When they reached Little Tykes, Noah beat Kayla to the entrance. He set Sophia’s car seat on the sidewalk and held the door open, clutching a squirming Timber in his free arm. “Hold on, little guy. The play equipment isn’t going anywhere.”
Kayla laughed. “Looks like someone’s excited to be here.” She wasn’t sure what melted her heart more—Noah’s gentle strength or Timber’s uncontainable enthusiasm. Combined, those two made it nearly impossible for her to keep her wits about her.
She stepped inside, and Noah’s earthy, citrus cologne swept over her. Hands on her hips, she scanned the area. “What a cheerful environment they’ve got here.”
Children’s music—lyrics about a mother and baby frog sitting on a log—played from speakers positioned in ceiling corners.
He plucked off Timber’s shoes and socks, then lowered him to the ground. Timber immediately toddled toward a green, barrel-shaped mat. “Julia Nieves owns the place. She opened it up about a year ago.”
“I remember her. She was a year younger than me, right? Blond hair, the greenest eyes ever?”
“That’d be her.” He unlatched Sophia from her carrier. “Want to hold her?”
“I’d love to.”
He handed over the baby.
Sophia immediately began to fuss. “Oh!” Kayla stiffened. “I’m sorry. What’d I do?”
“Nothing. She’s been a bit moody lately. Hold her facing out, like this.” He helped reposition Sophia in Kayla’s arms. “And bounce gently. Babies love movement.”
Kayla complied, and Sophia quieted. “You seem to know a lot about infants.”
“Just what my mom and the internet have taught me.”
“I love that baby smell. And her hair is so soft.” She eyed him. “Regarding the childcare arrangement. Still need me on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays?”
“Does that work for you?”
“Yep.” Should she tell him she’d been looking into permanent guardianship and, should it ever come to that, legal adoption? Was she being deceptive by keeping her inquiries to herself? Yet, with so many unknowns still ahead, her decisions included, it didn’t seem wise to stir up unnecessary conflict, especially considering she and Noah needed to partner together in all this. “That’ll give me easy access to you whenever we wanted to talk your promo stuff. Kills two birds with one stone.”
Plus, it’d keep her in shouting distance from Brenda, should she ever need her help, which Kayla for sure would. Other than the couple of Sundays she’d served in the children’s nursery, she hadn’t cared for children since her babysitting days in high school. That had been exhausting.
She’d hated every low-paid moment and, after about ten temper tantrums and toddler meltdowns, she’d determined, by the age of sixteen, that she never wanted children. Though her estimation of the munchkins had improved considerably over the years, she wasn’t certain her ability to manage them successfully had.
But she was only committing to three days a week. Surely she could handle that. If not, better to discover that now, before filing for guardianship.
Out a window, she watched a young mom crossing the parking lot carrying a wiggling, clearly distraught little boy who looked ready to flail out of his mother’s arms at any moment. The exasperated look on the woman’s face reminded Kayla of the many nights she’d tried to get crying kids into bed during her babysitting days.
What if she discovered she was completely inept at this parenting thing? Or that she wasn’t able to manage her business while raising them?
“Kayla?”
She startled and turned toward Noah. “Huh?”
He gave her an amused yet kind look. “I’m grateful for all you’re doing to help my ministry. And I plan to give you a cut.”
“I wasn’t expecting that.” Nor could his nonprofit afford that. Besides, all their efforts could amount to nothing but wasted time for the both of them.
“I know, but it’s only fair.”
“I appreciate the sentiment.”
“And I appreciate you.” The admiration in his eyes only made her want to help him more.
Noah crossed to where Timber sat playing with colored balls stored in an inflatable pool. Timber plunged one hand in, then the other, then pulled them out and squealed. Pretty soon, he started smacking at the balls, sending them flying while Noah scrambled to put them back.
A yellow one landed at Kayla’s feet. “Seems you’re fighting a losing battle, cowboy.” Still holding Sophia, she lobbed it toward his head.
Grinning, he darted out of the way. “Hey, now. A mite aggressive, are we?”
The door behind them chimed as a handful of women entered, little ones in tow.
“Hello, hello, hello!” Julia swept in wearing a violet polo shirt with a bright yellow sun in the center. “Is everyone ready to blitz, bounce and bop?” She mock-danced, and a few of the moms and their toddlers joined her. “Gather round, y’all. Find your shape and call it out.”
Kayla glanced around. Noah was the only adult male in the room, but if that made him uncomfortable, he didn’t show it. She admired his quiet confidence. After the last guy she’d dated—a hotel manager with a constant need to prove his masculinity—she found Noah’s strong yet gentle demeanor refreshing.
Why was he still single? Because of his ministry? His past?
Was he commitment-shy? If so, he showed no signs of that, as far as the children were involved.
Timber scurried to one of the large green squares on the floor and jumped on it with both feet. “Scawe!” His voice merged with all the other, high-pitched exclamations, only a few clear and understandable.
Noah and Kayla took the open spots on either side of him, and soon everyone had formed a circle with the teacher in the center.
“You ready to get your wiggles out?” Julia jiggled her arms and legs, and all the children did the same. A toddler with rosy cheeks and curly red hair fell on her backside, and a little black-haired boy scampered off toward a stack of foam blocks. Though his mom scooped him up and brought him back, his escape seemed to trigger an adventurous spirit in a few of the kids, and soon moms and tykes were darting every which way.
