One tribal leader had explained to Jake that the day didn’t start and end with the sun. Except common sense told him it did, as did the twenty-four hours on the clock.
It took him two days and one of his teammates calling home to ask his wife before Jake understood the concept of starting the day over. His teammate’s wife explained that their kids would push an imaginary re-do button for a fresh start to the day if their behavior needed a reboot.
Another tribal leader had taken Jake’s hand. Hers was cold and leather like, her fingernails thick and short. But her grip had been powerful when she advised Jake that he should always say, “Tell me more.”
She didn’t let go until he held her eyes and promised he’d never let a child end a story without offering those three words. “Don’t forget to listen” were her parting words when his team left Kunar. Only he knew what she meant.
But their advice wasn’t a strategy, more like broad-spectrum tactics, and for now, he would take one day at a time, just as recommended by every expert, blogger, and advice-giver on childhood bereavement and kindergarten success.
“At least he has a plan.” Dean’s words pulled Jake back to the present. Dean gave Brian a side-eye as he inspected the row of glitter nail polish bottles as though they were live exhibits at the zoo.
“You know”—Jake backed them out of Charlotte’s room—“there’s a pathetically inadequate amount of advice out there on parenting from the male and military viewpoint.”
The guys muttered their appreciation for what might be out there.
Brian shifted his attention to a bottle of glittery nail polish. “There’s a lot of shimmer and shine in here. Do you know what to do with this?”
“More than you do.” Jake took back the bottle, replacing it where Charlotte had left it. “Besides, how hard could nail polish be? Open the bottle, paint the kid, close the bottle before it spills. I’m not worried about stuff like that.”
“I’m not convinced you have any idea how hard any of this will be,” Brian teased.
“You don’t need to be.” He grumbled over their lack of belief in him.
Brian clucked. “I can’t believe your plan isn’t go-ready. What’s the world coming to?”
“I have a plan.” But not one as detailed and long-range as Jake would’ve liked.
“Then what’s your first move?” Dean asked. “Ice breakers? A game of tag?”
“Give it a rest. It’s not like we don’t know each other.” He grinned, suddenly semi-proud of himself. “Tonight, we’ll order pizza. Pizza is never a bad decision, right?”
“Pizza’s the big plan?” Brian shook his head and led the way down the hall.
“Sure, why not?” Jake lifted his shoulder and followed. “It’s not like Charlotte needs a celebratory dinner for my return or her… situation.”
“That’s what you’re going with?” Dean asked from behind Jake as they came into the living room. “Situation?”
“Yeah.” He dropped an elbow back, and Dean laughed, rounding away.
“This isn’t a situation. It’s her life.”
“Yeah, well. Now it’s mine.” Jake thought over everything he’d missed. “I wish I’d been around more, but pizza’s a good nice meal to make small talk over.”
Brian shook his head. “Kids don’t small talk. They… I don’t know. But discussing the weather isn’t going to fly.”
“I know that,” Jake snapped. His patience was growing thin.
“Did I mention that Van called while I was on my way here?” Dean dropped onto the couch in the living room, and Brian sat next to him.
Jake shook his head, somewhat relieved the inquisition would end soon. He leaned against the wall. “How’s Van doing?”
“Pretty decent.” Dean stretched back. “Actually, great, I think.”
“Good.”
“He and Lucy got together. They’re dating.”
Jake’s eyebrows arched at the revelation. Lucy was their sister. “Sounds like one big happy family.”
Brian chuckled also. “She’s sending over a casserole tonight.”
“She is?” Jake’s stomach almost cheered at the thought of Lucy’s food.
“She guessed you’d do pizza too,” Brian said.
Guessed? Jake faltered. “You were discussing what I’d feed—”
“Yeah, and Lucy said there was no way pizza would happen on her watch,” Dean added. “She said Charlotte needed a home-cooked meal tonight.”
