“After I finish with Jalen, I’m going to give you a bath, Annabelle,” I say and her face lights up. “So maybe just a short show first?”
Kane goes for the remote, but Annabelle climbs on his lap and takes the remote, pressing the buttons. Sure enough, a kid show comes on.
“Man, that boy is hungry,” Kane says.
For a moment, I can’t do anything but stare at him and Annabelle. She’s tucked into his arms, leaning on her side. There goes my heart again.
Thankfully, Jalen finishes his bottle, and I put him on my shoulder, lightly patting his back. When a huge belch comes out, my excitement comes out with a squeal. “I did it.”
Annabelle looks at me as though I’m boring, and Kane looks as though he doesn’t understand why I’m so excited.
“Awesome, babe,” he says.
I stand. “We need to switch them, Mr. I Don’t Give Baths.”
“I’ll give you a bath anytime.” His eyes drag up and down my body, and my skin heats under his gaze.
“Behave,” I scold him.
“Bath?” Annabelle perks up.
The girl definitely has some profession with water in her future.
We switch kids, and I’m a little surprised by how easily Kane takes Jalen from my arms.
Upstairs, I pick up Annabelle’s wet swimsuit from the floor of her room and ask her to pick out some pajamas. She goes to her drawer and grabs a unicorn onesie I know will make her look adorable. Then we go into the bathroom, and I shut the door and turn on the water. This I can handle. Kane’s wet boxer briefs are lying on the edge of the tub, so I take those and put them aside to put in a plastic bag and then in my purse.
The bath is a lot of fun. Annabelle plays in the water and is pretty self-sufficient. Maybe that comes from being an only child. I wash and condition her hair, and she doesn’t complain. The whole experience is pretty relaxing. Why was I so afraid of this?
I get her dressed in her pajamas, and we come downstairs to find Jalen asleep on Kane’s chest. There’s that feeling again, and I absently rub my sternum.
“You okay?” Kane asks, forehead wrinkled, eyes assessing.
“I think I have heartburn. We haven’t eaten anything.”
He stands and puts Jalen in the bouncer. “I could go out and grab something?”
Annabelle heads to the couch and changes the channel back to her show. Definitely an only child.
“I’m sure we can find something here. Plus, they said they wouldn’t be too long.” I look at the clock. I can’t believe it’s already been so long. Time just races by when you’re taking care of kids apparently.
Kane and I go into the kitchen and look in the fridge and the pantry for food. Annabelle is singing along with some intro song of a show she must love. I find some cheese and crackers, and Kane decides to make popcorn and grabs some of Annabelle’s puff snacks.
I turn around from the pantry and tell Annabelle, “Kane is going to bring you some snacks.”
I come around the other side of the large island and return to the family room and look around, not seeing Jalen in the bouncer anywhere. My adrenaline spikes and my pulse skyrockets.
I circle around. “Annabelle? Where’s Jalen?”
She shrugs and continues watching her show, not even bothering to look at me.
The bouncer and Jalen are gone. Oh my god. I press a hand to my stomach. I think I might vomit.
“Annabelle, where is he?” I ask again with a sterner voice.
“He wanted quiet.”
“No. No, he didn’t. Kane!” I bend down to her level, blocking her view of the TV screen.
Kane rushes over. “What’s up?” His hand is already in the popcorn and he’s shoveling it in his mouth.
“Jalen is gone, and Annabelle says he wanted quiet.” I try to keep the panic out of my voice.
Kane’s eyes widen. “Okay. Okay.”
“Not okay,” I snap.
Kane bends down in front of Annabelle beside me, and I decide to start looking. There’s nowhere far she could have gone with him. I check the door to the pool to make sure the child guard is on. It is.
“Annabelle, we need to know where Jalen is?” Kane asks her in a calm voice.
“Shh…” She puts her finger to her mouth.
“Jalen?” I call, clapping.
“He’s not a dog, Jana,” Kane says, realizing Annabelle is going to give us nothing.
I become frantic and go through everything from behind the couches to the Pack ’n Play .
“We lost their baby,” I say, pushing my hands through my hair, near tears.
“He’s here. He can’t walk.”
Annabelle acts oblivious, watching her show.
I open the bathroom door and fall to my knees in relief. Cute little Jalen is in here, fast asleep. “Found him, Kane.”
He comes in and gives me a look like, What the hell? He bends down and picks up Jalen, bouncer and all. Annabelle must have dragged the bouncer in here.
“Annabelle, that isn’t funny,” I tell her.
She ignores us and picks up her snack. “Movie?”
Again, Kane and I share a look like, What the fuck?
A half hour later, the house has quieted down. Annabelle is asleep with her head on my lap, and I’m running my hands through her hair while Jalen is asleep in his Pack ’n Play. The front door creaks open, and all four parents come in.
“How did it go?” Ford asks.
Annabelle must hear his voice because she wakes right up and runs over to her parents. Warner pretends he’s not checking the baby for damage as he keeps looking him over as he sleeps.
“He’s fine, Langley,” Kane says.
“Um… we had a situation with Annabelle dragging Jalen in the bouncer to the bathroom, saying he wanted quiet.”
Lena looks at Ford, and he cracks up.
“She does that sometimes. Someone’s a little jealous.” He kisses his daughter’s cheek.
“Well, it gave us a heart attack,” Kane says. “You should’ve seen Jana.”
“Sorry,” Lena says. “At least she didn’t draw on him like last time.”
I look at Imogen, and she nods with a half smile while Warner inhales a deep breath through flared nostrils.
“Cousins, I guess?” I shrug.
After they thank us, we get into Kane’s truck.
“Thank God that’s over. Please don’t volunteer us again.” He pulls out of their driveway.
“I didn’t think it was that bad,” I say, still trying to figure out what it was I felt seeing Kane with them.
“Not bad? We almost lost one.” He laughs, already finding the humor in the situation, then squeezes my knee.
“True.” I look out the passenger side window as the houses filled with families pass by.
Why do I suddenly feel as though I’m missing out on something?
I’m in my office, mentally preparing for the biggest game of my career as a coach so far. If we win this one, then the next one might be the biggest in my coaching career. Year one as a coach and we’ve already won our division and now we’re two wins away from winning the Cup. It’s unreal. We’ve had a grueling six weeks of playoffs, but the guys have given it their all and it’s paid off.