by Abby Tyler
No wonder he had ordered pizza.
She opened the freezer. Same story. Nothing but ice cubes.
Poor Jack.
She glanced down at the baby. She was trying to fall asleep, the silence punctuated by occasional jagged cries when she startled.
She slid her finger across the baby’s cheek. “Who are you, sweet baby? Where is your mama? Your dad?”
Jack hadn’t said and had gotten angry at her question. Was he the dad? Surely not. Louisa was quite sure he’d never let something like that happen accidentally. Besides, she’d never known him to date a soul, and she was up-close and personal to all the best gossip in Applebottom.
Who would’ve dropped off a baby with someone is incapable as Jack?
By the looks of the house, Jack had been dealing with this infant for days. So typical that he wouldn’t ask for any help. Jack always did think he could handle anything, and didn’t speak too kindly of people he perceived as trying to pawn off their problems on others.
She opened a few cabinets. There were still a couple of cans of tomato sauce and packages of rice and dried beans. Things he probably hadn’t had the time or inclination to make. Golly, Jack sure had gotten himself in a bind.
She spotted another box at the end of the counter that read Similac. She hurried over to it, relieved to discover another dozen or so funny, slender bottles that you used once and threw away.
She pulled one out, not sure what to do with the flat top. A large pot sat on the stove. When she peered inside, she discovered several rubbery nipples in water.
He boiled them to be sterile. She wondered if these were already clean, or if he hadn’t gotten around to it yet. She’d be safe. She poured out the water, filled it again, and turned on the burner.
The baby was finally asleep, head heavy on Louisa’s shoulder. She walked back to the living room to see if she could find the diapers. All the boxes she could see were empty, but when she moved to the other side of the sofa, she spotted one still closed up. Perfect.
The black Doberman watched her from the corner. He clearly didn’t want to get involved with the baby. Poor thing. Hopefully, Jack was well stocked on dog food, or both of them were going hungry.
She bent down and pried open the box she’d found. Bright white diapers were lined up in rows.
She plucked one out and glanced around. She guessed she would just change the baby on the sofa. She spread out one of the random towels and laid her down. Or him. She’d find out in a moment.
The second the baby hit the cushion she awoke and started howling again.
“Hold on, and I’ll have something for you to eat. We’ll get you clean and dry.”
She moved the shirt aside and unfastened the diaper. Louisa hadn’t changed a diaper since her babysitting days, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. The baby was just wet, not soiled, and was definitely a girl. She moved the diaper away and lifted the baby to put on a fresh one.
“Well, you don’t have a rash, which means Jack has been changing you regularly, at least.”
She straightened the shirt around the baby. “Don’t you have any proper clothes?” Everything was probably all dirty. Louisa supposed it didn’t really matter what the baby wore.
When Louisa picked her up and cradled her again, the crying slowed down to an occasional upset gurgle. Louisa patted the baby’s back as she walked to the kitchen. The water had started a low boil, and Louisa knew that was all the nipples needed.
She turned off the burner and grabbed a set of tongs to pull one out. She waved it around to cool, thinking that she didn’t remember ever having to do this when she was a babysitter. But maybe there was something about this baby that meant the bottles had to be sterile. That would explain the individual ones.
She looked down at the baby girl again. She seemed perfectly healthy. But you never knew. Maybe that’s why Jack hadn’t wanted to take her out anywhere, even for groceries. She could have an immune deficiency.
Louisa pulled out one of the bottles and unscrewed the cap. The nipple fit in easily, and soon the baby was happily sucking away. Room temperature bottles were convenient, no cold milk to warm up.
Louisa headed back to the living room and sat on the sofa. The water was still going. Jack hadn’t lied. He really intended to stay in the shower for a century.
That was okay. Jack was her last pizza order. She had a whole evening ahead with nothing to do. Why not start her new life by helping out this sweet little girl?