Jake’s forehead furrowed. He liked anything Lucy would cook but… “What’s wrong with pizza?” They’d be hungry, and pizza was simple. Though who was to complain about Lucy’s food. But, another round of inadequacy bubbled. Worse than not knowing he should give her pizza for tonight’s dinner; Lucy had known he would do pizza and that he shouldn’t.
Jake didn’t even know why pizza was the wrong choice. Because it wasn’t home-cooked? What if he’d planned to home-cook pizza? Would frozen-to-the oven cut it? Was there another reason his well-planned pizza plan was flawed?
He didn’t know what he was doing! Normally, his intuition would never let him down. He’d know if an enemy was nearby, but he didn’t know the pitfalls of pizza.
“I have no clue what’s wrong with pizza,” Brian said. “All Lucy said was not on her watch.”
Jake hummed. What else had he got wrong in the food department? Maybe he should revisit the idea of granola bars and the chocolate instant breakfast drink he’d picked out at the grocery store. They seemed like a great choice, and he had tried to study the label. The granola and instant drink checked all the nutritional boxes that seemed important—protein, carbs, calcium, and vitamins. Nutrient-packed. “What do you think about instant shakes and power bars for breakfast?”
They both shrugged, and Brian said, “Yeah, works for me. But don’t kids eat things like Rice Krispies and drink orange juice?”
“Maybe…”
“Think about it like this.” Dean wrinkled his nose. “If protein bars and shakes would make your Safehouse team smell like they hit up Bean Night at an All-You-Can-Eat buffet, what do you think that’s going to do to a kid?”
Jake scrunched his nose, semi-missing the nausea-inducing rankness that could occur in tight quarters. “Yeah, that might be a problem.”
Brian chuckled. “I’ll text Lucy. Maybe she can throw in cereal also.”
“Appreciate it.” Jake checked his watch. “Wow, they’re almost here.”
“Who’s they?”
He shook his watch back into place. “Do you know Nora Cabot?”
“I do,” Dean said. “Nora and Gillian are friends.”
“Who’s Gillian?” Jake asked.
“Tidings’ new librarian.”
Brian waggled his eyebrows, letting Jake know there was more to the story. “Dean’s girlfriend.”
Dean blushed. “That, too.”
Jake stretched, trying to push away his anxiety. “A lot has changed since our days in school.”
Brian nodded. Jake stared at them, realizing that not only had he moved back to Tidings but also that everyone he knew there seemed to have settled down. Now he couldn’t even think about dating—because, hello, now he had a kid.
“Not that much.” Dean smacked Brian with a pillow from the couch.
Jake checked the time again. “Nora and the school bus will be here soon.”
Brian pushed off the couch and clapped his hands. “Guess we’ll head out.”
Dean stood as well. “Nora knows everyone in town. Everything too, but she’s smart enough to keep it to herself.”
Knows everyone and smart were his mother’s exact words when describing Nora, and she’d also noted that Nora’s son was good friends with Charlotte. Besides his mother and Aunt Isabella, it seemed as though Nora was the other person who’d helped the most with Charlotte before he could come home.
Jake slapped his buddy on the back. “Thanks for stopping by, guys.” They walked toward the front of Ally’s house. “We�
��ll see how it goes.”
“For what it’s worth, I’d have fed the kid pizza too.” Brian kicked one of Jake’s bags that remained by the front door. “Think it should look like you plan on staying?”
He ran his hand over his jaw and into his hair. “It feels weird to move into Ally’s bedroom.”
Dean opened the front door. “No one says unpack this second, man. Just get it out of the hallway.”
Jake chewed the inside of his mouth. “I’ll clean up the guest room soon.”
They watched a Subaru pull into the driveway.
Brian stepped onto the front porch. “Tell Nora we say hey.”
“Will do.”
“Having her around will be like a built-in help desk,” Brian added.
Jake cocked his eyebrow.
“You know she’s the school counselor, right?” Dean tacked on as he stepped out.
Jake just smiled. He knew nothing. Pizza. Storing bags. Inviting school counselors over.
Brian and Dean cut through the front yard and waving to Nora as they left.
