Текст книги "Just Play"
Автор книги: Taylor Hart
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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 13 страниц)
2
Sam didn’t consider himself a wimp. With the exception of the last season, he’d always been an achiever. He’d wanted to be everything his father had not been, and it had shown in every part of his life: football, college, and dating—well, except for Sheena. The thought of all the failures over the course of the past year flashed through his mind. The center of his chest pounded like he’d just been through an earthquake and survived. He stared at the chubby little girl, Maddy, with red hair that looked like fluff on her head and the same eyes as Roman. Okay, he admitted to himself that his confidence had been shaken this past year. It just had. Ever since he’d sold out his integrity, he’d felt…bad. He’d been overtaken by a numbness that constantly overshadowed everything else.
That was the reason he’d come to Roman. He wanted to change. He wanted to be what he used to be. He wanted to be the kind of man he could face in the mirror everyday and not want to look away.
“Da. Da.” The little girl sucked in fast breaths before bursting into tears.
Feeling paralyzed, Sam finally stood and took one step toward her.
Opening her eyes, she saw him coming and howled even louder.
Before he even knew what he was doing, he swept her into his arms, holding her against him like he’d seen Roman do. But unlike the grin and happy giggle she’d been giving Roman, she howled loudly at him. Rushing into the house, he looked for something to calm her down. He spotted a bunch of toys on the floor. Squatting, with her now thrashing around along with the screaming, he picked up a small ball. He put it by her face and squeezed it. It made two loud sounds.
This stopped her for a minute.
It was a tentative standoff. She looked at the ball and then him. Sam winced when she burst into tears again.
He cursed under his breath and felt sweat trickle down the center of his back as he rushed around picking up toys and trying to get her to stop crying.
He searched the kitchen, which he noticed was a complete mess. Assorted crackers and snacks littered the counters. Baby formula sat out. Old spaghetti stuck to the stovetop. Seeing the mess disgusted him. Seriously, get a maid, Roman. If Roman could afford shares in the franchise, he could afford to hire some help. Sam had lived with Roman for a time when he’d first come to the Destroyers, and he’d been a slob then, too. Apparently some things don’t change with age or marriage.
Sam flung open the fridge and saw some open baby food on the top shelf. Spying a half eaten baby jar labeled carrots, he picked it up and put it in front of her. This had a magical effect.
“Num, num.”
Her new noise, made at a tolerable volume, actually elicited a chuckle of relief from him. “Num. Num. That’s right, Maddy.” He moved to the drawers, jerking them all open until he found spoons. Little spoons to boot.
Next, he searched for something to put her in while he fed her. He didn’t have to look long. A few feet away he found a high chair. This was no normal plastic baby chair. It was a high chair fit for a princess. It was completely covered by a sticker that transformed it into a castle turret, and it was fitted with a plastic princess sippy cup and a princess plate with old peas on it. After removing the dirty plate and cup, he put Maddy down on the floor. It wasn’t any cleaner, but he couldn’t risk her falling off the counter while he figured out how the chair worked. It’s not as if the counter was clean anyway.
The difficult part was trying to figure out how to remove the top of the high chair. Yanking on it, even hard, didn’t work. He looked for a latch, but couldn’t find one.
Maddy continued to howl at a louder and louder pitch. He’d thought she didn’t want him holding her, but it appeared that not holding her was worse. Her red, ruddy cheeks had big crocodile tears on them.
Picking her back up, he turned the lid on the carrots and began feeding her while holding her. It was sloppy and messy and, he was sure, he had more of it on his shirt than in her mouth by the third spoonful, but she had quieted down substantially. She would suck in a bite, take a gulp or two, and look back at him. Then a low cry would start until he stuffed in another bite. He figured, at this pace, he would need more supplies if he wanted to keep the noise down. Not caring what he had to do, he was determined to keep her from wailing.
Deliberately avoiding the fact he had no idea how long he would be on duty, he put the jar of food on the table. He needed a free hand to rummage in the fridge for the next food distraction while still keeping her mouth occupied with scoops of mushy carrots. He flung the fridge back open and found three more jars of baby food—vanilla pudding, green beans, and bananas.
Sam gingerly sat the food, himself, and the baby on the floor. The extremely messy floor, Sam noted, again, in righteous judgment. Seriously, Roman should have the health department on his back over these conditions. He looked around and couldn’t see any paper towels. All the wash clothes were scrunched up and dirty looking—definitely not fit for a baby’s mouth.
Sam made a command decision to take his shirt off and use it to wipe Maddy’s face.
