by Quinn, Taryn
“Yeah, but it’s you and me doing the car seat.” Gabby blew a lock of dark hair out of her eyes.
I laughed because if I didn’t, I’d cry. “That’s true. Can you help me grab the food first?”
“Yup, got it.”
I leaned into the front of the car and hit rewind on the song one more time than got out to help her. When we were loading the last of the coolers into her backseat, a monster tow truck pulled in front of my car.
A rangy, blond man hopped out in a chambray shirt with the sleeves rolled back over massive forearms. “Hannah?”
“Yes!” I peeked around from the trunk. I stopped and waved to Lily in the backseat, who was doing a good job of eating her hand. “Thank goodness. I have orders that need to be delivered.”
Dare scratched the back of his neck. “Well, we’ll get your car all hooked up and see what’s what. Your friend have the deliveries?”
“Yes. They’re loaded. Kinda took up the whole of her car.”
“Well, I’ve got a baby seat in the truck. Always seems to come in handy since my son, Sean, is forever wanting to ride with me. Think we’ve got you covered if you want to send your friend off.”
“Oh, thank God. That would be amazing.”
“Go on and get your little one. We’ll get you taken care of.”
He ran back to his rig and backed it up to my car. I hurried over to the backseat and unbuckled Lily, then hooked the diaper bag over my arm as I slipped the baby out of her straps. Gabby came over and I handed Lily over. “Can you hold her for a sec?”
“Are we getting the baby seat?” Gabby’s eyes widened as she awkwardly took Lily. “Hey, little girl.”
Lily slapped a drooly hand against her cheek. “Asher!”
“Got that one down, kiddo,” I muttered and opened the front door to get my purse. I unhooked my phone and swallowed down a string of curse words. My charger didn’t work. Wonderful. My battery was at ten percent.
I turned it off to keep whatever I had left available and grabbed my purse.
“Dare has a carseat in his tow truck. I’m going to go into town with him.”
“Are you sure?” Gabby’s voice lowered. “I don’t want to leave you alone with some dude.”
“And I don’t want my customers to not get their dinners. It’s fine, truly.”
Gabby bit her lower lip.
“Honestly. His wife is a first-grade teacher. Or she was. Might be on maternity leave like half the town if any of the stories are true. Whatever. He’s a stand-up guy.” I took back Lily and settled her on my hip with a smile then did the bounce-sway thing she liked. Her head thunked onto my shoulder.
“If you’re sure. Keep your phone on you.”
“It’s dead. My car charger isn’t working.”
“Girl, I told you to get one of those extra battery things.”
“I know, but I was rushing around and didn’t take it off the charging station. Whatever, it’s fine. I turned off my phone, but I have a little juice left. If I get into trouble, I’ll call you.”
“I’ll be back to pick you up after I’m done.”
“No, you said you had a thing at the house for your parents.”
“It’s fine. They’ll understand.”
“I’ll call Asher if I have to. I just know he’s wrapped up in meetings until later tonight.”
“I’m coming to get you.” Gabby’s voice firmed. “Then I’ll take you to the house.”
“No, you’re going to go home and take care of whatever it is you had plans to do.”
She gave a dramatic sigh. “Gina has birthdays every year.”
“Oh, geez. No. You will go to your sister’s birthday dinner right after the last delivery.” When she opened her mouth to argue, I pointed at her. “That’s an order.”
“You’re the worst.”
“No, I’m the best. And I want us to seriously talk about doing this thing together. For real.”
“What?” Gabby’s dark eyes went wide.
“We do all the things together, don’t we? This should be included.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll think about it. Then we’ll crunch some numbers and see what we can come up with. Especially if we’re going to keep getting orders like this.”
“Yeah. I mean, I have a lot of ideas if you’re really serious.”
My throat closed up a little and I swallowed down the lump. “Yes. I should have asked you sooner.” I patted my slight bump. “Things are going to get hairy soon.”
