The next morning, Kayla arrived at Noah’s place at five minutes before nine.
He answered the door before she had a chance to knock. “Morning.” He moved aside and motioned her in. “Can I grab you a cup of coffee?”
Timber poked his head around Noah’s legs. She smiled and waved at him. Then he made a vrooming noise and darted off.
She stepped inside. “That sounds lovely, thank you.”
With a nod, he rounded the Formica breakfast bar separating the tiny kitchen from the living area and pulled a mug from the cupboard. “Milk and sugar?”
It touched her that he always seemed to remember so many details about her—like her favorite type of ice cream and how she took her coffee. “Heavy on both, thank you.” She crossed to where a cooing Sophia was lying on a blanket on the floor. “Morning, princess. You ready to spend the day with Aunt Kayla?” She gave Sophia’s pudgy big toe a gentle tug.
Toy cars were littered across the rustic-looking coffee table, an array of children’s clothes covered the floral couch and Timber’s favorite blanket was draped over the vintage rocker.
Noah sidled up beside her and handed over a steaming cup.
She took a sip of coffee and closed her eyes. “Mmm. Perfect.” She paused. “I really appreciate you letting me be part of the children’s lives like this.”
“Always. So long as you don’t go sneaking off with the kiddos.” His eyes searched hers.
Almost as if he knew she was leaning toward guardianship more each day. Most likely, he’d been analyzing their conversation from the night before, maybe even had come to share her logic.
He stepped closer and lifted her chin so that her eyes met his. “Stay here, in Sage Creek. We can raise them together. This is working out, right?”
Her heart squeezed. How she wanted to say yes. “If only it were that easy.”
“It can be.”
Tears stung her eyes, and she turned to face the window.
His footsteps retreated, paused, then shuffled into the kitchen. She turned back to watch him, wishing for something to say. He fiddled around, tidying up what didn’t really need tidying, packed a travel lunch bag. “Timber might pester you about seeing the horses. He’s already asked me half a dozen times to go see them.”
He turned to Timber, who’d migrated into the room pulling a wooden train set by a string. Noah dropped to one knee and enveloped the tyke in a hug. “You be good, you hear? And come see your uncle for lunch.” His gaze met Kayla’s.
She nodded.
Noah stood, crossed to Sophia’s blanket and lowered to kiss her forehead. “That goes for you, as well, little missy. No spitting up on your aunt’s pretty blouse.” He paused, angled his head. “What? You can’t help that? A likely excuse.”
He tickled her under her chin, then grabbed his lunch and ambled to the door.
Kayla followed, and he held her gaze with an almost pleading look, as if he wanted her to stay, and not just to help with the children. But his emotions were probably just jumbled, with everything that was going on with the kids and all. That was probably where both of their feelings came from. They were drawn to a common cause and felt a connection because of that. But that didn’t mean they could make it as a couple.
They were nothing more than two friends linking arms during a difficult and confusing time.
Friends. The word stung. Her heart wanted more. She hadn’t realized just how much until now.
After he left, their conversation replayed through her mind again and again. She got so lost in her thoughts she poured Timber’s juice all over the counter instead of into the cup. While she was less than amused at having to mop up a sticky puddle of grape juice, which was likely to stain, Timber thought the situation hilarious.
His laughter triggered hers, which only made him giggle all the harder. He started hopping around the room.
“You’re a bundle of energy this morning, aren’t you?” She poked him in the ribs as he jumped past. “What do you say we blow this Popsicle...er, juice stand? Trade it for horses?”
Timber squealed and stomped his feet. “Hossie! Hossie!” He dashed to the door, plopped on his backside and attempted to shove his tiny feet into his still-tied shoes.
“All righty, then.” Kayla ruffled Timber’s hair then dropped to her knees in front of him to help him out. “Kinda goes easier when you match the right shoe to the right foot.”
Five minutes later, she had Sophia tucked securely in the baby backpack she’d found and they were traipsing down a dirt path toward a barnlike structure she assumed housed the horses. To the left, horses grazed in a large, fenced-in pasture area. To the right stood Noah’s ministry, his workshop about five hundred yards south of that.
When they neared the pasture, Timber bolted ahead. “Wait.” Kayla hurried after him, Sophia bouncing in her backpack, and grabbed his wrist moments before he reached the fence. She’d forgotten how fast little legs could go.
Unexpected movement in her peripheral vision startled her. She spun to see a large, heavily tattooed man walking along the expanse of grass between the stalls and Noah’s workshop. He wore a black T-shirt, dark jeans and combat boots. Though the sun behind him shadowed much of his face, his body language suggested he was angry. Tense.
He stopped when he saw her, and she held her breath, suddenly feeling vulnerable with Noah and his staff and who knew who else inside a closed barn with loud machinery. She knew the type of men Noah’s ministry served, how many of them were ex-cons and addicts, of which this man quite likely was. Why was he out here, roaming around?
“Dude.”
She jumped at the sound of another man’s voice, coming from her right. She turned to see a tall, muscular guy in jeans and a red workman’s apron tied around the waist approach.
Upon seeing Kayla, he nodded, then pivoted back to the angry guy. “You have a chance to chill out?”
