Chapter 2
Cole
It’s been one hell of a fucking week. Between work and the boys, there’s never a dull moment. Unfortunately, Holden seems to be a little too interested in Miss Mary’s granddaughter. It’s not like he has a crush on her or anything, nothing that crazy, but every time he sees her outside, he watches her every damn move. Hell, even Brett has taken an interest in her.
Miss Mary came home two days ago and the boys have been begging to go see her, but I keep telling them she needs to rest. Sure, part of my reluctance is that I don’t want to see her granddaughter, but the woman did have a heart attack recently. Look, it’s not that her granddaughter has given me a reason to hate her…yet…but rather that I know it’s only a matter of time before she does. Instead of waiting around for the minute she decides to show her true colors, I’ve made things easier for myself by pushing her away, like I do all women.
Don’t judge me! My mother chose men and drugs over me. My ex-wife chose drugs, men and booze over me and our kids. The only girl I tried dating after that was only six months ago and she waited until after I found out she was screwing someone else to tell me she wasn’t interested in taking on dating a guy with three kids. Women, in my experience, do nothing but lie, cheat and abandon you.
I was hoping to come home today to a house that’s only mildly destroyed and a cold beer, so imagine my surprise, or maybe it’s just sheer horror, when I walk through my door and I’m greeted with silence. I have three boys…silence doesn’t exist during waking hours. I call out to them, to their sitter, Mrs. Abby, but there’s no response. It isn’t until I walk into the kitchen that I spot the note on the counter and a deep sense of dread hits me before I even reach for the offensive thing.
Cole,
James got hurt at work. Had to go to hospital. Boys are next door with Mrs. Mary and Camille.
Janet
I feel like my blood is boiling as I crumple the note, toss it across the kitchen and storm my ass over there to get my boys. I knock on the door, probably a little too hard, and it opens seconds later to reveal a smiling Holden with what I assume is flour dusted over his hands, shirt and even a little on his face. When his eyes meet mine, his smile instantly drops.
“Hey, dad.” I can tell he’s trying to decide what kind of mood I’m in.
“Get your brothers and let’s go.” I’m pretty sure the growl in my voice makes my mood clear as day, but then another voice speaks up, one of the few feminine voices that doesn’t make me hate the entire female population…Miss Mary.
“Cole, come on in. The boys were just helping bake some cookies.” I begrudgingly enter the house and spot Miss Mary sitting at the breakfast bar, staring into the kitchen and smiling.
“Cam, you have flour on your face!” I hear Cody cry out through his laughter, the sound being something I hear very rarely these days. I walk over to see for myself and standing in the kitchen is Camille, with Joey on her hip and Cody on a stool beside her, all giggling and smiling brightly. Holden walks past me and grabs a cookie off a plate on the island then hands it to me.
“Me and Cody made these ones all by ourselves!” He smiles, radiating pride as I take it from him. He watches me with bated breath as I take a bite and moan at the taste. I can’t even remember the last time I had homemade chocolate chip cookies, but these are fucking amazing.
“Good job, boys.” They all beam with pride, even little Joey. I can’t fight my smile as I take in their flour and cookie dough covered faces and clothes.
“I’m sorry. Their sitter came over and said she had an emergency. She asked grams to watch them, but she’s in no condition to be running around after anyone, so I thought making cookies would be a good way to occupy them until you got home.” She carefully sets Joey down and the little bugger instantly reaches up for her again, but I can tell she’s torn. It’s clear she didn’t want to put him down, but I know she’s afraid I’ll snap at her again. Part of me wants to, but seeing my boys this happy…it does something to me…warms my damn heart…just a little.
“I know, she left a note. Thanks for watching them. Boys, tell Camille thank you.” Not only do they thank her, but they all hug her too, something they never do with their sitter and that…that’s something I have no damn clue how to handle.
“Dad, can we hang out with Cam again tomorrow?” Holden’s hopeful expression throws me off because the last thing I want for my boys is to have them get attached to someone who’ll just let them down and hurt them.
“I’m sure your sitter will be back tomorrow. I really had fun today, boys. Thanks for helping me make these cookies, but I think you all need to take some with you since we made so many.” She gives them a warm smile that lights up her green eyes then pulls a storage container out of the cupboard and packages up at least two dozen cookies that she hands to Holden.
“Thanks, Cam.” Holden is clearly upset, but trying to hide it, likely for the sake of his brothers.
“It was my pleasure, Holden. You kids are pretty awesome.” She winks at him and, of course, he smiles brightly. The moment is interrupted when the cell phone sitting next to Mary starts ringing and I catch the way Mary’s expression goes from warm and smiling to instantly irritated.
“It’s Dalton.” She shoves the phone across the counter toward Camille who quickly swipes the screen to send the call to voicemail.
“Who’s Dalton?” I want to scold Holden for asking a question about something that has nothing to do with us and is none of our damn business, but she responds faster than I do.
