But this situation was too good to be true, and she had known it deep inside from the very start. Grayson had been so kind to her. Kinder than she deserved.
She felt tears prickling her eyes again at the thought of the pain he carried with him. He had done all he could to help her, even when he was suffering himself.
I have to do something to help him—to save him from himself.
She paced the back of the house, letting Leo enjoy the sunlight while she racked her brain.
She probably didn’t have much time. Wherever he was going, the first thing Grayson would do when he got back would be to ask her to leave.
She needed a friend, but more than that, she needed someone who knew more about Grayson.
“Sam,” she murmured to herself.
She grabbed her phone from her pocket and dialed the center, hoping her friend would pick up.
“Homecoming Heroes,” Sam’s familiar voice said brightly. “This is Samantha.”
“Sam,” Evangeline said, relief washing over her. “I need your help.”
The restof the day passed in a haze of worry and activity.
After Sam called back and Evangeline did a littlegroundwork, she tried to focus on keeping Leo occupied until his dad returned.
But her nervous energy was eating away at her, so she put him in his bouncy seat where he could see her and started making a batch of gingerbread from scratch.
By the time dark fell over the house, the dough had been chilled, rolled out, cut into shapes, and baked. Hundreds of cookies cooled on every surface of the kitchen.
Evangeline had stopped her baking a dozen times to tend to Leo, but she had somehow managed to make enough cookies for a block party back in the city.
And still Grayson was nowhere to be found.
She was sorely tempted to text him. But she had a feeling it was better to leave him alone. Nothing good could come of talking to him now. Maybe she was only delaying the inevitable, but she wasn’t going to leave this place one minute earlier than she had to.
After cleaning up the kitchen and giving Leo his last bottle of the day, she got him bathed and snuggled up in his crib in a fresh pair of pajamas. There was nothing left to do but head to bed herself.
She took his monitor to her room since Grayson wasn’t home yet, and got ready for bed quickly, hoping she would have energy for Leo tomorrow, if she was still his nanny then.
She had just crawled into bed when she heard the front door close, more quietly this time.
A moment later the monitor crackled and Grayson’s big form came into view on the tiny screen. He didn’t say a word—just stood over the baby’s crib. Evangeline watched him watching over his son for a long time.
21
GRAYSON
Grayson awoke before dawn the next day after a night of tossing and turning. Without Leo’s monitor he couldn’t relax, but he didn’t want to knock on Evangeline’s door to get it.
So instead, he’d spent most of the night staring at the ceiling and praying for answers. And he was no better off now than he had been when he forced himself to lie down.
He got up quietly, showered and dressed, then slipped into Leo’s room so that when the boy woke he could take him before the monitor woke Evangeline.
Just being in Leo’s room brought a measure of peace back into Grayson’s worried soul. Even the scent of the space comforted him—baby powder, the gentle detergent Grayson used to wash Leo’s tiny clothing, and a light, milky scent that was like Leo himself.
Grayson watched his son sleep for a moment. Leo’s arms were flung out in abandon, his little bow of a mouth pursed like he was eating or blowing kisses in his sleep.
Lowering himself into a soft chair, Grayson let out a long sigh and watched the deep blue pre-dawn sky fade slowly through the window over the crib.
He must have dozed off for a few minutes, because he woke with a start to the sound of Leo chattering softly to himself.
