Page 19 of Starting Anew

Honestly, Lynn had expected Sharon to put up a bit of a fight. Now Lynn was going to have to go back to Nathan’s class, and she’d have yet another witness to her pathetic attempts to learn jiu-jitsu. Just the thought of it had her chuckling to herself.

By the end of her work day, however, she’d thought about Sharon’s suggestion and decided it was a good one. Whether Mia was doing better today or not, Nathan was probably ready for something else to eat—especially if he didn’t have to fix it himself.

Sitting in her car in the parking lot, she pulled her phone out and wrote a text to Nathan. “Hey, if it’s not too forward, could you send me your address? I thought I might bring dinner by for you guys.”

It wasn’t long before he answered her. “That would be amazing. Thank you.” And he included his address.

Lynn ran by the house for a few things before heading toward the burger place. She’d noted what both he and Mia were eating when she’d first run into them there. Figuring that was probably safe, she ordered the same thing for them, and a meal for herself as well to eat after she dropped theirs off.

When she finally located Nathan’s home, she pulled her car beside his in the wide driveway and retrieved the food from the back seat.

She’d barely knocked before he opened the door and ushered her inside with a tired smile. “Hey, Lynn. It’s really sweet of you to do this.” He closed the door behind them and cleared his throat. “Please ignore the house.”

Lynn observed the living room. It was pretty cluttered, but it wasn’t dirty. Clearly Nathan normally kept the house pretty clean. When her gaze rested on him, she couldn’t help but notice the way the tips of his ears had turned red. He was adorable when he got embarrassed.

“Are you kidding?” Lynn laughed as Mia toddled into the room and wrapped her arms around one of Lynn’s legs. “You’re keeping a small, sick person alive. Your house is impressive.”

“Thanks.” He leaned down and scooped Mia into his arms. “Come on, you little monster. Are you hungry?”

“It looks like she’s feeling better.” Lynn set the bag of food on the table and watched as Nathan got Mia into her high chair. “That’s great.”

“Oh yes, she’s feeling better. She hasn’t had a fever since late last night. Unfortunately, I was up every hour checking her temperature, so I didn’t get much sleep. And she’s been up all day because apparently sleeping well last night means naps are unnecessary.” He yawned, a hand over his mouth. “Sorry.”

Smiling, Lynn shook her head. “You have nothing to apologize for.” She laughed as Mia tried to grab the bag of food. Lynn started pulling things out for them and setting them on the table.

Nathan blinked. “You ought to join us.” He glanced in the bag. “Did you not get anything for yourself?”

“I did. I left it out in the car. I figured I would eat later when I got home.” She hadn’t expected to be at Nathan’s place long.

“I don’t blame you if you’d rather get home after working and all. But if you’re so inclined, you are welcome to bring your food inside and eat with us.” The hope on his face was more than a little endearing.

Besides, she’d forgotten another small bag in her car that she’d intended to bring in. No matter which way she decided, it was going to be a little awkward. She finally gave a nod. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”

Nathan smiled with satisfaction and started to get Mia’s food ready.

Minutes later, Lynn was back with hers and a small bag that she handed to Nathan.

“What’s this?” When she nodded toward the bag, he opened it and pulled out the box of vitamin C powder and a package of chocolate chip cookies. “What’re these for?”

“The cookies are because chocolate makes everything better. The vitamin C is so you can hopefully keep from getting sick, too, with your brother’s wedding just a couple days away. Trust me, I’m taking it daily myself right now for the same reason.” She leaned across the table and tapped Mia’s nose with a finger. “These little people can be quite the germ harborers.”

That had Nathan laughing. “That’s the truth. Thank you, Lynn. We will have to open the cookies after we eat.” He gave her a wink.

They settled into easy conversation as they ate, mostly talking about weather, how several of the other kids at the daycare center had been out sick, and who Nathan had gotten to cover his classes.

“Have you asked your friend about coming to class a week from Saturday?” Nathan popped one more fry in his mouth before starting to clean up his wrappers.

“You must be psychic. I just did this afternoon. Sharon needs to double check her schedule and make sure her husband doesn’t mind, but she thinks it would be fun to go together.” Lynn willed herself to not blush when he smiled and clapped his hands together.

“That’s great! It’s always more fun to take classes with someone else. Is Sharon the lady at Little Lambs with the short, curly dark hair?”

Lynn nodded.

“She seems really nice. Has she and her husband been married long?”

They chatted about random things for several more minutes while she and Mia finished their dinner. By then, Mia had ketchup on her hands and even more around her mouth. At the same time, Nathan had covered more yawns than Lynn could count. It was barely six o’clock. He probably had another hour or two before he could get Mia to bed.

A thought came to mind, and she voiced it before taking the time to talk herself out of it.

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