Chapter 16
CREW
“Aprons?”
“Check.”
“Ingredients?”
My eyes sweep across the kitchen counters. “Check.”
“And the most important thing…sprinkles,” Addie yells, excitement filling her voice. I love seeing her like this—excited for something out of the ordinary. She knows pancakes are clearly not my speed.
I hold open the grocery bag I kept hidden, knowing she would ask and wanted to surprise her. “Why don’t you tell me?” I insist.
Bright blue eyes soar wide in thrill before leaning in. “Are you kiddin’ me right now?” Addie squeals.
“Oh, I’m serious!” I chant. “As serious as Ariel is about Flounder being her best friend!”
The gummiest smile in all the world lights up. “Best. Day. Ever.”
“Best day ever? Or best dad ever?” I hold both arms out, joking but also using any excuse to hear how much she loves me. I’ll take advantage of that until the day I die.
“Best daddy ever! Best day ever! Best everything!” Addie’s arms wrap around my legs in the firmest hold, squeezing me tight. I don’t get to enjoy the hug for very long before the doorbell rings, and Addie’s darting to the door.
“It’s Juniper!” she yells. “Finally! I’ve been waiting all morning!”
“Don’t answer it, Doodle. Let Daddy check first,” I instruct, shuffling past her to look through the peephole. I’m not sure what or who I thought it would be; I invited her here. But Juniper at my door all but stops me in my tracks.
I take a deep breath. What for, I’m not sure. But I make a quick effort to correct Addie’s verbiage right away as I swing open the door. Stepping back, I lean down toward Addie and say, “And that’s Dr. Wilde to you.”
“There’s the prettiest queen in all of Emerald City,” Juniper greets my extroverted daughter, her smile lifting to mine while she returns Addie’s hug. “Suburban Daddy.”
Why do I like that so much? My chest gets tight and feels weird when she says it. I kind of want her to say it again. But because today isn’t about me, I don’t file my official request.
“Doc.” I nod, mustering up a smile when, strangely, all I want to do is hug her. Never have I ever hugged Juniper Wilde, and it’s probably a good thing. I may end up tackling her if I did. “Thanks for coming over.”
“Of course.”
Small hands pat my side. “Aren’t you gonna invite her in, Daddy?”
“Shit. Yes. Sorry.” I slide over, making a pathway for Juniper to enter.
The two girls join hands and take off to the kitchen. I don’t miss the way Juniper sets her purse on the dining room table without instruction. She does it because it feels right.
Is she comfortable around us? I really hope so.
My mind is all over the place.
However, I’m not scattered enough to hear Addie say just above a whisper when she thinks I’m out of earshot. “Daddy says cuss words a lot. But he won’t let me say them.”
I stand back and listen, unashamed I’m eavesdropping. Juniper’s carefree laugh echoes in the kitchen. “Sometimes grown-ups say bad words. It doesn’t mean we should, but we do. Just know your daddy loves you very much, and he does it to keep you safe.”
“Safe from what?”
“Uhhh,” Juniper stutters, and I chuckle quietly. She got her. “Safe from…other kids who say bad words. It teaches you a lesson. See, full circle moment.” She sounds proud of her on-the-spot comeback, and I’ve gotta say, she killed it.
“Hmm. If you say so, Dr. Juniper,” Addie concurs, and I take that as my sign to join them.
“Doodle,” I scold. “What did I say?” She can hardly pronounce Juniper’s name, and it’s adorable, but I’m firm on respect in our home, and the same applies to Dr. Wilde.
“But doctors don’t come to houses. Only friends do, so that makes us friends.”
Damn, she’s good. Too good.
So good that even Juniper falls for it, squatting down to Addie’s level. “We are most definitely friends. How about, if it’s okay with your dad, you call me Dr. Wilde at the office, and anywhere else, Juniper is perfect? What do you think about that?”
Addie ponders her proposition for a moment before looking at me for approval. I nod, sealing her fate. “Deal!” she shouts.
“We make a lot of deals in this house,” I laugh, meeting them at the kitchen island. Juniper props Addie on the counter, close to panicking when she realizes she didn’t ask permission.
I reach for the underside of her arm and graze the softness of her skin, not even noticing until it’s already done. “Don’t. It’s okay. As long as she’s good with it, I am, too.”
“She most certainly is!” Addie cheers. “Definitely friends.”
Nice emphasis on the definitely, baby girl.
Juniper smiles softly and nearly knocks me to my knees when I notice her eyes still trained on the place my hand just left. Almost like she can’t believe it was there. Well, that makes two of us.