“And not because you can’t see your cooch to shave.” She impulsively hugged me and even kissed Lily’s forehead without being coaxed to do it.
“You’re terrible.” I laughed and patted her arm. “Okay. Go before the deliveries are even later.”
“Going.” She dabbed at her eyes. “Okay.” She blew out a breath with a laugh. “I’ll find you tomorrow. But text me to let me know you’re home.”
“I will.”
She ran back to her car and took off with a wave.
I turned to find Dare already hooking my tires up to whatever winch thing he had going on. He gave Lily a half smile and she buried her face into my neck.
“Sorry. She definitely missed her nap.”
“She’s not screaming the world down. It works for me. Ready?”
I nodded and followed him to the truck. We got Lily in the seat and I sat in the back with her. It was cramped, but she was happy to have me sitting beside her. She wouldn’t let go of my finger at first. Until she looked out the window and realized she had a very different vantage point than my little car.
I relaxed against the seat and dug into my purse. I hadn’t checked in with him all day. And he usually texted me a few times to make sure there was nothing amiss.
Then Dare asked me a few questions about what I’d heard when I pulled over. When I made the sound, Lily laughed. Dare gave a small laugh and made a phone call to the shop. I was just about to ask Dare if he had a charger when we hit Main Street.
By then we were getting into the shop, and the noise was intense. Lily’s eyes grew huge as she took in all the big machines.
“Tell you what. I’m pretty sure it’s your rotors. You probably were driving on the last slivers of your brake pads. It’s not a huge deal. Will probably take me about an hour to get them fixed. So, if you want to head over to the café we’ll have you on your way.”
“Are you serious? It sounded so much worse.”
“Nothing quite like metal grinding on metal to scare the crap out of you. If it’s worse than that, I’ll come down and have a talk with you.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Happy to help.”
I unbuckled Lily and let Dare help me get out of the huge truck. A stunning redhead came out with a welding mask in her hand.
“So, this is the mom you helped. I swear you people are so mush with the kids and moms.”
“It’s called being a human, Tish.” Dare shook his head. “Don’t mind her. She forgets how to talk to people. Why we usually keep a welding tool in her hand.”
Tish shrugged and put the shield on. She threw up a peace sign and sauntered away.
I glanced around at the custom motorcycle getting worked on in the corner, and the very posh vintage Mustang on a lift. I really didn’t want to think about how much this was going to cost me. This was no quickie mechanic place.
Luckily, I had quite a bit of money socked away these days.
“My phone is almost dead, so I’ll just come back in an hour or so?”
Dare shook his head. “No. I’ll come to you. Or I’ll send Rylee a message to let you know to come down. I think she’s working at the café today. She’s my brother’s wife.”
“Oh, okay. Sounds good. I really can’t thank you enough for helping me.”
“Anything for a Cove resident. Even if you’re pretty new.”
“Good to know. We’re not going anywhere.” At least I was pretty sure we weren
’t. I stuffed my purse into the diaper bag and headed out into the near dark. The days were getting longer, but I’d definitely been pushing my luck with everything today.
Brewed Awakening was busy as usual, but not quite as bad as the lunch rush. I was running on empty on a number of levels, so I ordered a mom-to-be friendly cappuccino for me, juice box for Lily and decadent piece of chocolate cake for me.
I freaking deserved it.
I found a table by the window and set Lily in one of the high chairs. Lily shoved her fist into her eye and rubbed hard. “I know how you feel. Just a little bit longer.”
At least I hoped so.
Twenty-Five
This was it. The day I’d been working toward for weeks. Months really, even without fully knowing it. On a number of levels. And as a reward, we’d even finished our final meeting before the reveal a couple of hours early.
I shuffled files into my briefcase, already looking forward to ceremonially dumping the bulk of them into my filing cabinet once I was home. No longer would I be tethered to my office on the go. “Tomorrow’s the big day. Are you ready?”
Vincent took a breath, flashing me a grin. “Yeah, Boss, I really think I am.”