The baby alternated between sucking and drifting off as Louisa held her. For just a moment, Louisa’s eyes burned. This was the life she’d missed caring for her parents all these years, a home with a husband and baby of her own.
Even though the house was a wreck and, truthfully, didn’t smell so good, Louisa closed her eyes and hummed a little to herself.
For just a moment, she entertained the fantasy that this was her child and her house. Her husband was taking a shower before he would come back and tell her how beautiful she looked holding his child.
Contentment washed over her, and for the first time in a very long time, she felt at peace.
Yes, Jack could take a shower for as long as he wanted.
Chapter 3
Jack knew he had to shut the water off.
Logically, he should’ve turned it off ten minutes ago. Or however long it had been. He normally took strict military showers. There was no reason to linger. You get in, scrub up, rinse off, and you get out.
He’d lived this way for twenty years, ever since he started paying his own water bill.
But this was the longest he’d gone without worrying about baby Ella since she had arrived. The water drowned out any sounds she might be making in the other room. The only other time he’d showered since the caseworker brought her a week ago, he had frantically scrubbed down while she wailed in her car seat on the bath rug a couple of feet away.
He was in over his head. At first, he thought logic, information, and experience would conquer this problem of a crying baby.
But nothing that he had read or watched in a video was really helping. There was some element he was missing.
With great reluctance, he shut off the flow of water. Time to get back at it. Louisa didn’t have any kids of her own, but he seemed to recall that she babysat when they were teens. She had to know something.
Maybe there was some nugget of information that the people in the videos assumed everyone else knew. The fact was he’d never once held an infant in his arms until child protective services showed up to deliver his niece.
That sister of his… He would wring her neck if she ever got out of jail.
Thankfully, her being in prison for the last three months of her pregnancy meant that she hadn’t been using hard drugs. But Jack wouldn’t fool himself. Without a doubt, Jenica had been using at some point in her pregnancy. There was no telling what sort of complications this would cause down the line. Maybe that’s why the baby cried so much.
He toweled off rapidly then stopped. Why couldn’t he hear the baby? Maybe she finally crashed for her rare half-hour rounds of sleep. Figures it would be wasted on Louisa. But, he had gotten the shower.
He padded into his room and grimaced at the clothing choices he had. He was a minimalist. He wore his uniform for work, so he only needed a few workout outfits, a couple of things for a quick meal at the diner, and something for weddings and funerals. Every pair of sweats he owned had been spit up on multiple times.
This left him with a pair of fluorescent yellow shorts he’d worn in some 5K fundraiser, and a bright-pink shirt he’d received for a sensitivity training years ago. Or a suit.
If he dressed up, Louisa might think it was for her. Besides, the child would destroy it with her projectile regurgitation.
Florescent shorts and pink shirt it was. Maybe Louisa would know someone in town who did laundry. Something that seemed absolutely ludicrous to him a week ago was now a necessity.
Like pizza delivery.
&
nbsp; He slicked back his hair and opened his bedroom door. Time to face his situation again. Reprieve over.
When he got to the end of the hall, he saw Louisa sitting on the end of his sofa, her eyes closed, humming a little song. Baby Ella was fast asleep.
Louisa seemed younger somehow. Her skin had a golden tone in the lamplight, and her hair was swept up in a red band with polka dots. He wasn’t sure if he should clear his throat to announce his presence. Or if he should just tiptoe back to his room for a nap.
But Louisa seemed to know he’d come into the room because her eyes snapped open.
He pointed at the pizza box. This was his one shot at getting to eat without a baby on his shoulder. He spoke in barely a whisper, trying not to awaken the child. “Do you mind?”
Louisa nodded quickly, dropping her eyes to the box. He didn’t bother with a plate, not that he had a clean one anyway, and lifted a piece. As he hurriedly shoved it into his mouth, Louisa bit her lip.
For a terrible moment, he wondered if she had pulled one of her infamous pranks on him, and the pizza was actually drenched in horseradish, or worse.
