How About No
Page 12
I grinned.
She knew I wouldn’t leave her in here alone.
I’d never been able to do that—walk out and wait in the car.
It was an odd habit that my father had also done for my mother and sisters. I’d done it for my sisters, and then Landry.
God, I missed her.
I missed her so bad that it hurt.
“Okay, honey.” I lifted my hand as if to touch her cheek, and her eyes widened.
I stopped short of actually touching her, realizing what I was doing almost too late, and let my hand drop. “Sorry.
She smiled and patted my hand, then walked away, once again leaving me to stare at her ass the entire way.
Chapter 7
You look like something I drew with my left hand.
-Text from Wade to Landry
Landry
I felt like I was struggling to breathe.
God.
How had he known that I needed to stop? How had he known that I was hungry?
Why did the man know me so well?
At least, well enough to know my signs, I supposed.
After washing my hands in the sink, I dried them and contemplated how the next couple of hours were going to go.
I had a feeling not very good based on the way my heart was racing, and my knees felt weak.
Pushing through, though, I made my way outside to see him standing at the entrance of the building, waiting on me like he always did.
I smiled.
That smile grew even wider when I saw him clock the woman holding the screaming baby, looking extremely flummoxed as she tried to calm the baby down.
She had a toddler at her hip, whom she was holding onto by his shoulder with her one free hand, and she was watching another child get her own Icee, and making a big damn mess while doing it.
“No, honey,” the mother was trying to explain. “Put the lid on first.”
I continued to watch as Wade limped his way over, trying to conceal his pain the entire way.
When he arrived at the Icee machine, he helped the kid get the lid on the cup, then handed it back to her.
The kid, who had to be about four or five, looked over at Wade and grinned.
Kids always loved Wade. Always.
I didn’t know why. I didn’t know how. But I’d never seen one child who was afraid of him. Which usually ended up freaking the parent out.
“Thank you,” the mother said. “She’s independent and wanted to do it herself but as you can see she’s just not there yet.”
The mother lifted her hand from the toddler to gesture at her other child, and the toddler took off.
It was then I realized the reason behind the grip on the toddler.
He was a runner.
Wade caught him before he could skirt by him to the rack of candy at Wade’s back and picked him up in his arms.
“No!” the toddler yelled.
I tensed, wondering if the mother would take offense to Wade holding the kid.
Most did.
Wade was a big guy, and though he looked friendly, today he was wearing his motorcycle vest and that sometimes squigged parents out. When he was in his police officer uniform, it was fine.
But I shouldn’t have worried. The woman didn’t seem to care in the least that some random biker had just picked up her child.
Why did she not care? Because there was a man that was coming out of the bathroom who looked just as scary as Wade dressed in a cut just like Wade—only his deemed him a member of the Uncertain Saints.
“Yo,” the man said as he sidled up to us. “Need help, Mama?”
“Ridley,” the woman sighed. “Jesus, I didn’t think you were ever going to finish.”
He shrugged. “It’s not like I can tell my shit to come out any faster than it was. Wade, what the fuck?”
Wade, who obviously knew this Ridley person, handed him his kid in a smooth transfer then offered his hand to him.
Ridley took both, settling the toddler on his hip before taking Wade’s hand.
“Ridley,” Wade said. “It’s nice to see you. What are you doing in these parts?”
“Taking a shit,” he answered bluntly.
Wade grunted a response. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
The woman who belonged with Ridley handed the baby over to Ridley as well and then went to help her other child get a straw for the Icee. Ridley automatically curled his arm around the baby and started to bounce him. The baby didn’t like that any more than just being held.
“I’m on a seventeen-hour road trip to goddamn Disney World.” He paused. “We’re only on hour two, and I’m having a hard time staying sane. I’m not sure why the fuck we’re all going to Disney, but whatever. I’m fairly sure I should’ve objected. I would have had I known this one was going to scream for the entire trip.”
I snickered, causing Ridley and Wade to both look at me.
Ridley’s eyes were dark and knowing as he said, “Friend of yours, Wade?”
“Wife,” Wade answered immediately, then winced. “Ex-wife.”
“Huh,” Ridley replied.
The kid changed to another decibel and I walked over and smiled at Ridley as I said, “May I?”
Ridley shrugged and handed the baby over.
Though I may not have any kids of my own, I had run a daycare for the last few years. I dealt with babies all day, every day. They were my favorite part of working there.
Wade’s eyes warmed as he looked at me with the baby, and I turned my face away to look at the screaming infant.
“Shhhh,” I whispered into the baby’s ear, shushing and rocking.