Noah and Timber, on the other hand, appeared deeply engaged in a game of copycat. Timber would do something, like kick out one foot, and Noah would do the same. He’d study Noah for a moment. Then he’d flap his arms. This went on for a little while until Noah caught Kayla watching him. Then he quickly straightened, and his movements stiffened slightly.
Next, Julia pulled out a giant, rainbow-patterned parachute, and Timber scrambled to grab a handle. Everyone else did, as well.
Noah took an open spot next to Kayla. “You want me to take Sophia?”
She held the child close and kissed her neck. “Uh-uh.”
He laughed.
Julia directed everyone to sit and “make waves,” as she called it. Timber landed on the ground with a plop, legs extended in front of him. He giggled, and, with Sophia cradled in her lap, Kayla wrapped an arm around Timber’s torso and gave him a squeeze. When Timber smiled up at her with those big brown eyes of his, she thought her heart might melt.
They fit together, the four of them, almost like they were a family, though it wouldn’t do her any good thinking that way.
After parachute time, Julia announced everyone’s favorite activity, based on the squeals she initiated: free play. Within moments, kiddos toddled off in various directions, most of them heading toward the ball pit. Timber followed a set of twins to large, log-shaped mats, and Noah and Kayla followed Timber.
Two other ladies stood a few feet away, engaged in conversation, from the sounds of it, on the frustrations of sleep deprivation.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into her.” The smaller of the two, a woman with long blond hair streaked with purple, sighed. “She had been sleeping through the night. But all of a sudden, it’s like her internal clock started waking her up around two o’clock for a middle-of-the-night play session. By the time I get her—and myself!—back to sleep, it’s often after three. Two hours later, the baby starts fussing, wanting to wake up.”
“I hear you. I don’t think I’ve managed a full night’s sleep since my first grader was born. My husband helps cover night duty on occasion, but as he likes to remind me, he can’t ‘nap all day’—” she made air quotes “—like I can.” She scoffed. “He keeps bugging me about finding a job, but with how much day care costs, I’m not sure it’d be worth it.”
That was something else Kayla needed to check into. As a small-business owner living from project to project, day care could be a problem. If only she and Noah lived in the same area, then they could tag-team it more. She could watch the kids a few days a week while working from home, and then maybe he could do the same. And Brenda could fill in when either of them had a conflict or important meeting or something.
Kayla studied Noah, his tender eyes and gentle, almost shy, smile.
She’d grown much too fond of that man. She was probably just relying on him for comfort and support during a time when everything felt uncertain. But once she returned home, with or without the kids, Kayla would soon forget all about him.
Wouldn’t she?
Except that he’d probably want to continue seeing them, as would his parents. That meant she’d be interacting with him for years to come. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Actually, she knew all too well how she felt, and that frightened her.
Her phone pinged. She glanced at the text, then at Noah. “That’s my assistant. Can you excuse me?”
He nodded, then followed Timber to a foam pit filled with laughing toddlers.
Kayla stepped outside, then called Nicole. “Hey, how are you holding up?”
“Honest answer?”
Kayla held her breath.
“Fabulously.” Nicole laughed. “Now that we’ve moved past that whole pink-wall mess.”
“You handled that well.” Nicole had had the wall repainted and a major discount issued by the day’s end, with a promise for a free redesign. Mrs. Ansel and her leery husband had both been more than pleased. “The home show, too. How’d your television interview go?”
“Great!” Nicole went on to tell how nervous she’d been, trying on half a dozen outfits, along with how she’d practiced answering imaginary questions to her reflection in the mirror.
“I’m sure you did wonderfully.”
“Well, you’ll know soon enough. The program airs this weekend.”
“Wow. Seriously?”
“Yep. Plus, I’ve got another interview lined up for later this month, this one with a Seattle station.”
“What? How?”
“I contacted a friend who knows someone connected with the morning show and pitched a design segment geared to viewers, helping them mix and match colors and patterns. I titled it Going Chic without Going Broke.”
“That’s awesome.” And it was, but still, it stung. It wasn’t that Nicole didn’t deserve the limelight, especially with how she’d stepped up since Kayla had left. But Kayla had been working long and hard to make a name for herself. Their firm wouldn’t have even made it into the home show if not for her years of hard work and networking. And now, when everything was beginning to come together, she felt so removed from it all.
“Didn’t I tell you if you hired me, you wouldn’t regret it?” Nicole asked.
“One of the best decisions I’ve made. Almost makes me think you don’t need me.”
“It is nice to know you trust me.”
“I do.” Or at least, she was learning to. “So you’re okay if I stay longer?” Unfortunately, she had zero idea just how long that’d be.
“For sure. Do what you need to do.”
“Any chance you’d be up to meeting with some potential clients? I sent some proposals out this morning. I need to follow up with requests for a few face-to-faces. I know you said you didn’t want to do any sales...”
“I’d love to. This is all stuff I need to learn, if I ever want to own my own firm someday.”
Her gut pinched. “I didn’t realize that was your goal.” What if Nicole decided to branch out on her own and took a chunk of Kayla’s clients with her?
She did her best to add cheer and confidence into her voice. “Thanks for stepping up. I really appreciate you.”
“Absolutely! We’re a team.”
Hopefully Nicole would remember that after her televised interview and all the prestige it brought her. “Send me your availability, and I’ll schedule some meetings. I’ll call you later to coach you up.” And potentially equip her to leave that much sooner.
Kayla would just have to make sure Nicole had every reason to stay.