Chapter 7
JAKE
I can do this, no problem.
That was my only thought as Ellie relayed the list of Noah-related dos and dont’s, food preferences, nursery days, and TV and tablet time. Whatever I expected yesterday, it wasn’t that.
It was fine though.
Everything’s gonna be fine.
“I called the nursery and added you to the authorised list so you won’t have any problems collecting him tomorrow,” Ellie carried on. “The code word is butterfly.”
“Code word?”
“It’s a safety precaution.”
Fucking hell.
“Right. Makes sense.”
“You’ll also need your ID. You can text me whenever, but everything you need to know is on here. I made a few additions this morning.”
She tapped the planner on the fridge, the squares filled with shift times, appointment reminders, meal ideas, and phone numbers. I couldn’t imagine any scenario where I’d need to call the local library in case of an emergency, but maybe Noah occasionally needed a supply of kid’s books, STAT?
“I can see that,” I said.
Ellie’s chin dipped. Colour dotted her cheeks, warming my chest for some reason.
I wasn’t sure why I got such a kick out of that blush, but I really fucking did.
The cheeky bastard part of me, which made up a solid sixty per cent, so I’d been told, wanted to see what else I could do, how far I could tease and push things to make it happen again.
I wouldn’t though.
I’m being good.
“I know it seems a bit much,” she said, “but it’s better to be prepared.”
“You never go with the flow and see what happens?”
“I don’t know what the flow is.”
I smothered a grin, then gestured to a smaller chart with pictures and a star sticker system. “Tell me what these are about.”
“Oh, Noah gets a star for putting his toys away, brushing his teeth, stuff like that. I don’t know if I’ll continue with it, but it does seem to be helping for now.”
“Whatever works. Though I don’t know if I would’ve been satisfied with a star sticker. What’s the motivation here?”
“He’s four. He’s motivated by the thought of getting a shiny sticker and putting it on the chart himself.”
“I stand corrected.”
Another blush. “If he gets enough stars, he gets a treat.”
“Like chocolate?” That, and staying up late were the only bribes that worked on me.
Ellie bit her lip, hesitating. “You’ll think it’s weird.”
“I love weird. Try me.”
“We go to the Post Office.”
“You—what?”
“Noah is obsessed with the Post Office. He must stick the stamp on the envelope, and he likes counting letterboxes whenever we’re out.
He treats our Postman like a celebrity, and don’t get me started on how excited he gets when he sees a Royal Mail van.
” She stared unseeing at the kitchen wall. “Can you watch too much Postman Pat?”
“It’s hardly Criminal Minds, Ellie.”
“Don’t laugh!” She nudged me, laughing too. “I don’t know where he gets it from.”
“When I was a kid, I was obsessed with watching the rubbish collection every Thursday. No clue why. I guess it’s one of those random things kids do so their parents can embarrass them about it when they’re teenagers. It’s practically law.”
“Well, then, if it’s law.”
“And you know what? Let kids like random, weird shit. They’re only young once. Embrace it. I’m actually pro adults having random interests too. Life’s too short. You wanna collect stamps? Go for it. You wanna go train spotting? Have fun.”
“You’re very passionate about this.” Her head tilted, the movement an echo of her son. “Do you like stamp collecting and train spotting, Jake?”
“Damn. What gave it away?”
We shared a smile. I hadn’t paid much attention before, but Ellie’s smile was a thing of beauty, and made her eyes glow somehow. A guy could get hooked on a smile like that.
Not me though.
Now that we were living together, Ellie Brooks was even more off-limits. Gorgeous, glowy eyes be damned.
“Right.” I clapped to bring this meeting to a close. “To recap, Noah has no allergies, likes his food cut up small, eats most things except boiled eggs, and can only have an hour of screen time per day.”
“That’s right.”
“Then there’s just one more question.”
Ellie straightened, throwing a startled look at the fridge planner like she might’ve missed something. “What’s that?”
I leaned closer and murmured, “Why are you still here?”
She slumped, glancing at me, the planner, and back again. I could practically see her brain ticking over, the mental countdown to gather herself. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Yes. Are you?”
She didn’t expect that, all rapid blinking and mouth parted in surprise. “Of—of course.”
“Because I’d understand if you don’t want to do this. I have experience with people not expecting much of me, you know. It’s okay to change your mind.”
“Jake,” she murmured, something almost too soft about it. Pity filled her eyes, or maybe it was understanding.
Sometimes it was a thin line.
“I haven’t changed my mind,” she added. “But I want to be sure you haven’t. I’d also understand if you had second thoughts. This is a big commitment and you’re not obligated to make it.”
