“Why don’t you tell me what happened.”
Tears continue running down his chubby little face. “Charlotte hit me on the head with her sword!”
When I don’t immediately respond with outrage, he adds indignantly, “On purpose!”
Because Ty is practically wailing now, Max starts squirming in my arms before letting out a loud howl. I jostle him around, trying to bounce him back to sleep.
“Let me take care of Max and then I’ll look at your head, okay buddy? But I think you’re okay. And then I’ll talk to Charlotte. Maybe you guys shouldn’t be playing with the swords anymore.”
“She’s not supposed to hit me on the head.” Then he yells, “Mama says no whacking each other on the noggins!”
I can’t help but smile. “That sounds like a pretty good rule.” Trying to distract him, I say, “Go tell Charlotte that I would like to talk with her, please.” Because, I suddenly realize, she’s conspicuously absent. It’s not uncommon for Charlotte to go into hiding when she finds herself in trouble. Which probably means that she hit him on purpose.
Tears immediately drying up, he races from the room. “Charlotte! You’re in big trouble with Aunt Claire! Charloooooooootte!”
Ty’s loud bellowing only leaves Max crying harder. Shifting him around, I hold him against my shoulder all the while trying to bounce his small body because he seems to like that the most. Unfortunately, it does absolutely nothing to soothe him. After about five minutes, Ty finally runs back into the kitchen where I’m now trying to calm the baby.
“I can’t find Charlotte.”
Even though my heart hitches just a bit at the news, I nod. She does this. I’m not going to freak out.
At least not yet.
There’s no way she could have snuck outside. But still... I want to know where she is. Ty and I walk through the entire house with a still screaming Max held in my arms. Slowly we move from one room to another, checking each one as we go. Ty gets down on the ground, looking under the beds. We peer in all of the closets. There are five bedrooms on the second floor along with a playroom. We can’t find her anywhere.
“Charlotte,” I call out feeling a little more concerned than I was a mere ten minutes ago, “you need to come out now. You’re not in trouble, sweetie.”
Ty’s dark brows snap together at that. “Yes, she is! She hit me.” He points to the spot where she whacked him. “She almost broke my brain.”
A small smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “She didn’t break your brain, buddy. You’re perfectly fine.”
Very seriously he tells me, “She almost did.”
“And I will definitely talk to her about that. But we need to find her first.” As we walk back downstairs to the first floor, I ask, “Any other ideas where she could be?”
He ponders the question for a minute. “In her closet?”
“We looked there, sweetie. Anywhere else?”
He shakes his head.
The last thing I want to do is call Gia or Liam. If Gia finds out that we can’t find Charlotte, she’ll have Liam turning the truck around before she’s even off the phone with me, and I don’t want to ruin their evening. As much as she didn’t want to leave, she needs to get out and enjoy herself.
But it’s been about fifteen minutes now, and I still don’t have a clue where Charlotte is. And Max hasn’t settled down like I had hoped he would. The doorbell rings, and Ty races off towards the front entryway.
“Don’t open the door until we know who it is!” I shout the words after him but he doesn’t respond. Because I have Max in my arms, I can’t chase after him. “Ty?”
Even if he heard me, he’ll still open the door.
A few months ago, Gia hopped in the shower while both Charlotte and Max were down for naps and she turned on a TV show to occupy Ty. She wasn’t gone more than ten minutes. When she came back downstairs wrapped in a robe, she heard Ty talking to someone and found the UPS guy standing in her front entryway. Ty had brought him inside and was plying him with oatmeal cookies and juice. Now they use an alarm system anytime they’re in the house, so they know if Ty opens the door. I hadn’t activated the system when Liam and Gia left about twenty minutes ago.
By the time I make it to the entryway, Ty already has the front door flung open and is chattering away. Proudly showing off his owie to whoever is on the other side.
“And then she hit me on my brain!”
Skidding to a sudden halt, I realize that JT is standing at the door. His big hands are in Ty’s thick hair sifting around for a wound. He must sense my presence because his seafoam green eyes immediately lift to mine.
“Seems like you’re going to live to see another day.”
Max continues to wail in my arms.
“Charlotte’s in big trouble. We can’t find her.”
JT’s brows jerk together at that little bit of unsolicited information right before his eyes skewer mine with concern. “Charlotte’s missing?”
Sucking in a deep breath, I try minimizing the situation. “Sometimes she hides when she thinks she’s in trouble.” I’m hoping that I can simply shoo JT out the door. Things are crazy enough as it is right now. I really don’t need to add him into the mix.
Looking concerned, he inclines his head towards Max. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah.” I glance down at the squalling infant before laying a gentle kiss on his head. I hate to admit that my nerves are starting to fray. The kids are usually so good for me. But Gia is always here, and she has a way of handling them. “I think he’s just overtired. Gia kept him up so that he would sleep when I got here.”
Since JT doesn’t seem to be leaving, I try hastening his departure by adding, “Liam and Gia aren’t here. I’m babysitting.” I step towards the door, ready to shut it in his face. “I’ll be sure to let Liam know that you stopped by.”
