He reached out with one arm before she could turn and leave and he tugged her gently to come inside. ‘I have but I don’t mind you being here. I could use the company.’
She closed the door behind her and followed him into the lounge. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Absolutely.’ And right now, he really needed a friend.
She took one look at him and then at Eva and held out her arms. ‘Give her to me for a bit; sometimes a change is good. If you’re tense, she’ll pick up on it.’
He expected Eva to make a fuss as he handed her over, but she didn’t; she nuzzled her head against Maya’s neck as if she knew her.
‘It’s been a day,’ he told Maya, but the way she looked at him had him adding, ‘Who am I kidding? It’s been months of total chaos and not knowing what the hell I’m doing.’
‘I know the feeling.’ Maya seemed content holding Eva. Perhaps she needed the cuddle too.
‘How long can you stay?’
‘A while,’ she smiled.
‘Then we’re going to need coffee, hot chocolate or a beer.’
‘Hot chocolate, please,’ she said softly, the little girl still in her arms, lulled into what looked very much like a wind-down routine. Maya had the magic touch.
While he made the hot chocolates, Maya went into the lounge. From where he was, he heard the soft strains of Maya singing a lullaby and by the time he went through with the two mugs, Eva had fallen asleep.
Noah led the way to Eva’s bedroom, which was already dimly lit, and Maya lowered her inside the cot before he pulled up the rail as quietly as possible.
They tiptoed away, collected the hot chocolates from the lounge and headed out back. He excused himself straight away though and went back to put the chain on the front door, have a peep through the curtains to be sure there was no sign of Paul.
When he joined Maya again on the back porch, he talked as though everything was fine. ‘I didn’t expect to see you this evening.’
‘It was spur of the moment. One minute, I was exhausted and pissed off with Conrad, then I was in the bath trying to relax, then I was dressed and coming here.’
He knew he shouldn’t be thinking it when he had so much other stuff on his mind, but he liked the connection between her in the bath and then coming to see him.
‘What’s he done this time?’ It was easier to focus on someone else’s problems than delve into his own, at least for tonight.
‘Nothing different to usual.’ She sounded weary and he wondered how long this guy had been a pain for her; had it been their whole marriage? ‘It’s wearing me down, that’s all.’
Noah took a sip of hot chocolate, in far more need of this than a beer. Having Eva had been a massive change in the obvious ways – moving here to Whistlestop River, exchanging a bachelor pad for a cottage, having responsibility. But being a parent to his niece had subtly softened his edges too – he made sure he got asmuch sleep as he could so that he was alert and available for Eva, he spent more time at home between shifts, and now he chose hot chocolate rather than alcohol.
There was a gentle breeze out here on the back porch and it was still light but cool, so at least he wouldn’t have to worry about Eva waking because she was too hot.
Maya’s fingers threaded through the handle of her mug. ‘How did it go with Eva’s biological father?’ One look told her all she needed to know. ‘That bad?’
He ran a free hand across the back of his neck. ‘He floated the idea that instead of him going for custody, we come to some sort of arrangement.’
She sat forwards. ‘That could be a really good thing. Visitation rights. Then you’ll keep Eva in your life, you both get to see her, she’ll have two father figures.’
‘Yeah, don’t get too excited. That wasn’t exactly what he meant.’ Tension built inside him again. ‘Byarrangement,Paul meant that I pay him a sum of money – twenty thousand – and he’ll drop his case for child custody. He’ll disappear again, so he says.’
Maya’s reaction was almost the same as his had been when Paul suggested it – at least in terms of shock. She probably didn’t have the same urge to punch the guy in the face, though.
‘He wants you to pay him to keep Eva in your life? What a lowlife, and that’s way too polite for him. Who does that?’
The biggest dickhead to walk the earth?
‘Not anyone nice or a person with morals. I could’ve strangled him when he said it. It’s lucky for him I was holding Eva.’
‘Surely you say no and when he tries to get custody, you let your lawyer know what he suggested. That shows exactly what type of man he is: not the sort you want parenting a young child, no matter the blood ties.’
