Single Dad's Surrogate

by Annie Young

  “Bye, Wilfred,” she said, patting him on the neck. “I'll miss you.”

  “Awe, Maggie, you're so sweet.” Lily took Maggie's hand and stepped away from the camel. Wyatt followed them down the stairs and let out a huge breath.

  “That was... interesting.” He stepped up beside them and Lily noticed that the blood had returned to his knuckles.

  She just laughed. “It was interesting. I didn't know you were such a natural camel rider.”

  “Very funny.” Wyatt smiled and shook his head. “No, I think had better keep my day job.”

  Lily glanced at her watch. “Hey, if we hurry, we can catch the next jousting competition.”

  “Let's do it.” Wyatt grabbed Maggie's other hand and the three of them picked up their pace.

  The trail was long and meandered up a steep hill. They walked quickly through the crowd. Lily had to maneuver a few times just to avoid running into someone dressed as a knight or an elf.

  Finally, after a stressful couple of minutes, they arrived at the jousting arena. The bleachers were packed, but there was a small opening on the top row at the very end. The trio made their way to the seats. Wyatt and Lily sat down, while Maggie stood up on the bleachers between them. She lifting herself up onto her tip toes, trying to see over the people in front of them.

  “Here, get on my shoulders, Maggie.” Wyatt reached over and lifted his daughter up, sitting her up onto his shoulders. “Is that better?”

  “Yep,” Maggie said.

  Lily scooted closer to Wyatt. Their legs touched and she looked over at him. “Sorry. I just couldn't see from where I was.”

  “It's no problem,” Wyatt said.

  After he spoke, he reached over and wrapped his hand around the outside of her hip. Then he pulled her a little closer.

  “Does that help any?” he asked.

  Their bodies were now pressed against each others. Her thigh was against his thigh. Same with her hips and her shoulders. She tingled all over and shifted a bit in her seat. She'd never been that close to him before, minus a casual hug here and there. It made her a bit self-conscious.

  I hope my hair smells good, she thought. And I hope I sprayed on enough perfume this morning.

  “Oh look, they're starting,” Wyatt said, pointing forward.

  Sure enough, two men on horses rode out into the center of the arena. They greeted the crowd and then rode to separate ends. One of them was dressed in all green and the other one was in red. They both had a giant metal joust in their right hands.

  Lily should have been excited for what was about to happen out there on the field, but the only thing she could think about was how close she was to Wyatt and how good it felt. She wished she could take it a step further and lean her head onto his shoulder. It just seemed like the natural thing to do.

  “Aunt Wiwee, are they going to fight?” Maggie asked.

  Lily glanced up to where Maggie was perched on top of Wyatt's shoulders.

  “They're going to ride toward each other and poke each other with that big metal stick,” Lily said.

  Maggie's lower lip began to tremble. “Will they get hurt?”

  “No, no,” Lily said, rubbing Maggie's back. “This is just pretend. It's like going to a play. It might look like one of them gets hurt, but I promise you that they'll be just fine.”

  Maggie's face relaxed again. “Okay, good.”

  Lily rubbed Maggie's back for just a moment, then dropped her hand down. Half on accident and half on purpose, she let her fingers slide down to Wyatt's shoulder. She paused there for just a moment and then pulled her hand away.

  Why am I so drawn to him? She thought. I'm starting to wonder if I should make a move, just to see if I'm the only one feeling this attraction.

  The sound of horse's feet stomping the dirt caused her to look forward. The jousters ran full speed toward each other. The red one knocked the green one right off of his horse with his joust. The crowd cheered. Luckily, the green guy got up immediately and waved to the crowd.

  The three of them watched a few more bouts. The red knight one every single time except for the last one. Then the green guy made a comeback. Lily figured the entire thing was set up, but it was still entertaining nonetheless. When the jousting was over, the crowd on the bleachers dispersed.

  “I'm hun-gee,” Maggie said, playfully kicking her feet against Wyatt's chest.

