Page 20 of Starting Anew

“Why don’t you let me clean this up, give Mia a bath, and then we’ll play for a while. You can go take a much-needed nap.”

He immediately started shaking his head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. You spent all day taking care of kids. I’m sure you’re more than ready to get home and rest yourself.”

She might have been when she left Little Lambs. But right now, seeing Nathan so sleepy and drained, had her heart aching for him. No, she’d much rather help out here if she could. Besides, if he didn’t get rest, he was more likely to get sick. She pointed that out as she stood to extricate Mia from her high chair. “I’ve got this. Truly. Besides, Mia’s different.” The moment she said that, she realized it could mean so many things.

If Nathan was wondering about it, he didn’t give any indication. At first he looked as though he might argue, but apparently the need for sleep overrode his objections. “Only if you’re sure. Because you’re right, I can’t afford to get sick. I’m going to set my alarm for an hour from now. If you need me before, just holler.”

“You should try to sleep for an hour and a half,” Lynn suggested. “Mia and I will have fun. Won’t we, bug?”

He nodded his agreement. “Thanks, Lynn.”

“No problem. See you in a bit.” She watched as he retreated from the kitchen followed by the sound of a door closing.

Lynn tickled Mia’s tummy. “Come on, bug. Let’s see if I can find everything we need to give you a bath. I’m pretty sure you are wearing more ketchup than you ate.”

Later, as Mia splashed in a few inches of water in the bathtub, Lynn kept one hand on her as she prayed softly. “God, please help Nathan to rest well. Protect him from any illness so that he can attend his brother’s wedding. Keep Mia healthy now, and if You don’t mind, please keep me well, too, so I can watch Mia during the ceremony. Thank you for Your many blessings.” Lynn leaned forward and kissed Mia on the top of her wet head. “Amen.”

She hadn’t heard a peep from Nathan. Hopefully the poor guy was sleeping peacefully. It was strange to see how she’d gone from telling Nathan she’d bring him food to caring for Mia while he slept in the other room.

Her chest tightened as she tried not to think about how much the two of them were starting to mean to her.

~*~

As Nathan awoke, it took several heartbeats to understand what time it was, and why he was asleep so late in the day. The next moment, his heart jumped into his throat as Mia came to mind. He’d leaped off the bed, ready to search for her, when he remembered that Lynn had volunteered to watch her so that he could sleep.

A quick check with his phone told him the alarm was set to go off in five minutes. Wow, that hour and a half went by fast. He ran a hand over his face in hopes of wiping away the lingering fog from his nap.

He heard the muffled murmur of voices coming from the other room and followed them. In the living room, he found Lynn sitting on the floor with Mia nearby. They’d taken the set of five large, colorful blocks and were putting items of the same color on top of each.

Mia just placed a plastic orange on top of the matching block when she spotted him. She waved. “Da!”

To Nathan, it still felt like yesterday when she’d started to say his name. It never ceased to give him joy.

“Hi, Mia.” He joined the girls on the floor. “Have you been good for Miss Lynn?” He turned his attention to the woman who’d gone beyond kindness to do him not one big favor, but two.

She smiled at him then, and there was something about her hanging out in his living room, playing with Mia, that made it way too easy to imagine she belonged there with them. Especially when Mia climbed into her lap and put her chubby arms around Lynn’s neck. Nathan was pretty sure his heart melted into a puddle right then and there.

“She’s been a sweetheart,” Lynn assured him as she patted the little girl’s back. “She’s all cleaned up, we’ve done a lot of playing, and she’s starting to slow down a little. With any luck, she’ll be ready for bed soon and maybe you can relax a bit this evening.”

The woman was seriously a miracle worker. After his nap, Nathan felt better than he had for a couple of days. “I can’t thank you enough, Lynn. We both appreciate you.”

“It’s no problem. I was happy to help. Besides, I missed this little bug’s hugs.” She got to her feet, Mia still in her arms. “You be good to your daddy tonight, huh? And I’ll see you in the morning.”

Mia squirmed, so Lynn set her back down on the floor. “I’m going to get out of your hair. Not to mention Thai is probably ready to tear my house apart out of boredom.”

Her kitten. Nathan had nearly forgotten about him. He wondered if he’d ever have the opportunity to see her place and meet the kitten that had Lynn sneaking around her house with a rolling pin. “We definitely don’t want him to do that.” He checked to make sure Mia was staying out of trouble before walking with her to the front door where she’d left her things.

Lynn picked them up and turned to face him again. The moment she lifted her chin and her pretty hazel eyes to him, he leaned in a little. The need to put his arms around her and kiss her was nearly overwhelming.

His gaze traveled to her lips for a moment before focusing again on her face. She swallowed hard, shifted her weight to her toes, and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. It was so brief, he might have imagined it if it weren’t for the way his skin zinged from the contact.

“Stay well, Nathan. Good night.”

With that, she let herself out. Nathan stood in the doorway and watched as she got in her car and pulled away. That’s when it dawned on him.

He was falling in love with Lynn Crosby.

Chapter Eight

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