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Steph realized then that if she were ever a real parent, she’d be the biggest pushover ever. Because Maren’s beaming face made her heart feel like it had grown twice its size.
“Well, then, let’s go over and ask Ryan’s mother if we can borrow his booster seat.”
“Okay,” Maren said again, slipping her small, soft hand in Steph’s. Next, she grabbed Cal’s hand so that the three of them walked across the street together.
“Good plan,” Steph said to him.
He threw her a wink, and she was pretty sure she was now totally, one hundred percent attached to the man.Easy, Steph,she scolded herself.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, CAL WAS impressed. He could tell Steph was worn out and wrung out by Julie’s mini-me. Maren was certainly adorable, but mostly precocious. He was definitely glad he’d made the drive to help out a little—mainly, of course, to see Steph. But it had been fun to play babysitter for a bit, although now … he was in a bit of conundrum.
Steph was sound asleep next to him on the couch. Her head had lolled against his shoulder, then stayed there. She’d tucked her legs up at one point, and she was fully leaning against him.
To top it off, on his other side, Maren was snuggled against him with her blanket, three teddy bears, two dolls, and a bright yellow toy dump truck, while another episode ofMy Little Ponyplayed on the television.
Cal wasn’t even sure which movie app was on the screen, or how it continued through the episodes with no prompt from a remote control. And who knew what time it was because his cell sat face down on the coffee table, currently out of reach.
Cal turned his head to gauge if Maren was asleep, too. She hadn’t made a peep for a while. Sure enough, her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly parted, and her breathing even.
Should he carry her to bed? Would that wake her? It would definitely wake Steph. Should he stay put? Let everyone sleep? It wasn’t that he minded sitting on the couch for a while longer, but he didn’t know how much more he could stand of watching cartoon ponies, or how Pinkie Pie found a way to make a copy of herself. The pony was very excited to spend time with her friends all at the same time and not have to choose between them.
The episode ended, and another began right away.
Then Steph’s phone began to ring on the coffee table.
She straightened immediately, looked at him with surprise as if she’d forgotten why he was here, then she reached for her phone. Seeing who the caller was, she answered, moving away from the couch.
“Hi, Pops. Everything okay?” Pause. “It’s in the laundry room.” Another pause. “On the first shelf. I’ll be home in the morning if you can wait … All right. Good night.”
Steph pocketed her phone, then turned to Cal.
She looked adorably rumpled, hair tumbling about her shoulders, her V-neck shirt wrinkled, and her mascara smudged—makeup she didn’t really need, in his opinion.
“I fell asleep on you.”
Cal wasn’t sure if it was a question. “You did.” He nodded his head toward Maren. “Should we move her?”
Steph bit her lip. “Yeah, I mean, she can’t sleep out here unless I do, too. Let me help extract her.”
Together, they moved Maren enough so that Cal could stand. He switched off the infernal pony show, then lifted the child into his arms. “Lead the way.”
Thankfully, Maren slept through the transfer, and once they made it back to the living room without incident, Cal was surprised to see that it was almost ten o’clock. “I should go,” he said, although reluctantly. He’d love to stay longer, especially with a little peace and quiet from the ponies.
But he could see the exhaustion in Steph’s eyes. And tomorrow she’d be working after Dave and Julie returned home.
She checked the time on her phone. “Oh wow, it’s late. Sorry about falling asleep on you.”
He only smiled. “It’s fine. Gave me a lot of reflection time.”
“About what?” The alarm on her face made him backtrack quickly.
“Wondering what would ever possess a person to stay awake duringMy Little Pony.”
“Funny.” Steph’s expression had cleared, and he was happy about that. “Thanks so much, Cal. For your help tonight. Maren was about to fire me.”
She was standing too far from him, near the door in fact. Was that on purpose?
“It was definitely entertaining,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure your friend Julie is going to have her hands full.”
