But I needed to talk to someone ... anyone. I was desperate.
Twenty
Chris stared out the window facing the backyard as Erykah navigated the tall pines with Charlie and a flashlight. He hated letting her go without company, but he fully understood the desire to be alone with one’s thoughts.
Lord God, whatever is going on with her, please help her sort through it. May she find You and be able to understand how You’re the answer to any question. Please comfort her. I’m not sure if she’s stressed from all the changes or if something else is on her mind. Whatever it is, please guide the way for Erykah. Be the literal flashlight in her hand, if that’s what it takes.
Because as much as Chris wanted to be out there trudging through the weeds with her, he had an equally important assignment: Ashlynn and Cheyenne. He didn’t take the trust Erykah gave him regarding her two nieces lightly. He was thankful he could be there for them all, no matter how inadequate he felt.
Taking care of both girls for the length of a walk—or however long Erykah would be outside—shouldn’t make him nervous. But it did.
Cheyenne asked so many questions, and her temperament seemed to change with the wind. Ashlynn liked him well enough, but she fed off others’ emotions and was prone to excessive crying.
He turned away from the window to see Cheyenne with her hands on her hips and her brow furrowed.Uh-oh.
“You okay, Cheye?”
“I’m hungry.”
She’d just eaten a good-sized helping of the casserole Erykah had made. How did her stomach have room for more food? “Do you want seconds?”
“No.” She tossed her curls. “I want an apple.”
That was a good snack choice. “Okay.” He grabbed one out of the fruit bowl and handed it to her.
“But...” Tears welled up in her eyes. “You didn’t cut it.”
Right.You’re dealing with little kids. Get it together.Chris grabbed his bamboo cutting board and a knife out of the block on the counter. Speaking of which...
Chris pushed the block of knives against the wall, then eyed Cheyenne, trying to measure her arm span. No way he wanted to risk her being able to reach those and possibly injure herself. He sliced the apple into eighths, cutting right through the core, then dropped the slices onto one of the colorful plastic plates Erykah had brought from her sister’s house. He set the dishware at the table in front of Cheyenne’s booster seat.
“There you go, kid.”
“You cut it wrong!” she cried. Her head tipped back, reminding Chris of one of thePeanutsgang.
All he could see was a wide mouth letting out a wail that would surely wake Ash.
He rushed to her side, hoping to hush her before Ashlynn started crying. “How? What did I do?”
“What’s that?” Cheyenne pointed to the seed in the middle of the apple. “Mommy never putthaton my plate.”
“It’s the seed.”
“Is that like a baby apple?”
It was all he could do not to tease, but the seriousness in Cheye’s gaze kept Chris quiet. He drew in a breath, trying to figure out how to keep her from rejecting the perfectly good apple.
“How about I just remove them?” He scooped up the few seeds that had landed on her plate.
He’d have to be more careful in the future. Weren’t seeds a choking hazard? Even though Cheye was bigger than Ash, she could still easily choke. Come to think of it, so could Chris or Erykah for that matter.
“There. All better.” He smiled at her. “I promise it’ll still taste like an apple.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want it.”
Chris ran a hand down his face. Of course she didn’t. Cheyenne got out of the chair and stalked out of the kitchen like she hadn’t just wasted a perfectly good apple. Though Chris would eat it. He couldn’t throw it away without a perfectly good reason.How about the fact you don’t want it?Yeah, not good enough.
Before he could reach for a slice, cries sounded on the baby monitor. Ash was awake. He headed down the steps to the basement and went straight to their room. The eight-month-old held on to the crib rail, tears rolling down her face.
