A fresh eruption of giggles echoed down the hall, and it eased some of my worries. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe those anxieties were gone for good, but for now, I had more important things to focus on.
“Don’t put pressure on yourself, Kellie. You don’t have to figure it all out today. Give yourself some time. Give Jake time. Try to go with the flow,” Mom suggested, wrapping her arms around me, giving me one of those hugs only a mother could give.
“You know I’m not good at going with the flow,” I grumbled.
“I know, but you know what… for Cassie, you have to try.”
“For Cassie, I will,” I promised.
“And for you?”
“And for me,” I agreed, knowing it would be hard, but I had to try.
“Whoa!” Jake’s voice carried down the hall, and suddenly, I knew where I wanted to be, and it wasn’t standing here talking to Mom.
Mom must’ve noticed the change in my focus as well because I felt her hand on the small of my back as she nudged me toward the door.
Having spent time in the bathroom with Cassie before, I knew what to expect. After stopping in my bedroom, I pulled off my shoes and tossed my socks in the hamper before pulling all my hair up in a ponytail on the top of my head. Adding a swipe of lip gloss before realizing what I’d done, I shook my head and followed the noise.
Stepping around the corner, I couldn’t help but smile. All my frustrations with Jake’s unexpected appearance were gone. He was kneeling on the floor beside the bath, tipping a plastic pink cup of water over Cassie’s head only to earn him a shriek of laughter. It was the best sound in the world.
Leaning on the doorframe, I listened as they chatted about their day, and when Jake told Cassie about collecting the eggs from the chickens, I’ve never seen her more excited. She wanted to know everything about them from their names to their colors before asking if she could come and collect the eggs.
“We’ll have to talk to your mom,” Jake deflected, and a rush of relief consumed me. Mom was right. Jake was a good guy, and he was trying to do the right thing. He might not have been a dad for more than a few days, but so far, he was doing amazing. I had no doubt he’d stumble—we all did—but I appreciated him not making promises he wasn’t sure he could keep.
“Mom!” Cassie squealed with a splash, drenching Jake and making his thin gray T-shirt cling to his muscles.
Blinking away the lusty Jake-induced fog, I focused on Cassie. “What’s going on here?” I questioned, my eyes bouncing between them, both looking guilty.
“I’m having a bath,” Cassie sassed, complete with eye roll, and Jake bit his fist to stop from snickering. He didn’t need words to tell me what he was thinking. It was written all over his sexy face.
“Having a bath, huh?”
“Well, we were trying,” Jake defended, rising to his feet, towering over me.
“So why are you soaked?” I asked Jake, handing him a towel.
“Yeah, um…”
Sheepish Jake was adorable. Wet Jake was sexy. And Daddy Jake had the power to completely destroy me.
“Well, I think Gran has dinner ready. Are you ready to get out, miss?” I asked, focusing on Cassie and not the way Jake’s cologne assaulted my senses and made my heart race.
Lifting Cassie from the bath, I wrapped her towel around her and sent her scurrying toward her room to get dressed before getting to work to clean up the mess.
“Let me,” Jake offered, reaching out and wrapping his hand around my wrist, the warmth of his skin seeping in. Feeling a flush warm me, I needed to put a lid on this and keep things moving forward.
“It’s fine. I’ve got this. But if you want to help, you could go check on Cass and make sure she gets dressed.”
“Why do I feel like I’m being set up here?” Jake asked, and I answered him with a wink.
He was about to see who Cass could really be. She wasn’t a naughty kid, but she was mischievous, and the ten minutes after she got out of the bath was the witching hour in our house. For some reason, one I didn’t understand, Cass had developed a habit of running through the house singing, completely buck naked.
Jake didn’t look convinced, but he dropped his hold on me and left me standing there on a soggy bathmat, grinning like a loon.
By the time I finished putting the bathroom back together, I balled up Cassie’s dirty clothes and the wet towels, carried them down the hall, and tossed them in the washing machine.
Sitting together for dinner was weird. There was no other way to describe it. It was so comfortable. So domestic. I knew it would be very easy to get used to, and trying to rein in my feelings wasn’t as easy.