“A four year mistake. Alright, boys. Thanks again for all your help. Be good for your dad.” They all sneak in one more hug from her before we start heading toward the door. We stand in the entryway while Holden and Cody get their shoes on which, unfortunately, makes it impossible to not hear Camille and Mary’s conversation.
“What the hell is he calling you for, Camille?”
“I don’t know, grams. I really don’t.”
“The divorce was finalized, right?”
“Yep. I’ve been divorced for nine months, grams.”
“You better not let that snake back into your life, Cam. I told you from the get go that he was bad news.”
“Yeah, well, I clearly like to learn shit the hard way.”
“Ready, dad?” I look at Holden and give him a quick nod, readjust Joey on my hip then we head back home.
I woke up at my usual time this morning and started my usual workday routine. By the time I was showered, dressed and starting my first cup of coffee, the sun was just rising. I’m just about to start on breakfast when my phone alerts me to a new text message and I already know who it is…Janet Abby, the damn babysitter who’s probably going to screw my entire morning over by way of text message.
Janet: James is getting sent home today, but will need help for the next week or so. I’m sorry for the short notice, but I’ll need to be home with him. Mary next door said she and her granddaughter could watch the boys for you if I can’t.
Me: I’ll sort things out for the boys. Tell James I hope he gets better. Let me know if you need anything.
I know I can’t be mad at Janet and I’m not…I’m mad at the damn situation and the idea of letting that woman near my kids again. If I could miss work to stay with them, I would, but that’s not even an option. I know Mary needs rest and a whole week of having the boys over at her place for nine, maybe more, hours a day will definitely be too much.
I know what I need to do, but I sure the hell don’t want to do it. I finish my cup of coffee and put my work boots on then head out the front door to go talk to Camille. I’m surprised to find her sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee and a far away look as she stares off at the horizon that’s still painted with the pastel colors of the sunrise.
“I was just coming to talk to you.” She shakes her head like she’s trying to shake off whatever thoughts were flooding it then looks at me with a curious gaze and one of her eye brows quirked up like she’s trying to be amused, but hasn’t consumed quite enough caffeine yet to fully commit.
“Oh?” She’s clearly as surprised by this as I am and probably confused, not that I can really blame her.
“Janet has to stay home with James for about a week. I know Mary needs rest to recuperate, but I was wondering if you’d be willing to come over to watch the boys while I’m at work…just until Janet can come back. I’ll pay you, of course.” Her brow furrows and I’m honestly expecting her to tell me no, to fuck off, or maybe just laugh in my face, hell, maybe all of the above.
“You don’t need to pay me and yeah, I’ll hang out with them.” I rake my fingers through my hair that’s in desperate need of a trim, letting out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.
“I appreciate it, but I insist on paying you for doing this.” I really want her to see this as a job, hoping it will keep her from reading anything more into it or crossing any lines with my kids.
“And I insist that you consider us even. I help you by watching the boys so you can go to work and you help me by getting me away from grams for a few hours a day before the woman drives me certifiably insane with her crap. It’s a win-win. Besides, we both know I was your last option, so the fact that you’re here right now means you’re desperate. I’m not going to take advantage of that. What time do you have to leave?” I look at my watch and see it’s only six forty five.
“I leave in about forty five minutes.” She stands up and I just now notice that she’s wearing short sleep shorts that show off her creamy white legs and the tank top she’s wearing makes it impossible to miss the fact that she’s not wearing a bra.
“Alright, I’ll go shower then I can head over.” It takes a second for her words to register and the second I clear my throat and meet her gaze, I realize I was caught. Instead of seeming bothered by it, she arches a brow and smirks before shaking her head and heading back inside. I hurry back home to pack my lunch and get started on breakfast for the boys, silently scolding myself the entire time for letting myself be caught ogling the neighbor.
“Dad?” I hear Holden’s voice seconds before he rounds the corner into the kitchen just as I’m finishing making their scrambled eggs and sausage.
“Hey, buddy. Breakfast is ready and Camille will be here to sit with you boys today.” His eyes widen almost comically before a bright smile appears on his face. I may not be fond of having a woman around, especially not one who’s attractive enough to be dangerous in my books, but seeing the boys smile so easily…I don't hate that.
“Really?! Cam’s coming over?!” I nod my confirmation and he dramatically pumps his fist in the air while whisper yelling ‘yes!’ like a damn heathen, right there in the kitchen.
“I expect you boys to be on your best behavior.” I give him a stern look to let him know I’m not joking, but he’s too focused on piling eggs on his plate to notice.
“Yeah, we will. Cam’s cool and we don’t want to scare her away.” Holden’s response should make me feel more at ease about leaving them with her, but the idea of them getting close to another woman who may disappoint them, hurt them or disappear on them is a constant cloud over my head.