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Chapter 12
Asher peeked at his watch just as he completed the final form. The chore had taken far longer than he’d planned, but then he hadn’t expected Willow to invite him to dinner or that he would be reckless enough to accept.
“Have somewhere to be?”
“What?”
“That’s the third time you’ve looked at your watch in the past fifteen minutes.”
“It’s just that I expected this to go faster.”
“I told you there were a lot of forms to fill out.”
She’d also shown him around the center, which had taken some valuable time. Every bit of it appeared to have been well-thought-out, from the infant room where Harper would nap and the playroom with tons of developmental toys and games to the craft room and the large activity space for when it was too warm or cold to play outside. After spending all day in a fun place like that, Harper probably wouldn’t want to come home at night.
Willow wasn’t paying attention as he scanned the facilities again. She flicked through all the forms he’d completed, arranging them in some specific order and then slipping a paper clip over them.
When she caught him watching her, she gestured toward the stack.
“All the paperwork has to be perfect according to state requirements. I know it’s a lot, but it’s important for me to have all this information in case something happens with one of my charges and I am unable to reach the parents. I usually have clients print out the forms from my website and fill them out before they come in.”
“You mean you gave me a special privilege? A Colton, no less.”
That she shifted under his stare made him grin. It also proved he should get on the road. Soon.
“It was special circumstances.”
He would give her that. Nothing about the way he’d ended up at Tender Years could be described as ordinary.
With another glance at his watch, he pushed back from the tiny kidney-shaped table and unfolded his cramped legs from the even smaller kid’s chair.
“I do have to get going.”
“Okay.”
She followed him as he climbed the interior stairs to her apartment and was only a few steps behind when he reached the closed door to the tiny nursery.
“But I thought we were going to talk about, well, you know, safety,” she whispered.
“I know, but I have to get to the hospital before visiting hours are over. I’m trying to take my turn visiting Dad more often.” He blew out a breath.
“I’d planned to go over last night, but then ten more cows delivered. Then it was supposed to be this afternoon after I finished checking the fencerow. You know how that turned out.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll wait to talk about it Monday. When you drop off Harper. Or when you pick her up.”
His fingers closing around the doorknob, he looked back over his shoulder. “I don’t think we should wait. We need to handle this now.”
He couldn’t blame her for the confusion in her eyes. Yes, he was overwhelmed. What was she supposed to do about it? She probably would ask him why he hadn’t dropped by his father’s room either time they’d been together at the hospital that week. How could he tell her he’d been too caught up in his personal drama to face the guilt that came with each visit to his dad’s bedside?
“But you have a lot of other obligations, too.”
“My first commitment is to my child.” He whirled to face her but indicated the room behind him with his thumb. “Until we know for sure that Luna definitely isn’t mine, then I need to protect her and you, too.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he lifted his hand in a request for her to pause.
“I know. You two are just fine. You don’t need anyone.”
Willow nodded. “At least you remember.”
