by Natalie Ann
“I’ll stop to get it and bring it over,” she said.
Ryan laughed. “See, you’re easy too. We’ll wait for you.”
“I won’t be much further behind you. Let me finish this up and then let Mom know where I’m going so she isn’t holding dinner for me.”
She didn’t have the family of her own she’d always dreamed of, but what she had was good enough.
3
Some Big Ears
“I’d ask how he’s been, but I can see,” Trey said when he knocked on the upstairs apartment door to his sister’s home. When he realized he was going to be a single father, he knew renting apartments would be out of the question and started to look for a house. Buying the two-family house and letting his sister live upstairs solved a lot of problems for them both.
“Happy as always,” Gillian said. “Smiles nonstop, unlike his father.”
“I smile plenty,” he said, grinning as he walked over to Ben. His almost ten-month-old son was jumping in some doorframe contraption his sister picked up. She spoiled her nephew worse than him.
Ben was bouncing more, his rosy cheeks plump as his arms came out reaching for his father while he made noises that Trey would like to think resembled Da Da, but were just nonstop rambling sounds.
“He likes his new exercise equipment,” Gillian said.
“So I see,” Trey said, pulling him out of it and putting him on his hip. He reached one hand up. “Is this secure there? He’s not going to fall?”
Gillian laughed. “It’s very secure and holds up to twenty-four pounds. I found a bunch of my free weights and put thirty pounds in there and pulled on it. Solid.”
“And you researched and bought the best one?” he asked, knowing his sister always did that. She had Ben almost as much as he did and knew he’d be hurt if Ben called Gillian Mom before he was called Dad.
“Of course. How was work?”
“Quiet,” he said. “Just a few false calls and a carbon monoxide issue. I’m assuming Ben ate already? Thanks for getting him for me.”
“Yes, he ate about an hour ago. I made sure his belly was settled before I put him in there so I wasn’t cleaning his dinner up off the floor via the puke express. And no problem getting him from daycare and you know it.”
He normally got out on time, but today wasn’t one of those days. He worked two twelve-hour days, and two twelve-hour nights. He was on a call when his shift ended today. Tomorrow would be his second day, then Gillian would have Ben the next two nights when he worked.
“I owe you,” he said.
“No. You don’t let me pay rent. That’s payment enough,” his sister said, then went to the fridge. “Are you hungry? I made a few extra chicken breasts if you want to sit and eat. Ben wants to go back in his jumper.”
As if he couldn’t figure that out himself with his son all but turning his body into an arc leaning toward it. “If you’ve got no plans, I could eat.”
“I’ve got no life and like it that way,” she said.
He walked over and set Ben back in the jumper and watched him bounce like a rubber ball against a wall, then pulled out a stool and sat at the counter. Gillian had the chicken in the microwave and put a bowl of pasta salad in front of him.
“I’m starving, so this beats my sandwich and chips. Did you give Ben some chicken?”
“I did. He liked it. And yes, I cut it up tiny along with the pasta. He had a jar of prunes with it too.”
Trey looked up at his sister. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Barb said he’s been straining to go poop for two days. This will help.”
“She didn’t tell me that yesterday when I picked him up. Or this morning when I dropped him off.”
He helped himself to the pasta salad while Gillian put the chicken on his plate. “She probably wouldn’t if it was just one day. But she knew I’d tell you. I had a jar here from last time.”
He didn’t like buying it for Ben because the kid loved it. Then Trey would spend the day cleaning up more messes than those in his life.
“Thanks. Maybe it’ll hit when you’ve got him at night.”
“It will hit before that and you know it. Hopefully Barb gets the mess tomorrow.”
“Never my luck,” he said, then turned his head when his son let out a big giggle followed by a release of gas. “See?”
Gillian laughed. “At least you had a calm day. Though carbon monoxide sounds scary.”
“As you know it can be. Their alarms went off and the security system called us in.”
“Do you break the doors down or something if no one is home? How do you know it’s not a fire?”
“The homeowner got the call too and met us there.” He stopped chewing, then said, “It was Whitney Butler. She pulled up the same time as us, then showed me on her phone there was no fire on the cameras. She let me in the house to look around.”
“Ahh, your ex.”
“I’ve got a lot of exes,” he said.
“True. Don’t we all. I always liked her. What happened with you two?”
“We were seventeen and seniors in high school. What happens to most people at that age?”
“I suppose,” Gillian said. “How did she look?”
“What?” he asked. “Why?”
“Just curious. I always thought she was pretty. She’s divorced now and you hear things. Just curious how she looked.”
“I don’t hear anything because I don’t listen,” he said.
“Yeah. She married young, you know that. She was still in college, but a few years ago they divorced quickly. No one said the whole truth, but I heard Ryan beat the shit out of the guy for cheating on Whitney.”
He cracked a grin. Ryan was a hothead. “Good,” he said.
“You didn’t answer me,” Gillian said. “How did she look?”
“The same,” he said back. “I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention.”
