Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Kinsley
On Saturday morning, I worked in the office. I went in on the weekend once a month, and Shep volunteered to watch Maya.
Before I walked out, I asked, "Are you sure you're okay to watch Maya?"
"Yeah, we'll go to the park and pick you up lunch. You'll have proof of life when I arrive with Maya."
I shook my head. "I'm not so sure that's funny. But I will get more done without her there."
Shep grinned at me and then high-fived Maya. "Go to work, Momma. We've got this."
"Yeah, go to work, Momma," Maya parroted, and I shook my head.
Before I opened the door, Shep handed me a to-go mug of coffee and something warm wrapped in tin foil.
"It's a breakfast burrito. I know you ate yogurt, but this will give you more energy."
"It will, huh?" I asked, wondering why he was still single. He was nothing like what I thought he'd be. But then again, I wasn't a love interest. Maybe he was different with women he slept with. He kept his distance and didn't do things like this.
But with me, he was caring and thoughtful, easily winning me over.
He pressed his hands together like he was praying. "Work hard, dear. The princess and I will bring you lunch. Then we'll go to the beach this afternoon."
"That sounds nice."
At work, I was able to fly through the payroll since no one was here to talk to me or ask when I'd be done.
Shep sent pictures of Maya and him at the playground, going down the slide together, and even on opposite sides of a seesaw. I wasn't sure how that worked since he was so much heavier than her. He'd also gotten someone else to take the picture. Did a single mom offer to snap the pic?
That shouldn't bother me, but it did. He didn't see me as an attractive woman, and I couldn't blame him. I didn't feel like one either. I felt frumpy and tired. Not the type of woman he usually went for.
At five to twelve, the door opened, and Shep said, "Lunch is served."
Maya ran ahead of him and around the counter to hug me. "I missed you."
"I missed you too. Did you have fun at the park with Shep?" I looked over her head at him. He leaned against the counter, a tired smile on his face.
"I could barely keep up with her. I need to work out more."
I laughed. "I highly doubt that you need to work out more, but she is energetic."
He gave me a look. "I was seriously considering taking her to the high school track and running with her. I don't think there's any other way to get out the energy."
Maya ran to the bathroom, and once the door was closed, I asked, "Seriously, was it that bad?"
"She eventually found a friend to play with who wasn't as old as me. Then I sat on the bench scrolling through my phone." He grinned, holding up his hands. "I'm kidding. I was watching her the whole time."
"You can scroll through your phone. I do it too." No one was a perfect parent.
"She's a good kid."
I knew she was, but there was something about him saying that that got to me. "Thank you."
He lifted the bags of food. "But we worked up an appetite. Want to eat in the conference room or at the beach?"
"Beach!" Maya yelled from the bathroom, and we laughed.
"Beach it is." I cleaned up my workstation.
"It sucks you have to work weekends," Shep said.
"Are you going to put a good word in for me and get me out of weekend duty?"
Shep's smile slid off his face. "I don't think my word will do much for you. But you could talk to Hudson."
I shrugged. "I don't mind working weekends. It's just one morning a month."
At home, Shep had already gathered the beach items, so we changed into our suits and walked to the beach. We set up the umbrella, chairs, and towels before unwrapping our subs.
Shep opened the bag of plain chips and popped one into his mouth. "Now, this is the life."
"Do you come out here often?" I asked him between bites of my turkey sub.
Maya had already eaten her sub in the truck and was digging in the sand nearby.
He frowned. "Not really. I go for a run in the morning. That's about it."
I gestured at the beach that appeared to be private. "That's such a shame when you have the beach as your backyard."
"If I had a kid living in my house all the time, I'd obviously use the beach and the pool more."
"Do you want to settle down?" I asked, unscrewing the lid on my iced tea.
Shep shook his head. "I'm not the kind of guy that settles down."
"Are you sure about that? You took Maya to the playground, you danced with her at a festival, and now you're playing with her at the beach."
He raised a brow. "I'm not playing with her yet. But we need to build a castle with a moat."
"Can we?" Maya asked hopefully, lifting her head.
He rubbed his stomach. "A man's gotta eat before he builds a castle."
Maya's lower lip protruded as she concentrated on packing her bucket with sand.
"You're good with her." I suspected he was good with all kids.
"I have two nieces and a nephew."
I didn't think it was just because he was exposed to kids in his family. He was a natural with them.
Shep polished off the rest of his sub, cleaned up his trash, and swiped the crumbs from his lap before joining Maya in the sand. He sat cross-legged next to her, detailing his plans. He kept his voice low, presumably because it was a secret, and she nodded at him seriously.
I pulled out the book I'd brought with me but never had time to read. I tried to focus on the words on the page and not the sweet way Shep interacted with Maya.
Before long, they had a castle built, then dug the moat. I snapped pics when they weren't looking. I wanted to remember this day forever.
Maya grabbed her bucket and ran to the water, filling it up, and bringing it back to dump it in their moat. They did this over and over again, laughing when the water splashed out.
I should have been enjoying the break. But I couldn't stop watching them. Shep took an interest in Maya when he didn't have to. He wasn't her father, and he wasn't even dating me. He would only hang out with her if he truly enjoyed the experience.
As sweet as his actions were, it didn't mean that we'd get to keep him in our lives.
When the gray clouds came in and the wind picked up, I snapped pictures of them standing proudly in front of their castle. Then we rushed to clear our things before the first raindrop fell. We made it to the patio when it started in earnest.
Huge raindrops fell all around us. We laughed as we hurried, slipping on the concrete. We didn't stop until we were just inside the glass door. We dropped our things, still filled with sand, on the floor, watching the rain come down.
