Chapter 11 Grayson
GRAYSON
Grayson woke up the next morning to the sight of warm sunlight spilling through the windows. Birds were singing outside and he felt good all over.
He never slept past dawn these days. Leo was an early riser.
Leo…
Grayson was out of bed in a heartbeat, grabbing the video monitor from his bedside table. But it only showed him an empty crib.
Heart thundering, he ran to the door and flung it open.
The sound of Evangeline singing softly to Leo drifted up to him and it all landed on him at once.
He wasn’t alone with the baby anymore. Evangeline was here. She had quietly gotten up with Leo and she was taking care of him now, giving Grayson his first truly restful night of sleep since…
Well, since before.
He tried to push aside any thoughts about the event that had split his life between before and after. To fill the void, he let himself picture Evangeline in Trudy’s kitchen last night, her eyes on his as he wrapped her in his arms, ready to claim her as his own.
Don’t think about that either, he warned himself. It isn’t right. She works for you.
But the way she’d looked at him at the table afterward…
Well, maybe he was imagining it, but it felt like she was searching his face for his feelings, and happy with whatever she found when their eyes met.
He slipped back into his room to shower and dress quickly. Though he finally had the chance to take his time, he found that all he wanted was to hurry downstairs to join Evangeline and Leo.
I haven’t had the chance to miss him before, he realized.
As he headed downstairs, the rich scent of coffee wafted up, along with something sweet and decadent.
“Good morning,” Evangeline said softly.
She was sitting on the floor of the living space with Leo in her arms, looking at his little fabric farm animal book with him.
“Hi,” Grayson said.
Don’t notice how sweet they are. Don’t notice how beautiful she looks, even in those fluffy pajamas—especially in those fluffy pajamas. Don’t think about how soft she felt in your arms…
“There’s coffee,” she told him. “And I’ve got zucchini bread in the oven. I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself to the kitchen.”
“Not at all,” he told her. “I’m impressed you could do all that with Leo.”
“Oh, zucchini bread is easy,” she said. “You can make it at your own pace and then just throw it in the oven.”
“I could get used to this,” he told her, winking. “Thank you for getting up with him.”
The way her cheeks darkened sped up his pulse.
“It’s my pleasure,” she said softly. “I like to wake up early anyway.”
“I’m going to get some coffee,” he decided out loud. “Can I bring you some?”
“Yes, please,” she said. “But I can get it, if you want.”
“No, no,” he told her. “Let me take care of you. How do you like your coffee?”
“Milk and sugar, please,” she told him.
“Got it,” he said, heading to the open kitchen.
He poured them each a mug of coffee and added milk and sugar to Evangeline’s before coming back to the living room and setting the mugs on the cork coasters he kept on the coffee table.
“Ahhhh,” Leo said sweetly, noticing his father and extending his wiggly fingers to him.
“Can I take him?” Grayson asked, feeling a pull toward his son, but not wanting to just snatch him up.
“Of course,” Evangeline replied.
Grayson swung the boy up over his head for a moment like he was flying, and Leo squealed with joy before Grayson pulled him close.
When Leo tucked his warm little face into the crook of Grayson’s neck, it felt like anything wrong in the world could surely be solved if such sweetness existed.
“He’s such an angel,” Evangeline said quietly.
Grayson glanced down at her. She was still curled up on the floor, but she was holding her mug in both hands now, the steam curling up as if it wanted to caress her pretty face as much as Grayson did. Her eyes were sparkling as she gazed at Leo.
Suddenly it felt like Grayson’s heart was wiggling and kicking the way Leo did, trying to twist its way out of his chest to get to her.
What’s happening to me?
But he knew what it was. It had happened to so many of his old friends. They met a girl and all of a sudden their lives turned upside down. Meeting someone who loved you unconditionally had that effect on people.
No one could love me unconditionally, he reminded himself.
But somehow it didn’t feel true anymore, or at least not entirely true. A lightness washed over him that he hadn’t felt in years.
He had made himself as rich as a king, and yet his heart had been starving.
“This is good,” she told him.
It took him a second to realized she was talking about the coffee.
It ought to be—he’d put in two heaping spoonfuls of sugar along with a generous splash of milk. Evangeline was sweet. She deserved sweet things.
“Mine too,” he told her, though he hadn’t taken a sip yet. “Thanks for making it.”
“I’m just going to check on the bread,” she said, hopping up.
He watched her head into the kitchen and then sat with Leo, holding the boy up on his knee as if he were standing.
