Page 12 of A Surprise for the Holidays
Weird.
He grabbed an oral syringe full of a standard five-year-old’s dose of kids’ Panadol and a bottle of premade Hydralyte and went in search of the miserable little girl and her equally miserable father. He found them in the main bathroom, AJ seated on the tiled floor with his back against the wall under the towel rack, and Ava sniffling in a deep bubble bath. Even the bubblegum scent from the tub couldn’t disguise the lingering acrid smell of vomit. He crinkled his nose against the unpleasant combination of both.
“It’s on me,” AJ sighed. “And the carpet in her room. And probably embedded in the grout in the hallway.”
Bailey whistled his awe. “Sounds like an epic spew.”
The sheer disbelief on AJ’s face would have been amusing if it didn’t look like the older man was close to tears himself.
“Here,” Bailey held up his offerings, “I’ll get this into her and you go wash up as well. I’ll get the carpet in her room in a bit.”
“You don’t have to—”
“AJ. You look dead on your feet. Go, I’ve got this. I looked after my nephews when both of themandtheir parents got gastro last year. It wasn’t pretty, but I’ve got this down pat now.”
“It’s not your responsibility…”
“Yeah…nah, mate. I’m your friend, and you look like you’re one more upchuck away from a total meltdown.Go. Princess Ava and I will be fine.” He shooed his coach out of the room, then sighed when he heard water running in the laundry next door. Stepping out of the bathroom to glance into the laundry, with its long, marbled bench and pristine washer and dryer, he tilted his head at his coach. “What’d I just say?”
AJ paused with the bucket and sponge in his hands. “I might as well clean it before I have my shower. I’ve already changed her sheets.”
Before Bailey could argue, Ava cried out in alarm, and he bolted back into the bathroom just in time to watch her bend forward and throw up into her bath water.
He sighed again. “Poor chookie,” he cooed, his heart squeezing as she burst into renewed tears. “How about you hop in the shower to rinse off, we’ll get some meds into you, and then we can grab a bucket and cuddle on the couch?”
“Can we watch a Christmas movie?” she asked miserably.
He wasn’t going to deny her anything. “Sure, princess. Do you have a favourite?”
“I like the one with all the singing puppets and Kermit the frog.”
Lips quirking, Bailey nodded. “You’ve got good taste. I liked that one when I was growing up, too.”
Chapter 9
August
“You’re a fucking miracle worker,” AJ whispered as he walked into the living room to find Ava fast asleep in Bailey’s arms on the couch, the TV playing a Muppet Christmas movie quietly in the background.
She had a bowl lined with a plastic bag clutched to her chest, and her little cheeks were bright pink from the fever he’d noticed only a short time before she’d started re-enacting scenes fromThe Exorcist.
“Nah,” Bailey disagreed with him quietly, “I’m just good with kids.”
He watched as Bailey ran his long, tanned fingers through her hair, mesmerised by the gentle action. He’d written the twenty-six-year-old off as another young prick at the height of his career, but he’d been so wrong.
At the same age, AJ hadn’t been anywhere near as mature as Bailey Peters. He certainly never would have volunteered to deal with a colleague’s sick kid, and definitely not on his days off.
“She kept the Panadol down, too,” Bailey murmured, careful not to disturb Ava. “And I’m hoping this’ll be a random twenty-four-hour bug. By this time tomorrow, she’ll be right as rain, I bet.”
AJ swallowed roughly, still feeling dangerously close to breaking point. When he hadn’t been able to calm Ava down earlier, helplessness had overwhelmed him, and he was embarrassed to say that he hadn’t known what to do. He had no idea what had inspired him to call Bailey, but he would be forever grateful that he’d followed the instinct to do so.
“Still,” AJ carefully lowered himself onto the other end of the couch, gently bringing Ava’s feet onto his lap, “thank you for coming to help. I hope I didn’t get you out of bed or anything.”
Bailey snorted. “We’re not all oldies who go to bed at eight, grandpa,” he teased. “I was…out. Just up the road, actually.”
Something in Bailey’s reply had the hair on the back of AJ’s neck standing up. A strange feeling bubbled in his gut. He hoped to all things holy that he hadn’t caught Ava’s stomach bug.
“Out?” he repeated, hoping he sounded casual. “With mates?”
