Page 6 of Rock the Cradle of Love
Taylor shrugs, upper arm sliding along Noah’s. “If you don’t mind.”
Noah nudges Taylor’s shoulder with his own, feeling grateful as well as tickled pink that he even wants to be considered an honorary uncle. “Well, after you swooped in here like a guardian angel to care for the two of us, how could I mind?” As the only child of an only child, Emma can use all the family she can get. “She’s lucky to have you in her corner. I am too, Taylor. I really appreciate you caring for her so I could sleep.”
Noah looks up and finds himself practically nose to nose with Taylor. Taylor’s eyes are large and golden brown in the soft light. His gaze flicks from Noah’s mouth to his eyes. If Noah hadn’t been so close, he’d have missed the slight flush of color along Taylor’s cheeks. Huh. Weird.
The jangle of Taylor’s cell phone causes them both to startle in surprise. The strange vibe between them dissipates in a heartbeat, but Noah feels a loss. He has no idea why.
“Buy me dinner, and we’ll call it even,” says Taylor with a quirk to his lips. He runs a gentle hand over Emma’s head and reaches for his phone. “Hey, Suzie Q, what’s up?” he asks and rises. He walks into the kitchen. “Oh, fuck, you’re kidding. When?” Taylor circles back into the living room, hand raking through his unruly dark hair. “Okay. Yeah. Keep me posted…love you too. Bye.” He shoves his phone in his back pocket. “My Uncle Bud. He fell. Busted a bone in his leg. He’s in surgery. They expect him to be fine, but he’s almost eighty, you know?”
Noah nods. “I’m so sorry. Do you need to fly home?”
“God, I don’t know. Suzan said he’s okay, but it’s my Uncle Bud.” Taylor collapses onto the sofa again. “He’s my favorite uncle. He got me into hockey, encouraged me to go after it. He always told me to be fearless. Not only in hockey, but in life.”
“Wow. Why?”
“He’s gay. I’m one of the few people who know. He was raised in a time when homosexuality was against everything polite society deemed acceptable. He was expected to marry a woman and settle down, so that’s what he did. But there was a man he’d met during the war. They fell in love and, well, they never got to be together.” Taylor blinks and refocuses on Noah and swipes a hand down his face. “He told me never to be afraid to love someone or to tell the people I care about how I feel. That the pain of a lost chance, of not knowing, is worse than a rejection, because at least with a rejection you know.”
“That’s really sad that he couldn’t be with the man he loved.”
“It is, isn’t it? And for all the tolerance society espouses these days, choosing to publicly love someone of the same gender still garners disapproval at best, hatred and violence at worst. What ever happened to live and let live?”
“I…I don’t know.” Noah’s never been in any kind of romantic relationship, much less one that sparked hatred and violence in others. Why should anyone care?
Noah’s stomach chooses then to growl. Loudly. Now that Noah thinks about it, he’s starved. It’s probably been forty-eight hours since he’s eaten, and, before that, he subsisted on cereal and noodles in cups. They’ll probably have to order in, as he didn’t have much in the cupboards to begin with. Not with the end-of-season schedule they had.
A grin replaces Taylor’s somber expression and he rubs his own stomach. “C’mon, Thirsty, let’s get us some grub.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Why don’t we go out? After being trapped in your house for three days, I bet you could use a change of scenery. I’m sure Emma could too. What do you think?”
Noah looks in surprise from Taylor to Emma. “I’m game, but what about Emma? Crying babies in restaurants are an annoyance, let’s be honest.” Fussy babies are one thing, Emma’s level of upset is something else.
“She’s done her big cry for the day, so I think we’re safe,” says Taylor.
“Her ‘big cry’?”
Taylor shrugs. “That’s what my sister and I called Tara’s daily three-hour tear.”
“Three hours? Wow.” If Noah could have relieved Jules from that kind of misery he would have, but he can’t deny he’s glad he hasn’t had to endure three-hour stretches of crying.
“It got pretty intense for a while, but they got shorter as she got older. As for Emma, here—” Taylor bops her nose gently and she grabs for his finger. “—we can always leave if she gets fussy.”
Of course. Why didn’t Noah think of that? He’s going to have to learn how to go out with a baby in tow. At least he’s got Taylor as a tutor right now. He grins. “Yeah, okay. Let’s do it.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later finds them in a local pancake chain. They’re waiting to be seated when a high school girl peers into the carrier looped over Noah’s forearm.
“Oh my God,” the dark-haired teen gushes. “She’ssoocute. How old is she?”
“Um, thanks,” says Noah, a warm gooey feeling spreading through his chest. “Three months.”
“Aww—”
“Carly, come on,” calls an older woman. “Leave the baby and those people alone.”
“Coming.” The teen rolls her eyes. “Bye.”