At this point, she was still eating at only a marginally less frantic rate. It made Sam wonder if Roman purposely starved the kid. Should she be this hungry?
Maddy was steady enough in a sitting position that he felt comfortable reaching for the princess sippy cup.
She took it with both hands and took a loud sucking gulp. Afterwards, she astonished him by flashing a beautiful, wide carrot-covered smile.
His whole heart filled with joy. “Yeah.” He let out a light laugh. “That’s it, Maddy. You were just hungry and thirsty. See, that’s good. Uncle Sam’s got this under control.” Instantly, his mind zipped to the old ‘Uncle Sam Wants You’ posters, and he chugged out a laugh. He’d never though of himself as ‘Uncle Sam.’ He relaxed against the side of cabinet and held out another bite of food to her.
Then just as quickly as she’d smiled, her face turned red as she scrunched it up and let out a yell worthy of a mini banshee.
Rushing to his feet, Sam picked her up only to stop short in shock. She gave him her own brand of a right hook, smacking him in the same place on his eye that Roman had previously hit.
He cursed and then closed his eyes and held her at bay.
Instantly, the baby stilled.
Guilt surged into him for losing control of his tongue in front of a child. He ducked his head and squeezed his eyes shut as Maddy began to cry again.
Without warning, she was abruptly pulled out of his hands.
3
“What do you think you’re doing?” the woman said, pulling Maddy and her roaring cries into her shoulder.
She was medium height, about 5’ 7 or 5’ 8 he quickly judged, with startlingly blue eyes. A light vanilla smell assaulted him, and her blonde ponytail smacked his face as she turned away from him.
“I—” He tried to find words, but his mind felt scattered like Yahtzee dice.
“Don’t,” she cut him off, turning back and glaring. Swishing past him, the look of scorn changed instantly to happy glee as she grinned at Maddy. “Maadeeee,” she let the last vowel go long. “What is going on with my baby girl?” She stopped at the sink and turned the water on. She took the cup away and began cleaning Maddy’s face, hands, and clothes. “What is that man doing to you?” Her voice oozed happy for the baby.
Sam noticed her bright blue headband that held back the blonde curls falling out of her ponytail down her back. She wore purple spandex pants, athletic shoes, and a bright pink t-shirt. It looked like she’d been on a run.
Maddy smiled and cooed at the woman.
“What the—?”
“Language!” The woman flipped her head to him, giving him a sharp glare before turning back to Maddy. “She may be a baby, but they understand a lot more than you think. Don’t you, Maddy?” Her voice held a singsong quality, and she methodically stripped the baby of her clothes and checked the back of her diaper.
“I wasn’t going to…” He trailed off. “I was just going to ask what you think you’re doing,” he said stubbornly.
With a fiercely protective glance at him, the woman picked up Maddy and began moving across the kitchen toward the hallway. “Yeah, guys like you never mean to do anything. I know exactly who you are, Sam Dumont. You’re a cheating jerk.” She gestured for the door. “I got this handled.”
He watched her hurry down the hall. Then he heard a bath being run and the same singsong voice talking to Maddy.
The strange thing was that a couple of weeks ago he would have high-tailed it out the door. Being faced with a situation like this was so uncomfortable for him that he would have taken this opportunity to relinquish all responsibility. But he was committed to not being that person anymore, and shirking responsibility was the last thing he wanted to do right now.
He listened to the woman and Maddy. Honestly, it sounded like Maddy was talking with her.
“That’s right.” The woman said in a high voice. “I’ll take care of my girl, won’t I?”
Steaming, he took off toward the bathroom. Who did she think she was? Roman had asked him to help, and if he had to take care of Maddy to make everything up to Roman, then that’s exactly what he would do.
This stranger didn’t get to take redemption away from him.
Stalking toward the bathroom, he wasn’t sure what he would do, but he knew standing there in the middle of the dirty living room wasn’t doing him any good at all. The scene he found next would be burned into his mind forever.
The woman had taken off her shoes, and she was sitting on the side of the tub, her feet submerged, and her pants rolled up to her knees. The smile on Maddy’s face right now was the biggest he’d seen so far. Pure joy was the only way to describe it.
At that moment, Sam had what he could only call some type of deja vu. For a few seconds all he could do was.... stare at them.
He didn’t know how. He didn’t know why. All he knew was that this woman, with wet feet and a ridiculous expression on her face, had put him under some kind of spell.
She flung her head to him, her face going from surprised to annoyed. “What?” She cocked an eyebrow, keeping her hands under Maddy’s shoulders. “Haven’t you ever seen a woman in a bathtub before?”
