They stepped out, heading to the doors. She rushed forward and grabbed the main door so that he could roll out easily. Once they were outside in the cold, feeling the icy wind on her cheeks, she breathed a sigh of relief. Caleb was right. It felt so good.
She looked down at Tara and reached inside the bottom of the stroller, into the bag. Pulling out the blanket she’d purchased online the other day, she tucked it around the little girl.
“Should I cover her face or her cheeks? Won’t she get too cold?”
“She’ll be nice and cozy. Don’t worry. Relax.”
“Relax. Right. I can do that. See. I can do this.”
She walked beside Caleb as they headed down the street. It had been a long time since she went for a walk. Long before Tara came into her world. Her life had been dedicated to her work for so long, because that was all she had lived for. There was nothing else to occupy her day, so she’d gotten up and worked. She rarely stopped to eat and worked until she passed out. The days rolled together, until she got the call for Tara. That had been a wake-up call.
This was the first time she had taken any real time for herself. Caleb had started to get her back into a routine.
“Take deep breaths,” Caleb said. “Feel that cold air on your skin.”
She did and it felt so good. They headed toward the local park. This was a place she’d never been.
“What day is it?” she asked, a little confused to see all the kids at the park already. It was a little before lunchtime.
“It’s Saturday,” he said.
“What?”
It was Saturday. The days had no meaning to her the past few weeks. Not that they had any real meaning before.
“Relax.”
“I am … relaxing.” She looked over at the swings and the climbing frame. The kids were all over the park, loving it from their laughter, and she couldn’t help but watch and soak it up. They all looked so happy and she was more than happy for them.
In fact, as they stood inside the gates of the park, Annie found herself calming down. With only herself and her mother for so long, she would often wish for a big family. Whenever her mother had been working, Annie had spent a lot of time on her own. They had lived in a small apartment, and she would look out the window, see other large families, or watch them on television or in movies, and it was what she always wanted. It was a dream she hadn’t given up on. Not really. It was just a dream she had put to sleep for now while she worked on her career.
“Come on,” Caleb said.
She looked at Tara who had that wide-eyed innocence she loved so much. The world was all new and exciting to her. She hadn’t been let down by those who loved her. Not abandoned by a dad who wanted to go out screwing his way through women like there was no tomorrow. She hadn’t known heartache. Annie looked at the little girl and knew there was going to be pain. Her parents had already been taken from her.
Don’t you worry, sweet girl, I am going to take care of you. I am going to love you, and I’m going to make sure you never feel pain.
She knew there would be pain she couldn’t control, but everything else she was going to protect.
Chapter Three
“You’re still helping this hopeless mother?” Ryan asked.
Caleb stared across the restaurant’s table at his best friend. “You wanted to have drinks and catch up, not be a bastard about it.”
Ryan held up his hands. “Dude, you’ve been helping this woman out for what, two months?”
“It’s been six weeks.”
Ryan pursed his lips. “I know you. I know how great you are with kids and parents. Don’t you think you should tell this woman to put the kid up for adoption if she’s not getting the hang of it by now?”
Caleb wanted to beat the crap out of his friend, but he wasn’t going to do it. Ryan didn’t know the whole story. He looked over toward the waiter. The sooner he had this dinner with Ryan, the sooner he could return to Annie.
“You’re quiet,” Ryan said. “That is never a good thing.”
“You wanted to have dinner. We’re having dinner.”
“Something is different. I know you. You’ve been blowing me off for six weeks and that is not something you do.” Ryan ran a finger along his lips and then smiled. “Ah, I know what’s going on here. You have a thing for the woman, don’t you?”
“Why don’t we just order and you tell me about your latest disaster date?”
“Caleb, man, you know my wife and I don’t have any disaster dates.” Ryan held his hands up. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“First of all, you and Katherine have nothing but disaster dates, seeing as you have twins who are determined to be in every single photograph and every single memory you guys make.”
Ryan started to laugh.
“So how about we not talk about my love life and instead focus on yours, which is a lot more fun?”
Ryan tutted. “You know the girls are missing you, and my Katherine is as well. It’s been six weeks and you’ve not been around for a Sunday dinner. They want to know what their uncle is doing.”
He wasn’t related to Ryan in any way but he loved him and they were closer than brothers. They were the closest of friends. Ryan had seen him through all the bad shit, and helped him to make The Nanny successful. He owed him a lot. In some ways, he owed Ryan his life.
“Annie is … she’s different. The crap surrounding this kid, I mean, she’s amazing.” He told Ryan everything Annie had told him. He talked about her past with the parents and how she was dealing with Tara.
“Does she hate the kid?” Ryan asked. “A lot of people would have given her up. A whole lot of bad blood.”
“Annie loves her,” Caleb said. “I’m not kidding. She’s so enamored with the little girl.”
“From the sound of it, so are you.”
“I … they’re lovely,” he said. The truth was, he wasn’t needed. Annie knew what she was doing, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave.
He loved waking up in the morning listening to her bad rendition of whatever song was playing on the radio. Annie couldn’t sing but that didn’t stop her. She had no idea he laid in bed and listened. He loved sharing food with her. He certainly loved cooking for her. Then of course there were the late-night hot chocolate drinks and chats, which he also loved. She had a hot chocolate addiction, which he could relate to.
He’d even set an alarm so he’d wake up in time.
Annie wasn’t a great sleeper. She hadn’t been since she was a kid. From what he could figure from the information she had given him, her parents would fight when she was young. That meant she woke up early in the morning, listening to them argue. It had extended into adulthood, and even when Tara didn’t wake up, Annie always did.
“You’re falling for her.”
“Enough. Order already,” Caleb said.
“You were attracted to her in the beginning. You admitted that, and you wanted me to talk you out of taking this job, but this is something else, isn’t it?”
“Can we just order?”
“Caleb!”
“Ryan, drop it.”