“You can stop calling me Boss anytime now. You’ll officially be fulfilling that role yourself in,” I glanced at my watch, “under six hours.”
“God. Intense. But you’ll still be the boss for all intents and purposes.”
“Yes, just less seen and heard from unless you need me. Which you won’t. I have every confidence in you.”
Vincent got to his feet and gripped the back of the padded chair. “You’re really sure you want to do this? I gotta say, I never saw you as the house husband type. Even when the thing happened with your friend, you continued on for the longest time as nothing had fazed you.”
“When Billy died, you mean. Not a thing. And if I acted unfazed, it was because I was trying like fucking hell to keep everything together for a little girl who didn’t deserve the hand she was dealt.”
“Yeah.” Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. “My apologies. I don’t mean to diminish it. I give you all the respect in the world for stepping in. I don’t think I could’ve done that. I mean, kids? Yeah, no, not ready yet.”
“I thought the same. But luckily, life wouldn’t wait for my balls to drop so I had to figure it all out.” I gripped the handle of my briefcase, imprinting the feel of it on my hand. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be carrying it again anytime soon. “You’d be surprised what you can do when you have no choice.”
“But to step back from a successful career—”
“I’m just changing my career. Going in a different direction. I’m hoping to launch the podcast by summertime, so don’t think you’ve seen the last of me. The goal is to pair it with In Focus as a tool to go deeper on those news stories.”
Vincent nodded. “It’s a great angle. I’m looking forward to kicking everything off.”
“Tomorrow we make the announcement and do the ribbon cutting for the inaugural issue of the magazine, and then we go from there.” I moved around the table to clap him on the back. “Congrats, Boss.”
Vincent laughed. “Not true, but it still sounds nice. Thank you for this opportunity. I won’t let you down.”
“No, and more importantly, you won’t let yourself down. Every day is a chance to start the rest of your life. Make it a good one.” I glanced at my watch again. “On that note, I’m going home to hopefully do the same.”
“Oh, big plans tonight? I’ll walk you out.”
“Yes, need to pick up some sparkling grape juice and maybe some flowers.” I smiled, remembering. “Tulips, I think.”
“Romantic night on tap then?”
“Among other things. I’ve been keeping this all under wraps to surprise Hannah. Figured she might want to be at the big cover reveal tomorrow. Depends, of course, if she can take time off from her meal delivery service—”
“Oh, she does that? That’s good to know. I’ve been looking into those delivery services myself. Good when there’s not much time to cook.” Vincent and I reached the exit and headed out into the parking lot. “Unless my ordering from your girlfriend’s business would be weird.”
“No. She doesn’t do all the deliveries herself. Gabby does some, and I will be helping out too. So, just be prepared for me to deliver your pork loin some night.”
“There’s a trick. How exactly do you tip a millionaire?”
“Generously.”
Vincent laughed. “Of course now I’m getting hungry. If I ever settle down—which is unlikely—I need to find myself a chef. You got lucky.”
I grinned as we reached my car and I opened the door. “I sure am. Get a good night’s sleep. I’ll see you bright and early.”
He blew out a breath. “Will do. You too. Enjoy your night. Thanks again.”
“I will.”
As was now my tradition, I sang all the way home. Tonight’s song on repeat was “Natural” by Imagine Dragons. On the way, I stopped off at the grocery store for a few essentials. The aforementioned sparkling grape juice, a pint of vanilla ice cream, some fresh strawberries, and a rather ostentatious rainbow bouquet of tulips, although I probably lost points for where I was buying them. On impulse, I grabbed some of the bath bomb thingies I knew Hannah enjoyed. Maybe we could enjoy some hot tub time after Lily was asleep.
If Hannah wasn’t too tired. And if hot tubs were okay for pregnant women. I’d have to look it up. Or she could take a regular bath, even without me. I wasn’t fussy. I just wanted her to enjoy the celebration too.
