Sixteen

 

 

 

 

 

The rain had stopped around midnight. Colt woke early enough to watch a beautiful sunrise. He took the dogs for a run before six o’clock and made himself a four-egg breakfast omelet and a skillet full of bacon. By the time he headed into town he’d gone through a pot of coffee.

His jumbled brain ran through a series of scenarios. When he walked into the police station he put on a concerned face. Although he’d learned a long time ago that he was a bad liar, he told himself he could do this for Tibby. But to pull this off, he had to get the girl’s real name out of his head.

Eastlyn looked up from behind her desktop computer and yelled for Brent. “We were just about to call you. So far, we’ve found no missing persons report of a runaway that fits the girl’s description.”

That wasn’t the answer Colt expected and it threw him off his game. “How is that possible? Someone must be missing a kid. She couldn’t possibly have fallen through the cracks like that.”

“You’d think,” Brent mumbled as he looked over Eastlyn’s shoulder while she tapped the keyboard, searching databases. “I understand your confusion. We’re more than stumped on this one ourselves. We’ve gone through all the usual sources. Not a single child that matches her description pops up as missing.”

“Not in the entire U.S.,” Eastlyn added. “We have almost fifty missing kids, but none who fit the girl’s height, weight, or coloring.”

Colt ran a hand through his hair and paced in front of the desk. “That’s impossible. How is she here? She didn’t just fall out of the sky into the keeper’s cottage.”

Brent went over to the coffee pot and poured himself a second cup. “Our only hope is that Naomi can get the girl to trust her. Bar that, Carla and Murphy will be getting back later this morning. We’ll turn the case over to social services and let them decide how to proceed. As far as I’m concerned, she can stay put where she is…with Naomi. There’s no reason to uproot her when we don’t even know the basics yet.”

“All right. Then I can pass along to Naomi that things are status quo as far as the kid is concerned?”

“Yeah. That’s fair. Carla hasn’t even been successful at finding a home for the other girl yet. I’m not sure why she’d take our mystery girl out of a perfectly good spot.”

“You’ll let me know if that changes, right? Call me if it does. I’m about to tell Ryder my decision. If I don’t get fired first, I’ll be at Drea’s loft with Zach putting up a few walls for the rest of the day.”

“Hey, if you get fired, you get to start here sooner rather than later,” Eastlyn pointed out.

“Ryder’s not gonna fire you,” Brent uttered between sips of coffee. “He’ll be upset that he’s losing a decent carpenter, but you won’t get the axe.”

“We’ll see,” Colt muttered as he headed out the door.

The shop buzzed with activity by the time Colt arrived at the boatyard. Troy and Zach were standing at opposite table saws working on wood they planned to use for Drea’s flooring. Colt spotted Ryder in his usual spot in the office with his head buried in paperwork.

Colt knocked on the door. “I need to talk to you. I know you gave me a job without knowing me but…Brent recently approached me about becoming one of his officers.”

“And you’d rather do that?” Ryder asked, leaning back in his chair.

“It’s not a question of rather. I enjoy working with my hands. Like I told you when you hired me, I like building things, always have. That wasn’t a lie. But I might be more suited to police work. It’s more in line with my military training. And he does need another body on patrol.”

Ryder grinned. “Even though I hate to lose you, congratulations. I know for a fact the town’s in need of another officer. Has been for some time. Can you at least stick around and help with remodeling Drea’s place, even if it’s just weekend work?”

“Absolutely.”

“Super. That helps us out a lot. I’m blown away over the job you did at Naomi’s. That was some big finish. It might possibly be one of the grandest gestures we’ve ever been a part of. I know about the laminate to granite upgrade and all the other stuff you paid for out of your own pocket.”

Colt lifted a shoulder. “She got sick and she was in the hospital…”

“If you expect me to believe that you must think I’m the biggest idiot in town.”

Colt grinned. “Well, I don’t think you’re an idiot. If we’re done here, I guess I’ll get over to Drea’s.”

“Yeah. You do that,” Ryder said. “And let me know if you plan to spend another grand out of your own pocket to upgrade her kitchen as well.”

 

 

Carla Vargas knocked on Naomi’s door around ten that morning. “Hi there. I’m the social worker. I understand for the last twenty-four hours you’ve hosted a runaway found yesterday at the lighthouse?”