“I…” His voice faltered and he searched for some witty words but couldn’t find any. “Look, first of all, I came to apologize and, second of all, Roman asked me to take care of her.” He pointed at Maddy.
At this, she let out a light laugh. “Right, whatever. First of all, I don’t care about your personal crap. And second, he called me right after he left and asked me to come. I told him I would handle it, because you obviously…can’t.”
It was as if this woman had looked into his soul and seen all the insecurity he’d felt the past year. Clenching his hands into fists of frustration, he let out a breath. He wouldn’t go. “Roman asked you to come, but I was here first.” He said like a six year old claiming a prize under the legalities of ‘firsties.’
Unexpectedly, her eyes went to his chest. She reared back, as if she’d only just noticed he didn’t have a shirt on. “What? No.” She shook her head like she was trying to clear it. “And why don’t you have your shirt on?”
He snorted, gesturing back to her. “Why don’t you have your shoes on?” He knew it was an absurd response, but he couldn’t stop himself.
She glared at him. “Not the same thing.”
“We both have parts of our bodies exposed. It’s the exact same thing,” he insisted, half-amused she’d reacted to his shirtless chest in such an accusatory way.
Hesitating for a second, she turned back to Maddy, picking up a cup and pouring the water gently over Maddy’s head. “Just go away,” she said in the singsong voice. “We don’t need you here.”
Maddy seemed to hold her breath for a minute and then burst into a smile at the water being dumped on her head.
Unexpectedly, her reaction made Sam smile.
But the woman turned back to him, determination in her eyes. “Listen, Sam Dumont,” she said, looking like his last name left a bad taste in her mouth, “I get that you came to atone for your sins or something like that, but you’re going to have to do your thing another time. Cheaters aren’t wanted,” she pronounced the last word sharply.
If she thought flinging that accusation at him would make him leave, she was wrong. He’d heard a lot worse in the press and from himself over the course of the past year. He watched as she rubbed soap on Maddy’s head and then rinsed it off, gently cleaning her whole body. Losing all patience, he took the pink towel off a matching pink hook and quickly plucked Maddy out of the water. He tucked her into the crook of his arm like a game changing ball and rushed out of the bathroom. “I got this.”
Maddy started hysterically shrieking again.
He slipped on the water dripping off the baby and stumbled, but didn’t fall, down the hallway looking for her room.
“Are you kidding me?” the woman yelled behind him. “Give me the baby!”
“No.” This whole thing was unreasonable. He knew that. He just couldn’t seem to stop himself. He found a pink princess room and assumed it was hers. Gently, he laid her on the bed.
Maddy saw the woman walk in and stopped crying. “Gaa.” She reached for her.
The woman rushed past him, going to a dresser and pulling out pajamas.
He stayed next to Maddy, propping her up into a sitting position.
Maddy looked at his face and burst into tears.
The woman reached for the little girl.
But he picked Maddy up, cuddling her to him and moved her out of reach.
Every part of the woman looked tense. “I swear I will call the cops if you don’t give her to me.”
He bobbed the screaming Maddy up and down, patting her back. He would give her to the woman, but he had some demands first. “Only if you quit telling me to leave.”
Maddy was actually calming down, touching the sides of his cheek and smiling through her tear-stained face.
He grinned at her. “That’s a girl. You like Uncle Sam, don’t you?” The same kind of singsong voice that the woman had used now came out of his mouth. He didn’t understand it, but it worked, calming Maddy down.
“Please.” The woman reached for her, and Sam glanced at her, seeing tears in the woman’s eyes. “I’ll quit telling you to leave, but please, give her to me.”
Not understanding why he was acting this way, he reluctantly handed Maddy over. To which Maddy promptly let out a long, happy ‘goo.’
The woman pulled Maddy against her chest and both of them seemed so content in each other’s arms. He couldn’t remember ever feeling that kind of contentment.
Her moisture-filled blue eyes turned to him. “Since you’re staying, why don’t you make yourself useful and clean up the house?”
4
After an hour of sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming, with Maddy sitting in her swing watching the woman do the massive amount of dishes, Sam was doubting his decision to stay and play maid. But he reminded himself he would do anything for Roman. He owed him. “So,” he said, trying to sound casual. “Have you heard from Roman?”
“No.” Her answer was short, and she didn’t look up at him.
Reluctantly, he had to admit to himself that he’d had to make a forced effort not to stare at her. She was beautiful. She didn’t have a speck of make up on, but everything about her radiated a sort of glow. Her golden hair and yoga body didn’t hurt either. “I haven’t either.”
