He gritted his teeth and shook his head. “Fine.” He pushed himself up out of the chair, the timber scraping along the flooring loudly, and stomped out of the front door.
I was grateful to not have a screen door—he totally would have let it slam after him. Could he have been anymore childish? I rolled my eyes. What a douche. I closed and locked the door after him, glad to see his taillights as he drove away.
I exhaled slowly, the weight of that conversation finally lifting.
“Come on, sweet girl. Let’s get you into bed. Should we skip the bath tonight?”
“Tory,” Hannah murmured, her thumb still in her mouth.
“Yeah, baby. I’ll read you a story.”
I carried Hannah into her bedroom and laid her down on the bed, then hopped on next to her. Peace enveloped me when she rested her head on my shoulder, a rightness settling over me as she curled into my side. We were in our little bubble, our safe space where my ex could no longer interfere. He was out of our lives, or at least would be soon. I openedWhere is the Green Sheep?and began reading with a smile in my voice.
fifteen
Brayden
Spencer’s agent had called him this morning with mind-blowing news. His gig at Fonda Theatre had sold out within hours of the public sale going live, and the five-state tour he had lined up for the summer was also selling faster than imagined. His agent wanted to speak about adding more dates and locations. Spencer’s dream was coming true. I was ecstatic. All his hard work was paying off.
I couldn’t wait to tell Keeley, and I had twenty-five minutes to do just that before I needed to be downstairs for practice.
She was working on another fundraiser. The save the dates for the virtual event were already online. I knew she was busy, but both Spencer and I wanted to see her again. We were hoping for tonight. What better way for us to celebrate than with Keeley?
I heard the baby’s pained cries before I saw who it was, but it didn’t take a genius to guess. What was Hannah doing here? Keeley had her in full-time daycare.
I popped my head into her office, and Keeley was rocking from side to side. Hannah, dressed only in a diaper, was in her arms. Keeley was managing to balance the office phoneon her shoulder while wiping Hannah’s face with a washcloth. Exhaustion and desperation clung to her. She was frowning, creases around her pinched eyes more pronounced with the dark circles under them. She was tense, too, standing rigid even as she swayed on the spot.
This wasn’t professional Keeley, who rocked power suits or the more casual chinos and team polo shirt, or even at-home Keeley, who wore comfortable sweats and another man’s jersey. She needed help and, for whatever reason, didn’t have it.
I didn’t hesitate. I stalked in and eased Hannah out of Keeley’s arms and into mine before plucking the tepid washcloth from Keeley. The jostling started Hannah coughing, the sound deep and gravelly. I winced and patted her back. Her throat must be so sore. Hannah cried out again, more of a bleat than a cry, and I cradled her close, trying to ease her pain with my embrace.
“Poor li’l sweet pea,” I cooed. I touched my lips to her forehead. She was hot to the touch. The washcloth I was holding wouldn’t do anything to reduce her fever.
Keeley hung up the phone and slumped. “What do you need, Miller? Now really isn’t a good time.” she snapped.
“To help you.”
“I'm stressed to my eyeballs. Everything is going wrong. I can't leave until I fix it, but Hannah is sick thanks to my fucking idiot of an ex, and I don't have anyone who can look after her. You have practice in thirty minutes. There's nothing you can do to help. Just go. Please.”
I nodded. “Let me take her for a minute just to give you a breather.” I didn’t wait for her answer. I just walked out of her office and immediately dialed Spencer.
He answered before the end of the first ring. “Cowboy, can you get down here? Keeley needs us,” I explained. “Hannah’s sick, and Keeley needs to wrap things up here before she can leave.”
“No problem. I’ll be there soon. I can stay as long as Keeley needs me.”
I headed into the staff kitchen and wet the washcloth under the cold water faucet before draping it over my shoulder and encouraging Hannah to rest her head against it. “That’s it, sweet pea,” I encouraged. “Let’s get rid of that nasty fever.”
When Hannah finally stopped fighting me and laid her head on my shoulder, I made Keeley a coffee and carried it in to her. Hannah might not have been feeling well, but she knew exactly what I was doing. She tried to breathe it in and croaked, “My coffee. Gimme coffee.”
Her grabby hands had me chuckling. “Has your momma been giving y’all coffee?”
“No, Mamá’s coffee,” she mumbled.
“Yeah. Let’s give this to her, sweet pea.”
When I walked back in, Keeley was slumped in her chair, her eyes closed as she slowly exhaled.
“Hey, darlin’.” I put the mug down, and Keeley moaned.