Frowning, he continues to eye the crying baby squirming around in my arms. “Maybe I should stay for a while. You look like you could use a hand getting things back under control.”
Even though he’s right, it feels like all hell is breaking loose, I say with just a bit of a snap, “Everything’s fine. I can handle it.”
He’s the absolute last person I want to accept assistance from. Didn’t he get that the other night when he told me that he could help me with stats? I don’t like the way he makes me feel. I would much rather contend with all this by myself than spend any time alone with him.
Still not budging, JT raises a dubious brow. I’m starting to really hate when he does that.
“How long has it been since you’ve seen Charlotte?”
That question has me biting my lip.
Fine… Point taken.
Apparently, I don’t have a whole lot of choices at the moment. I can either let JT in to help with the kids. Or I can call Liam and Gia.
Conceding to him feels suspiciously like rubbing salt in an open wound.
And by the look in his eyes, he damn well knows it.
Grrrr.
Chapter Seven
JT
She may not want me here, but right now, she needs me. Can’t say I’m not going to take full advantage of that situation.
“Why don’t you take Max up to his room and try to get him to sleep while Ty and I look for Charlotte.” As much as she hates the idea of me actually being helpful, I can see the relief flooding through her gray eyes that I’m taking control of the situation. That she’s no longer alone in this. “I’m sure by the time you get him down, we’ll have found Charlotte.”
There’s a halfhearted moment of indecision that flickers across her face before she finally capitulates. Nodding her head, she takes Max upstairs to his room.
I can’t resist watching the sway of her hips as she walks up the curved staircase in the front entryway. Once she reaches the top, she hesitates before spearing me with a quick glance. It’s one that reveals the inner turmoil burning through her where I’m concerned. I picked up on the undercurrents of it the other nig
ht. Our eyes lock and hold for a heartbeat or two before she finally disappears down the hall on the second floor.
That one look arrows straight through me in the most unexpected way. What is it about Claire Garrison that gets to me? I’ve never had a woman affect me the way she does. Sucking in a deep breath, I glance down at Ty, who is still standing at my side.
“Alright, little man, let’s go find that sister of yours.”
It takes roughly ten minutes, but we finally find Charlotte curled up, sleeping behind the couch in the playroom. It was her slight snores that alerted us to the fact that she was there. Scooping up her small body, I carry her downstairs with us. Within a few moments, she’s waking in my arms. Brows drawing together, she blinks those big blue eyes at me in confusion.
“Heard you’ve been a naughty girl,” I say teasingly.
With a tiny smile curving her lips upwards, she buries her face against the curve of my neck. I feel her warm breath fanning against me before I set her down carefully on the couch in the family room. Since I can still hear Max wailing from the second floor, I know Claire won’t be down anytime soon.
It makes me doubly glad that I stuck around to help.
“Alright, guys, what should we do now?”
Charlotte lifts her head, jet black curls tumbling around her face, before pointing a small finger at the oversized TV mounted to the wall above the massive stacked-stone fireplace. “Georgie!”
Brows drawing together, I look to Ty for clarification.
Who the hell is Georgie?
“Curious George,” he says as if I should already know this. As if everyone and their mother knows this.
“Okay.” Grabbing the remote off the coffee table, I flick on the TV. “Do you know what channel it’s on?”
“Mama records them.”
“Well, that certainly makes things easier, now doesn’t it?”
I press Recordings and a shitload of Curious George shows pop up. I click on one, and within moments, the theme music is playing.
Since it’s right around five o’clock, I ask, “Did Aunt Claire already feed you guys dinner?”
Oddly enough, Charlotte seems physically unable to rip her wide blue gaze away from the television screen. She appears to be in some kind of monkey-induced coma right now even though her eyes are wide open. I’m not going to lie, it’s a little disturbing. Although I do like that they’re both quiet and staying in one place. Somehow I doubt that I’ll score any points with Claire if I happen to lose one of them before she even makes it back down again.
Ty shakes his head as I scratch mine, considering the possibilities.
I have no idea how long Claire will be upstairs with Max. I can still hear him howling angrily. As much as I want to help, I have zero experience with babies. Actually, I have zero experience with kids. So, I’m kind of flying by the seat of my pants here. My guess is that I should probably stay put and hold down the fort until reinforcements arrive.
Going to the fridge, I open the bottom freezer door before digging around.
Hmmm.
What do kids like to eat?
Even better question- what do kids like to eat that I can actually prepare?
Then I hit pay dirt. I pull out a bag of organic frozen chicken fingers and smiley fries.
I think we just might have a winner here.
Walking back into the family room, I hold up a bag in each hand. “Who wants chicken fingers and fries?”
They both cheer.
Chicken fingers and smiley fries, it is.
I set the oven to four hundred and wait for it to heat. Then I dig through the cabinets until I find a cookie sheet and dump a quarter of each bag onto it. When the oven dings, I shove the silver pan in there before setting the timer and heading back into the family room to keep an eye on Ty and Charlotte.
Interestingly enough, they don’t look like they’ve moved a single muscle since I turned on the show. I glance at the TV screen. There’s a little monkey who looks to be causing mischief. And the narrator… damn, but he has a soothing voice. I can literally feel my muscles loosen as I continue watching.