What else didn’t he know? Why hadn’t anyone told him helpful specifics? He’d have to remember to ask his mom and aunt why they’d neglected to mention that the woman dropping by had caretaking credentials. Nora didn’t feel like a built-in help desk. The idea of her felt like someone who would watch and know when he was failing.
Jake waved goodbye to his friends as the Subaru’s door opened. Showtime—he could convince Nora he knew what he was doing. Hopefully.
CHAPTER THREE
Jake only had a few minutes before the school bus was expected to drop off Charlotte, and he wanted to make the best impression he could with Nora. He strode forward, extending his hand as she glanced his way, swatting away her brown hair as the wind picked up. Jake noticed the afternoon sun gave the wayward strands a hint of red as she tucked them behind her ear. “Hey there. Jake Westbrook.”
“Nice to meet you.” Her vibrant amber eyes weren’t as warm as her smile, though they were beautiful, and her cool handshake firmly gripped his. “Nora Cabot.”
“Nice to meet you.” Their hands parted, and he immediately wished he’d known the guidance-counselor aspect of Mrs. Cabot before inviting her over, whether Charlotte and her son were close or not. He had the immediate sense that he was undergoing an evaluation, which he would fail miserably. He’d only been stateside for less than a few days. Most of that time had been spent on travel and untangling his life from his contract with Safehouse Security, something he never thought he’d do until old and gray.
She smiled crisply, and Jake got the instinct impression he was failing the evaluation worse than he thought he might. Maybe he needed the school bus to arrive sooner than its scheduled drop-off.
“So…” He tried for familiar ground. “You’ve known Charlotte for a while?”
“Since she was very young.”
What did that say about him? He’d barely seen Charlotte over the years, and now he was the guardian. Jake wondered if Nora kept questions like ‘Who are you? Where have you been?’ to herself.
She didn’t trust him. That was apparent. He grinned awkwardly. Maybe he needed to turn his questions around and ask why shouldn’t she trust him. But that didn’t make her assessment any less unnerving.
A different, maybe more important question came to mind: Why did he want her to place her trust in him?
He rolled his lips then glanced away, realizing that she wasn’t hard on the eyes. The he caught himself. What was wrong with him? There couldn’t be a worse time to notice a woman’s attractiveness. Remorse landed a swift jab in his gut, followed by a lightning-quick question that landed like a knock-out punch: Was Jake even meant to be a parent?
Jake cleared his throat, nodding to her car, and acted as though this change in life was planned and that it wasn’t the first time he’d seen a woman before. “What’s your kid’s name?”
“Graham.”
“Sounds strong.”
Nora’s eyes narrowed. “How much do you know about Charlotte?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I’m her uncle.”
“That’s a fact.” Nora glowered. “Not an answer.”
“I hate to break it to you, but it’s the best answer I have right now.” Jake tried for a affable smile but managed nothing short of a spectacularly awkward grin. “Are you going to give me a quiz or something?”
“I’m waiting for a real answer.” She egged him on with a simple arch of her eyebrows.
What do I know about Charlotte? “I guess I know less about Charlotte than I will know after dinner tonight.”
The space between her arched eyebrows tightened. “She’s a good girl.”
“Well, no kidding.” Of course, his niece was a good girl. Jake would go out on a limb and say Charlotte was an amazing girl. Incredible. Wonderful. Brilliant. Delightful. Compassionate. Along with every other adjective he could think to describe Ally’s daughter. But he rolled his lips together again, keeping smart aleck responses quiet.
A silent battle of worrying about Charlotte pitched between them, and no way would he go down without a fight. Albeit a quiet, glaring one, not his usual.
He and Nora squared off. Jake’s jaw tightened, and his growing frustration escalated. This woman was so quick to judge! Who was she to question him? He just gave up his career at Safehouse and his entire life for Charlotte.
