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“Seraph, toss Mila her swimsuit, will ya?” I asked and waited for my five-year-old to yell at me when she was ready.
When she finally gave me the green light, Seraphina headed out, and I knelt next to the tub to wash Mila’s hair.
“Daddy, I’m sorry I got it in my hair.”
I used the plastic cup to scoop up warm water.
“Close your eyes, baby.”
Pouring it over her head, I grabbed the shampoo and began lathering it into her hair.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, I probably should figure out how to comb your hair better and keep it out of your face.”
She let out a little sigh. “Yeah, my teacher says I look like I just got out of the jungle.”
I dipped my sudsy hands into the water and scooped up more water with the cup.
“Close your eyes again.”
I didn’t like that my girls looked like a single dad was raising them. I just didn’t know how to brush hair the way I should. Lacey never really had patience for it either, she was always tugging on Maddy’s hair roughly and yelling when she cried. I never liked it, which was why I didn’t like doing it now. It was getting bad, and we definitely needed help––and soon.
My mind went back to earlier tonight when Haley had shoved her contact info at me. I could admit that I was a prideful man, but I didn’t need some rich girl here on vacation babysitting my kids as some hobby while she got her fill of mountain living just to have her leave and head back to her rich boyfriend in Malibu again. My girls liked her, and they didn’t like women easily. I guess that wasn’t entirely true. They had warmed up to Nora quickly, but they never liked Cassie or really any of their other babysitters.
Lathering the conditioner in Mila’s hair I let out a sigh.
“You want to play with your Barbies for a bit while this sits in your hair? Maybe it will help us brush it out.”
“Okay.” She shrugged her little shoulder as I handed her the little basket of Barbies we kept at the back of the tub.
Once she was playing, I turned my back and rested against the tub as I pulled up my contacts. What did it say about me that I had already added Haley in? I had been sitting in the diner listening to Millie talk about how she couldn’t help me watch the girls tomorrow because she would be going to Portland to look at something wedding related for her daughter, Rae.
I already knew I had no one else to ask. Colson wasn’t in the right state of mind to watch the girls. He was stressed out over Nora and drinking more than he normally did, and I had no idea if he was still working or what the situation was.
Fuck, my kids deserved to have fun for once. They were always in my gym, waiting for me, and by the time I got off work it was too dark to take them to the park. We also never seemed to have the money to do anything fun, like bowling or heading to a big city for one of those party places with all the arcade games. The girls had asked for Haley and wanted to spend time with her. Would it be so terrible to let them have a little fun until she decided to head back home to California?
Hanging my head, I tried to discern what was really holding me back. I had no idea why I was being so weird about this, she was just Cole’s little sister. I was a prick to her at the gym because she’d so quickly dismissed wanting to train just because we didn’t offer what she wanted. It was such a typical rich girl response. She didn’t even want to hear me out or see if we could eventually work her into something like that. She just dismissed me and shut down the idea. Suddenly my temper had flared and I was pissed. Then she went and spoke out loud my biggest fears regarding my gym and fuck did it hurt.
I hadn’t really reacted to anyone like that in a long time. There was no reason behind it, just that I was so tired of it being so easy for everyone else. I was tired of stretching myself so fucking thin that there was nothing left at the end of the day. I had gone on a date a few days ago, and it was such a clusterfuck because she kept asking me what I did for fun and all I wanted to tell her was that I occasionally woke up before my kids and got to drink a cup of coffee without having to be a dad for just a few minutes. Otherwise, I didn’t do things for fun. I worked. Every so often I got to see my best friend if he came to the gym or when he watched my girls.
Otherwise, that was it.
Pathetic.
“Is it ready, Daddy? I’m getting wrinkled.”
I turned around and used the cup to scoop up the warm water and rinsed her hair.
Once Mila was waddling up the stairs, tugging her towel around her shoulders, I pulled up Haley’s contact and instead of texting her, I pushed call.
It rang a few times while I gripped the back of my neck.
Then her soft voice hit my ears, and the weirdest sensation hit my sternum. It felt like a bird had got caught in my chest and was beating its wings like crazy to get free.
“Haley? Hi…”
She paused, and I realized I hadn’t said who I was…and she didn’t have my number.
“It’s Liam.”