But the savory blend of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and olives, actually made his head rush. It was the most perfect pizza he’d ever eaten. He let out a little groan then stopped himself when he realized he might wake the baby.
He downed one piece, and a second, then a third. The baby shifted in Louisa’s arms but drifted back to sleep. He sat down heavily in the armchair next to the sofa, close enough that he could whisper to Louisa.
“Thank you. How much do I owe you?”
Louisa waved his question away with her hand. “Who is this?” she asked.
That again. For a moment, he didn’t want to tell her. This was Louisa Temple after all, and she was famous for her “gossip pizza.” Louisa knew from the toppings a person chose who it was for, where it was going, and probably if it was grounds for divorce.
He waited too long to answer, so Louisa said, “Never mind. I understand.”
That, of course, made him paranoid. If Louisa didn’t have a proper answer, would she make one up? Would everyone think he’d had an illegitimate baby with a random woman?
The truth was better. At least Louisa would get it. Jack’s sister had been a grade below her. Not that it mattered that they were close in age. Everyone in Applebottom knew about Jenica.
“Her name’s Ella,” he said quietly. “She’s my niece.”
Louisa’s eyes widened. “Where’s your sister?”
“Jail.”
“The father?”
“Not in the picture.”
“How long will you have her?”
Jack shrugged. “Factoring in time off for good behavior, I would say six months at least.”
Louisa’s eyes fluttered down to the baby. “Is she okay? No drugs in her system?”
“She had the baby behind bars. They had her cleaned up. The baby does have something called reflux, though. She spits up a lot.”
“She hasn’t spit up on me. Seemed to put down this bottle okay.”
“Just wait.”
Louisa glanced around the room, eyes flitting to all the towels. “You need some help,” she said.
“My hours are too crazy for daycare. I’m trying to find a nanny, but nobody wants to drive down from Branson with my irregular shifts.”
“Can you work with Jeremy and Isaac? Maybe they can give you a normal shift, at least until she’s a little bigger.”
“I haven’t told anybody about her.”
Louisa’s eyes dropped to the baby again. “You’re going to have to eventually.”
“I know. I just wanted to get everything square before I set all the gossips off that I couldn’t handle a baby. If anyone finds out, they’ll start sending food and giving me advice and getting all up in my business.”
Louisa’s voice rose. “You need people in your business—you need help.” The baby shifted in her arms, so she brought her volume down again. “Even normal families ask the grandparents to lend a hand. People bring food and do the washing. You’re a single man. This is hard even when you’re not.”
Jack could feel the anger rising in him. This is exactly what he was just telling her about—everyone showing up, telling him what to do.
“It’s just a baby. I can handle her.”
Louisa gestured to the room. “Looks like you’re really handling it, Jack. I’m going to let Betty know. She’ll get a whole team of ladies in here to get your clothes washed and your kitchen back in order. They’ll make sure you have the blankets and clothes, and organize all the baby stuff.”
Jack jumped to his feet. “You will not tell a soul!”
The baby startled, her arms flailing out as though she’d been attacked. Her eyes opened, and her mouth let out a terrible little wail.
Louisa tried to rock the baby, to no avail. She placed the half-empty bottle back in the child’s mouth, but Ella turned her face away. Her cries grew louder and more frantic.
“Let me take her,” he said. “I’m sure you have other things to do.”
Louisa stood, doubt all over her face. “I think I should help you tonight. I feel like you’re probably not getting enough sleep, and it’s making you even grouchier than you usually are.”
“Give the baby to me. We’re done here.”
But Louisa stepped away from him. “It’s just like you, Jack. You don’t recognize when you need someone else on your side. You tried to railroad the football team back in the day, just because you were captain, and we all saw what a disaster that was.”
“And now you’re going to talk about high school?” he boomed. “Like you didn’t humiliate me in front of everybody?”
The baby’s cries reached a new level.
