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As welcoming as everyone had been, Cash had made it all too clear I might never fit in here.
CHAPTER14
QUINCY
Eight p.m. had come and gone when I finally got my sister Hannah and my stepmother out of Knox’s house.
I leaned on the kitchen island, planting my elbows on it and wearily running my hands over my face. Trying to be a peacemaker got me in trouble every time. I hadn’t volunteered for the role.
Hannah, who was sixteen, had texted saying she needed to talk and wondering if she could come over. Of course, I’d said yes. Wanting to be a nonjudgmental ear whenever she needed one, I always said yes to Hannah when she wanted to talk.
The door behind me opened, and I whipped around, on guard, thinking either Hannah or my stepmom had come back.
Instead it was Knox and Juniper, and my shoulders sagged with relief.
“Are you okay?” Knox asked as he closed the door behind them.
“Yeah,” I breathed out. I sought out the adorable baby in the carrier, saw she was sound asleep, and drank in the sight of her, letting her soothe my tattered nerves. “It looks like socializing wore her out.”
“Her and me both.” I glanced up at Knox’s face and could see fatigue in his eyes. “I’m going to see if I can get her transferred to bed without waking her. She finally fell asleep about twenty minutes ago.”
“Baby babbles are the best,” I said quietly, glancing down at her. “You gave me the afternoon off. I’m back on duty now. I can put her to bed.”
He seemed to consider it for a moment, then shook his head. “I’d like to if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. She’s your daughter.”
Knox tossed the diaper bag to the floor near the couch, then carried the princess down the hall toward her room as I wondered if he was okay. He seemed subdued.
Earlier he’d admitted to being nervous about the day, but knowing the Henrys pretty well and some of the Norths, I’d predicted he would be welcomed with open arms. He wasn’t as upbeat now as I’d expected.
I glanced around to make sure the kitchen was clean. I’d just been finishing an early dinner when Hannah had texted.
The day was overcast and chilly, so I’d turned the gas fireplace on to an auto setting so it wouldn’t heat up too much like a sauna. The house was cozy and dimly lit.
I wandered over to the sectional and flopped onto it, waiting for Knox to come out, hoping to find out how his family debut had gone. Maybe I was just the nanny, but we weren’t formal around here. It felt as if we were becoming friends, maybe because he’d needed so much help with Juniper at first. He didn’t treat me like he was my boss.
Maybe it would be better if he did.
Maybe then I wouldn’t have naughty thoughts about him.
Ha. I’d still have naughty thoughts about him. He was too good-looking not to. Add in that image I couldn’t erase from my mind of him sleeping next to his daughter, and it wasn’t just his looks. That man had taken in a baby without knowing if she was his, even though it made him fully uncomfortable. How could I not be turned inside out by a heart like that? Add in that he was intelligent, like really smart, and it was tough to ignore the thoughts…
“What’s going on?” he asked, startling me. “You seem not quite yourself.” He came around the end of the sectional and sat perpendicular to me, about a foot away. Close enough for me to catch a hint of his masculine scent as I lay there.
“I could say the same to you.” I smiled, trying to shake off my stepmom’s lingering effects. I hated letting her get to me.
“I’m fine. Good.”
With a quiet laugh, I said, “You don’t seem completely fine and good.”
He studied me for a few seconds. “You tell me yours; I’ll tell you mine,” he said lightly.
My stepmom wasn’t my favorite topic, but I couldn’t resist the chance to find out more about his family dinner.
“My story’s not that exciting,” I said.
“You looked upset when I came in.”
