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Her phone beeped. She pulled it from her pocket to see a message from her sister, Autumn. There were only a few years between them, but since they’d grown up without a mother, Autumn was definitely the caregiver in their relationship.
And now she was a mom to baby Skyler. Lydia beamed brightly. She couldn’t wait to see her niece – the last time she visited Skyler had only been a few days old. How could she be nearly five months already? Time was passing too fast.
Hope you
landed okay! Sorry I can’t be there, but Jackson promised to drive safely. I’ll see you at home. Can’t wait! An xx
Lydia tapped out a quick reply and picked up her case and the teddy. She could barely see where she was going, thanks to the thick, soft furry animal who was obscuring her view. The sooner she gave him to Skyler, the better.
Somehow, she managed to maneuver her way through the baggage terminal, and through the sliding glass doors to the arrivals terminal without any catastrophes. She was just about to congratulate herself when the suitcase hit something, and her foot caught on a tile, sending her – and the teddy bear – flying onto the hard floor in front of her.
Except it wasn’t hard. It was soft. Too soft. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized she’d barreled a young boy over with her.
“Oh my god, are you okay?” she asked him.
The little boy’s lips wobbled. Her pulse raced as she realized he was about to cry.
“Let me help you up,” she said, holding her hand out to him. People were giving them a wide birth now, creating a pool of empty floor in the middle of the crowd.
“Does anything hurt? Your legs, your arms?” Where were his parents? She looked around for some responsible adults, because god knew she was anything but.
He started to sob, and her panic increased. She never could stand to make anybody cry. “Hey,” she said. “Have you seen my teddy bear?” She waved the stuffed arm at the boy, hoping to divert him. “Isn’t he cute?”
The boy nodded, swallowing his sob. “What’s his name?”
The distraction was working. Lydia quickly searched in her mind. “Um, it’s Freddie.” She nodded. “Freddie the Teddy. He wants to know if you’re hurting anywhere.”
“It doesn’t hurt.” The boy sounded calmer, his eyes pinned to the teddy.
“He also wants to know where your parents are,” Lydia confided, looking back at the stuffed toy.
“My dad’s in New York. My mom’s here.” The little boy looked around. His lip started to wobble again. “She was here,” he said, his voice lifting an octave. “Mom? Mom? MOM!!!”
Lydia looked around, her heart in her throat. “What does she look like?”
“She looks like my mom.” A sob tore through his voice.
Of course she did. For the next five seconds, while scanning the crowd, Lydia could imagine herself on the front pages. Travel Expert Causes Child to Lose Parent.
“Charlie!” a panicked voice called out. “There you are. Oh sweetie, what happened?”
“That bear knocked me over,” he said, his sobs making his chest shake. “He hurt me.”
“It was me. I’m so sorry. I tripped and caught your son.” Lydia looked up guiltily from where she was kneeling next to Charlie on the floor.
“You should look where you’re going. He’s only four,” Charlie’s mom said crossly. “Come here, sweetheart, are you hurt?”
He breathed in raggedly. “No,” he whispered.
“No thanks to you,” his mom said pointedly to Lydia.
“Is there a problem here?”
A pair of muscled, jean-clad legs appeared directly in Lydia’s line of vision. She slowly looked up, trying to ignore the way the denim outlined its owner’s thigh muscles, closing her eyes as she realized her gaze was threatening to stare right at his crotch.
“Oh!” Charlie’s mom breathed, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “No, there’s no problem. My son just fell over.”
Lydia looked up to see Charlie’s mom batting her eyelashes, a smile lighting up her face. She only knew a few men who had that effect on women. Her included, if she was being completely honest. And right now his sculpted thighs were firmly in her personal space.
