Chapter 9
Despite McKenzie waking up several times last night, Delilah got up in the morning feeling more rested than she had in ages. She nursed McKenzie, then set her in the travel crib so she could get dressed. She could hear sounds from the other side of the house—it sounded like Ben was doing something in the kitchen.
Once she was all dressed in her best pair of slacks and a long-sleeved shirt that would hide her tattoos, Delilah grabbed McKenzie and made her way into the kitchen. She hoped Ben drank coffee.
He didn”t turn around right away when she entered, so she had a chance to admire the way his tight-fitting white t-shirt stretched across his back. She felt her jaw drop. Such manly perfection should be impossible. And yesterday, when she’d come out of the house and seen him holding McKenzie like that? Her ovaries damn near exploded. A hot guy with a baby. She never would”ve thought that would be something to do it for her, but hell, it really did something for her.
Now as she stared at his back, her mind raced with possibilities of making a home with him somewhere, kissing him goodbye every day as she and McKenzie went off to work. McKenzie growing older and Ben and Delilah dropping her off for her first day of kindergarten.
Delilah almost laughed. She was letting her imagination get way out of control. Besides, this was Chase”s brother. How weird would that be?
When Ben turned, Delilah saw what he had been working on at the kitchen counter. She felt her eyes widen. ”Pancakes?”
He flipped a couple off the griddle and onto a plate, then passed her the plate.
”I went to the store earlier and got some soy milk, or some weird kind of milk. The lady at the store assured me that it didn”t have any dairy in it. That”s what I used in the pancakes.”
”You made them with milk? I mean, soy milk? That means...you made these from scratch.” Delilah couldn”t help the disbelief that coated her words.
He shrugged. ”This is how my mom taught me.”
”Wow.”
He jerked his head toward the table. ”There”s some weird nondairy butter over there, too. I think it tastes like shit—”
He must”ve seen the flashing glare in Delilah”s eyes, and the way she pointed at McKenzie”s ears. He gave her a puzzled look.
“I’m trying not to swear around her,” she said. “It’s hard and I mess up sometimes, but if you wouldn’t mind…”
He nodded. “Fine. I think it tastes like crap, but at least it”s something.”
Delilah took her plate over to the table where the butter and syrup sat in matching dishes in the center. She could”ve wept. If it had been a long time since she”d had a shower, it had been even longer since she”d had breakfast. But she held her emotions in check and ate with McKenzie nestled in one arm. The pancakes were good—perfectly fluffy, and the fake butter stuff was actually pretty decent. Not as good as the real thing, but it certainly didn’t taste like shit.
After a few bites, she said, ”Are you joining me?”
Ben grunted. ”I don’t usually do breakfast.”
”Oh.” That meant he’d made this just for her. She had to blink several times, because she figured the worst way to repay this emotionally stunted man for his kindness would be with a fresh batch of tears. ”Well, thank you.”
“Sure, no problem.”
One of these days, she would do something for him. And it would be him telling her thank you, and her telling him it was no problem.
When she was done eating, she put McKenzie over her shoulder and carried her dirty dishes to the sink.
”Leave them,” Ben grunted. ”I”ll stick them in the washer later.”
McKenzie started fussing when Delilah leaned over to buckle her into her carrier. She knew what was coming.
”Shh, it”s all right,” Delilah reassured her.
Ben came over and looked down at them.
”Do I look okay for my first day of work?” Delilah asked.
He gave her a serious, appraising glance. ”I miss the tats.”
”You like them?” she said with a laugh. ”I usually mark them down to a bad life choice.”
”Nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. ”They look good.”
Now strapped into her carrier, McKenzie had begun to fuss in earnest.
Delilah swung the carrier gently back and forth, hoping to calm her.
”Thanks,” Delilah said to Ben. ”I”m going to ask my new boss for an advance on my pay so I can get that lock fixed at my place and get out of your hair.”
He ran a hand through his hair. ”I have some time today, I wouldn”t mind looking at it for you.”
”You”ve got to stop doing me favors,” she said. ”Then again, it”s probably less of a favor and more that you’re trying to get me out of your place.”
He gave a subtle shake of his head, and Delilah wasn”t sure what it meant. He was probably too polite to say he wanted to get her out.
”What”s your address?” he asked.
She told him and he nodded. ”I can find that,” he said.
Delilah left the house balancing McKenzie”s carrier, her diaper bag, and Delilah”s wallet. She could feel Ben”s eyes on her back as she left, and she imagined him thinking, Good riddance.
* * *
Tykes Palace wasa dream come true. The building was large, bright, and cheerful. It was filled with furniture and activities for little kids, and there was an outdoor area where Delilah could imagine McKenzie playing when she got older. Not only that, but her new boss, Janine, was incredible. Her soft, matronly figure matched the kind voice that Delilah had come to know over the phone. As soon as Delilah and McKenzie arrived, Janine spent an entire five minutes properly admiring McKenzie. She pointed to two plastic bags of clothes in the entryway and said, ”These are hand-me-downs. Lots of the moms here give away their old clothes. Some of them are in great shape.”
“Wow,” Delilah said. “Thank you.” Perks of the job already, and she hadn’t even officially started work.
”Do you have some kind of wearable baby carrier for McKenzie?” Janine asked.
”Oh, I hadn”t thought of that,” Delilah said. She gave a little laugh. ”Obviously, I”m going to have to put her down to actually, you know, do my job.”
”No problem, I have a couple extras. More hand-me-downs, you know.”
Delilah was a little afraid that McKenzie would hate the baby sling that Janine gave her, but after Janine wrapped the long swath of fabric around Delilah’s torso in a complicated knot and they dropped McKenzie into it, McKenzie seemed calm and happy. Delilah stared down at the top of her baby”s head in wonder.
”She”s not freaking out,” Delilah said, amazed. ”She really seems to like this thing.”
Janine laughed. ”Consider it yours, just remember to bring it with you to work every day.”
”That won’t be a problem,” Delilah assured her. ”I don’t think I”ll ever take this thing off.”
Yesterday, Delilah might not have thought it would be possible, but her luck really was looking up.
”See?” she whispered in her baby”s ear. ”All you gotta do is stay positive, kid. That”s the way to do it.”