For some reason, Naomi took an instant dislike to the petite woman’s tone and attitude. “I’m hosting a delightful child who probably needs to be in school right about now. But since I know very little about her, I can’t very well offer her any more than a roof over her head. Unless you can do something about getting her in school. You should also know that a few minutes ago I spoke to Brent, who says there’s no missing persons report on a child fitting her description. That’s a problem for you, isn’t it?”

Carla forced a polite, tight smile. In addition to sometimes unruly children, she was used to dealing with difficult adults. “I’m doing my job, Ms. Townsend. I’m trying to get our mystery girl back home where she belongs. I need some basic information and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“That’s fine. As long as you aren’t going to try to make her leave here today.”

“Ah, I see now why you’re upset. Brent should have explained to you not to get attached. She’ll have to go back eventually to wherever it is she came from.”

“I’m human, Ms. Vargas, I often get attached to other humans.”

“Brent tells me she hasn’t been very forthcoming with any information about herself.”

“That’s right. So far, she’s been quiet as a mouse.”

Tibby performed her role to perfection. She was as obstinate with the social worker as she’d been with Brent the day before. For most of Carla’s interrogation, Tibby sat stone-faced, arms crossed over her chest in a defiant wall of silence.

Carla gave up after an hour. “Your little guest is very fortunate, Ms. Townsend, to have found such a friend in you. Here’s the situation as I see it. As of this morning, all the children in California’s state care are accounted for. I have no missing kids reported anywhere who fit this young lady’s description. There are no runaways, no BOLOs out for a child her age, nothing that matches. As impossible as that sounds, I’m dealing with an additional problem. I have nowhere to put this young lady. Which is why I’ll recommend to my supervisor that she remain here…temporarily. I’ll authorize her temporary stay here until we can get into family court. Know that I’ll be looking for any opening in which to place her that comes up within the next few days. Any other facility than here.”

Inside Naomi wanted to dance a jig, but in front of this woman, she remained stoic. “You’ll let me know in advance when that happens, Ms. Vargas?”

“I will. Or the police chief will.”

“What about getting her into school?”

“If this draws out past the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ll take care of that on Monday. I have some papers for you to sign that cover the emergency placement of this child immediately. Until we decide what to do with her permanently, you’re to communicate any information you get from our little darling here that’s pertinent to her well-being. Is that understood?”

“Of course, Ms. Vargas. But in the future, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t speak to me as if I’m a dull-witted child. I have a degree and a good job that proves I’m a tax-paying adult. I do fine in situations where I have to use logic and common sense. You’re free to do a background check if you like.”

“Count on it,” Carla said as she got to her feet. “And anyone else who visits regularly or shares this residence.”

The minute Carla was out the door, Naomi’s shoulders slumped. “That could’ve gone better.”

But Tibby ran over and grabbed her in a hug. “That was awesome. You were fierce like a warrior and didn’t bend.”

“Yeah, well, my knees are still shaking.”

Tibby circled the living room in a crazy waltz-like dance. “Maybe there’s hope I’ll get to stay here.”

“Just be aware that I’m not sure how long we can keep this up,” Naomi admitted. “And why are you not reported missing?”

Tibby shrugged. “One less mouth to feed, I guess. Plus, if they don’t officially bother to report that I’m gone, they get to keep the cash rolling in.”

“Oh, my God. That’s probably true. Look, I need to go buy a turkey and all the trimmings for Thursday. Want to help me shop like you did yesterday?”

“Sure. Are you afraid to leave me alone?”

“A little.”

Tibby rested her head on Naomi’s chest. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Later, while they shopped inside Murphy’s Market, Tibby was full of questions. “If Colt is really your boyfriend, why doesn’t he sleep over?”

Naomi let out a sigh. “I’m not sure we’re at that stage yet. I spent a week in the hospital, which got in the way of everything.” She stopped pushing the cart. “Would it be so awful if he spent the night once in a while?”

“You’re asking me? That’s cute. He’s cute. I think you’re crazy not to let him stay over every night.”

“The social worker might have something to say about that. By this time, Ms. Vargas probably knows when I lost my first tooth.”

“Who cares what she says? It’s not her life or her house, now is it?”

Naomi smiled at the kid. “I like the way you think.”

At the frozen food aisle, Tibby bounced on her toes in front of the glass doors. “Can I pick out the turkey? Can I? Please? Please? I want the twenty-two pounder. Just look at that sucker.”