  Wyatt laughed. “Oh, hi, Hungry. I'm Dad. Nice to meet you.”

  Lily smiled. “Nice Dad joke.”

  He glanced over and flashed a wink. “I do my best.”

  “Daddy, I'm starving,” Maggie continued.

  “Let's go walk around for a bit,” Wyatt said. “I'm sure we'll find something.”

  Lily took a seat on the opposite side of the picnic table from Wyatt. Maggie crawled up next to her, her blue eyes widening as she looked at the array of fair food that was spread in front of them. As always, Wyatt had gone all out. He'd ordered one of just about everything. They had turkey legs, funnel cakes, some sausages, a few giant pickles and of course, cotton candy. It looked like a Disney World food court had exploded onto the table.

  “Quite a feast,” Lily said. “Not even sure where to start.”

  “I think I'll try the cotton candy,” Wyatt said. “Maggie, what would you like?”

  “Funnel cake! Funnel cake!” she chanted, jumping up and down on the seat next to Lily.

  “She takes after me,” he said, chuckling. “She always wants dessert first.”

  Lily pulled the funnel cake toward Maggie and then helped her to break off some manageable pieces.

  “Thanks for taking us out here,” Lily said. “This has been a lot of fun.”

  “You're very welcome.” Wyatt swallowed a mouthful of cotton candy and then reached for a turkey leg. “This place is crazy, right? Where else can you ride a camel and then see two men jousting, all within a ten minute walk?”

  Lily nodded. “I know, it's pretty surreal. I like it, though. Next year, we should dress up.”

  “You'd want to go again next year?” Wyatt asked.

  She shrugged. “I mean, if you wanted to, I'd be up for it.”

  “Yeah, that could be fun,” he said. “It'll be our thing.”

  Lily couldn't help but to smile when he said that. She realized he probably didn't mean anything by it, but the thought of them have a special “thing” that they did, definitely made her happy.

  “How how difficult would it be to get you to dress up for it?” Lily asked.

  Wyatt started laughing. “It depends on what you'd want me to dress up as. A pirate? I'm up for it. A jester? Maybe not.”

  Lily chuckled. “We'll have to see. I'm sure I'll come up with something.”

  He took another bite of his turkey leg. When he set it back down onto the plate, it made a big thud. The thing was huge.

  “This week is going by pretty quick, huh?” he said, after taking a swig of water. “Hard to believe it's already Thursday. You've only got a few days left with us.”

  Lily's heart sank. He was right. Time had gone by so fast. Soon, she'd be packing her things up from his guest bedroom and heading back to her apartment. The following week, things would be back to normal. She'd be waking up super early and checking into her job, where she'd make coffee for people eight hours a day. Needless to say, she wasn't super excited about it.

  I feel like I'm just getting used to this, she thought. I'm finally getting into the routine of taking care of Maggie. I'm loving every second of it, too. I wish that it didn't have to end.

  “I'm kind of bummed that it's almost over,” Lily said. “I still haven't been able to make you a decent dinner.”

  “There's still a few days left,” he said. “And besides, I've enjoyed your dinners.”

  Lily raised an eyebrow. “Wyatt, they were toxic. We couldn't even eat them.”

  He smiled. “Well, I enjoyed the fact that you put so much effort into them for us. How's that?”

  Lily's face relax
ed. “That's a little more truthful. You're right, though. There are still a few days left and I won't go home until I make a meal that is at least halfway edible. I promise you that I will cook something that we all can enjoy before I head back home.”

  Maggie had finished the funnel cake in a matter of minutes. Her face was covered in a white, dusty layer of powdered sugar. Lily laughed when she said her like that.

  “Maybe I should try making funnel cake,” Lily said. “I don't think I could mess that up.”

  “Or how about cotton candy?” Wyatt suggested, with a playful smirk. “I'll take a strawberry cotton candy when we get home... hold the salt.”

  “Very funny,” Lily said, unable to contain her smile.

