SIX
Bambi loved the park in the early morning hours. It was peaceful, not too hot or too cold. The birds were chirping and the squirrels were chasing each other from tree to tree, chatting to one another as she passed by below. She loved bringing Beau here. He wasn’t old enough yet to appreciate it, but she hoped the fresh air at least did him some good. It certainly did for her. She tried to get out on the trails every morning. It helped to clear her mind, and it didn’t hurt to get a little exercise in while she was at it.
She sat on her butt entirely too much, between breastfeeding and getting Beau off to dreamland. She tried to squeeze in activities anywhere she could to stay fit—squats during each bathroom trip, leg lifts while washing the dishes, pushups against the counter while waiting for her pizza rolls to come out of the microwave. Yeah, it was a matter of burning calories so she could consume more, but hey, who was she trying to impress anyway?
Steve hadn’t called yet, like he’d promised. It’d been three days, and still nothing. It wasn’t as if she was waiting by the phone like a teenage girl hoping her crush would call her, but she was bored and that date had been the most exciting part of her life as of late.
Getting out of the house for more than work or a quick shopping trip had been a breath of fresh air. She’d enjoyed it much more than she’d anticipated. Going out on another date with Steve actually sounded like a welcome idea, and it wasn’t as if she had anything better to do.
Wow, that sounded cold, even to her. She didn’t want to be a user, especially to someone as seemingly nice and down to earth as Steve. He didn’t deserve to be led on, not that she was intending to do that. But she realized she didn’t have true feelings for him. That could change though, given time. Maybe he was a man she could grow to love? He’d certainly be good to Beau, she thought, and Beau would need a good man in his life, someone to guide him and teach him the things she couldn’t.
But, again, he hadn’t called, so she wasn’t banking on him being around.
After bumping along for a good hour, Bambi decided it was probably time to head back. She had a lot to do today. Cleaning the house was at the top of her list, with a special focus on catching up on the laundry. Who knew babies could dirty so much clothing? It felt as if she spent half her days stain treating. The rest was trying to pump enough milk to store, make dinner for herself, and keep the place clean and tidy. He wasn’t even crawling yet, but she’d attribute more than half the mess was directly related to him.
She hated to imagine how things would be once he got mobile. Yet, she knew she was going to love every second of it. Watching Beau grow was the highlight of her life.
Bambi had just laid Beau down in his bassinette and started the water for his bath when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she viewed the screen, seeing a text from Tina.
Tina: any chance you can cover my shift tonight? I have a thing
After working with Tina for several months, she’d learned that a “thing” in Tina-speak meant a date. Or, more accurately, a fuck buddy. But Tina also knew that it was a fat chance in hell that Bambi would ever be able to take her shift on such short notice. It was harder than hell to get a sitter, and Bambi didn’t trust anyone with her baby besides Tina and the daycare she placed him with when she had to work.
Working at the gas station wasn’t exactly her dream job, and honestly she didn’t really need it. She had made and saved more than enough from her years with the FBI to never have to work again if she managed her money right, but Bambi needed something productive to do with her days. She liked being out in the world, interacting with people, even if it was just a simple, average Joe kind of thing. Plus, the small paycheck she brought home each week extended her savings, meaning she would never have to worry about money, and she liked that. It made her feel more secure. This way, she could look forward to putting Beau through college one day without a second thought.
Typing out a quick reply, she said: Sorry no can do, chica. No sitter.
A quick frowny face came back to her, but that was always the case when Bambi shot down one of her requests, which was all the damn time. She honestly didn’t know why Tina still bothered. She should know by now the answer was going to be no. But such was the life of the self-absorbed single woman. Bambi remembered being that woman once. Good times. But these were even better times, much more fulfilling. Whereas she’d had fun before, doing whatever she wanted whenever she wanted to, she found being a mother to be even better, more rewarding.
Intent on focusing all her energy on home and family for the rest of the day, Bambi shut her phone down and retrieved Beau. She stripped him down then carried his naked baby self into the bathroom, placing him carefully into the basin of warm water.
He screamed like a lunatic, as he always did the moment it touched him.
Beau hated baths almost as much as any cat. As she washed him up, every inch of skin from the top of his head to the tips of his tiny toes turned tomato red, and she was fairly certain she’d lost even more of her hearing than she had the day before.
The kid had a good set of lungs on him.
She tried to make it quick, for both their sakes. After he was all clean, she wrapped him up in a towel and spent a few minutes rocking him in her arms and talking softly until he calmed down, his screams turning into jagged breaths.
Those unspent tears welling in his eyes always broke her heart a little.
It was as he came down from his tirade that she heard the incessant pounding on the front door. With a frown, she got to her feet and carried Beau with her to see who was there. Probably the neighbors, she thought as she approached the door. Or the police. Maybe someone thought she was killing the poor kid. He certainly seemed to think so.
“You better hope I don’t get arrested,” she told him as they reached the door. “Then where will you be, hmm?”
He was staring up at her, not absorbing a single word she said. Typical man, she thought with a laugh.