He wasn’t going to tell his sister that it did seem like Whitney hadn’t changed much. She still had light brown hair falling down her back in soft waves. Her blue eyes were wide and went from fear for her home, to hesitation when she recognized him. Then almost annoyance when he’d said she should have checked the detector before just assuming it was the battery.
Her mouth was still small and slim and he could remember what it was like to taste her when he’d had a lot of women since then.
“You never do,” she said. “So everything is fine in her house? What did it look like?”
“Again, I was doing my job and not paying a lot of attention to anything other than it was big.”
The basement was all finished with a wet bar in the corner of an open living room. He didn’t remember her being much of a drinker. Not when others were at their age. Maybe it was the ex’s taste.
There was a room he passed with exercise equipment in it, then a few more closed doors. Probably a bedroom or bathroom knowing her. She’d always wanted a ton of kids.
The main floor had been open and airy. Thinking back, it didn’t look like a man lived there unless the guy had Whitney’s style. Funny how he still remembered all the things she’d said she wanted in a home back then.
Light, bright, and welcoming. That was what it felt like.
“I don’t think anyone in their family has a small home. I heard Ryan got married a few months ago.”
“You’ve got some big ears.”
They turned their heads when Ben let some more gas out and then giggled. Trey couldn’t help but grin.
“I’ll change his diaper before you go downstairs,” Gillian said. “It’s like he’s gearing up.”
“It’s the least you can do. Why do you think I’m taking my time eating?”
“I’m not an idiot,” she said.
“So how was work for you?” he asked. He was going to drag it out because Ben started to grunt and stopped jumping. Poor kid’s face was red and he felt bad he didn’t know this was going on. He was working with their father when he wasn’t at the fire
house most days. It seemed like Ben was always with someone other than him, but he had bills to pay.
“Same old same old. There is a rumor going around my supervisor is leaving. No one can stand her.”
“You get along with everyone,” he said.
“I do. Unlike you.”
“Please. I’m easygoing and you know it.”
“You used to be.”
“Don’t go there,” he said. “Life took a turn and I’m making the best of it.”
“I know. I’m sorry. You haven’t heard from Kathy, have you?”
“No, and I don’t think I ever will,” he said of his ex. He had to fight her tooth and nail to just go through with the pregnancy. Once Ben was born, she was out of town shortly after. They finalized custody before the birth.
“You’re both better off that way.”
“Exactly,” he said.
Ben started to fill his diaper with more noise than Trey had heard before. He caught a whiff of the smell and almost gagged.
He could smell burned flesh and look at dead bodies in a fire, but his son’s diapers always got to him.
Gillian started to laugh. “See how well prunes work? You should be giving him a little bit every few days.”
“Is that your professional opinion?”
Gillian was a dietician and at least he knew they were all eating well. She was a health nut and loved to cook. Both he and Ben got the benefits of that.
“Yes.”
“He drinks apple or pear juice,” he said. “One cup a day.” If he didn’t say that she’d get on his case about the sugar in it. But Ben got two bottles of watered-down juice that were equal to no more than six ounces undiluted.
Shit, he’d been flying by the seat of his pants since Ben was born. If it wasn’t for his mother and sister he wasn’t sure what he would have done. Having Gillian upstairs wasn’t just for when he was working at night, but when he was clueless with a crying baby.
She’d hear Ben and come down to help out. Not a lot, as he wanted to do it on his own, but there were times he was at a loss.
One thing was for certain, when his coworkers busted on their wives’ asses about it not being hard to take care of a baby, he was fast to tell them to shut the hell up unless they wanted to try it alone.
Most knew his situation and closed their traps after that.
“That’s fine. But change it up. He might need more fruit.”
“You told me more vegetables than fruit. Are you changing it on me? I’m going to have to start to write this down.”
“Stop,” she said, grinning. “Oh no, Ben. Don’t you dare jump in that full diaper.”
“Too late,” he said when Ben bounced up and they both heard the loud squish. He let out an involuntary shudder. “He’s going to need a change of clothes after that. I’ll go get them.”
“Coward,” she said when he made his way downstairs to get Ben’s pajamas.
He knew Gillian had clothes upstairs for Ben and the key to get downstairs, but she didn’t use it often. He supposed he should be happy that though his sister seemed pretty nosy about other people’s lives, she kept their two households as separate as possible to give them each privacy.
But as she’d said, it’s not like either of them had much of a life.
4
Never Forget Your First
The next day Whitney opened the door to the fire station that had responded to her alarm and heard, “Bridges. Barb’s on the phone.”
“Shit,” he said and moved toward the back and out of sight. Oh well.
“Can I help you?”
“Hi. Whitney Butler. You guys responded to a call at my house yesterday and I just wanted to come and thank you all with lunch.”
She had four pizzas in her hand and the fireman reached forward with a massive grin on his face. “Sweet. We are always thankful for that.”
“Poor dude,” she heard another one say as he helped himself to the pizza on the counter. “Can’t catch a break.”
