Autumn Wish

by Netzel, Stacey Joy

“Oh.” As they crossed the frosty lawn, he noticed her bare feet. Guilt piled on top his fatigue. “I’m really sorry about this. I wouldn’t have come over, except, when I tripped, I thought what if I dropped her? and I freaked out. I don’t want to hurt her, but I’m so tired I can barely stand.”

  Ella’s cries were audible now as they crossed his porch and entered the house. Nikki picked her up, and even though she immediately stopped crying, she checked her over. He didn’t blame her for not trusting him—he didn’t trust himself.

  Finally, she hugged the baby to her chest and faced Sam as she rocked back and forth. “She’s fine, and she will be fine, and so will you.”

  He blew out a weary breath that was a combination of relief and frustration. “I’m not so sure. If I can’t sleep, how am I going to work, much less care for her?” He swiped both hands though his hair and locked his fingers behind his head. “Nikki, I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “You can do it, Sam. You’re not even two days in.”

  “Exactly,” he exclaimed, extending his arms over his head before dropping them to his sides. “If I can’t handle two days, how am I going to handle the rest of her life? Those papers said permanent custody!”

  The weight of those words on his tired mind dropped him to the couch. A moment later, Nikki’s bare legs moved into his line of vision, then she sat next to him. Her hand covered his where it gripped his thigh.

  “You did the right thing coming to get me. Now you need to go get some sleep. I’ll take care of Ella, and we’ll talk through everything later. It’s going to be fine.”

  Her calm, quiet voice and the comforting squeeze of her fingers on his quelled the rising tide of panic. She was right, sleep first, then talk. He nodded, looked into her concerned blue eyes, and believed her promise.

  “Okay.”

  She rose to her feet, giving him room to move past the coffee table, and he headed for the stairs. His boot hit the first stair when her bemused voice carried across the room.

  “What happened here?”

  He saw her standing in the doorway to the kitchen and remembered the last time he’d been in there. Shit.

  “Turns out I can’t make coffee one-handed, and Ella’s got one hell of a kick.”

  Picturing the coffee grounds spilled all over the counter and the floor, he heaved a sigh and headed in her direction.

  “I got it, go to bed.” Nikki waved him back toward the stairs. “Go,” she insisted when he hesitated.

  Too tired to argue, he did as she ordered. In his room, he sat on the bed, intending to take his boots off. What energy was left drained out of him, and he dropped back onto the bed, rubbing his burning eyes.

  Next thing he knew, he was dreaming of long, bare legs, a green satin robe, a pair of extremely kissable lips, pretty blue eyes, and sleep-tousled blond hair. Man, she was beautiful.

  “Sam.”

  Soft and seductive, her voice took over his dreams. Mmm. Even better, she smelled like fresh brewed coffee.

  She said his name again, and he rolled over to see her sitting on the edge of his bed with a mug in her hand. A couple blinks, her gray zip-up sweatshirt and jeans, and her long hair combed back into a cute ponytail convinced him he was no longer dreaming.

  Chapter 9

  Nikki smiled as awareness chased the sleep from Sam’s eyes. It’d been so tempting to reach over and run her fingers through the unruly hair on his forehead, but the memory of his brush-off last night had kept the urge in check. She suspected it was something Eric said, but since she hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her brother-in-law last night, she didn’t want to assume anything.

  “Good morning.”

  “Hey. Where’s Ella?”

  The low, raspy tone of his sleep-mellow voice set off a flutter deep in her belly.

  “She’s sleeping in the crib.”

  He pushed himself up to sit against the headboard and accepted the mug she handed over. “Thanks.”

  “I hope it’s okay. I didn’t know how you take it so I added a little of both.”

  He took a sip. “Usually just cream, but this is fine. Really good, actually.”

  As he swallowed a second, larger mouthful of the lightly sweetened caffeine, she noted he still looked tired, but not as wiped out as before.

  “What time is it?”