“That might be more than we’ll eat in two weeks.”

“Leftovers,” Tibby muttered. “Help me get it into the cart.”

Tibby wasn’t far off the mark. It took both of them to heft the frozen thing out of the freezer and into the cart.

“That felt like it weighed a ton,” Tibby said, pointing to a frozen apple pie. “How about that?”

“Never shop when you’re hungry,” Naomi mumbled to herself. But she relented and grabbed the pie.

They rounded the corner into the produce section and bumped right into the woman they’d been talking about earlier.

Carla Vargas didn’t seem surprised to see them out and about. “Ms. Townsend, you’re just the person I need to talk to. Could we have a minute?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Not with the runaway, no. But I have another emergency situation on my hands. I’ve been expecting this for weeks and now that it’s here, I’m hoping you’d be willing to help me out again. Remember when I told you that every single foster home in this county is way over capacity?”

“Sure.”

“Good. Let’s go into Murphy’s office so we can have some privacy.”

 

 

Colt argued with himself over whether he’d done the right thing. But he’d played his part with Brent and Eastlyn for Tibby’s sake. In the end, he put it out of his head while he and Zach ripped out old cabinetry and stinky plumbing. Tossing a sink out the upstairs window into a dumpster below, the open work area chilled with a November dampness left over from the rain. He pulled on his jacket and turned to study the current destruction. “How old is this place?”

“Built in the 1920s. You’re standing on the only thing decent about it. The hardwood floors are in perfect condition. They’ve been polished and redone over the years. But I’ve always wanted to get my hands on tearing out everything else. I’ve been inspired by what you did at Naomi’s. I’d like to give Drea the same kind of dream kitchen. Different color scheme, of course, since Drea favors modern designs and…”

“I’ve changed my mind about that,” Drea said from the doorway. “Good thing I came up here when I did to check on your progress. We need to talk about that kind of stuff. It occurred to me you might still think I want an urban dwelling. But after seeing Naomi’s farmhouse inspiration, I’m thinking of going that way.”

Colt stepped back, determined to let Zach handle this one. “I’m breaking for lunch. You’re on your own.”

He headed to the truck to check on the dogs. They were ready to get out, run off some energy, and take a potty break. A long walk to Phillips Park seemed to be just the ticket.

At the entrance, Colt stood by the simple wooden sign hung between two stone pillars with metal lanterns on top of each column.

It felt surreal to see a park dedicated to someone he’d once known. It was even more significant since Scott seemed more of a friend now than he’d ever been when he was alive.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Scott muttered to Colt. “But just look at how the dogwood and elm are flourishing here. The cypress and birch have grown five feet at least since putting down roots. And the flower beds are filled with golden chrysanthemums. You know who takes care of this?”

“No. Who?”

“Jordan. She brings Hutton here to plant different flowers for each season. In the spring, it’s daffodils. In the summer, daisies, and every fall, there are mums that last until March or April. Don’t do what I did, Colt. Don’t wait to fully live. Don’t wait to be a part of someone’s life. There’s significance in knowing you have someone special. Things will change. Nothing ever stays the same. Don’t forget those who lose everything and have nothing. There’s always someone more in need than you are. Remember that.”

Colt wasn’t sure what to say, so he said nothing. When he turned to call to the dogs, he was alone again, standing in the sunshine, warmed by its rays.

 

 

By quitting time, Colt had received four text messages from Naomi. All of them directed him to her house for dinner. Because it sounded like she wanted to make the evening special, he left work to go home and shower and put on a clean change of clothes.

Dressed in jeans and a button-down blue shirt, he walked up to Naomi’s door expecting Tibby to answer. Outside, he heard Whitney Houston blaring from the stereo, turned up so loud he doubted anyone inside could hear the doorbell. He was a little surprised when he stepped into the living room. Before his brain fully engaged, he thought he counted three females dancing a conga line around the room.

“We’re chasing our blues away,” Naomi shouted over the music, right before she drifted over to plant a kiss on Colt’s lips.

“I see that.” He stared at a little girl, small in stature, with shiny black hair and big dark eyes. She was wearing a long pink princess outfit decorated with gold glitter and a gold tiara sitting on top of her head. “Who’s Cinderella?”