“Stop scaring the baby,” she said. “The last thing this child needs is to have the first conversation she’s heard in a week be two people arguing.”
Jack balled his hands into fists and willed himself to calm down. Louisa always got under his skin. The woman was maddening.
“It’s not like you know a lot about babies,” he said, although he knew it was a low blow to bring up her lack of family. “Now give her to me.”
It worked. Louisa passed the baby back into his arms.
“Jack Stone, you would cut off your own nose to spite your face. You need help, and there’s no way I’m going to keep this a secret.” She pointed a long finger at the baby. “For her sake, not yours. You can starve for all I care.”
She didn’t even look back as she opened the door, stepped out, and slammed it behind her. The loud thud set the baby to crying with renewed strength.
“Good riddance,” Jack said to the door.
He lifted Ella to his shoulder. “We didn’t need her anyway.”
In response, Ella spit up all over his last clean shirt.
Chapter 4
Louisa sat at the counter at Applebottom Pie Shoppe, both of its owners, Maude and Gertrude, listening to her every word with rapt attention.
“And that’s when he practically threw me out!”
Maude ran a damp rag across the surface of the counter. “We need to get that boy some assistance.”
“If he’s going to be a jerk about it, maybe not,” Gertrude said. “Serves him right, acting all high and mighty when Louisa was just trying to help.”
Maude brushed a nonexistent crumb from her perfect white apron. “Now, Gertie, you know that Jack Stone was brought up by a tyrant of a father. He drilled Jack into believing that he had to be self-sufficient and not accept help from anybody. It’s time for Jack to learn that sometimes you gotta lean on your community.”
Louisa stabbed another bite of pie, a dreamy blackberry that made her eyes roll with every bite. “You should’ve seen his place. And I don’t think he had a clean stitch left in his closet. No food in the house either. Now that I’m finished delivering pizzas, he doesn’t even have that option.”
Maude stood up straight. “
We have to take him some food right away. And get some people in there to clean his house.” She turned to Gertrude.
“Don’t look at me,” Gertrude said. “I don’t clean my own house.”
Louisa stole a glance at Gertrude’s apron. It was streaked with flour and pie filling. The two owners of the pie shop could not be any more different. Maude was friendly and kind, like a favorite grandmother. Her warm, brown face had a plentitude of smile lines.
And Gertrude? Well, she was Gertrude. She spoke her mind. Her pale, pinched expression bespoke a lifetime of hard talk.
Maude neatly folded her towel. “Louisa, are you going to help?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t seem too pleased to see me. He might not even let me in the door.”
Maude glanced at Gertrude, and Louisa didn’t miss that knowing look in her eye.
“Don’t go thinking you’re going to match me up with Jack Stone. I know what you two have been up to in Applebottom ever since Sandy frosted a cake with secret words on them. You can leave me out of it. I probably won’t even be hanging around Applebottom much longer.”
Maude drew in a startled breath. “What do you mean? You can’t leave.”
“I finished my correspondence courses. I have an interview with a temp agency in Branson lined up. Depending on where they start placing me, it might not make sense to stay in Applebottom and deal with the commute.”
Gertrude picked up Louisa’s empty plate. “You go on and get yourself a life,” she said. “Don’t let Maude’s theatrics stop you from going where you need to be.”
Louisa sure hadn’t expected support from Gertrude.
“Thank you. I will.”
Maude glanced at the clock. “Just one hour till we close.” She opened the display case. “Jack’s favorite pie is banana cream,” she said. “And we don’t have one. I’m going to head to the back to make one to take there tonight.”
“Banana cream?” Louisa asked. “Gross.”
Gertrude gave her the evil eye, her crow’s feet crinkling at the edge of her pale, powdered face. “Now little miss Louisa Temple,” she said, her voice laden with a warning tone. “There’s not a single pie that passes through this shop that is gross. So you can prance your fancy self out the door, and we will call you when we need help with that baby. And you will help.”