Page 47 of Like the Season
Wanting to protect her and teach her and love her.
To be there for her in a way he couldn’t be there for Ella.
Her first Christmas.
Helping her do things for Ella on Mother’s Day.
Daycare and first days of school, all the things he heard friends and coworkers talk about but never thought would be part of his life.
Now, it had taken over his life.
Other than when he could finally marry Caleb, and when the baby was born, he knew there would be few, if any, days in his life that could top his current level of joy.
* * * *
Caleb got them safely home after stopping for take-out once they were in Sarasota. It was great sleeping in his own bed again—Boyd’s bed—but despite sleeping alone, knowing Boyd was making his way to Florida comforted him.
There was also the fact that Ella was there.
Their family.
When he left for work the next morning, he made sure she had his personal cell and work numbers in case she had any problems before he headed in—and he stopped on the way to get coffee. Having already been briefed on the fact that the aroma made her sick, he’d opted not to put her through that.
Small price to pay for having herthere,withthem.
He also made a note to himself to get some tea so he could still have a morning caffeine infusion when he woke up.
Even better?
Still no contact from his parents, although that morning he received two calls from his aunt’s phone number, but she didn’t leave a message either time.
Fortunately, he was able to buy an inexpensive folding wheelchair from a medical supply store at lunchtime.
Upon seeing it, Ella started crying. “Thank you.” She reached for a hug.
“Um, is this good crying?”
She started laughing as she sat back, even as she still cried. “Yeah. Probably part pregnancy hormones, and part that it’s finally hitting me over the head I have people in my life again who want to help take care of me like Mom did.”
By Thursday afternoon, Boyd was still at least twelve hours away, and Caleb wanted to run to his apartment to get more things to bring to Boyd’s, as well as check his mail. He’d had four more calls from his aunt, but no messages.
He wasn’t sure what was up with that, but he wasn’t going to get sucked into games. If she had something to say to him, she could leave him a message.
If she was going to try to play matchmaker for him, she could forget it.
Ella was going stir-crazy sitting around, so he helped her into Boyd’s car and took the wheelchair with them. It would mean less room for his stuff in the car, but it would give her a chance to see the apartment in case she wanted to live there and take it over.
Except after having her around the house for several days, he knew he’d miss her presence when she eventually moved out. Unlike his three sisters, she was considerate of him, and he was constantly trying to keep her from doing too much.
And she seemed legitimately interested in talking to him, getting to know him, spending their dinners together on the sofa asking him about himself and…in general being a genuinely nice person.
He also felt far more comfortable around her than he did around his sisters.
Once there and after he helped her inside, he watched as she looked around the apartment. “This is really nice.”
“It’s not a bad complex. Even has a pool and exercise room.”
“If I can find a job to afford it before the lease is up, I’d definitely like to take it.”
