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NATE WAS UP FIRST. He immediately made breakfast for the two females still sleeping in his guest room. He didn’t know what else to do. It was his—and Perci’s—day off from the hospital. He could focus on finding a better solution somehow. He wasn’t equipped to care for a toddler long term, and his early morning phone call to his brother Levi had made it clear that that was exactly what it was going to be. Levi expected to be in Hollywood for at least two weeks.
There was no way he could shift his life around to account for a traumatized child for that long, not while running an entire damned hospital.
At least...not without help.
That left him two options—ask his mother for help. Or convince Perci that she wanted to stay right where she was and help him care for Ivy.
He could get his sister-in-law Phoebe to care for Ivy while he and Perci worked. But at night, when it was just him and Ivy rattling around in the ranch house, he wanted Perci there.
They’d had brought Ivy here together; they would help Ivy here together. Period.
Perci wandered into the kitchen, wearing sweats he’d seen on Pan a dozen times now, and carrying Ivy on her hip. The child’s eyes were red. The bruises on her arm stood out. She clung to Perci like the woman was the only safety she had in the world.
He’d always had a soft spot for kids. “Hey, Ivy-bear. Are you hungry?” He’d made her oatmeal, with a touch of brown sugar. It had always been Levi’s favorite as a kid. Oatmeal and fruit had been Joel’s. Nate had sliced her some strawberries to go with the oatmeal.
Perci chattered at Ivy, doing what she could to calm the child down. It wasn’t easy. Finally, Perci had her in the chair on a thick cushion, while Perci spoon fed her the oatmeal.
Ivy continued to eye him like he was the monster under her bed.
But finally, after only the strawberries remained, Ivy smiled.
Nate’s own lips stretched into a smile.
The child’s smile was almost as powerful as the woman’s next to her. And he was a total goner.
***
IT WAS HARD TO DESPISE a man who went to so much trouble to make a frightened child smile. Perci couldn’t keep her guard up between them like this. He just looked so much better than perfect, wiping Ivy’s cheeks gently.
She had no idea what she was going to do with him.
He hadn’t only made breakfast for Ivy—he’d made a bowl for himself and Perci, as well. They sat together, eating and saying very little, while Ivy babbled at her. The little girl still shot nervous looks at Nate, but she was calming toward him slightly.
It would take a little more time before she was completely comfortable with him.
Of course, Ivy wasn’t her responsibility. She was Nate’s. Completely.
Perci should be heading out, doing her own things. She didn’t want to. She wanted to stay right where she was.
Perci didn’t think it was only because of Ivy. Something had changed.
She didn’t know what it was. It might have been the way he’d been so willing to fight for the child that had mattered most. He hadn’t been going to give in until Ivy had been safe.
When it had looked iffy, Perci had instinctively looked to him instead of Joel to make everything all right. To just fix everything. Long after she’d crawled into the bed in the room next to the sleeping little girl’s, she’d thought about exactly that.
Thought about what it meant. She still didn’t have a clue what to do about him.
“Stay.”
Perci stared at him over the table. “Excuse me?”
“Stay. Here. Help me with her. Make sure I don’t screw this up.”
“I can’t do that.” She wanted to. She didn’t want to leave Ivy, for one thing. For another, it felt right exactly where she was. “I have...things to do.”
A lame excuse and they both knew it. “Persephone...”
“Don’t.” She held up her free hand. “I can’t stay here. The two of us will argue. Right in front of her. And terrify her all over again. For another...I just can’t. I have my own life at the ranch and the hospital. I just can’t abandon that to hang around Masterson-ville.”
He stood, looking long and tall and so damned strong her breath caught. Then he was at her side of the table, squatting down next to her and Ivy. “Stay. Help me. Levi will be back within two weeks. Then Pan can help. She’s already said she would. Just...stay. We’ll take her to Phoebe while we work. But I think she needs you right now. Far more than she needs me. She needs to see that not all women are like her mother.”
“Then I’ll take her with me.” But that wouldn’t work. He had to be the primary caregiver until Levi returned. She had an idea how it was all working out. In order for Levi to have become a foster parent, everyone in his house had had to be vetted. Checked out and approved. That meant Nate.
Not her.
Ivy shoved another strawberry into her mouth. Perci watched her for a moment. Ivy was so vulnerable.
Perci knew what it was like to be at the mercy of someone else. She couldn’t do it—she could not leave the little girl, even though she knew without a doubt that Nate would never do anything to hurt Ivy.
“Fine. But I need to run to the grocery store for the kids and my dad, and to get some of my things.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do today. And we can get her some more kid-friendly food. Pan usually does the shopping, but since she’s gone, I’m not sure what we have that Ivy will eat.”
“Kids eat the same thing that adults eat. Mostly. You’ll need easier snack foods and quicker lunches. Healthy ones.” Perci’s mind was already running over the types of meals they prepared for their younger brothers. And a mental list of everything else Ivy might need. “Can we make it to town? Are the floods bad, you think?”
“I spoke with Joel. Roads between here and your dad’s place and town are all clear.” He scooped Ivy up. The little girl squeaked, but didn’t cry this time. It was an improvement. Ivy looked so small against Nate’s muscled chest. “Let’s get going. We’ll get your things first, talk to Phoebe, and then get to the market before the rains start up again.”
Perci had no choice but to nod. It seemed like there was nothing she could do to resist. He was luring her in. Trapping her in his world. Just like she’d always known he would the instant she became vulnerable again.
And just like her namesake, she felt helpless to resist.