Holly Jacobs - Here with Me

“I get the picture. You want me to watch her while you finish your meeting?”

“I was hoping you might. I mean, I know it’s an imposition. I’d be happy to pay you. It’s just this is important and I have to—”

Part of Lee wanted to say, No…I don’t do babies. But Adam looked slightly desperate, and the toddler was adorable. Blond hair in a wild, Eienstein-ish style, with light blue eyes and a huge smile.

Just because Lee had decided not to have children didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy other people’s.

“Go ahead and go,” she said. “I’m sure I can handle…” She paused. “Jessie, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. Jessie.” He handed her the baby.

Lee felt the old familiar stab of pain as she took Jessie in her arms. After all this time, she’d hoped the ache would lessen, but it hadn’t. And she was beginning to suspect it never would.

Adam set a bag on the floor. “There are diapers, some Cheerios, some toys…”

“We’ll figure it out. Just go.”

“Thanks,” he called as he sprinted back across the short bit of yard that separated the two cottages.

“Well,” Lee said, studying the beautiful little girl in her arms. “Maybe I should introduce myself, Miss Jessie. I’m Lee. I knew your daddy way back when. He was Matty then. And though he might think you’re a handful, let me assure you, he was worse.”

The toddler babbled. Lee thought she caught an occasional real word in the mix, but she thought that might be wishful interpretation on her part.

“Want to help me make some coffee?” The next burst of babble seemed to be positive, so Lee assumed Jessie’s answer was a yes.

“Good. I’m absolutely worthless without a jolt of caffeine in the morning.”

Half an hour later, Lee had managed to dress…just barely. In the time it took her to slip a T-shirt over her head, Jessie had run across the hall to the bathroom and unrolled half the toilet-paper roll.

“My grandmother would have said, ‘she’s full of piss and vinegar, that one.’ I never quite figured out what that meant, but having met you, I believe I have an inkling.”

Jessie didn’t seem to take offense. She started shredding the long string of paper into smaller gobs.

“I think it might be better if we found something to entertain you,” Lee said. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”

Jessie cooed her agreement and Lee scooped her up. She was enveloped in the scent of freshly washed baby again. She inhaled deeply and felt tears well in her eyes as an all too familiar pain asserted itself.

She brushed the tears away and tried to ignore all the what-could-have-beens as she concentrated on the what-was.

And what-was today was a beautiful blue sky, a warm spring sun and Jessie, who seemed eager to embrace her new temporary home.

“Come on, Jessie,” Lee said, and they left the cottage.

Adam was pacing. He knew that it wouldn’t help, but he had so much nervous energy.

Where could Lee have taken Jessie?

He shouldn’t have trusted Jessie with her. He’d known Lee years ago, but he had no way of knowing what kind of woman she’d grown into.

What a fool.

Maybe he should call the police. It had been over an hour since he’d gone into his bedroom, shut the door and taken his conference call. Almost two hours since he’d left Jessie with Lee. Who knew—

Just then he spotted her climbing up the small hill, Jessie in her arms.

“Where were you?” Adam barked, his tone sharp, his expression angry as he rushed toward them.

“We went for a walk. What’s wrong?” Lee asked, looking confused.

“What’s wrong? I left Jessie with you and come back to find you’ve both disappeared. I spent the last hour worried sick.”

“Oh, Adam, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be that long. It’s just—it was such a beautiful day and the beach sort of called me. Walking out wasn’t a problem. But coming back was. I didn’t realize how heavy Jessie could be. She might toddle about, but she’s not exactly up to walking on her own. So we took breaks. Frequent breaks.”

Jessie called, “Da,” and held her arms out to him.

As he took her from Lee, his heart rate slowly returned to normal and he felt as if he could breathe again. He met Lee’s eyes. “I’m sorry, too. I guess I overreacted. It’s just that if anything were to happen to her…”

He let the sentence trail off. Nothing would ever happen to Jessie. He’d see to it. “I guess we should be going. I have work to do.”

“Okay,” Lee said, her tone subdued. “Really, I’m sorry to have given you a scare. My parents would tell you that I’m totally hopeless about time, and I’m as irresponsible as they come.”

Adam didn’t comment on her parents’ opinion, even though he felt a flash of sympathy. He’d only seen them occasionally when he’d lived in Erie. It was Lee’s grandmother who’d attended school functions—her grandmother he remembered.

He didn’t say any of that. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I lost my head. Thank you for watching her. I hope we didn’t hold you up.”

“Not at all. It was my pleasure.” Her voice sounded stiff, and she didn’t wait for him to respond. She just turned and walked into her cottage, shutting the door quite firmly behind her.

“Great,” he muttered to the baby. “Looks like I’ve offended the only person I know in town.”

Even as he said the words, he knew that wasn’t why he felt like such a schmuck.

After all these years he’d hoped he and Lee had moved beyond the tease-and-torture stage, but maybe not.

“Come on, sweetie. Let’s go home.”

Later that afternoon, Lee was distracting Adam. Not by anything she was actively doing, because she wasn’t actually doing anything. She’d simply been sitting on the rock at the edge of the water for the longest time. She was staring at the lake, apparently lost in thought.

Adam was supposed to be lost as well. Lost in work that was piled in front of him on his makeshift desk, known as the kitchen table. A kitchen table near a window that overlooked the lake. For some reason, the files on his laptop didn’t seem nearly as interesting as the woman in his sights.

Little Mary Eileen had grown into a beautiful woman.

He wondered if she was dating anyone, then realized it didn’t matter. He might be interested, but even though she was available, and was easily the most intriguing woman he’d met—well, not met, but remet—in years, he didn’t have time for a woman in his life.

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