Page 2 of Not Part of the Plan
“Yeah, how about we let your Mom handle that?” Niko suggested.
“Mama?”
“Yeah, her.”
“Mama,” Meadow insisted, nodding enthusiastically.
Niko crossed the hall again and entered the bedroom. “Hey, Summer—”
A soft snore was the only response. Summer was curled on her side, face buried in the crisp white pillow, sound asleep.
“Mama!”
Niko shoved the giraffe back into Meadow’s mouth and hustled out the door and down the stairs. In the foyer, he picked up the gift bag he’d brought with him and headed into the kitchen to find Carter.
“Dada!” Meadow squealed.
Carter took the little girl from him and jiggled her. “Hi, sweetheart,” he said planting a loud kiss on her head.
“Hi, honey,” Niko snickered.
They shook hands in manly fashion. “It’s good to see you, man,” Carter said. “Did we, ah, know you were coming?”
“Your wife, who passed out on the guest room bed in the thirty seconds I left her alone, asked me the same thing.”
“We’re not getting a whole lot of sleep this week,” Carter said, carting Meadow to the fridge and reaching for two beers.
“Hang on,” Niko insisted, handing over the canvas bag. “Maybe we should start with this.”
One-handed, Carter fished the bottle from the bag.
“Bless your taste in alcohol,” Carter sighed, gazing lovingly at the vodka. “Have I told you that I love you?”
“Never,” Niko said, rescuing the bottle when Meadow made a sticky-fingered grab for it.
“Let me put this troublemaker in baby prison with her brother. Glasses are in there,” Carter said, pointing to a glass-faced cabinet next to the pantry.
Niko poured two fingers each into rocks glasses while Carter deposited Meadow into an octagon of baby gates and pillows in the great room. He appreciated the design of the great room addition. Huge trusses held up the two-story cathedral ceiling, and sets of French doors that ran the length of both sides of the room flooded the space with light. The hulking flat screen, the one that had inspired him to upgrade his own TV in his apartment, was mounted above the stone fireplace.
The kitchen was just as well done. There were enough modern conveniences—like the oversized fridge and stainless apron sink deep enough to bathe a dog—to balance out the farmhouse charm in the white cabinetry and view from the windows.
“They should be good for at least two minutes,” Carter announced, returning and grabbing a glass like it was anti-venom.
“Rough week?” Niko asked.
“Our daycare was closed all week. Disney trip for the woman who runs it and her family. So we’ve been splitting shifts, which wouldn’t be horrible if it weren’t for molars.” He sipped and sighed.
Niko swirled the vodka in his glass and shook his head. He couldn’t imagine living Summer and Carter’s life, but wasn’t that part of the reason he was here? To see how the other half lived?
“What brings you to Blue Moon besides a desire to babysit?” Carter asked.
“Funny.” A shriek from the great room echoed off the hardwood and granite. “Uh, are they okay?”
Carter shrugged. “Happy scream. We’ve got another minute before it gets ugly,” he predicted. “How’s your life these days? What’s it like not being sticky all day and interrupted fifty times a minute?”
Niko worked up a smile. “It’s, ah, great.” Wasn’t it? Didn’t he have everything he’d always wanted? Carter didn’t look like he was buying it. If there was anything Niko knew about his best friend’s husband, it was that Carter Pierce knew bullshit when he saw it.
Thankfully, Niko was saved by the banging open of the kitchen’s screen door. A harried redhead with pink cheeks, an overflowing tote bag, and a baby strapped to her chest rushed in, bringing with her the warm spring breeze.