She wanted to ask who they were talking about since they’d turned to see Trey walk to the back for his call, but then the other guy said, “Yeah, hopefully it’s nothing major with his kid.”
Her smile wanted to drop at hearing that. She’d come here to get another look at Trey when she was more relaxed, but it sounded like he had a wife and kids.
“Hope it’s nothing serious,” she said.
“Probably not,” the first fireman who commented said. “Just that I wouldn’t change places with the dude raising a baby on his own.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Steve, fill your mouth with food and shut up. Sorry about that,” the second fireman said as Steve moved away. “He runs his mouth too much. Anyway, we appreciate the food. I’ll be sure to let the captain know you dropped it off.”
“She’s playing nice because her family owns half this town.”
She looked behind the one guy who she was talking with and saw Trey coming back. She hadn’t gotten a good enough look at him in his fire gear and helmet yesterday, but seeing him in his uniform, her mouth was drooling.
His hair was shaved short on the sides, a little longer on top, clean-shaven face like she remembered. He filled out his shirt and pants well and it took a major effort for her eyes to not roam over his body.
Why had she been nervous about his future career when he looked like this?
He’d had a grin on his face when he said those words so she wouldn’t take it as an insult.
“Just want to make sure you guys are appreciated for the hard work you do. I’m lucky it was easily fixed and my house wasn’t on fire. But you responded fast enough and that still makes me thankful.”
Trey nodded his head, then reached in for a slice of pizza. “Rick, bring these to the kitchen and let the guys know.”
Interesting, Trey was leaving the two of them there alone. “Thank you,” she said again. “I know it’s your job and all, but it’s still scary. I got a lot of lectures last night.”
“I’m sure. It’s nothing to mess around with.”
“As I know.”
“It’s all fixed now?” he asked.
She was trying to pull her eyes away from his mouth as he chewed. God, she remembered that mouth on hers. She’d only been with a few men in her life, but you never forget your first.
“They are finishing up as we speak. The heat exchange was cracked and they had to order the part. I guess it helps to have contracts in place so they just pushed other work aside to get to mine.”
He nodded. “Nice to know the right people. Did you stay there last night?”
If she found this conversation odd, she wasn’t letting on. “No. Between Ryan and my father, I wasn’t in the mood for another headache. I had dinner at Ryan’s with his family, then went to my parents’ house and slept in my old bed. Made me wish for my king again.”
She saw Trey’s face flush and wondered if he was remembering the same as her. The few times they were alone in the house and made use of the bed in her old room.
“There is something to be said for big beds.”
This was the most awkward conversation. “Is your child okay? One of the men said that was your sitter calling?”
He frowned as if he didn’t like being talked about. She remembered that about him. “Yeah. Ben seems to be filling a lot of diapers today. I told the sitter it was the entire jar of prunes that Gillian gave him last night.”
Whitney laughed. “I’m sure that would do it. How is your sister? Or is that another Gillian in your life?” Might as well clarify that.
“She’s doing well. Only one of them in my life. Only two women actually. Mom and her. I’m sure Steve commented on me being a single father. He runs his trap more than he should, especially to a pretty lady. I think he gets foot-and-mouth disease when he sees one and hasn’t figured out how to close his jaw.”
“You think I’m a pretty lady?” she asked, leaning against the counter. No one was around them and she
figured why not? This was the Trey she remembered, not the one that told her he needed space.
“I used to tell you that often. You look the same as you did.”
“Ah, every woman wants to hear that at our age. So Ben, your son. How old is he?”
“He’ll be ten months in a week.”
And there her smile went. It was a baby he was raising alone. At a risky job where he worked nights and days. She was dying to know what happened to Ben’s mother but didn’t feel it was her place to ask. “Can I see a picture of him?”
He pulled his phone out. “Sure. I know you love kids.”
“I do. Don’t have any of my own though. Someday. I get to spoil Ryan’s stepkids until then. My cousin Kaelyn has a toddler too.”
“Harris’s wife?” he asked.
Everyone knew retired professional pitcher Harris Walker was from this area and moved back. It was even bigger news when he married her younger cousin Kaelyn.
“Yes. Scarlet is a doll.”
She took the phone from Trey and looked at his son. She saw the baby blue eyes most kids at that age had and wondered if they’d stay or not. Trey had brown eyes.
“I see a lot of you in him.”
“Thank God,” he said. “No confusion then when I get him at daycare.”
He was laughing and she wasn’t sure what to make of that statement. Probably just a joke. “Well, thanks again for everything. Enjoy your lunch.”
As much as she wanted to stay there and talk to him, she was feeling self-conscious and wondering what the hell was going through his mind.
She’d dated two men since her divorce. One longer than the other. Mark was nice enough and they got along, but she didn’t feel the spark she wanted to feel.
The one she’d been searching for in her life.
The one she felt for Trey years ago.
When she’d seen him yesterday it started to flicker in her belly again and she wasn’t sure if it was the fear of what was going on with her house or something more.
Coming here today would give her an idea.