I glance around the foyer. “I … I don’t think he’s here right now.”
“Who’s this?”
“You’re the one buzzing my house. Who’s this?” Yeah, my house. Like, I’m just claiming it right now. I don’t think Ryder would mind. Especially if this is some fan who went on some Hollywood tour of stars homes or something. Though, I doubt any of those come out this far.
“It’s Maggie. Where’s Ryder?”
The name tickles my subconscious.
Maggie.
Oh shit. Maggie.
Kaylee’s mom.
“Come in.” I hit the buzzer to open the gate but immediately wonder if I wasn’t supposed to do that.
Maggie who? I might’ve let in a potentially crazy person because they share the same name as Kaylee’s mom.
My phone is still in my pocket from last night, so I get it out and check my messages. My battery’s nearly dead, but it’s enough to see a message from Ryder saying he called one of the playgroup moms who slipped him their number the other week to find out where playgroup was today.
Wait, he’s taken Kaylee to playgroup?
I reread the message, catching the end where he tells me to take the day off.
I can’t help wondering if this is his way of saying we should back off. That maybe we should step back.
From recording.
From being friends.
The doorbell sounds, and it breaks my train of thought.
I stare down at myself and know my hair is a mess and I look ratty. For some reason, I want to impress this woman.
She’s Kaylee’s mom, and I’m … Kaylee’s nanny.
Just her nanny.
Remember that, Lyric.
I open the front door and come face-to-face with Kaylee from the future. Her green eyes, dark hair, hell, even her scowl is like Kaylee’s when she’s mad.
What I’m not expecting?
The military uniform. Or the giant government-issued duffle at her feet.
“Uh, hi. I’m Lyric.”
Maggie’s eyes narrow. “Friend of Ryder’s?”
I don’t miss the way she emphasizes friend.
“Umm, I’m Kaylee’s nanny, actually. Uh, come in.”
Okay, so apparently, the idea of Maggie was not as intimidating as the real thing.
I step aside, and she moves through the place like she owns it.
“Umm, Kaylee’s not here right now. Neither is Ryder.”
She spins on her booted heel. “So, why are you here if they’re not? Are you live-in? I thought Ryder didn’t have live-ins anymore.”
“Oh, uh, no. I don’t live here. I, uh …”
She stares at me expectantly.
“We had a late night, so I stayed over. It happens sometimes.” Or once. Like, just last night.
“Well, do you know where they are? I kind of came a long way.”
“Sorry, yes. They’ve gone to playgroup. I can tell you the address.”
“You got a car? I grabbed an Uber straight from the airport.”
“Uh, I don’t. But Ryder has let me borrow the Pontiac before. I can call and ask.”
“He … Pontiac. You …” She tilts her head. “Are you sure you’re just Kaylee’s nanny?” She eyes me up and down. “You don’t look like a nanny.”
“I mean, I guess Ryder and I are kind of friends too.”
“Mmhmm.”
Could it sound more like we’re hooking up? I don’t think so.
“I’ll, uh, call him.”
She goes to stop me. “If you don’t mind, could you not tell him it’s for me? The reason he doesn’t know I’m here is because I wanted to surprise them both. Apparently, he’s been trying to get ahold of me. I got the message when I was already halfway home.”
“He has. Kaylee’s been …” I probably shouldn’t go into detail about the nightmares she’s been having about Maggie blowing up in explosions, which make so much more sense after seeing the uniform. “… asking for you.”
“Aww, my baby girl.” For the first time since she walked in here, she has a smile on her face.
“I’ll shoot Ryder a text instead asking to borrow the car.”
While we wait for him to reply, we fall into an awkward silence, and I get the sense we’re both checking each other out and sizing one another up.
“How long have you worked for Ryder?” she asks.
“Not long.”
“And you’re already staying over?”
“Uh …”
My phone dings, and Ryder gives me the all clear to take his car.
“He said I can take the Pontiac, so I’ll drive you.”
Playgroup today is at a rec center that’s only about a fifteen-minute drive from Ryder’s place, which is good. Any longer in the car with this woman and I might hyperventilate and pass out. I feel like she’s even judging the way I breathe, and now I’m conscious of it.
Gah. I shake it off. “How long has it been since you’ve been home?”
“I just finished up one of my longest deployments. Nine months.”
“Oh wow. Long time.”
“Yeah. It’s the one thing I hate about my job. Being away from Kaylee for that long makes it feel like I miss out on a lot.”
“She’s growing like a weed. I think she’s grown about an inch since I started.”
More silence fills the car, and I wonder if I stepped over some sort of line.
Eyes on the road, Lyric. Eyes on the road.
“How much did Ryder tell you about me?” Maggie asks.
“Not much at all. The only reason I let you in is because he told me your name is Maggie. I didn’t even know you were military.”
“Army. Enlisted straight out of high school.”
See, intimidating.
“I’m sure you get this a lot, but, uh, thank you for your service.”
She smiles. “I do get it a lot, but thank you. It’s been hard, especially since having Kaylee, but I have my reasons for doing it.”
“You don’t need to explain anything. It’s admirable, what you do.”
“I know I don’t need to justify my career, but …” She wrings her hands, and I start to see a less confident side of her. “I feel like I’m always needing to defend my choices when it comes to my daughter. I’m not home with her like I should be. I miss out on too much.”
“But it’s not as if you’re out partying or neglecting her. How many men in the military do the exact same thing?”
Maggie’s intense stare makes me self-conscious, and it’s hard to concentrate on driving. I feel like I’m in driver’s ed all over again.
“No one has ever seen it that way before without me having to point it out.” Her voice is quieter than it has been. More reserved.
Point for me.
“It seems like a double standard is all,” I say.
“Right. Ryder thought so too, which is why we agreed to keep as much about me out of the media as possible. Everyone else sees him as this huge star. To me, he’s still Ryder Kennedy, the annoying boy from elementary school who happened to grow up to be famous.”
“Who you happen to have a kid with.”