Naomi tugged on his sleeve to get him away from the noise, practically pulling him into the pantry. “That’s Madison Lee, Maddie for short. I had an awful encounter with the social worker this morning. Saying it didn’t go well would be putting it mildly. And then something weird happened.”

“She gave you another kid?”

“How’d you know?”

Colt pointed to the obvious. “Kid. Appears out of nowhere. I’m slow. But not that slow. What’s Maddie’s story?”

Naomi lowered her voice. “Her mother was the one with terminal cancer. She died this morning. Maddie has nowhere else to go. Carla’s trying to locate a grandmother in China. But the neighbor who was looking after Maddie while her mother was in the hospital thinks the grandmother might already be deceased.”

“Why didn’t the neighbor keep her?”

“The woman has three other kids, one with special needs. All this time she was doing Maddie’s mom a favor, but she says she can’t go on taking care of a fourth child. I couldn’t say no, Colt.”

He stared at the little princess. “Maddie, huh? With nowhere to go I guess she’ll fit right in, won’t she?” Colt began rolling up his shirt sleeves.

“What are you doing?”

“Somebody’s gotta make dinner. I’m hungry.”

“I have a chicken noodle casserole in the oven.” When he made a face, she added, “Sorry, but it’s Maddie’s favorite. And I thought…under the circumstances…”

“I get it.”

“I have extra chicken. You could roll up a burrito or something.”

“Nah. I’ll eat the casserole like everyone else.”

Tibby wandered over to Colt and stood staring up at him until she finally put her arms around his waist.

“What’s up, kiddo?”

“I’m sad for Maddie.”

“We all are.”

Bolstered by Tibby’s brashness, Maddie approached Colt, clutching a huggable, but very floppy and unkempt unicorn in her arms. The child looked up at Colt with sad eyes. “My momma died today.”

Colt let go of Tibby long enough to bend down to the pint-sized girl, so they were almost eye level. “I’m sorry you’re sad, honey.”

“That’s okay. Momma was sick a long time. I tried to help her, but I couldn’t. She’s in heaven now.”

Colt blew out a ragged breath. “When a person gets sick, sometimes there’s nothing anyone can do to make them better, no matter how hard they try. It isn’t fair, but it’s just the way it is.”

Maddie’s eyes filled with tears. She wrapped her arms around Colt’s neck. The gesture tugged at heartstrings he didn’t know he had. He hugged her back, then boosted her up in his arms and stood up. “You look like you could use some chow. You know who else likes chow?”

“Did you bring the dogs?” Tibby asked, running to the front door to look out and see for herself.

“They’re outside in the cab of the pickup.”

Tibby bounced on her toes. “Can I let them in? Please. Please.”

Before he could say anything, Maddie started the chant, too. Colt looked over at Naomi for an answer.

“You might as well. I don’t know why you keep leaving them in that cold truck anyway.”

The minute the dogs skidded into the living room, the diminutive girl in his arms, screamed, “Puppies!” And wanted down.

Colt complied and watched as Maddie raced over to Deke, carefully patting the dog’s head as though the pooch might break. “Are we nuts for doing this?”

“Yes,” Naomi said with a grin. “I don’t know about you, but it feels wonderful.”

“How long do you think the state will let you keep them?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping we were in this together.”

“I’ve been in all kinds of dangerous situations, but this is the first time I’ve been totally scared to death. I’m out of my element here, Naomi.”

“Same here. But with your war record, you know a thing or two about a battle. Get ready to go to war, soldier. Because these girls aren’t going anywhere if I have anything to do with it. Are you in?”

“Since I love a woman with more spunk than sense, I guess so. Just don’t get your hopes up too much. There are too many unknowns with Tibby. One of us has to pick the right time to get tougher, so we can find out where she came from. Do you agree with that?”

“I do. Carla’s letting them both stay out of school until next Monday. I figured that was fair, unless you think otherwise. I agree we should pick our battles. Which means we have exactly one week from today to pick the right moment to get the truth out of Tibby. We have a week to work on her.”

He stared across the room. “Little Maddie is adorable, shy, scared, sad. We might need to think about counseling. Maybe for both of them.”

“Good call. I’ll take care of it.”

Over cheesy noodles, the girls chatted like they’d known each other all their lives. Which proved kids were a resilient lot.