But Nora didn’t budge in their unsaid argument. Her patience seemed to multiply while his dried up. Frustration ticked in his chest, and Jake was seconds away from leaving Nora and grabbing Charlotte for a fast escape. But he realized that wouldn’t make their situation better. Jake tried to understand Nora like he’d try to understand his enemy. Who was she beyond the smart, friendly mother who had connections with everybody?
Enemy? He needed to relax. Nora wasn’t the enemy. She was the woman who’d given his family rest and was determined to protect his niece. They were on the same side of the battle—and, maybe he shouldn’t consider raising Charlotte a battle. Jake leaned back and pulled advice from the back his mind, asking her, “Tell me more.”
A delicate, if not careful, smile curved on Nora’s lips. “About Charlotte?”
“Sure.” He paused, surprised how well that had worked. “Or her and Graham.”
Nora’s hair lifted on a breeze again, slightly softening her steely attitude. “They’re best friends. Attached at the hip since they were tater tots, and I can barely pull them apart.”
“Best friends,” Jake repeated. “What do they…” He didn’t know the right questions to ask. “Like to do?”
The wind tried to lift Nora’s hair again, and she finger-combed into place. “They believe in magic and wishes. They make up stories and share their dreams.”
“Like a little boyfriend-girlfriend?”
“No, I think they always pretend to be brother and sister.”
“Gotcha.”
“You’ve been told Charlotte’s too young for our gifted program?”
Finally, something he knew. “Yes.”
“I specialized in helping gifted kids and manage the resources at school.”
He nodded.
“So, if you need to bounce thoughts, issues—anything, really—consider me available.”
“I appreciate that.”
She licked her bottom lip as though uncertain where to take the conversation. “I was the school’s point of contact with your parents.”
“My mom explained about school.”
Nora’s eyes crinkled as she studied him. “Are you ready for this, Jake?”
His defenses hardened, and just as quickly as he relaxed, he sprang back to fight-mode.
“She’s been through so much,” Nora continued.
He grit his back molars. “You think I don’t know that?”
“And you’re new back in town.”
“That’s subjective. I grew up here. But even if I didn’t, what’s your point?”
Nora chewed on her
bottom lip. “Your mom mentioned you recently returned from out of the country. That you worked in war zones and high-stress environments.”
He made a note to ask his mother not to share too much. “Yeah.”
“War zones are a far cry from our quaint town.”
Tension tightened in his chest. “That’s a fact.”
“Saving the day here won’t give you a burst of adrenaline or—”
“With all due respect, Mrs. Cabot.” He grit his molars. “You don’t know what I did, and I don’t plan to share much else.”
“Hang on.” She stepped closer. “You’re hearing me all wrong.”
“Maybe your delivery is lacking.”
Her lips pinched and she eased back, obviously hurt. Her reaction hit him in the gut, even though Nora had been hard-nosed moments ago.
“All I meant—well, I…” She shifted her position. “Look, Ally was a great friend, and I love Charlotte. I’m scared to see her hurt again, and, well, you’re an unknown.”
Jake replayed what Nora had said. She cared for them. He was an unknown. A danger. He had to respect that she assessed him like a potential enemy. Very much like he’d done with her. The realization eased his attitude until finally he said, “I’m glad she has you in her corner.”
Nora gave a noncommittal smile. “Charlotte thinks you walk on water. Ally did too.”
Jake swallowed the unexpected sharp pain in his throat. “I don’t know if I can walk on water.” He forced a low chuckle, breaking the painful memory. “But if we’re being honest, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Nora laughed quietly, and thank goodness. He didn’t want to tear up in front of a woman he barely knew. Jake tipped his head back and looked at the sky, letting the cool northeast breeze blow over him and the sun warm his face. He took a long moment before he looked back at Nora. “Thank you for caring for them.”
“And thank you for your service.”
That caught him off guard and glanced sideways.
Her face paled. “Did I say something wrong?”
Jake pinched his lips together. “No. Surprised me is all.”
“Well…” She shrugged.
He hated to make her uncomfortable, even if it was somewhat adorable. “Not a problem. Honestly.”
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