Pulling Timber to her, she faced the pasture, pretending not to pay attention to the conversation behind her while her ears remained pricked.
The bigger man sighed loudly. “Done told you I don’t got time for some snotty-nosed mouth-off.”
“Yeah, well, part of working the program means learning to get along with others.”
“The punk should be glad I didn’t knock that smirk right off his face. Leave him crawling around in the sawdust, looking for his busted-out teeth.”
She flinched and nudged Timber. “Let’s go, bud.” She spoke quietly. “We’ll come back later.” When Noah was around.
Timber grunted a cry and shook his head. “Hossie! Hossie!” He reached toward the pasture, opening and closing his hand.
“I know, bud. I wish we could. We’ll come back.”
This wasn’t the best environment for the kids. Or for her, for that matter.
Noah leaned back in his desk chair and folded his hands on his stomach. “You think we need to cut him loose?”
Elliot popped his knuckles one at a time. “Not sure. He’s wound pretty tight.”
“A lot of guys are when they first start coming. They haven’t learned how to handle their emotions in a healthy way.”
“Yeah, but they usually listen when we try to coach them.”
“Not at first.” Noah knew what Elliot was implying, and he might be right. Maybe the man was unreachable, but they had to give him a chance. “Not always.”
“What if he and Caleb had come to blows?”
He tugged on his trimmed beard. This was always the hardest part of rehabilitation ministry—knowing when to give grace and what for, and when to draw hard lines. “You talked to him? Explained the rules and behavior expectations?”
Elliot nodded. “Not sure he listened, though.” He paused. “Kayla and the kids were out, hanging around the horses. She seemed pretty spooked. Think she had reason to be?”
Noah released a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’ll talk to him.”
Elliot stood. “Good enough.”
At lunchtime, Noah popped home to see Kayla and the kids. The scents of fried chicken and fresh-baked biscuits greeted him as he walked in. Along with Sophia’s steady wailing. Kayla was rocking her while Timber played with his plastic dinosaurs, apparently unperturbed.
Kayla, on the other hand, looked frazzled. “Yay. You get to see what an amazing nanny I am.” Her laugh sounded forced.
“She gets like this sometimes. How long’s she been crying?”
“I’m not sure. Fifteen minutes?”
“She was fussy off and on last night.” He touched the back of his hand to her forehead. “She might be coming down with something.”
“Should you call her doctor?”
He frowned. Should he? Truth be told, he’d never dealt with a sick infant before. “I don’t want to jump at every cold. But I don’t want to ignore something that’s potentially serious, either.”
“How do we know which is which?”
“We ask my mom.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket, and within minutes, she’d given him a list of things to watch for and ways to quiet her down. “She told me to call back in half an hour if she’s still upset.”
“Wow. That feels like a crazy long time.”
“Think some fresh air might help?”
“Maybe.”
He turned to Timber. “Come on, little man. Let’s slip on your shoes.”
Timber scrambled to his feet. “Hossies?”
He winced, remembering what Elliot had told him about his interaction with Parker. “Sure, bud. We can swing by the stable for a minute.”
He wrestled Timber’s sandals on, then held the door open for him and Kayla. He followed them out and fell into step beside her while Timber toddled on ahead.
A breeze swept over them, and Sophia’s cries settled into a slow whimper, then a sniffle.
He grinned. “Well, I’ll be. Guess the girl didn’t want any fried chicken, huh?”
Kayla laughed. “Ouch. Are you making a statement regarding my cooking, Noah Williams?”
“Course not. Haven’t tried it yet.” He smiled, enjoying their playful banter.
“Hey.” She elbowed him in the side. “You better be careful if you want any leftovers for dinner.”
“Now, there’s a threat able to silence a man.”
They paused as Timber got sidetracked jumping back and forth across a dried-up mud puddle. Then Kayla took in a deep breath and told him what he already knew—she’d had a not-so-pleasant encounter with Helping Hands’ newest member. Though Noah couldn’t even call the man that, as he was still in the probationary, prove-you’re-serious-about-life-change phase.
“I heard,” Noah said. “I plan to call him in for a one-on-one first thing tomorrow.”
“These men you counsel—they’ve got a rough past, and most of them don’t want to be here. Right?”
“Some. Some come voluntarily, directed to us by their pastors or counselors or whatnot. Others not so willingly as a term of their probation.”
“What did he do?”
“To get arrested, you mean?”
She nodded.
“Check forgery, stolen credit cards, stuff like that.”
“Better than what I was afraid of, but still.”
“Still what?”
“I don’t like it. Guys like that hanging around.”
“I’d never put you or the kids in danger.”
“Not intentionally, but I doubt you know your clients well. What if they have a violent streak, or maybe decided to rob your house someday and—”
He laughed. “You have seen it, right? The elegant exterior and fancy furniture?”
“I’m just saying.”
He placed an arm around her waist and gave a gentle squeeze. “You and the kids are fine. Will be fine. I’d never let anyone hurt you.” He turned her toward him, his gaze locked on hers, and took her hands in his. Man, was she beautiful. “Never.”
In fact, he’d do everything in his power to bring her nothing but joy.
If she’d let him.