“That’s what I asked too,” Aspen says.
“Boys,” Daisy hisses, “you’re going to wake her up.”
“No, I’m not,” Aspen says. “I’m the baby whisperer. Don’t you know that?” He points at Liam and Oliver. “These two know.”
Oliver’s kid, Stella, is six years old—the absolute love of his life. Her mom passed during childbirth, so he’s been raising heralone ever since. The guy is a saint. Still won’t date. Puts all his energy into Stella and baseball, which he plays professionally.
But right now, he looks shaken.
I take a seat at Daisy’s feet, letting her drop them onto my lap. “Alright,” I say. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
“There’s something going on with Stella,” Oliver says.
“Nothing is wrong with her,” Lucas mutters, hood up, baseball cap backwards, staring at his phone. “I already told you.”
Aspen opens his mouth, but I hold up a hand. “Not you.”
Oliver lets out a long breath. “I got a call from Stella’s school before the end of the year. They said she won’t stop crying in class. So I brought it up to her counselor. One thing led to another, and…we think she has a learning disability.”
“Oh.” I lean back. “Have you gotten her tested yet?”
“That’s what I asked,” Aspen chimes in.
Oliver narrows his eyes at him. “We’re waiting for the appointment.”
“Okay,” I say. “Then what’s the problem?”
“There’s nothing wrong with her,” Lucas says again. “Just means she learns differently.”
“Exactly,” I say. “She has us. She’s got support.”
Aspen smacks my arm. “Dude, that’s what I said!”
I roll my eyes. “Great. I’m on the same page as Aspen. For once.”
Oliver runs a hand through his hair. “I’m just…worried. I barely have time as it is, and now there’s something else, and I don’t want to screw this up.”
“That’s understandable,” Daisy says gently. “But a disability doesn’t mean something is wrong. It means something is different. Once she’s tested, we’ll know how to help her.”
Lucas looks up from his phone for the first time. “The internet is no help. There are a hundred possibilities from what you described.”
“Right,” Mateo adds. “We’re not googling anything. We’re waiting for the professionals.”
“Whatever she needs,” I say, “I can help. My schedule’s flexible, especially now.” I glance at the baby and smile. “And I like having an excuse to hang out with her.”
Aspen snorts. “Yeah, right. Like you’re gonna hang out with a child.”
“I can hang out with kids,” I say defensively. “I’m good with kids.”
Liam shrugs. “He actually is. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him this happy. Those girls he coaches make him really happy.”
“Thanks, bud.”
Aspen smirks. “Are you sure it’s the girls he’s coaching? Or is it the girl he’s seeing?”
All heads whip toward me.
I am going to fucking kill him.