“Good show?”
Neither of them answer. We’re talking completely riveted here.
It’s kind of crazy.
And a bit scary.
Not necessarily in that order either.
Taking a seat, I watch the monkey wreaking havoc wherever he goes and the man in the yellow hat frantically trying to clean up after him. It seems like only a few minutes have slipped by when the timer goes off. Frowning, I wonder if maybe I didn’t set it right. Barely taking my eyes from the TV, I head into the kitchen to check out how the chicken and fries are coming along. Peeking in the oven, I’m a little surprised to see that they’re done.
Awesome.
Grabbing two oven mitts, I take the metal sheet out of the oven before setting it on top of the stove. Waiting for it to cool, I grab two plates before divvying up the chicken and fries. I’m wondering if maybe we should eat at the kitchen table but… then we can’t watch the rest of the show. Actually, we’re already on the second episode.
Don’t tell anyone, but I’m kind of liking this little monkey dude. He’s hilarious.
So I carry their plates into the family room before setting them down on the coffee table.
“Okay guys, we’re going to have a little picnic dinner.”
Charlotte and Ty look positively thrilled with this pronouncement. They both pull themselves up to the table before digging in. Ten minutes later, they’ve finished eating and are back to sitting on the couch watching George. We’re just wrapping up the third show.
When it finally ends, the pair looks at me expectantly.
“Another one?”
They both nod in unison. I’m so into this monkey show that I don’t even notice when Claire makes it back downstairs.
It’s the sound of her voice that finally penetrates the George haze that has fallen over me. “You fed the kids?”
George is doing something crazy, and I find myself unable to rip my eyes away from his amusing monkey shenanigans. Even though I’m completely distracted, I say, “Um yeah, I thought they might be hungry.”
She goes silent for a moment before finally asking, “Are you actually watching Curious George?” I hear the bemusement riddled throughout her voice.
It’s unapologetically that I snort. “I’m not going to lie, it’s completely addictive.”
She takes a seat next to the kids on the couch. They’ve yet to even glance her way.
“Yup, they love it.”
“I can see why. That narrator’s voice is like taking a Xanax.”
She chuckles. “Pretty much. Why do you think Gia has so many of them recorded?”
It finally occurs to me that Claire- Claire Garrison who pretty much hates my guts is actually laughing in my presence. Okay. It may not be a full out laugh, but it’s damn close. And it’s all because of something that has come out of my mouth. It takes a Herculean effort, but I finally tear my gaze from the show only to pin her with my stare. The smile tilting her lips upwards instantly has something prickling to life at the bottom of my gut.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Gia’s a smart woman. I’m going to have to find out when this show is on, so I can watch it sometime.”
The small smile trembles before blooming into a full blown one.
And I love it.
“JT Higgins watching Curious George.” She shakes her head. Her mahogany-colored hair flutters around her shoulders. “Now that I would like to see.”
Unconsciously, my body strains towards her. The little monkey on the TV screen is totally forgotten. “I can arrange that.”
Those softly murmured words have the grin slowly falling away from her face. Yeah… in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have said that. Sometimes I just can’t seem to help myself where Claire is concerned. The look now filling her eyes is decidedly wary. It’s one I’ve come to know well. I could really kick my ow
n ass for putting it back on her face again.
Pulling her gaze from mine, she glances at her niece and nephew before clearing her throat. Her voice becomes a little more formal, as if we’re nothing more than strangers. “Thanks for feeding them. That was really helpful.”
Instead of continuing to move forward, I’ve sent us tumbling backwards. “It was no problem,” I tell her quietly, willing her to look my way again. There’s just something about having those liquid gray eyes on me that I thoroughly enjoy.
Needing to put her at ease again, I ask, “So, Max is finally down?”
That’s when I notice the exhaustion seeping into her eyes. “Yeah. I think he’s just overtired. Once he finally closed his eyes, he was out like a light. I’ll have to wake him to eat in a little while, but hopefully, he’ll go right back to sleep again until Gia and Liam return.”
After a few moments of silence, she says quietly, almost as if it’s agonizing to push the words out, “Thanks again for staying and for all your help.”
I can’t resist teasing her just a bit. “Ouch.” I pretend to wince. “That sounded painful.”
Her eyes narrow but there’s another small smile simmering around the edges of her lips. “You have no idea.”
“Oh, I can imagine.” Then I go and say what we both know to be the truth. “Normally, you can barely stand to be in the same room with me.”
Almost instantly, heat ignites within her cheeks. Instead of holding my gaze, she quickly glances away. “That’s not true,” she mumbles under her breath.
I give a hoot of laughter. “Come on now, Claire, you can be honest. We both know that I’m one of your least favorite people.”
She picks at a thread on her jeans before spearing me with those gorgeous gray depths of hers. “Fine, I’ll admit it, you’re not one of my favorite people. There.” The look she sends my way is rife with challenge. “Happy now?”
Am I happy to have her admitting just how much she dislikes me?
Ummm, not really.
It only confirms what I’ve suspected for years.
If You Were Mine Page 6