“Naomi said Maddie could stay in my room tonight. I’ll even let her take the bed,” Tibby offered. “I’ll roll out Naomi’s sleeping bag and be just fine. It’ll be like a sleepover.”

“Nomi says I get my own room soon.”

“By the end of the week,” Naomi promised.

“Nomi’s got to get a bed for me first,” Maddie added in her soft voice. “I get a mermaid blanket for my very own. Nomi says.”

Tibby giggled. “That’s what Maddie calls Naomi because she can’t say it yet. Maddie says it’s because she lost a front tooth a week ago.”

“I did, thee?” Maddie said, tilting her head up so everyone could see the gap in her teeth. She smiled and pushed her tongue through the open spot.

Colt and Naomi cracked up. “You sure did. How much money did you pull down for that?”

Maddie shook her little head and lifted her shoulders and kept eating.

Colt sent a puzzled look toward Naomi. “Am I wrong to think the Tooth Fairy still leaves money under a kid’s pillow when they lose a tooth?”

“You are not wrong. Maddie’s Tooth Fairy must’ve got sidetracked somewhere between her old home and this one. I’ll have to put in a call and see where your dollar is.”

“A whole dollar?” Maddie quizzed. “I get a dollar for my tooth?”

Colt picked up his soda. “I’ll have to verify it, but I’m sure that’s the going rate.”

Tibby tried to hide her amusement. “It’s been a long time since I got money from the Tooth Fairy.” But playing along, she teased, “I bet if you go to sleep early tonight, without being too much of a pest, when you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a dollar under your pillow.”

“No, I won’t,” Maddie said, shaking her head. “I never get money.”

“You might this time,” Naomi promised. “You never know with that crazy Tooth Fairy of yours. She sounds a bit unreliable.”

Naomi directed the after-meal clean up like a lieutenant dispersing her troops. She even got the two girls to load the dishwasher, cringing a little each time they banged a precious plate against another.

Colt oversaw the operation from the other side of the island. “I take it those are your good dishes?”

“Yes,” Naomi mumbled. “I always pictured this nice, peaceful, civilized meal eating off my good plates. That’s not reality, is it?”

“Wow, you really haven’t been around too many kids. You’re lucky they aren’t throwing food at each other.”

“No way. Girls don’t do that.”

“You’ve lived a sheltered life, Sugar. The worst food fight I ever saw was between five high school girls in the mall arguing over some football jock. Trust me, buy that melamine stuff that won’t break. Ferguson’s Hardware has a set in the window for less than twenty bucks. It’s dishwasher safe.”

“How do you know that? Ah. You bought a set.”

He winced when Maddie clanged a forty-year-old Franciscan plate into its matching bowl. “Yep. Cheap, yet unbreakable.”

“I’ll put it on my ever-growing list which also includes a mermaid blanket to go on top of the twin bed I need to find.” The sound of the doorbell interrupted her jotting it down in her day calendar.

She was surprised to see Drea on the porch. The florist grabbed her hand and dragged her outside.

“I heard about the mystery girl. I thought okay, Naomi’s doing a good deed. Then I ran into Hannah and she said you took in another child. Are you out of your mind?” Drea shouted. “Not only are you still recovering from the flu, but have you forgotten about your full-time job? What’s the matter with you? You’re acting like you still have a high fever and are making very rash decisions.”

Naomi narrowed her eyes. “Lower your voice before the girls hear you. So, you think I’m behaving like I’m nuts? Well, I’m not. I told you I woke up in the hospital with a new attitude, that I wanted to make some changes in my life. Yet here you stand questioning my decisions. I’ll cut you some slack for now, Drea, because I do consider you like a sister. But if you can’t understand what I’m doing here with these girls, then you don’t understand anything at all about what I was trying to tell you Sunday morning.”

“I thought you were just being casually metaphysical about you and Colt. I didn’t realize you were talking about such a drastic step. This makes you an instant mom.”

“And you obviously don’t feel like I’m up to the task?”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“Then why are you here, upset about two little kids who don’t have any place else to go? You were lucky, Drea. Shelby and Landon took you in. Not every child has that kind of good fortune. They’re thrown into a system that’s too filled with red tape and bureaucrats who don’t give a damn. As long as I’m able to take care of them, those girls are a part of my life now.”

“And what does Colt think about this? It’s one surefire way to have him walk away.”