"I'll clean the sand out later," Shep said.
"Can I take a bath?" Maya asked me.
"As long as it's not thundering," I called out to her retreating back. Maya was already racing up the stairs.
"We'll hurry so you can take a shower next."
He pulled his shirt over his head. "No rush."
I smiled at him then hurried to catch up with Maya before she got into the tub. She needed supervision, and I didn't need to be alone with Shep.
I helped Maya in the bath before taking a quick shower, then changing and heading downstairs. I reheated leftovers, and we ate at the counter.
Shep came down a little while later, his hair damp, wearing a white T-shirt stretched tight over his broad muscles, and loose-fitting sweats.
I couldn't stop thinking about how accessible his body was.
A quick tug and I'd know if he wore briefs underneath his sweats.
I started to sweat at the prospect of him being commando.
I needed to stop thinking about him like this. He was a friend, my boss, and nothing more.
"Let's have a movie night." Shep pulled out the popcorn kernels and a machine to pop them. Then he grabbed butter and seasoning. "Do you like butter or cheesy?"
"Cheesy!" Maya bounced on her toes, trying to grab the seasoning container out of his hand.
"I'll let you help if you clear your dish." He nodded toward where her plate still sat at the table. She turned and grabbed it, bringing it to me to put in the dishwasher.
"Good job putting your plate away," I said, more than a little surprised that she'd done it at his request. She tended to push back when I asked her to do anything.
Maya crawled onto the stool while he got the machine ready. Then he explained to her what they had to do to get it popping.
I finished cleaning up the leftover food and dishes while he told her about the importance of popping all the kernels.
I was used to weekends being long and a little lonely with just the two of us, so it was nice to share our evenings with Shepard. I should look for a place before I got too used to it.
It would be an adjustment to go back to the way things were before.
I usually made frozen pizza on Friday nights, and we popped microwavable popcorn for our movie nights.
It was similar but very different. Being here with Shep in this house was indescribable.
It made me feel like we could do anything.
That I wasn't confined to my role as a single mother who couldn't find a decent place to live or afford a vacation for my daughter. That things were going to get better.
The popcorn started to pop, and Maya watched it with rapt wonder. I couldn't help but snap another picture of her and Shep together. They were so sweet. These were memories I'd cherish when we moved on.
This was a role for Shep to play for now. But eventually, he'd get bored of it.
"Where should we watch the movie?" Maya asked.
She thought it was odd that there were no TVs around the house. I thought it was because it was a historical home, and they would detract from the decor. But Shep didn't even have one in his room.
Shep grinned as he shook the cheesy seasoning over the popcorn. "I'm going to show you something that no one else knows about. It will be our little secret."
Then he poured the popcorn into a large bowl labeled popcorn. It must have come from one of those fancy kitchen stores. Then he motioned for us to follow him. "Don't worry about drinks. This room is stocked."
Curious as to what he was talking about, I followed him and Maya upstairs. There was a door in the primary bedroom. I would have assumed it was a closet, but it opened to a wooden staircase. I was surprised that the steps were wide and easy to navigate.
The open space was a lounge area complete with a sectional couch and windows that faced the ocean. "There's a deck where you can sit outside. I go out there when I can't sleep. But tonight, I wanted to show you this."
At the end of the room, there was a barn door that he opened to reveal a media room. Maya gasped as she jumped onto a leather chair in the front row. "A movie theater."
"Technically, it's a media room. It was the only place I could put it since this house doesn't have a basement, and I didn't want to detract from the historical elements downstairs," Shep pointed out.
There was a small kitchenette in the back that contained a fridge with every drink we'd want: water, soda, and juice. There was a larger popcorn machine he probably used if he had more guests over.
I wondered if he'd even told his family about this room. Or was this his personal oasis? Downstairs, he preserved his grandmother's memory, but this was his.
We picked drinks and got settled in the front row next to Maya.
Shep leaned back in his chair. "The question is, which movie do you want to watch?"
Maya mentioned a princess movie, and Shep navigated through the streaming service until he found the one and hit Play.
I leaned over to whisper. "You didn't have to give in to her request."
"This is her night. I want her to have fun."
It wasn't Maya's birthday, but he wanted her to feel at home here in his house. I appreciated that more than he could ever know.
We watched the movie and ate popcorn. Once we set it aside, Shep grabbed candy from the kitchenette and distributed it to us. They were in the same boxes you'd see at a movie theater, adding to the ambiance.
Eventually, Shep grabbed a blanket to cover the sleeping Maya, and we watched until the end. It felt decadent to be watching a movie in a home theater. I wasn't sure when we'd ever get another chance to do something like this.
When the credits played, Shep lifted a sleeping Maya into his arms. "I'll carry her downstairs."
I wanted to tell him that he didn't have to do that, but I wasn't sure I could carry her down the winding steps. Instead, I followed him to her bedroom, where I rushed to pull down the blankets before he set her on the sheets.
I didn't bother with changing her, just pulled the blanket over her body. I set her pajamas on a nearby chair in case she wanted to change when she woke up, and slipped out.
Shep waited for me in the hallway.
I placed my hand on his chest, feeling the thump of his heart underneath my palm. "Thanks for a wonderful evening."
He gazed down at me, and my breath caught. "It was just a movie."
"It was so much more than that. Maya feels safe here with you. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us." I took a step back, letting my hand fall away from his body. I missed the warmth immediately.
Shep nodded toward his room. "Do you want to see the rooftop deck? It's something else."
I had a difficult choice to make. I could politely decline and keep our relationship platonic, or I could see where the evening would take us.