  She stood up and headed for the door. “Almost seven-thirty. I’d have let you sleep longer, but I have to go to work and didn’t know what time your daycare appointments are.”

  “The first one is at nine.” He stood with the mug in hand and followed her out into the hall. “Even those couple hours helped. I owe you big time.”

  She paused to look in on the baby, and his body brushed against hers when he stopped right behind her.

  “Man, I really owe you,” he whispered. “How’d you do that?”

  His breath tickled her ear, and she hurried for the stairs before he saw her reactive shiver. “Practice. You’ll get there.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “You will,” she insisted. “You should have time to shower, but if she wakes up, it is okay to let her cry a little bit. I’ll stop and pick up a...” She trailed off as she reached the door. After last night, she couldn’t assume he’d want her to come over after work.

  “What?”

  “Um…after your daycare appointments, you will want to go buy a baby swing.”

  “I have no clue what to get. Would you mind picking it up, and I can pay you back?”

  She lifted her gaze to his. “No, I don’t mind. But last night I got the impression you would.”

  Remorse filled his expression. “I was a jerk last night. Can we chalk it up to me being tired?”

  She held his gaze, tilting her head as she considered, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. But it’s okay. I’ll find a swing and see you about five-thirty or six.”

  ***

  Nikki pulled into the parking lot of Sunny Days Daycare at seven-forty-eight a.m. and slowed her car to a crawl. What the heck? She parked and started toward the entrance where a crowd of parents and children were gathered in the chilled morning sunshine. Some had begun to leave with their kids, others were still arriving, but no one was going inside. Definitely not the usual scene she encountered when she arrived at work.

  One of the dads spotted her and met her half-way across the lot. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

  “I just got here, Mr. Miller, so you probably know more than I do. Give me a minute to see what’s the matter, okay?”

  She maneuvered through the crowd as other parents called out questions. When she reached the door, she met the troubled expressions of two other co-workers, Rebecca and Joanne.

  “Did you know about this?” Rebecca asked over the other voices.

  “About what? Why is everyone standing out here?”

  Joanne pointed toward the door, and Nikki saw a strip of yellow police tape across the door. She stepped closer to read a bright orange piece of paper taped beneath the warning.

  Effective immediately: Sunny Days Daycare is closed until further notice. No admittance allowed; all property inside to be held as evidence, pending further investigation.

  “Evidence for what?”

  The voices behind her rose again, and she turned to see Mallory had arrived. Her friend and the daycare business manager raised her hands to quiet everyone.

  “I’m really sorry, and I know this is a shock, but there’s nothing we can do.”

  “What are we supposed to do with no notice?” The question came from Lora Howell, a widowed mother of two.

  “I only found out an hour ago.” Mallory waved the stack of papers clutched in her left hand. “The best I can do is give you this list of daycares in the area for you to contact. I was able to reach the top four on the list, and they’ve agreed to accommodate as many of you as possible. Unfortunately, the daycare accounts have been frozen by the police, so we can’t give you any money back right now, and you wi
ll have to pay upfront at the other places.”

  “What happened?” Dan Miller asked. “Who’s being investigated?”

  Before she could answer, one of the mothers began yelling at Mallory, and she held up a hand. “Again, I’m sorry, but I’m just the messenger here, and I’m out of a job, too. If there was anything else I could do, I’d do it. I know it’s not much, but come get a list if it will help.”

  If Mallory was out of a job, then they all were. Nikki exchanged worried glances with Rebecca and Joanne as they watched some parents come forward for the list, while others simply walked away, angry and upset at being stranded without child care so suddenly.

  Once the crowd had thinned, Nikki moved forward to stand by Mallory. “What the heck is going on?”

  Mallory waited for the rest of the parents to move out of earshot before she faced Nikki, Joanne and Rebecca. “I came in early and found the notice on the door, so I called my brother at the station. Shane found out from the Chief that Ron’s being investigated by the feds as an accomplice for an illegal adoption ring, but no charges have been filed yet.”