“Oh,” Leo said, eyes and mouth wide. Then he laughed and started hopping with his little feet.
Grayson laughed with him and lifted him up and down so he could feel like he was really jumping.
“He had his breakfast already,” Evangeline said from the kitchen. “And a nice fresh diaper again after.”
“You did?” Grayson asked the boy.
Leo chuckled at him and reached for his nose.
“Not my nose,” Grayson said in pretend dismay.
Leo laughed and then leaned slowly in, giving Grayson his version of a kiss on his chin. It was open-mouthed and left a lot of drool behind, but Leo’s kisses never failed to lift Grayson’s heart.
“You are the best baby,” he told him firmly. “The very best one.”
“I think this is ready,” Evangeline called out, sounding excited. “You have a really nice oven.”
That was good to know, since it had cost more than a car. But he was happy that she liked it. At least someone would appreciate it more than he did.
“I’m glad it did the job for you,” he told her, getting up with Leo and carrying him into the kitchen.
“Well, I’ll let you be the judge of that,” she said. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll bring you a slice. I can take Leo while you eat, if you want?”
“Nah,” he told her. “We’re just fine.”
She darted out to the living area and grabbed his coffee, bringing it over before serving him a slice of the sweet bread. It smelled even better now that it was out of the oven.
“I hope you like it,” she said, placing a slice on her own plate and sitting across from him.
Leo squeaked at her and thumped one little hand on the table.
“Sorry, Leo, you can’t have any yet. I’ll make some for you when you’re bigger.”
He chuckled at her and Grayson smiled at the baby’s exuberant mood. He was like this when he was well-rested, well-fed, and wearing a dry diaper and warm clothing.
“You’re doing an incredible job,” he told Evangeline. “He’s so happy.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I kind of made a mess of the kitchen, but I can clean up when he takes his nap.”
“You don’t have to cook and clean,” Grayson told her. “Your job is just to look after Leo.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” she told him. “Unless you don’t want me to?”
The panic in her eyes tugged at his heart.
“Of course it’s great you made us breakfast,” he told her gruffly. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to run the whole house.”
“I like it,” she said softly.
He glanced up at her, but she was sipping her coffee and looking anywhere but him. Maybe she felt embarrassed at what she’d just said, but he thought it was really nice.
For just a moment, he let himself think about what it would be like for her to always take care of things this way, share in taking care of Leo’s needs, and fill his house with fragrant food and conversation.
“What does Leo normally do with his day?” she asked.
“Well, he’s having a great day so far,” Grayson told her. “He likes fresh air and new sights, so I like to get him out of the house some. And he always naps better if he’s had an adventure or two.”
“An adventure,” Evangeline repeated thoughtfully.
“I mean, for Leo even a trip to the grocery store is an adventure,” he put in.
“Of course,” she said, smiling. “New faces, bright colors and lights, fresh air.”
“During the weekends there are normally fun things going on in town though,” he told her. “So if you want we can take him to those.”
“What kind of things?” she asked.
“Well, the Hometown Holiday celebration is coming up,” he told her.
“They close down the blocks around the village center and all the local shops and charities have booths set up in the street selling homemade treats and gifts to raise funds for good causes. And there are horse-drawn carriage rides and the town tree-lighting too.”
“Leo loved the Christmas tree at Trudy’s place,” she said.
“Maybe we should get one,” he suggested.
“You’ve certainly got the space for it,” Evangeline said, looking around.
She wasn’t wrong. He knew his place was built on a ridiculous scale, especially for a single guy. It was plenty big enough for the family he’d always secretly wanted.
Big enough for all my ghosts…
“I’m sorry,” Evangeline said, pulling him back out of that particular hole before he had a chance to fall too far. “I didn’t mean it was excessive or anything. It’s a beautiful home.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I had in mind that my parents would be spending time here. It is a bit excessive just for me.”
“It’s not just for you,” she said right away. “This is Leo’s home and he’s going to be able to have his whole class over for birthday parties. You could do scavenger hunts and everything, just like on TV. And you can have a nice big Christmas tree.”
Grayson found himself smiling again. What was it about this girl? Her spirit was practically buoyant. It was lifting him up in spite of himself.
“Oh,” she said suddenly, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
The warm, joyful expression on her face was gone as soon as she looked at the screen.
“I, um, I have to take this,” she said, rising from her chair.
“Sure,” he said.
But she was already scurrying down the hall toward her room, as if she couldn’t even pick up the call in front of him.
It reminded Grayson that no matter how he felt about Evangeline, he really didn’t know her at all.
At least not yet.