Pulling the blankie closer around the baby, I turned him slightly in so that he was secure, and then hummed to him.
It didn’t take long, but what Wade had called Landry’s Secret Shake and Shush started to work. The baby’s wails turned to hiccups and then relaxed even further into complete sleep.
“Well, it’s official,” Ridley’s wife said. “We’ll have to take her to Disney with us.”
I looked at the woman and grinned. “Don’t feel bad. I do this all day every day. I have a daycare with about eight babies in it right now. When I’m not in the office, I’m in there helping calm the little ones. We have four babies under eight weeks, and two under six months. The older two are ten and eleven months, but they were there from the beginning, too. I do this way too much not to be good at it.”
She smiled at me in return. “My name is Freya, and if you ever want to leave your job and become my nanny, I’ll pay you in Hershey kisses and stray lasagna noodles.”
I burst out laughing, causing the baby’s eyes to open.
But the baby didn’t start screaming.
Instead, he started to look around expectantly. Then let out a rather large belch.
“Kid’s gassy as fuck,” Ridley grunted. “And I still have fifteen more hours of this bullshit.”
Freya smacked her husband on the ass and said, “You wanted the third. I specifically remember you telling me that it’d be perfectly fine. That third babies were always the easiest. Well, you were wrong.”
My lips quirked.
Ridley took his wife by the nape of the neck and pulled her into him, causing me to look away.
Right into a pair of eyes that looked like they were on fire.
I tilted my head and stared at Wade.
“What?” I asked, feeling my heart start to race.
He looked down at the child in my arms, and then back at me. “Nothing.”
His rumbled words may have come off nonchalant, but they weren’t.
I knew Wade.
He was thinking something about me, and it was making him hard.
I felt myself squirm, then walked over to the parents that were not through with their kisses and deposited their kid into Freya’s arms.
“It’s all in the shush,” I told her, trying valiantly to avoid the practical sear of heat coming off of Wade. “Sometimes you have to do it loud enough so they can hear it over their own cries, but I swear to Christ it works.”
Freya took her bundled son who was now staring around like it was all a party and grinned at me.
“I’ll give it a try.” She smiled.
Then her toddler knocked the Icee out of the other child’s hands, and red slush went everywhere.
Ridley sighed. “I’m sure you’re thankful you don’t have kids right about now.”
She knew I wouldn’t leave her in here alone.
I’d never been able to do that—walk out and wait in the car.
It was an odd habit that my father had also done for my mother and sisters. I’d done it for my sisters, and then Landry.
God, I missed her.
I missed her so bad that it hurt.
“Okay, honey.” I lifted my hand as if to touch her cheek, and her eyes widened.
I stopped short of actually touching her, realizing what I was doing almost too late, and let my hand drop. “Sorry.
She smiled and patted my hand, then walked away, once again leaving me to stare at her ass the entire way.
Chapter 7
You look like something I drew with my left hand.
-Text from Wade to Landry
Landry
I felt like I was struggling to breathe.
God.
How had he known that I needed to stop? How had he known that I was hungry?
Why did the man know me so well?
At least, well enough to know my signs, I supposed.
After washing my hands in the sink, I dried them and contemplated how the next couple of hours were going to go.
I had a feeling not very good based on the way my heart was racing, and my knees felt weak.
Pushing through, though, I made my way outside to see him standing at the entrance of the building, waiting on me like he always did.
I smiled.
That smile grew even wider when I saw him clock the woman holding the screaming baby, looking extremely flummoxed as she tried to calm the baby down.
She had a toddler at her hip, whom she was holding onto by his shoulder with her one free hand, and she was watching another child get her own Icee, and making a big damn mess while doing it.
“No, honey,” the mother was trying to explain. “Put the lid on first.”
I continued to watch as Wade limped his way over, trying to conceal his pain the entire way.
When he arrived at the Icee machine, he helped the kid get the lid on the cup, then handed it back to her.
The kid, who had to be about four or five, looked over at Wade and grinned.
Kids always loved Wade. Always.
I didn’t know why. I didn’t know how. But I’d never seen one child who was afraid of him. Which usually ended up freaking the parent out.
“Thank you,” the mother said. “She’s independent and wanted to do it herself but as you can see she’s just not there yet.”
The mother lifted her hand from the toddler to gesture at her other child, and the toddler took off.
It was then I realized the reason behind the grip on the toddler.
He was a runner.
Wade caught him before he could skirt by him to the rack of candy at Wade’s back and picked him up in his arms.
“No!” the toddler yelled.
I tensed, wondering if the mother would take offense to Wade holding the kid.
