They had so much left to explore, and all the time in the world now.
Maxwell yawned, gently extracting himself from the cocoon they’d built overnight. It was his turn to start the work week, even though every part of him wanted to stay here in bed with Jill for the rest of the morning. At least until the triplets started wailing.
But no. His early morning workout was waiting for him. He readied himself quietly in the still gray dawn, trying not to make too much noise to interrupt the deep sleep that Jill so sorely needed. He pressed one last kiss to her forehead before letting himself out of the bedroom, dressed for the gym, his duffel bag slung over one shoulder.
And despite the insanely early hour and how it normally took him the entire car ride to fully wake up, Maxwell was humming the entire trip to work. He blamed it on the awesome make-out session the night before. Maybe that was the pick-me-up he’d been needing instead of coffee each day.
The training facility was humming with activity at six thirty in the morning, per usual. Maxwell dumped his things in the locker room and hurried to the weight room to join his teammates in the usual warm-ups. He spotted Mark first, hanging out on the rowing machine.
“Hey, buddy.” Maxwell headed that way, stretching his arms in turn.
“What’s up, Dad?” Mark sent him a conspiratorial grin. The two of them had been bonding even more recently, due to the fact that they’d both become unexpected fathers this season. “Get any sleep last night?”
“Surprisingly, yes. The triplets woke up once, but we got them to settle pretty quickly.”
“You and Jill are a good team, huh?” Mark smirked.
“I’d say so. We’re hitting our stride this last week finally.”
Mark narrowed his eyes. “Why are you smiling like that?”
“Like what?”
Mark stopped rowing, propping his elbows on his knees. “Oh, I know what’s going on here.”
Maxwell could sense his friend was about to call him out. “What?”
“You and Jill are getting close.”
“Of course we are. We’re raising these kids together.” Maxwell did some side stretches while Mark continued eyeing him.
“Yeah, but I mean like…close. Like, knocking bedposts close.”
Maxwell snorted. “And you think this just because of how I smiled at you?”
“Am I wrong?”
Maxwell eased into the rowing machine next to Mark now that he’d warmed up. “Not exactly. Though we’re not to knocking bedposts level quite yet.”
“Ah-ha! I knew it!” Mark lifted his fists in victory. “I totally called this.”
Maxwell rolled his eyes. “Do you want an award or something? She’s sexy, she’s smart, she’s got her shit together. She’s a dentist, for God’s sake. I’m the lucky one in this situation, not her.”
Mark grinned. “Now that’s sweet. Sounds like a great lady.”
“She is.”
Mark resumed rowing and fell into Maxwell’s pace. “Why don’t you sound so sure?”
“Oh, I’m totally sure she’s a great lady. She’s just the kind of woman I could totally fucking fall in love with.” Maxwell frowned as the machine’s resistance increased. “And a serious relationship just isn’t in my five-year plan right now.”
Mark snorted. “Five-year plan?”
“What? You don’t have one.”
“I’m pretty sure the great ladies of this world aren’t considering your five-year plan,” Mark said. “They come when they come, man. And you’ve got to grab them when you see them.”
Maxwell had plenty of plans to grab Jill. But not in the same way that Mark meant.
“Besides, triplets weren’t in your five-year plan, were they?” Mark asked.
“Not exactly,” Maxwell admitted, sweat prickling at his temples as he rowed a little harder.
Both he and Mark sank into their workouts, increasing heart rates making it harder to keep a conversation going. But Mark’s words rang through Maxwell’s head as he finished his morning workout. Truth was, he wanted Jill badly. But he wanted her right now. He didn’t know how she would fit into the picture long term, other than as the default other guardian for the triplets. Clearly she’d always be a part of his life in that way, but what if this affair between them soured?
What if he actually fell in love with her?
The rest of the day blurred by between practice and video review. He felt like the typical drained mush by the time he left the building and headed for his car in the evening. But as he drove home and thoughts turned to Jill, energy trickled back to him, little by little.
And by the time he walked through his front door, he was practically bouncing with anticipation to see Jill.
As soon as he stepped into the house, he knew something was off.
The house was so silent it buzzed. Maxwell hadn’t heard this level of quiet since the triplets arrived. He took a few tentative steps, straining to hear if they were perhaps outside or tucked away in the upstairs bathroom, or maybe even in the garage.
“Hello?”
Nobody responded.
Maxwell set his duffel bag down and did a walk-through, just to be sure. Nobody in the kitchen or the various living areas. Not in the theater room, or on the back patio. Nobody in the garage, the workout room, and nowhere upstairs.
Fighting a sick feeling in his stomach, Maxwell grabbed his phone and called Jill. It went straight to voicemail.
He stared at his phone for a few moments as the sick feeling blossomed into fear.
He tried her number again, and the same happened—straight to voicemail. Then he called her job. It was after hours, the recorded message told him, so he should try again during regular working hours.
He sighed, running down the stairs two at a time. He went out onto the front porch to keep an eye on the entry gate. Just in case. His adrenaline had spiked, and he couldn’t imagine where on earth she might be, with the kids, without being accessible.
That didn’t seem like Jill. There was nothing on the schedule today—nothing that they’d planned on, at least. So where the hell was everyone?
His heart started racing as he paced the front porch. What would Jill do? He couldn’t just freak out, imagining the worst. If he let his mind go, he’d start calling police stations and hospitals within fifteen minutes. No, he needed to be levelheaded. Jill would have an action plan. She would think of some unexpected options that would lead to a solution.
Maxwell chewed on the inside of his lip as he thought. And then it came to him: he could try calling some of Jill’s friends. She’d given him Marie’s number once as an emergency contact, in case something ever happened with the kids and Jill couldn’t be there. And this counted as an emergency. His entire family was missing.
He swiped through his contacts list, struggling to remember Marie’s last name through the panic and foreboding, when the entrance gate clicked and started to slide open.
Jill’s car pulled into the driveway.
Relief flooded him, rendering him immobile. All he could do was stare as she parked, her moss-green SUV stuffed to the brim with car seats in the back.
As soon as she opened the door, he blurted, “Where were you guys?”
She cocked her head, concern creasing her features. “Didn’t you get my texts?”