Page 80 of Creed

She nodded big. “Da big guy say he is like dat.”

“When?” I was around them all day.

“Da day mommy died when you swept.”

“At the hospital? Addie, do you really remember all that?” I thought that night would have been like a daze to her.

She nodded.

“Creed’s job is to keep everyone safe, so he might not always be here, but I promise I’ll always be with you. Even if we have to go on an airplane, you will always go with me.” I finished braiding her hair.

“Otay.”

“Lets go say goodnight to Creed then we will get ready for bed.” I lifted her off my lap, then took her hand. We made our way downstairs and found Creed in his office. As soon as he looked up from his laptop, a smile rose on his face and his eyes softened.

“Look at you, little miss Addie. Auntie Morgan braided your hair, and you look like a princess.” He said as she climbed on his lap. “Are you ready for bed?”

Addie laid her head on his chest and yawned. “Otay. Tank you.”

I didn’t know it was possible to witness a man’s heart actually melt. His eyes darted up to mine and I could literally see it happening right in front of my eyes. Creed carried her upstairs and first showed her my bedroom and his so she would know where to find us. Then he tucked her into her bed, but she asked that we wouldn’t leave until she fell asleep. Creed sat on the side of the bed, and I laid down next to her. Creed waited patiently as I read one of the books he picked out for her. It was titled “The Grumpy Monkey” by Suzanne Lang.

Her eyes grew heavier and heavier, until eventually they gently closed. Creed took her glasses off and set them on thenightstand. I looked at Creed for an answer if it was okay to leave the room, but he just shrugged his shoulders. Neither one of us had the first clue how to raise a kid. We gave it another few minutes before leaving the room. We left the hallway light on and didn’t shut her door all the way. Quietly, we tiptoed downstairs. He was ahead of me, but stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “I have a monitor in her room, let me get you one of the hand sets so you can see her.” He led me to his office. I knew he was going to do something, but I wasn’t sure how high tech he was going to get with it.

He reached in his drawer and pulled out a small monitor with a screen. “You can see and hear her on this, but you can also pull it up on your phone. I can download the app for you if you’d like.” He offered as he handed it to me.

“Sure, my phone is in the kitchen.”

He stuck his hands in his pockets and gave me a nod like he wanted me to go get it.

“Okay, I’ll just go grab it.” I turned and led the way to the kitchen. I wanted to talk more about his deployment and was especially curious what else he said he had to tell me. Once in the kitchen, I grabbed my phone from the counter and turned to give it to him, but he was so close our chests nearly touched.

“Umm…here’s my phone.”

He didn’t take it. Instead, our eyes locked and once again he took my breath away. As I looked so closely into his eyes, I noticed his iris had a dark blue ring around them, a very light green, then they turned blue once again around the pupils. I had never seen such beautiful eyes in my life.

“Did you think about what I asked of you today?” He was still studying my eyes. I had worked with the most beautiful menon earth, but never looked into such a gorgeous pair of eyes. There was something about them that was more than just their unusual coloring, but almost as if they spoke to me. Trying to send a silent message in the kindness I found in them. I spent time with him, day after day, and I still felt like an awkward teenager around him. One look could make me blush, and I couldn’t remember ever having such a huge…crush. A crush? I was almost thirty years old, and I wasn’t sure if a crush was something I should have outgrown. The attraction was out of this world, and he made me so nervous like I was a fumbling idiot at times. If he were an actor and we were shooting a movie, I didn’t think I could do my job. I would have messed up every line and we would never make it through any scenes. Well, maybe the sex scenes since he had a way of shooting electric currents through me. The thought of his bare chest pressed against mine…I had to stop thinking that way.

“I guess maybe that depends.” I answered.

“What does it depend on, Morgan? You and Addie will have freedoms here that you wouldn’t have anywhere else. I’d feel better knowing everyone in this community will be watching out for both of you. The Rejects will be dealt with before I leave, I can promise that much, but there’s still other factors at play.”

“I think we need to finish our talk from today. I understand why you have to leave, why most people don’t know, and that you don’t want to go, but what we’re you trying to say about us?” I bit my bottom lip as I waited for an answer. His eyes finally left mine and he reached down for my phone.

“Then let’s talk. How about some wine?” He offered.

“Sure.”

He stepped away and put my phone in his pocket. “Red or white?” He opened the wine fridge under the cabinet.

“Lets do white.” I pulled myself up and sat on the counter as he went for the wine glasses.

“Do you have questions about my deployment?” He pulled down two glasses and set them on the counter.

“We have six weeks left. That’s six weeks for Addie to get attached to you. Will you at least be able to call her?” I leaned back on my hands and crossed my legs. He glanced at them, and I noticed his lips curl up on one side before he looked away and picked up the corkscrew.

“At times, we can even video call, but we may go dark and that just means we aren't in a position to communicate. It won’t mean anything is wrong.” He began pouring two glasses.

“I will still buy a home either way. We can’t stay forever, Creed. I want to start the adoption process and I’m not sure that can be done here. There’s too many secrets and I know they’ll want to do a home study.”

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