  “I'm just giving you a hard time,” Wyatt said. “Although, my blood pressure is still a few points up from that eggplant Parmesan.”

  Lily laughed. “Yeah, mine too. I'm pretty sure I'm still thirsty from that one bite I took.”

  “Aunt Wiwee, can I have a turkey leg?” Maggie asked, reaching across the table.

  “Of course, sweetie,” Lily said, handing her one of the massive legs.

  It was so heavy that Maggie couldn't even hold it with one arm. She had to use both of her hands to lift it off of the table, where she managed to take one tiny bite out of it. Lily watched her and wished she had remembered to bring a camera. It would have been the cutest picture in the entire world.

  “Hey, when we're done eating, what do you say we go on the zip lines?” Wyatt asked.

  “They have that here?” Lily asked.

  “I saw a sign for it when we were walking around.”

  “I'm up for it,” Lily said.

  Maggie set the turkey leg down and was nodding excitedly. It looked like she wanted to shout in excitement, but couldn't with a mouthful of food.

  “I'll take that as a 'yes' from Maggie.” Wyatt laughed and continued eating.

  This is turning out to be the best day ever, Lily thought. I can't remember a time in my life where I've been able to do so many interesting things in one day.

  Lily was having so much fun. She couldn't seem to stop smiling and the tinging of excitement just wouldn't leave her belly. It took her a moment to realize that this happiness wasn't coming from all of the things at the fair. It had nothing to do with the camel ride, or the jousting event or even the funnel cakes. The real reason that her cheeks were tired from smiling was solely because she was spending the day with her two favorite people.

  The crush that she had on Wyatt was beginning to grow, though. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she'd succumb to it.

  Chapter 16

  Wyatt

  When Friday rolled around, Wyatt found himself unable to concentrate at work. His mind was whirling and anxiety tingled in his chest. He got up from his chair and paced back and forth. He was so restless that he couldn't sit down.

  Why is this bothering me so much? He thought. I knew that Lily would have to go home at some point. Why am I so upset by it?

  With only a few days left before Lily was to return home, Wyatt was a wreck. He'd spent the previous week watching her interact with his daughter. Lily was such a good nanny. The perfect nanny, really. She'd taught Maggie how to tread water and had made her smile more times in one week than he had seen in the whole year since Caroline had died.

  Maybe I ask her to stay for a while longer, he thought. Maybe I can see if Mildred wants another week off of work.

  He knew that wasn't the answer, though. Not only because Mildred likely wouldn't want any more time off, but because even if she did, he'd be running up against the same thing when that week was over. Lily would have to go home eventually no matter what.

  Is this bothering me because I'm afraid that Maggie will miss her, or is it because I'll miss her? He asked himself.

  He knew the answer to the question, though he wasn't willing to admit it to himself. He was the one who was going to miss Lily's presence. Having her around had made that giant mansion of his feel like a real home again. It was an element of his life that had been missing for over a year now. Normally, he spent more time at the office than at home. The office hurt less. There were no reminders of Caroline in his office, besides a few pictures on his desk, though. His house, on the other hand, was filled with things that had Caroline's touch on them. The drapes, the furniture, the color of paint on the walls. All of that reminded him of his loss. Somehow, though, when Lily was there, none of those things hurt as much.

  “I've got to get to work,” he whispered, finally taking a seat at his desk.

  Without even thinking about it, he pulled his cell phone out and opened it up to the main screen. The same old image of his family at the beach came up. He gazed at Caroline's smiling face, wishing he could just have a quick conversation with her. He just wanted to ask her some simple questions. He wondered if she thought he was doing a good job at raising Maggie and if she was mad about his attraction toward Lily.

  With a sigh, he set the phone down onto his desk and pushed it aside.

  As if on cue, his phone buzzed as soon as he'd started looking at the work he needed to do. He lifted it up to see a text from Lily. When he opened it, he was greeted by a picture from her. It was a selfie that she'd taken with Maggie. It looked like they were playing in the backyard. He could see the slide from her playground on the right side of the photo. They were both smiling wide, their cheeks pressed against each others.