Smiling, she unlocked the door and opened it, prepared to tell whoever was on the other side that she was, in fact, not a murderer but a mother of an overly dramatic child.
That explanation died in her throat the instant she looked into a set of familiar red-brown eyes.
“Steve, what are you doing here?” She was shocked to see him standing on her front porch, a bundle of flowers in one hand and a bright, friendly if not hopeful smile on his face. “Are those for me?”
He held out the flowers—pink and yellow roses. “I’m sorry I haven’t called. The days got away from me, and then I started second guessing myself, so when I found myself in the area, I decided to just take a chance and stop by. Oh, here,” he said, almost as an afterthought. He held up a brown bag with a local bakery’s sticker logo pasted on the front. “I brought muffins. I didn’t know if you liked coffee, but there’s an iced vanilla latte inside, too.”
Bambi’s eyes lit up, seeing the small token. “You are so sweet. I love vanilla latte! Oh, where are my manners? Come in!” She stepped back, hands full of baby and flowers, to let him inside. She went straight for the kitchen with Steve on her heels.
“I’m sorry it’s so early,” he apologized as she pulled an old vase down from the cupboard and filled it with water. Without two hands available to strip the plastic wrap off and cut the stems, she just plunked the flowers inside and set the vase on the center of the countertop.
“No problem. Beau and I have been up for a couple hours already. We just got back from our morning walk and had a bath, didn’t we?” she cooed to her son. He gurgled something in return, and Steve laughed.
“He’s a handsome guy. I can definitely see where he got his looks from.”
Bambi grinned. “Well, thank you. He’s a good baby. Hardly ever cries. Well,” she amended, scrunching her nose, “unless he’s getting a bath. That’s what the whole kerfuffle was when you showed up.”
“Ohhh, I see,” he chuckled. “I admit, I was a little concerned. He’s got a good set of lungs on him.”
“Oh definitely. I’ll never have to worry about anyone kidnapping him, that’s for sure. As soon as they set him off, they’ll be bringing him right back home begging for me to take him back.”
Steve pushed the bag her way, urging her to dig into the special treat. She did, with much enthusiasm. It wasn’t often she treated herself to such decadence. While Bambi ate the delightfully sweet blueberry strudel muffin, Steve jumped into his true reason for being there.
“So, Bambi,” he said with a hint of nervousness, “I had a great time the other night, and I was wondering if you’d like to grab dinner with me tonight. Or lunch,” he offered quickly, “if you’d prefer.”
Bambi pretended to think about it as she finished chewing, but she already knew what her answer would be. She’d planned it over the last three days, fantasizing about getting out of the house for another dose of newness and fun. Anything to break the routine.
“Either is fine with me,” she told him. “But I don’t have a sitter, since it’s my day off today. Beau and I always spend my days off together.” She hoped that wouldn’t be a deal breaker. It really would be nice to get out for a while and engage in some adult conversation again. Plus, it was just nice having a man pay attention to her, issue compliments, and treat her like she mattered. She had been feeling alone for months. It was a nice change of pace.
Steve cut his hand through the air. “No problem. Bring him along. I’d love to get to know your son, too.”
Bambi’s eyebrows popped up. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
“I’m sure,” he said firmly. “I really like you, Bambi, and that means that I like every part of you. We’ll have a great time, I’m sure of it.”
She smiled, relieved and reassured. “Okay then. So…how about lunch?” The earlier the better, as far as she was concerned. It would reserve the evening hours for her to kick back and relax and reflect on the amazing day she was about to have, while Beau slept soundly. Perfect.
“Lunch is great. We can do the paddleboats at the park and go eat afterward.”
“That sounds great.”
“Great!” His grin was a mile wide and infectious. “Is it okay if I hang out here while you get ready? I could watch the baby. We’ll hang out on the couch and watch football or something.”
Bambi hesitated, looking down at Beau and wondering if she should entrust him to Steve, who was, by all intents and purposes, still a stranger to them. But then she reasoned that he was a nice guy, and she was enjoying her time with him. If she wasn’t willing to place a bit of trust in him now, then when?
“Are you sure?”
“I have nieces and nephews, and I’ve changed a fair amount of diapers,” he told her. “I’m sure I can handle this little one.”
“Well…okay.” Bambi handed Beau over, waiting to be sure that the two were compatible before she backed off. Steve sat down on the couch with Beau cradled in his arms and had already begun chatting with him about his favorite college football team and the coming playoffs.
“I’ll, uh, be right back there if you need me,” she said, pointing toward the bedroom. “Just give me a shout. And there are bottles in the fridge if he gets fussy. I’ll try not to take too long.”
Steve just looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. “Take all the time you need. We’ll be here waiting for you.”
Bambi found it extremely difficult to walk away, but she forced herself to make the break. She ended up getting ready in record time, rushing through her entire routine so fast even Steve blinked in surprise when she told him she was ready to go. But, as she packed up the diaper bag and they headed out the door, and Steve insisted that he carry the baby and install the car seat in his back seat, she was surprised to find that, after doing everything alone for so long, she was enjoying the partnership.