Her eyes flashed up, and she scoffed, “Of course you haven’t. You think he would text you before me? I’m a family friend. You’re…well, why don’t you tell me what you were doing here anyway?”
Not liking her tone, he continued to make little piles of dirt and different types of cereal and crackers at various places around the kitchen. “Apparently you have everything figured out, remember?”
“So you came to apologize.”
He stopped sweeping and met her eyes. “Is that so hard to believe?”
She grunted. “Yeah, it actually is.”
“Why?”
Bending down, she put some dishes away in various cupboards. “Because past behavior predicts future behavior,” she said in an annoyingly know-it-all tone.
He didn’t need this. “And you’ve never done anything wrong?” he challenged.
Standing back up, she flat out laughed. “Of course I have, I was engaged to a cheater. That was my first mistake.” Her eyes hardened.
“Right.” His voice softened.
For a second, he could have sworn she was fighting tears. Then she threw him a steely glare. “You don’t get to know my personal life.”
“Fine.” He swept faster, making sure to get all the corners. Sam had always been fastidious about cleaning. Yes, he had a cleaning lady, but he’d gone through quite a few before settling on his current one, who kept things up to his standards. At this moment, he honed in on his compulsiveness for cleaning.
The home, he calculated, was about three thousand square feet on the main level alone and was all tile and wood flooring. He methodically moved across the floor.
They were both silent for a few minutes. He had refused to look at her. He would have to call Roman and tell him to send her away. Something. This wasn’t going to work with her here. But then he thought of how much Maddy smiled with her and how, even now, she’d settled down right after her bath and was quietly dozing to the sound of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” coming out of the swing.
“I guess you do have one redeeming quality,” she said, shocking him. “You do know how to wield a broom.”
Sam looked up at her, sweeping up the last of the piles of food from the kitchen floor. He wished a warm feeling hadn’t started in the center of his chest and dispersed into chills as he met her eyes. He gave her a half grin. “Well, don’t give me too much credit yet.”
“Oh, I won’t,” she quickly responded.
Shaking his head, he emptied the crumbs into the trash and put the broom back behind the pantry door. This woman was frustrating. “You haven’t told me your name still, ya know?” He turned back to see her drying all the little cups and bowls and silverware.
“I know.”
This made him chug out a laugh.
Giving him a narrow look, she gently put down the pan and walked around the kitchen island, sticking out her hand. “I’m only telling you because I’m impressed you stayed this long…Tiffany,” she said it flatly.
He took her hand, trying not to notice how electric it felt to touch her. He also refused to think about the vanilla smell that wafted off of her. “No last name?”
After tugging her hand back, a look of annoyance slipped onto her features. Then she pursed her lips together. “Chance.”
The moment felt awkward. This truce between them felt…fragile.
She didn’t move, looking him up and down. He’d put the baby food stained shirt back on. She rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to wash that shirt? I’m starting a load of Maddy’s things.”
He hadn’t been expecting the offer, but he was grateful. “Uh, sure.” He started to take it off.
“Whoa.” Putting her hand up to shield her eyes like she’d just witnessed something horrific, she moved toward the stairs. “Keep it on. I’ll go get you one of Roman’s shirts.” She jogged up the steps.
Usually, that was not the reaction from women when he took his shirt off. Frowning, he moved to the swing where Maddy’s head was now drooping and her eyes were half closed. She perked up and gave him a sleepy grin. Squatting down, he lightly touched her soft red hair. “Maddy Young, what can I say? I think we just might become friends.” He kept his voice a whisper. “But the jury’s still out on the blonde.”
He touched Maddy’s soft hand, keeping his hand on hers and liking the protective way he felt about her. “I never met anyone who could get me so messy so fast.” He grinned.
He positioned her head so it wouldn’t conk the metal rod holding the swing together. Something warm flooded through him. He hadn’t realized that he’d actually been jealous of Roman for all the wrong things—like his football prowess and the way he was a media darling. Now he realized he was far more jealous of the little princess right in front of him.
Tiffany’s steps thudded down the stairs. She emerged holding a load of laundry. She moved to the laundry room and threw a shirt at him. It landed on the couch. “Watch out, Dumont, you actually look like you might not live up to all the bad PR after all.”
Watching her walk to the laundry room, irritation stirred inside of him. He decided he didn’t care how beautiful she was, or how much Maddy liked her, she didn’t seem like the kind of woman that believed in redemption, and he didn’t need people like that in his life.