“Habit,” she stammers, and to change the subject, I quickly redirect us to the reason she’s here.
Pancakes.
I clap my hands. “So, you girls ready to make some pancakes?”
“Yeah!” Addie cheers, and Juniper’s face beams. “Oh, we’re ready. Prepare to have your life changed.”
“Changed? That’s a pretty big declaration there, Doc. Sure you’ve got the culinary skills to back it up?”
“Foodie, remember?” she gloats, pointing to herself with pride.
“Daddy got all the ingredients! Oh! And Halloween sprinkles!” Addie cuts in, making us both laugh.
“Halloween, really?” Juniper looks at me in amusement.
I shrug. “Listen, a man can only do so much. Show me some grace, woman.”
Her smile reaches her eyes, if that’s even possible, and next to my daughter, it might be my new favorite view. “Alright, Suburban Daddy. Get over here so I can show you how a Wilde woman makes pancakes.”
Wilde woman or wild woman? I think I’ll take the second option, please and thank you.
I keep that comment to myself and get ready to learn some things. I tell myself this is strictly for Addie, but somewhere along the way, spending time with Juniper feels like something for me, also.
“Too. Many. Sprinkles,” Addie draws out dramatically, rubbing her belly for added effect.
“And whipped cream.” Juniper pats her stomach.
“You did add almost an entire bottle of sprinkles to one pancake, Doodle. I would be surprised if you didn’t get a tummy ache,” I tell her, sliding her insulated cup of water toward her.
“I don’t feel so good.”
“Hey! Wanna know a fun fact?” Juniper asks, jumping in to save the day.
That has Addie’s slump rising a bit. “I like fun facts.” Her smile grows.
Juniper bends to eye level with Addie and says, “One time, I made my cat homemade pancakes. Well, we call them seafood pancakes because cats like those kinds of things. Anyway, he loved the pancakes so much that his belly filled up like a giant balloon, and he farted so loud it scared me.”
Addie erupts in laughter. “He tooted!” she hollers before noting, “you have a cat? What’s her name?”
“His name is Shakespeare.”
“Shakespeare,” Addie attempts to pronounce it, but adorably fails. “Does Shakespeare like snuggles?”
“Shakespeare loves snuggles. You’ll have to meet him someday.”
She’s making plans…
Addie turns toward me with hopefulness in her glassy eyes. “Daddy, please? Can I meet Princess Juniper’s kitty? His snuggles will be so cute.”
Oh, we’ve moved on to Princess Juniper now.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I tell her, knowing this distraction won’t last long before her belly ache really catches up with her. “Why don’t you drink some water and go watch cartoons for a little while? Or color a picture? Mommy isn’t picking you up for another hour.”
We’ve successfully eaten all the pancakes, and fuck were they good. I don’t know what Doc put in them—actually, I do because she showed us. Butter. A shit ton of butter and buttermilk. Jesus. Now that I think about it, we ate butter for breakfast and loved it.
I can officially say I’m trained and qualified to make edible pancakes.
“Princess Juniper, can you walk me to my room?” My girl and her obsession with names. I can’t keep up, but Juniper didn’t seem to mind, going right along with her imagination.
“If that’s okay with your dad, Queen Addie of Emerald City?”
Both girls look at me. “Go for it.” I wave them away and finally take a deep breath as Addie leads Juniper up the stairs and to her bedroom.
God, her ass looks good in sweatpants. This is wrong. So, so wrong.
What am I doing? And why am I having thoughts about my daughter’s doctor that are in no way appropriate, considering our relationship? It’s been a while for me…a long while. Maybe I’m just sexually frustrated. That could be it.
I don’t know how to act. When I saw her show up at my bar on a date, I saw red. All I know is that I wanted to stop it and demand she ditch the guy for me. But that’s crazy…I’m thinking crazy. I’ve got nothing to offer Juniper, and shit, what would it look like if I started dating her?
Strikers centerfielder, Crew Briggs, seeks out daughter’s pediatrician.
That would give Atlanta something to talk about.
I think it’s best if I just keep to myself for now. I’ll likely be tormented by watching her date other men, but I’ve got too much shit going on to add another heart to care for.
“A Barbie dream house? You really are that dad, huh?” Juniper announces her return down the stairs, humor laced in her tone.
I peer up from the dining room table, unable to help myself from focusing on how beautiful she is.
For once, Juniper isn’t in scrubs or black.
She’s dressed down in gray sweatpants and an oversized burnt orange hoodie that reads “Nashville” on it.
Her black hair is down in loose waves, and god, I’m stunned.
“I’m a weak fuck when it comes to her,” I admit, gathering myself together.