  “What about Claire?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Nikki sighed. “This isn’t going to be cleared up by the end of the week, is it?”

  “No. Unfortunately, as of this morning, we are all unemployed. I tried to call you earlier, but you didn’t pick up.”

  “Yeah...long story there.” She briefly explained about helping Sam, then Mallory got a call on her cell and had to go.

  Nikki headed back to her car, still dumbfounded over the whole situation. As she keyed the automatic locks, she glanced at the vehicle parked next to her and saw Lora Howell in the driver’s seat, cell phone in hand. The woman had lost her husband in an accident six months ago, just before she’d given birth to their second boy. Little Adam was one of the babies in Nikki’s room, and he was strapped into his car seat in the back, next to his two year old brother, Jeremy.

  Nikki tapped her knuckle on the passenger side window. Lora started, then hastily swiped at her cheeks before rolling down the window.

  “Crazy morning,” Nikki commiserated. “I assume you’re trying to find someone for the kids?”

  “Yes.” Lora took a deep breath and blew it back out. “Except two of my sisters are away on business, and the other one isn’t picking up her phone. Even if she did, she’d probably be too busy. It wouldn’t be such a big deal, but my company has a presentation for a huge client at nine, and I’m the point person. I’m already going to be late and my boss doesn’t forgive easily.”

  Despite an obvious effort to keep her voice level, it wobbled at the end. Nikki’s plan had been to pick up applications from the places on the list she’d grabbed from Mallory, but she couldn’t help but glance back at the kids.

  One day won’t hurt. “I could watch them. I babysit my three-year old twin nephews all the time, so my house is baby-proofed already.”

  Lora’s green gaze met hers, eyes wide in relieved surprise. In the next moment, her expression fell. “I can’t pay you, Nikki. My budget is stretched to the limit the way it is.”

  “Don’t worry about it, today’s on me. Get through your presentation, and then you can worry about solving this problem after you wow your boss.”

  Hope reignited in her eyes. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” Ignoring the image of the bills stacked on her island counter, Nikki lifted her keys. “Since the kids are already strapped in and you’re late, it’ll be quicker if we trade cars for the day.”

  Lora only hesitated one moment more before grabbing her purse and laptop case from the front passenger seat. They met at the back of her vehicle to exchange keys, cell phone numbers, and Nikki’s address. After assuring Lora she had no problem keeping the boys for the full day, they parted ways and Nikki headed back home.

  She was almost to the intersection for her street when she remembered her promise to get Sam a swing. Her turn signal ticked as she debated heading into Green Bay, or offering to go with him later. A glance in the rearview mirror confirmed Jeremy and Adam were content in their seats, and knowing their schedule from the daycare, Nikki made the turn for Hwy 32 instead of home.

  She found what Sam would need, and during the drive into Green Bay and back, she couldn’t help but start running through the list of where to apply first for a new job the next day. It was what she should’ve been doing right now, but she didn’t regret offering to help Lora. The woman had dealt with enough upheaval in her life in the last few months.

  Besides, she didn’t think she’d have any issues finding another job. Having graduated with a degree in childcare, she possessed all the necessary qualifications daycares would be looking for. References could prove to be a problem without her knowing for sure what was going on with Claire and Ron, but she figured she’d avoid them and ask some of the parents. Lora in particular should have no problem writing her a quick letter.

  She turned onto her street shortly after ten a.m. and noticed Sam’s red truck make the turn right behind her. Her pulse gave an excited leap at seeing him again. They pulled into their respective driveways, and she walked around to the passenger side of her car as he got out of his truck.

  “Hey, neighbor. How’d it go?”

  He glanced in the back seat before gently closing the door and walking across the yard. His expression was grim. “Not good. Both places filled their spots this morning after some other daycare closed out of the blue. Didn’t even matter that I had appointments.”

  Nikki’s indignation was piqued on his behalf. “That sucks. They should’ve waited.”