Most did.
Wade was a big guy, and though he looked friendly, today he was wearing his motorcycle vest and that sometimes squigged parents out. When he was in his police officer uniform, it was fine.
But I shouldn’t have worried. The woman didn’t seem to care in the least that some random biker had just picked up her child.
Why did she not care? Because there was a man that was coming out of the bathroom who looked just as scary as Wade dressed in a cut just like Wade—only his deemed him a member of the Uncertain Saints.
“Yo,” the man said as he sidled up to us. “Need help, Mama?”
“Ridley,” the woman sighed. “Jesus, I didn’t think you were ever going to finish.”
He shrugged. “It’s not like I can tell my shit to come out any faster than it was. Wade, what the fuck?”
Wade, who obviously knew this Ridley person, handed him his kid in a smooth transfer then offered his hand to him.
Ridley took both, settling the toddler on his hip before taking Wade’s hand.
“Ridley,” Wade said. “It’s nice to see you. What are you doing in these parts?”
“Taking a shit,” he answered bluntly.
Wade grunted a response. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
The woman who belonged with Ridley handed the baby over to Ridley as well and then went to help her other child get a straw for the Icee. Ridley automatically curled his arm around the baby and started to bounce him. The baby didn’t like that any more than just being held.
“I’m on a seventeen-hour road trip to goddamn Disney World.” He paused. “We’re only on hour two, and I’m having a hard time staying sane. I’m not sure why the fuck we’re all going to Disney, but whatever. I’m fairly sure I should’ve objected. I would have had I known this one was going to scream for the entire trip.”
I snickered, causing Ridley and Wade to both look at me.
Ridley’s eyes were dark and knowing as he said, “Friend of yours, Wade?”
“Wife,” Wade answered immediately, then winced. “Ex-wife.”
“Huh,” Ridley replied.
The kid changed to another decibel and I walked over and smiled at Ridley as I said, “May I?”
Ridley shrugged and handed the baby over.
Though I may not have any kids of my own, I had run a daycare for the last few years. I dealt with babies all day, every day. They were my favorite part of working there.
Wade’s eyes warmed as he looked at me with the baby, and I turned my face away to look at the screaming infant.
“Shhhh,” I whispered into the baby’s ear, shushing and rocking.
Pulling the blankie closer around the baby, I turned him slightly in so that he was secure, and then hummed to him.
It didn’t take long, but what Wade had called Landry’s Secret Shake and Shush started to work. The baby’s wails turned to hiccups and then relaxed even further into complete sleep.
“Well, it’s official,” Ridley’s wife said. “We’ll have to take her to Disney with us.”
I looked at the woman and grinned. “Don’t feel bad. I do this all day every day. I have a daycare with about eight babies in it right now. When I’m not in the office, I’m in there helping calm the little ones. We have four babies under eight weeks, and two under six months. The older two are ten and eleven months, but they were there from the beginning, too. I do this way too much not to be good at it.”
She smiled at me in return. “My name is Freya, and if you ever want to leave your job and become my nanny, I’ll pay you in Hershey kisses and stray lasagna noodles.”
I burst out laughing, causing the baby’s eyes to open.
But the baby didn’t start screaming.
Instead, he started to look around expectantly. Then let out a rather large belch.
“Kid’s gassy as fuck,” Ridley grunted. “And I still have fifteen more hours of this bullshit.”
Freya smacked her husband on the ass and said, “You wanted the third. I specifically remember you telling me that it’d be perfectly fine. That third babies were always the easiest. Well, you were wrong.”
My lips quirked.
Ridley took his wife by the nape of the neck and pulled her into him, causing me to look away.
Right into a pair of eyes that looked like they were on fire.
I tilted my head and stared at Wade.
“What?” I asked, feeling my heart start to race.
He looked down at the child in my arms, and then back at me. “Nothing.”
His rumbled words may have come off nonchalant, but they weren’t.
I knew Wade.
He was thinking something about me, and it was making him hard.
I felt myself squirm, then walked over to the parents that were not through with their kisses and deposited their kid into Freya’s arms.
“It’s all in the shush,” I told her, trying valiantly to avoid the practical sear of heat coming off of Wade. “Sometimes you have to do it loud enough so they can hear it over their own cries, but I swear to Christ it works.”
Freya took her bundled son who was now staring around like it was all a party and grinned at me.
“I’ll give it a try.” She smiled.
Then her toddler knocked the Icee out of the other child’s hands, and red slush went everywhere.
Ridley sighed. “I’m sure you’re thankful you don’t have kids right about now.”
