The girls were hilarious. Ava and Grace were very different. Ava liked to be the center of attention, telling jokes and being silly, while Grace was more careful, concerned with propriety and following the rules.
Sophie did a wonderful job of entertaining both of them.
As for Nate, he was great with both of the little girls. Not to mention completely gorgeous. She couldn’t stop thinking about how delicious his mouth tasted and how she really wanted him to kiss her again.
The long day of excitement was too much for the girls, though. Ava couldn’t seem to stop yawning, even before she finished her pizza, and her older sister rubbed her eyes several times.
“This has been wonderful but I probably need to get these girls home. Their bedtime was a half hour ago and we still need to follow Rachel’s ten-point schedule for a good night’s sleep before I settle them down.”
“I don’t want to leave the park,” Ava protested, over another big yawn. “This was so much fun.”
“I know,” Jess said. “But it will be dark soon and you have preschool tomorrow.”
“Oh yeah. Plus Mommy and Daddy and Si will be home.”
They all worked together to clean up after themselves and then walked back to Nate’s pickup truck.
Like Ava, Jess didn’t want the evening to end. It left her craving for something she hadn’t known she wanted.
Connection.
Subtle and addictive. It left her feeling edgy and restless as Nate drove them home.
This was exactly the problem with letting herself get involved. She didn’t need connection. She was just fine on her own. Things were better that way. Safer.
All these feelings zinging around left a person weakened, vulnerable to heartache and loss.
Better to stay on her solitary emotional island, fighting off anyone else who dared to come near, with whatever means necessary.
Ava, sandwiched between Sophie and Grace, fell asleep in the back seat of Nate’s king cab pickup on the short drive to Rachel’s house.
She didn’t wake even after he pulled into the driveway, unloaded the bikes and put them in the storage area Grace pointed out in the garage.
“I’ll carry her in,” he offered.
Jess could do it. She lifted heavy boxes for a living. One little girl who couldn’t weigh more than fifty pounds would be nothing. It seemed foolish to argue with him, though.
Something about the sight of the little sleeping girl nestled in his arms made Jess’s knees feel wobbly.
Good grief. This was ridiculous.
She opened the door with the code Rachel had given her and led the way inside.
“Where am I going with her?”
“Our bedroom is down the hall next to the bathroom,” Grace informed him.
“Second door on the right,” Jess said. “I’ll show you.”
She led the way down the hall to the girls’ cute bedroom, decorated like an Instagram fantasy, with reading nooks and bookshelves and a glorious dollhouse she had yet to see the girls actually use.
“She needs a bath,” Grace said. “We always have a bath before we go to bed.”
“Well, this time I’m going to let her go to sleep and have a quick bath in the morning.”
Rachel wouldn’t be happy about it, but Jess was going with her instincts on this one. Waking up Ava and making her take a bath when she was exhausted seemed cruel.
Nate lowered her to the bed. Ava snuggled into her pillow, reaching to pull her comforter over her.
Letting her get by without a bath was one thing. Allowing her to sleep in the clothes she’d been wearing to play at the park and the beach was something else entirely. “I’ll help her into PJs in a minute,” she said softly. “Thank you for your help.”
“My pleasure.”
She walked him back to the door while Grace grabbed her pajamas and headed for the bathroom next to their room. “I’ll be in to help you in a minute.”
“I don’t need help. I’m not a baby like Ava or Silas,” Grace informed her haughtily.
“Leave the door unlocked anyway,” Jess said. She didn’t know what Rachel’s rules were about that sort of thing but she wasn’t taking any chances of leaving a child unattended around water.
Grace sighed and shut the bathroom door firmly. Soon after, Jess heard water running.
“At least she didn’t slam it, like Sophie would have done.”
His daughter had opted to wait in the truck.
“Thank you for everything tonight. The bike tire, the ride, the pizza. It turned out to be a good evening, after all.”
“I enjoyed it,” he said, his voice gruff.
She walked him to the door, her mind suddenly filled with images from that morning when he had kissed her.
“You did great. See? Nothing to be nervous about.”
“I’m still over my head, but so far we haven’t had any broken bones or ER visits or other catastrophes. The night is still young, though.”
He smiled. “Don’t worry. If you do anything else wrong, I suspect Grace will be the first one to tell you.”
She had to laugh at how accurately he had assessed her oldest niece. “I guess every family needs one who likes to follow the rules.”
“I certainly wasn’t that person and something tells me you weren’t either.”
How had he guessed that? “Not in the slightest,” she answered.
“Yet we both joined the military, which is all about following the rules.”
She was struck by the notion that they had far more in common than she might have thought.
Maybe that was why she was so fiercely drawn to him.
Not that it mattered. He wasn’t for her, she reminded herself.
“Thanks again. You saved the day.”
“I loved every minute of it,” Nate said in a low voice. She caught her breath when he leaned forward. Was he going to kiss her again?
He did, but this time he only brushed his mouth to the side of hers with a gentleness that completely disarmed her.
“Good night. Try not to burn the house down.”
She laughed a little raggedly. “I won’t. I think we’re safe for now. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
He smiled, waved and headed out the door, leaving her to watch after him and ache with longing for only a minute before she turned back to her nieces.
17