“Why do you believe that?”
“I just do. Thanks for the coffee and the information. I’m heading out now,” Chay said.
She followed him into the entryway, where she had a bench that he sat on to put his boots on. Holding Gracie on her hip, she just watched him. A part of her wanted to push further, but she knew he wasn’t going to give her any more information. He was defensive and running away.
Which surprised her. He had seemed more tenacious than that. She guessed she’d hit a nerve and would have to tread more carefully. But she knew she wasn’t going to drop this. Seeing Chay and Gracie together convinced her they’d make a good family.
“I’m sorry if pushed too hard, but I have to follow my heart. Family is one of my greatest strengths.”
Chay stood up with his boots on, walking toward her so that he towered over her. “Family…I don’t have what you do. It’s just my grandmother and me.”
“And Gracie.”
His eyes closed, and he shook his head. His frustration with her was plain to read and she knew she should stop. But at the same time, there was a bond between Gracie and Chay that she wanted to nurture.
“It could be. You’re really good with her.”
“That’s because she’s not mine,” he said. “My grandmother is the caretaker in our relationship.”
There was more to that than she could unpack in this moment. Chay was leaving angry, which she didn’t want. “Will you come by again?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t be a brat,” she said.
“Don’t try to boss me,” he returned.
“I do have a habit of that,” she said, offering him a half smile.
He smiled back. “I can see that.”
“It’s just hard not to boss when I’m usually right.”
“Being right is important?”
“Not always, but about family it is.”
“What makes you so sure? You barely know me.”
Reaching up with her free hand, she touched his face. A tingle went up her arm. “I know you, Chay Benally. I see you.”
He leaned down almost as if he was going to kiss her. Her eyes drifted closed, she leaned in and she felt the brush of his thick hair against her cheek as he kissed the top of Gracie’s head, then winked at Ava and left.