Knowing it’s likely one of the girls, I scramble to the end of the bed in search of where I left it.
Fishing it out of my pocket, I see the caller and apologize to Faye. “Sorry. This is Sloane.”
Pulling the blanket closer to her chest, she shrugs. “Take it. I don’t mind.”
On the fourth ring, I crawl back up the bed to sit beside her and answer, “Hey, Sloane,” as I settle against my headboard.
“Hey, Dad.” From her tone alone, I sense something is up.
“What’s going on?” I ask, sitting straighter.
Sloane lets out a huff of frustration. “Jax just had to change his flight from LA this afternoon, and I’m due to fly out to New York in a few hours.”
“Okay…” I draw out. That doesn’t seem this stressful.
Then she adds, “And my sitter just cancelled due to a family emergency. Any chance you can watch the boys until Jax returns?”
“Uhhh…” I draw out as disappointment sets in. There goes any plans I could’ve made with Faye today.
Giving Faye an apologetic smile, I return my attention to the phone. “Sure… I’ll uh… Just need to shower and get ready. Want me to pick them up from your place in about an hour?”
“Shower?” Sloane’s voice rises as if I just told her I had three heads.
“Yeah… I… Uh… got a late start this morning,” I admit.
Reaching for Faye’s hand, I mouth, "Sorry," to assure her I’m not blowing her off.
“Oh, my… Has hell frozen over?” Sloane sputters in disbelief.
Faye must hear her because she covers her mouth to hold back a laugh.
“Shut it, smartass!” There’s no way in hell I’m telling my daughter why I’m still in bed at this hour, so I do what I do best: deflect. “If you want my help, it’s best you stop picking on me. How long will you need me to watch the twins?”
Regardless of how long she needs, Sloane knows she can count on me.
After my retirement, I vowed to myself to make up for lost time. If given a choice, I will always be here when my girls need me most. That’s the entire reason I returned to Seaside in the first place.
“Uh…” Sloane draws out, and I can hear the wheels spinning in her head as she mentally goes through their crazy schedules. She’s working her way up the chain at the record label. Thanks to her and Jax’s talent, his band, Ruby Frax, keeps topping the charts, and they’re as popular as ever.
“Jax and the guys’ music video got delayed due to weather. He should be home by tomorrow, or the next day, tops. I’m meeting with a new artist in New York after catching them live at their concert tomorrow night, then following up with another the next day. If we weren’t so close to the music festival here in Seaside next month, I’d cancel my trip. But I’d really like this act to perform.”
“I’ve got you,” I assure her. “I’ll pick the boys up and bring them to my place. You just take your time and do what you need to do back east.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She sighs heavily into the phone. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Oh, you’d manage,” I assure her. That girl has always been so goal-driven. She has more determination in her little toe than people have in a lifetime. If she so much as thinks it, Sloane will find a way to make her desires happen.
“What about Raven? Will she need help on the home front if Finn’s stuck in LA?”
“I don’t think so. Her girls have a special day camp this week for dance, and she’s been working from home. She’s got a big design she’s working on, so I’m sure she’s busy with that, but it’s nothing too out of the ordinary.”
“I’ll reach out and see how things are doing later today. Maybe I’ll invite them over for some cousin time this evening.”
“You know if you do that, you’ll end up with the whole lot of them, right?” Sloane warns with a laugh. “Only you don’t get to send Jason and Josh home after you’ve wound them up.”
Her boys are spunky and full of energy as it is, but I’ll never turn down any time I get with my grandchildren. “I’ve commanded thousands of airmen. I’m sure I can handle my rowdy squadron.”
“Ha…” she snorts loudly into the phone. “But your troops never batted their eyelashes or had you wrapped around their fingers. I swear, my boys practically get away with murder, compared to what you let us do as kids.”