  “I thought so, too, but I wasn’t sure how it worked.” Frustration resonated in his voice before he sighed. “Nothing I can do about it now. What are you doing home already?”

  “That daycare that closed unexpectedly is where I used to work.”

  “Seriously?”

  She nodded.

  “Sorry. What happened?”

  “I don’t really know, other than a rumor about the owner being an accomplice in an illegal adoption.”

  Sam’s eyebrows rose. “Yikes.”

  “Yeah. Definitely not good when you’re in the childcare business.” She indicated the back seat of her car with a sideways jerk of her head. “I’m helping out one of the mom’s today, but tomorrow I’ll be making the rounds filling out applications.”

  “Hopefully you have better luck than me.”

  Nikki pulled the folded paper from Mallory out of her purse and handed it to him. “My manager compiled a list of other area daycares to give to the parents this morning if you want to try these. I can’t do anything until tomorrow anyway.”

  “That’d be great.”

  She pulled the swing from the trunk as Adam started to kick up a ruckus in the back of her car. “I gotta go, but if you need help putting this together later, just let me know. Good luck with the list.”

  Sam took the box with the receipt taped to the top. “Thanks. I’ll get some cash to pay you back for this tonight.”

  They went their separate ways, and as Nikki walked slowly toward her house holding Adam while Jeremy toddled in front of her, she couldn’t help a glance across to Sam’s yard. After putting the swing near the steps, he’d gotten Ella’s carrier from the truck and stood on his porch watching her and the kids. When she gave him a small wave and smile, he smiled back before turning for his door.

  Jeremy was quickly occupied with the baskets of toys she kept on the bottom rack of her bookshelf in the living room, and Nikki carried Adam and the diaper bag with her into the kitchen to make his bottle. Just another day at work.

  Except I’m not getting paid.

  The kids kept her busy enough that the next hour flew by. Taking advantage of the quiet time as they napped, she started a small load of towels in the wash machine, dusted in the kitchen and living room, then pulled out her laptop to look up some of the local daycares.

  Even though she was annoyed at how th
e two places she’d recommended to Sam shut him out, she called them first. If they’d filled their rooms to capacity with the kids from her daycare, they might need extra help. And they were hiring—until she mentioned her previous experience at Sunny Days. The first one put her on hold before coming back to say she’d been mistaken about an open position, and the second simply told her straight out they wouldn’t be employing anyone who’d worked there.

  “Why not?”

  “Because the place is under investigation.”

  The lady’s reply held a note of snippiness that Nikki took immediate offense to. “Excuse me, but I’m not being investigated. I didn’t even know I was going to be out of a job until I showed up for work this morning.”

  “I’m sorry,” the woman stated without any evidence of sympathy. “Surely you can understand our parents would be concerned if we hired suspected criminals.”

  Her spine stiffened and her mouth dropped open. Before she could form a reply through her shock, a distinct click sounded in her ear.

  Chapter 10

  Ella sucked on her pacifier, content to play with a toy as Sam cradled her in one arm, while his fingers clenched around his cell phone in the other hand.

  One damn day too late.

  With Nikki’s daycare closed, the few open spaces for infant childcare in Pulaski and the surrounding towns had filled up. The next places on the list were all located in Green Bay, the complete opposite direction of where he worked in Redemption. That would put his round trip at an hour minimum both morning and night, but at this point, what choice did he have?

  Leaving his cell phone on the table, he carried Ella into the kitchen for a glass of water. He caught sight of Nikki’s house through the window above the sink. Hopefully, tomorrow she would have better luck than him as she searched for a job. He took a few swallows, then lowered the glass with slow consideration.

  If he added gas money to the going rate for a week of childcare, would it be worth it for her to work for herself? Not with just Ella, of course, but combined with the two she was taking care of today...

  He bundled Ella into her coat and hat, and then made his way through both yards to Nikki’s porch. She answered the door and motioned him inside. Loud banging noises carried from her kitchen, along with a little voice calling, “Mo oh’s, mo oh’s. Icky, mo oh’s.”