  “How cute is that?” he whispered to himself, admiring the image for a minute.

  The strings on his heart tugged in every direction. One part of his heart ached like it always did, as he continued to miss Caroline. The other part, though, felt suddenly alive. Seeing that picture from Lily caused something in him to ignite. Maybe it was excitement, or anticipation, or simply just lust. He couldn't be sure. But a part of his heart that had been dim for twelve months suddenly tingled with life. It was intense.

  He set the phone back down onto the desk and exhaled a long breath.

  What if Lily is the one for me now? He thought. What if that's the reason she came into our lives in the first place?

  Wyatt couldn't shake the idea that Lily was in his life as part of some universal plan. He wasn't exactly a religious man, but did believe that certain things happen for certain reasons. The idea that Lily had been brought into he and Caroline's life didn't feel like a mistake. It felt like it was on purpose.

  He closed his eyes and imagined what it would be like to come home every night to Lily. He smiled at the thought. He'd get home and she'd be there, playing with Maggie. They'd kiss and hug and then when Maggie went to bed, they'd both go up to his room. He'd even clear a place out in his closet for her stuff.

  What am I doing? He thought, shaking his head. I've got to get to work. This is ridiculous.

  Wyatt went to work, but even as he distracted himself the best he could, the feeling of getting to come home to Lily every night still tingled in his belly. It was an odd sensation, but intense enough to temporarily ease the pain that chronically plagued his heart.

  The sunset was beautiful that evening, as Wyatt cruised down the highway in his Lamborgini. He had the windows down and the music up, just enjoyed the fresh air. He pressed on the gas, feeling the twelve cylinder engine roar under the hood. With over five hundred horse power pulling him along, he was at nearly ninety miles an hour in no time.

  It was past rush hour, so there were only a few straggling cars on the road. He adrenaline was pumping as he blew past them, pointing his car toward home. This was his favorite stretch of road and he drove like this whenever he was stressed. There was something about it that eased his worries. It was a combination of the excitement of driving at such a high speed and of the constant risk of getting pulled over.

  Just two more speeding tickets and Wyatt would lose his license. This, of course, only added to the adrenaline. The mere thought that a highway patrolman could be parked up ahead made him squeeze the steering wheel just a l
ittle bit harder.

  This is my therapy, he thought, easing the car through a slight turn.

  The Lamborgini actually handed better at higher speeds. It turned so easily and gripped the road like it was made out of glue. Once through the turn, he pressed on the accelerator again. This time he brought the car up to ninety five. He considered taking it all the way to a hundred, but doing so would cause him to miss his exit. So he let off the gas, causing the engine to die down while he coasted toward the deceleration ramp.

  “That was fun,” he said to himself, with a boyish smile on his face. “I do love this car.”

  Caroline hated this thing, because she thought it was going to get me killed, he thought. I think she would have learned to love it, too, though. Maybe eventually.

  The adrenaline slowly wore off as Wyatt pulled the car through his neighborhood and parked in front of his garage. The kitchen and living room lights were on. He grabbed his briefcase and headed inside, excited to see the girls.

  As soon as he walked into the entry way, he heard Maggie and Lily laughing. The air smelled of good food. He couldn't quite place what it was, but recognized the smell of baking bread. When he stepped around the corner, he saw Maggie and Lily playing a board game on the center island. Both of them were wearing cooking aprons and Maggie's was covered in flour. She glanced over and squealed in excitement as soon as she laid eyes on Wyatt.

  “Daddy's home!”

  “How's my girl?” Wyatt squatted down to give her a hug. He lifted her from the floor as soon as her arms wrapped his neck.

  “Aunt Wiwee and I are making pizza,” she said.

  “Making pizza?” he asked.

  Lily spun around and nodded. She, too, had flour all over her apron.

  “Yes, pepperoni and mushroom pizza, to be exact,” she said. “You're actually right on time. It should be done cooking in about five minutes.”