I was becoming a house husband. Kind of. I mean, not really. I would be outfitting my office to do the podcast in a professional manner, and I intended to keep my hand in at work so I wasn’t a stranger. Wainwright had a number of different interests, and just keeping up with them would occupy a chunk of my time.
Plus, there was Hannah’s delivery service. I intended to help out there too in whatever way she needed me. Or if she didn’t, I’d just keep myself busy elsewhere.
When I rolled into the driveway, I was singing a song from the Black Keys. Then I realized the house was dark.
There wasn’t a single light burning anywhere. Even the porch light was off. I hadn’t realized how I’d become so used to coming home to a well-lit house. Stepping inside to delicious scents with the music blaring and Lily’s giggles while she whaled on whatever toy she was torturing that day. Some days there was an added bonus of Hannah’s creative swearing under her breath at whatever she was cooking.
Noise and lights and life. A happy home.
Getting there anyway.
Seeing the place so dark and still made me swallow hard. It was like a flashback of my life pre-Hannah. No one to greet me, no waiting warmth. Just an empty shell of a space waiting in silence until even my footsteps sounded like echoes.
My eyes narrowed on the empty spot where Hannah usually parked. Her car was gone. Not a surprise, but still, the proof she wasn’t home struck me low in the gut.
I turned off the radio and pulled out my phone to doublecheck she hadn’t left me a message. Nothing. I checked the Google calendar we shared, just in case she’d added an appointment I’d forgotten, but that was blank too. The only thing there were my last few meetings with Vincent and some of our advertisers, advising them of the transition. That part was over now, but she didn’t know that. I’d expected them to run later. Maybe that was why she hadn’t contacted me to let me know she’d be late.
Maybe.
Quickly, I called her. My racing heart said it wasn’t the time for a text. The call went straight to voicemail.
“She’s probably just running errands,” I said aloud. “No big deal.”
I tried her phone again, knowing she wouldn’t answer. Needing to do it anyway. I got her voicemail again and told her to call as soon as she got my message. Then I called Gran.
“Hannah isn’t with you, is she?”
“No, why?”
/> “She’s not home and I don’t know where she is. Is Lily there?”
“No. Neither of them. I haven’t talked to Hannah since yesterday.”
“Let me know if you hear from her, okay?”
“Why would I hear from her? Snug, what’s going on?”
I shut my eyes and leaned back in my seat. “Nothing. Nothing’s going on, but tell that to my head. Tell me that this isn’t like when no one heard from Billy, and he was lying dead behind a house for hours without anyone knowing. Tell me that. Please.”
“Oh, Snug, it’s not like that. She’s a busy mother. You know she’s probably out doing a million things. Maybe even delivering those meals of hers. She didn’t answer when you called?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you come here and we’ll go look for her? Just drive around and see if we can track her down. That’s what family does.”
I wanted to take her up on the offer. God knows I didn’t want to be alone. As it was, my hand would’ve jangled if I hadn’t gripped the phone with all my might. But I had to do this myself.
“Thank you. I’m going to do that, but if I need you—”
“If you need me, I’m there. In a heartbeat.”
“Thank you,” I repeated, voice thick. “I love you, Gran.”
“Just as I love you, my Snug.”
I didn’t want to end the call, but I did. I backed out of the driveway and drove in circles around town, passing by all our usual haunts and Hannah’s typical stops. The grocery store I’d just left, the tailor, the pizza shop we frequented on the few nights Hannah didn’t feel like cooking, the post office—long since closed—and the playground where we took Lily to swing. Then I just cruised up and down the streets, aimlessly searching for her car. It was an older model. Not big enough, not safe enough. Why hadn’t I replaced it? Even if she argued. Even if she fought me. I didn’t care. Her safety was the most important thing.
Her and the girls.
Twisting my hands around the wheel, I hit the gas when the stoplight on Main Street in town finally changed. I didn’t know the baby’s sex. We were waiting just as she wanted. But just like that, I knew she was having a girl. It was clearly meant to be so I’d be thoroughly outnumbered.