“We’re going around in circles here. Trust me, I’m all in.”
“You don’t have to do this just to have somewhere to stay. You’re welcome to stay regardless.”
This woman was too nice for her own good. “And that’s generous of you, but it’s not the reason I’m doing this.”
“It’s not?”
“No.”
I didn’t want to elaborate or ruminate on why either. Ellie needed help, and I wanted to be the one to give it to her. I also knew she wouldn’t accept my help freely, which was why her sofa bed was now my bed for the foreseeable future.
It’s what friends do.
I held her gaze while she searched for any signs of doubt.
“Just—tell me how you feel by the end of the day, okay?”
“You got it.” I steered her by the shoulders to the front door, much to her bemusement. “But it’ll be the same thing. I promise.”
“We’ll see,” she muttered, winding a purple scarf around her neck before shrugging on her coat. “Noah, I’m off to work now. Come kiss me goodbye.”
Noah emerged from his bedroom clutching his dragon, Zog. His happy skips halted at the sight of me, like he was expecting someone else, and his expression shuttered.
Confusing. It wasn’t like he hadn’t known I was here. I’d woken up to his little face peering down at me curiously, and we’d only eaten breakfast together an hour ago.
Do kids have bad memory?
Ellie crouched down, and Noah raced forward into her waiting arms. She captured him in a fierce hug, and peppered his face with kisses until he giggled and pushed her away.
“You’ll be a good boy for Jake, right?”
Noah nodded.
“Aren’t you gonna ask if I’ll be a good boy too?”
Ellie shot me a look of amused irritation.
“Just checking. Now get out of here already.”
“Remember I’m only a text away. I would say phone call, but that would be a lie.”
“Got it.” I chuckled. “Texting only.”
“Unless it’s a real emergency, then call me. But only if there’s blood or a limb hanging off.”
“What exactly do you think we’ll be doing?”
“I don’t know! But be careful doing it, okay?”
“Understood. We’ll be fine, won’t we, Noah?”
Noah simply stared.
“That means we’ll be fine,” I said.
“Oh god.”
“Ellie, just go. I’ve got this.”
She glanced between us a couple more times, but eventually her need to leave outweighed any lingering hesitation. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Until tonight. So long. Farewell.” I gave her a gentle nudge to help her along. “Auf Wiedersehen whatever that song said. Have a nice day. Bye.”
Her harmless glare had my grin widening before I closed the door, pressed one eye to the peephole and laughed.
“I can still see you.”
Ellie jumped, huffed out a laugh, then muttered something indecipherable before she disappeared.
The silence screamed in the aftermath. I stared at the door for a full thirty seconds, fiercely aware of the little boy waiting behind me.
I wasn’t a nervous person usually, taking most things in stride, but my insides swooped. This was Ellie’s kid, and she’d actually trusted me enough to look after him. Me, of all people. I didn’t want to mess this up.
With a steadying breath, I spun to face him. “And then there were two.”
Noah smooshed Zog closer.
Is he scared of me?
No. I couldn’t believe that. We’d hit it off yesterday, bonding over our mutual love of Toy Story and pizza.
He’d been talkative at breakfast too, asking me whether I liked dogs, did I own a dog, would I ever own a dog, until Ellie wondered at what point in the night had he developed a dog obsession.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded but didn’t say a word.
“Well, that’s good. Do you wanna hang out with me?”
Instead of waiting for an answer, I headed to the living room.
My mum always pretended to leave me behind if I was being obstinate and refusing to move, and because it worked like a charm—and all of my knowledge of kids came from when I was one—I left Noah to it, making myself comfortable while pretending to check my phone.
Noah appeared in the doorway ten seconds later.
I smothered a smug grin.
Score one to me!
“Oh, hey again. Whatcha doing over there?”
He swayed side to side, clutching Zog close.
Then—
“I’m boooooored,” he announced, rushing over and flopping onto the sofa next to me. He rolled onto his back, hanging his head over the edge of the seat and stretching his little legs in the air.
“How do you know what boredom is?” I asked him. “You’re way too young.”
“I dunno.”
“Okay, so what do you want to do?”
“I dunno.”
“What do you usually do?”
“I dunno.”
Wow. Okay. This was an endurance test of my patience. Understood.
“You know what? I’m gonna start saying that to every question I’m asked. What’s the time? Dunno. What day is it? Dunno. What are you doing with your life? Dunno.”
Noah burst out laughing like I was the funniest man alive, and I had to admit his cute, kid-sized giggle was contagious.
“It sounds funny,” he said. “Dunno dunno dunno!”
My smile deepened. “It does. I don’t know why, but the more you say something, the weirder it sounds.”