The front door opened, and Colt stepped out onto the porch to stand alongside Naomi. “You want to know what I think? As a kid who once dreamed about living in a place like this, and having a mother care about me, Naomi isn’t just opening her home, she’s also opening up her heart and soul. Not many people would do it. I ought to know since I lived and breathed despair every day for eighteen years in a hellhole that didn’t care a tenth as much as Naomi does now. For a moment in time, I thought about discouraging her. And then I looked into her eyes and saw pure joy. That kind of happiness doesn’t come around every day.”

“But how will Nick handle his vice-president becoming an instant mother? He hired a single woman, not a single mom with two kids.” Drea huffed out. “Look, I’m just worried about you, is all.”

“Go home, Drea. I know what I’m doing. There’s no need to call the asylum and have me committed just yet.” Without another word between them, Naomi watched Drea turn on her heels and walk to her delivery van. “So much for sisterhood. She does have a point, though.”

“What would that be?”

“Nick did hire a single woman, not a single mom. Do you think I’ve put my job in jeopardy?”

“Are you doing a good job at the bank?”

“I’m doing a fantastic job.”

“Then I don’t see a problem with Nick. Did this social worker mention a funeral for Maddie’s mom?”

She looked adoringly at him. “That’s another thing I love about you. I texted that question to Carla after I got home with Maddie. She says Maddie is too little to go through that. I remember the funeral for my parents. I was eight and it was heartbreaking. I agreed with Carla. Do you think it was the right call to make?”

“It does seem like a traumatic event for a five-year-old to handle. Look, I’m gonna take the dogs and head home. If you need anything, call me.” He slid an arm around her waist and lowered his mouth to hers. It was pure heat in the chilly night air.

She ran a hand down his cheek. “I miss this. I wasn’t about to admit to Drea that I’m feeling the crazy sneak in a bit.”

He tipped her chin up. “Don’t do that. Don’t let Drea put failure into your head. If you want this, then go full steam ahead. I’m right there with you.”

“Funny you should say that since you’re about to head home.”

He frowned down at her. “You’re not afraid to be left alone with two little girls, are you?” He studied her eyes. “You’re scared?”

“Fear used to be stuck in my throat, now it’s moved into my stomach. I recognize the knot there. But I wouldn’t admit that to anyone but you.”

“I’d stay, but I figured…because of the kids…I shouldn’t.”

“Who says? Who gets to tell us what we can do? Besides, Carla already ran a background check on both of us. Although mine didn’t turn out quite as impressive as yours. In fact, Carla told me you had more medals and stars than any other person she’s ever…”

“The social worker said that?”

“She went on and on about valor and honor until my eyes crossed. Trust me, it takes a lot to impress this woman, you did it in about five seconds with your service record.”

“I doubt that.”

“You think I’m joking? Maddie is proof that I’m not. She wouldn’t be here tonight at all unless both of us had aced the whole qualification thing. You gave us both major cred.”

“If you want me to stay…I will.”

“You don’t have to. The next few days will be crazy enough. Plan on spending the night Wednesday for sure and probably the weekend. Pack a suitcase or a footlocker.”

He laughed. “Why don’t I just move in?”

“Because you have a perfectly wonderful little cabin on the cliffs all by yourself. Gosh, Colt, when do we get to spend any time to ourselves? I hadn’t considered that until now. I haven’t even spent any time at your place yet. Awake, anyway. I want to, just you and me.”

“Simon and Gilly should be back on Wednesday, which means one less dog. Maybe things will settle down with the kids and we’ll get some alone time then.”

When she looked skeptical, he added, “Think positive. It could happen.”

After Colt left Naomi alone, she got the girls ready for bed. She was about to head there herself when her cell phone dinged. The text was from Drea.

I’m sorry I overreacted. A true sister would’ve been more supportive about your decision before yelling at you like I did.

That’s okay. Maybe I needed yelling at.

So, we’re okay?

Yeah. We’re okay. Thanks for understanding.

Two kids would scare me to death. You’re gutsy, lady. Very gutsy.

By the time Naomi remembered she had to play Maddie’s Tooth Fairy, she was ready to close her eyes. The last thing she felt was gutsy. She felt the old doubts creeping in as she drifted off. Had she jeopardized everything for two pint-sized strangers? Where did Nick stand on single moms in the workplace? And most importantly of all, would Colt stick around to see things through like he promised?