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“You have my cell-phone number,” she reminded him, determined to be all business. “I’ve written down my mother’s number and my friend Savannah’s number in case you need anything before Mom gets here. I left the paper on the kitchen countertop. If you can’t reach me, call either of them.”
“It’s ridiculous for you to have your mother come here. I’ve got this.”
“But she will be here. Promise you’ll call if you need anything,” she insisted.
“If I run into problems, I’ll call.” He stood, noting that her gaze followed the descent of the blanket as it dropped to the floor, then her eyes traced back up to meet his.
How his body could respond to her when he was so aggravated at her lack of confidence in him, he wasn’t sure, but, same as always, his body responded.
“Um...that’s good,” she muttered, dragging her gaze away.
Trace stepped from the sofa, yawning, then raking his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, but Joss and I are going to have a good day, despite having your mom looking over my shoulder, so I won’t be calling.”
He was still telling himself that an hour later when Joss refused to eat. He’d awakened earlier than Chrissie
had thought he would as it was still almost an hour before her mother would arrive. After a while of cajoling him, answering Chrissie’s second text asking how things were going, Trace decided Joss would eat when hunger hit him.
But when the boy started crying for his mother and Trace couldn’t get him to stop, he realized he was going to have to get them out of the house so he could distract him from Chrissie’s absence. Either that or have her mother walk into the house with Joss upset. Then Chrissie really wouldn’t trust him with their son.
“Joss, before you woke up this morning, I was researching some of the things we could do. I’d like to go to the train station to ride in a train. Would you like that?”
Joss didn’t look overly excited. “I like trains.”
Not that liking trains improved his flat-tire attitude much. Every movement seemed to be a chore. Joss complained of his stomach hurting and still refused to eat.
Trace let out a big sigh and went in search of the bag Chrissie had brought with them each time they’d left the house. A bag from which she’d magically pulled out anything Joss had needed when they’d been away from her home.
He searched through the bag, checking contents, doing his best to figure out what might be missing from what Chrissie packed. He grabbed a couple of juice boxes from the fridge, and filled a plastic container of dry cereal. He shouldn’t need more than that as he’d buy his and Joss’s lunch at The Chattanooga Choo-Choo hotel where the train would leave from.
He’d buy anything else he might have forgotten.
He’d gone the night before and bought a car seat so he and Joss wouldn’t be trapped at the house all day. No doubt, Chrissie wouldn’t want him going anywhere with their son as she hadn’t mentioned leaving a seat for him to use and surely she knew he wouldn’t have taken his son out without a seat. Joss’s safety and well-being was everything. On that, he and Chrissie agreed.
Unfortunately, Joss seemed back into his uncooperative state and sat down in the gravel, saying he wanted his mommy, while Trace figured out how to securely fasten the car seat into the back seat of his SUV.
“Your mommy is at work, but she will be home this evening.” Patience, he reminded himself. He had to be patient. Joss would grow to love him, too. Would eventually accept him as his father. Maybe not before he had to leave, though. “You and I are going to go ride a train and have some boy fun.”
“I don’t want to have boy fun,” his son whined. “I want Mommy.”
Yeah, Trace didn’t blame him. Given the option of hanging with Chrissie or himself, he’d choose Chrissie, too.
“Mommy is at work,” he repeated. “You and I are going on an adventure. It’ll be great,” Trace assured him. Definitely more fun than them staying home and him trying to figure out what to do all day long with Chrissie’s mother casting a critical eye. What had she even told her mother about him? Had she been honest and admitted that Trace hadn’t known about Joss or was he the villain in her eyes? “Your mom will be home tonight when she gets off work.”
In the meantime, he wanted to bond with Joss and believed their being alone was the best way of achieving that. He’d shoot Chrissie’s mother a text once they reached the Choo-Choo.
“My stomach hurts,” Joss complained.
Trace sighed. Today would get better, just as it had at the aquarium. He and Joss would have a good time. Once he got Joss to the trains, he’d get excited about their trip. This would be a good day.
“I brought you some juice and cereal. I’ll give it to you once I get you fastened into your car seat.”
Was Joss allowed to eat while in his car seat? Surely. He was three years old and fed himself his meals and snacks.
Trace battled getting the car-seat strap properly fitted through the appropriate part of the car seat. Joss watched him conquer the car seat, but didn’t look nearly as impressed as Trace felt he should.
He picked Joss up and put him in the seat, letting Joss help him fasten the seat’s buckle into place.
“Great job,” he praised, hoping for a smile.
