Page 89 of Miss Manage

Steve’s jaw flexed like he wanted to argue, but Gabe spared him. “It’s fine. I’ll take the dogs around the block.”

Steve scrubbed a hand over his face and waited until Gabriel was out of earshot. “I appreciate you stepping in, but I don’t know why you couldn’t have done this at my house.”

“You cannot be serious right now.” I stared at him, marveling that I’d once been married to this man. “How about just saying thank you? Better yet, we’ll load up the car seats and you can take them all home right now.”

His eyes widened. “By myself?”

“You are their father.”

“Yeah, but… Stassie’s the one who… I mean, she takes care of them.”

“She sure does. And you know what? She’s drowning. After forty-eight hours, I can see why. Three kids under four, two dogs, and a husband who thinks hiring help is optional? Of course she broke.”

He flushed red. I didn’t give him the chance to spin excuses.

“No. Don’t. What you need to be asking yourself isn’t how to pawn the load off again; it’s how to step up. How to be a quality partner. Because these are your children too, Steve.”

For once, he didn’t fire back. The defensiveness drained from his face, replaced by something that resembled shame. His shoulders sagged. “You’re right,” he admitted quietly. “She asked, no, begged, for help, and I was too cheap and too busy to give it to her.” His voice cracked with emotion. “I’ve been so fucking selfish.”

For the first time, he looked vulnerable and wrecked. “It’s not too late for you to change your priorities.”

He expelled a long breath. “Yeah. We’ll hire a nanny and whatever else we need.”

The “we” part was promising. “Good.”

“My parents and sister are on a flight arriving after six tonight. Meanwhile, I’m supposed to head up to LA to see Stassie and meet with her doctor. So I better load them up and take them with me as I don’t want to miss this appointment.”

Now that he was done being an asshole, empathy creeped in. “Loading them in the car, along with all their stuff, for a three-hour drive while trying to juggle them and focus on your wife’s medical care? “How about you drive to LA now, and we’ll watch the kids until your family gets here. Austin can go and pick up your parents and sister if you send him their flight info.”

His eyes went big. “You would do that for us?”

“This isn’t just your family. It’s Austin’s, too. In times of crisis, I’d like to think we can be good humans to each other.”

“Thank you. Truly.” He then flicked his gaze down the street. “So you and that guy…”

“Gabriel,” I supplied.

“You and Gabriel are serious?”

“It’s none of your business, except to know your kids are safe with him, with me, and with Austin. Now go before I change my mind.”

My words put him into motion. “Thanks again.” He paused. “It’s good to see you happy.”

It was the nicest thing he’d said to me in years.

Back inside, my steps felt lighter despite exhaustion tugging at every muscle. The house remained quiet. At least for now.

Austin stood waiting in the foyer. He was in his Padres T-shirt and rumpled pajama bottoms, his hair sticking up like he’d just rolled out of bed.

Before I could say a word, he crossed the space and pulled me into a fierce hug.

“Whoa. What’s this for?” Surprised, I hugged him back.

He mumbled against my shoulder, “For being amazing. And for telling Dad what he needed to hear so he could realize how selfish he was acting.”

Emotion caught in my throat. I hadn’t meant for him to overhear the conversation, but maybe it wasn’t the worst thing if he had.

He stepped back, smiling sleepily. “You look tired.”

“That’s because I am.”

“Then go to bed, Mom.”

As if on cue, the baby started fussing.

“Not yet,” I replied with a faint laugh, glancing toward Gabriel, who walked through the front door. I filled them both in quickly. “Austin, you’ll pick up your grandparents and aunt at the airport this evening. Until then, we just have to get through today.”

“All right. I’m making a McDonald’s run. Who’s hungry?” Gabriel replied, clearly still an active participant.