Page 10 of The Last Thing (Baker Girls #4)

CHAPTER TEN

HALLIE

I glance at the clock for the tenth time in the last two minutes.

On the list of things I don’t want to do today, facing Deck is all of them.

I told him I was pregnant, and he ran his ass out of here like it was on fire.

I get that it was a shock, but what the actual fuck?

When I saw how he was with Sophia yesterday morning, I was briefly hopeful. Maybe my baby would end up with a good dad.

Now I have no idea where we stand, but that’s why I wanted the contract signed. I don’t need to know what’s going on with us. I have a job to do, and I’m going to do it.

Grabbing my keys, I make my way across the hall and knock on the door, pleasant—if slightly robotic—smile in place.

The door swings open almost immediately, and I’m greeted by Deck’s stupidly handsome face. It’s annoying how hot he is. Especially right now.

“Hallie—”

“Good morning, Mr. Decker. Is Sophia here?”

He opens the door a little farther to let me in. “She is, but we need to?—”

“Miss Hallie!”

I smile brightly when Sophia dashes into the room and runs over to give me a hug.

Deck can go fuck himself as far as I’m concerned, but being Sophia’s nanny requires no effort. She’s a sweetheart.

“Do you know how to curl hair?”

I laugh at that. “I do. But curling irons can be a little dangerous and burn you.” Her little face falls, so I continue. “But I have a secret magic way of curling your hair while you sleep.”

Her eyes light up. “Really?”

“Yes. I can bring my secret weapon here tonight when you get ready for bed.” I look over at Deck. “If your dad’s okay with that.”

“That’s fine. We should?—”

“Daddy, you need to go to work.”

I check the time, and she’s right.

“You do. I’ve got things from here.” Walking toward him, I keep my most professional face on. “Does she have any allergies I need to know about?”

Decker’s jaw ticks for a second before he answers.

“No. Her only issue is she has sensitive skin and occasionally breaks out in hives. Don’t use any lotions or soaps that we don’t have here in the house.

And if you do her hair, don’t add any products.

If you notice any hives, usually a cool compress will do it, but we have twenty-four-hour allergy meds for mild cases and Benadryl for worse ones. If it seems really bad, obviously?—”

“Call an ambulance or get her to the ER.”

Dad mode seems to take over for him, and that’s fine by me because it’s much easier to work with.

“You’re CPR certified, right?”

“Yes. I renew it yearly to make sure I’m up to date on any new recommendations. Also, let me know if you think her hives are severe enough that I should carry an epi-pen. Now, Sophia’s right. You should get to work. But at this point, I should probably get your number. If that’s okay with you.”

The bite to my voice makes his brow furrow. He stares at me for a beat, then points to the fridge. “My number, my mom’s number, AB Construction’s number, and my boss’s number are all there, along with her pediatrician and school numbers.”

“Okay then. We’re all set. You can head to work.”

As I spin to walk away, he grabs my arm, pulling me back.

His hot breath tickles my ear as he leans in. “Tonight, we’re going to talk.”

Then he lets me go and walks over to Sophia while I try to ignore the shiver that moves through me.

Wilson Decker can go fuck himself.

Sophia is a vibrant, whip-smart kid.

She talked the whole morning, telling me all about an art project she’s working on and the dance classes she’s going to take.

Then the entire walk home today, she practiced her multiplication tables, regularly looking at me for affirmation that she was correct, which challenged the math side of my brain I haven’t used in a while.

Since her dad hadn’t had time to change her pick-up and drop-off routine yet, I walked her over to the daycare Deck’s boss’s wife runs—or so Sophia says—to get her on the bus, then picked her up there this afternoon.

I went to the store while she was gone and got some food for their apartment and for mine.

Last night, while we were working on the contract, Decker said he’s trying to get Sophia to be open to new foods, so I’m going to try one of my favorite recipes and get her in the kitchen with me. Hopefully that will help.

“Do I get to cut something?” Soph asks, as I get all the ingredients out.

“Well, the only thing to cut is these vegetables, and I have to use a really sharp knife for that. But how about you wash the green beans for me. Then we can be like an assembly line.”

“Okay.”

She grabs a stool and takes it over to the sink.

“Wash your hands first.” I set an onion on the cutting board, then grab a colander for her to use to wash the beans. “All set?”

She smiles up at me. “Yep.”

“Okay, so you don’t need to use soap while washing these, just run them under the water and scrub off any dirty bits with your fingers. If you notice there’s a long stem on the end, you can break it off.” I pull one out and show her. “Like this.”

“Got it!”

She gets to work, and I head for the cutting board, swallowing back some nausea. I kept Sophia from seeing it so far, though I almost had to throw up in a bush while I was walking her to the daycare to catch the bus.

“So, how come you moved here?” Sophia asks.

“Most of my family and friends moved to other places, and I felt a bit lonely. Did your dad tell you that Miss Frannie is my sister?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I wanted to be closer to her. Have you gotten to know her much?”

“A little. Daddy says she’s a safe person. Someone I can go to in an emergency.”

“She is. And now I am too.”

“Was it fun growing up with a sister?”

I tilt my head back and forth. “Most of the time. I actually kind of grew up with two.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Want to hear something silly?”

“Mhm.” She gives a sharp nod.

“Before I was born, my aunt and my uncle got married. Then my aunt introduced her sister—my mom—to my uncle’s brother—my dad.

And they got married too. They had so much fun that they bought a house with two apartments in it.

One on either side. And they lived there together.

So I grew up with Frannie and my parents, but I also grew up with my aunt and uncle and their daughter, my cousin Kennedy.

Since both sets of our parents are related, we’re super cousins.

But she was always more like my oldest sister instead. ”

Sophia’s smiling brightly at my story. “That must’ve been so cool.” Then her eyes drop back to the sink. “Sometimes I wish I had a sister. Or a cousin. Someone else.”

My hand instinctively drops to my stomach, then I rip it away again.

“Sometimes I feel really lonely.”

My heart breaks for her for so many reasons. I know how she feels, and here I am carrying her little sibling and I can’t even tell her. This is so fucked up.

“Are you crying?”

My gaze darts to her. “It’s the onions. They always hurt my eyes.”

She nods like she gets it, but the onions are nothing compared to my feelings right now.

“I know how it is to be lonely. That’s how I felt before I moved here.”

She drops the last bean in the colander, then turns the water off and walks over to me, throwing her arms around my waist.

“Now we have each other.”

I set the knife down and turn to her, squatting down so I can give her a proper hug.

“You bet we do.”

She holds me tightly, and it takes everything in me not to break.

But after our little vulnerable moment, she’s back to being a chatterbox while I prep the beans and onions, then get out the ingredients for the pasta.

“What else are we making?”

“It’s one of my favorite things. Pasta. But not just any pasta. It has a special sauce that’s pink. Now, remind me, do you like pink?”

I already know that answer. She loves everything glittery, pink, orange, and yellow. But she likes to pair them with black because it makes the colors pop. A girl after my own heart.

“I love it.”

“I thought so. It also has a fun ingredient.” I hold up the mustard seeds and she frowns.

“What are those?”

“Mustard seeds.”

“I don’t like mustard.”

“Trust me. These don’t taste like mustard. The flavor is mild, and they do a cool trick. When you put them in the hot pan, they dance.”

“Dance?”

“I’ll show you, but move your stool back toward the sink. The hot oil hurts if it splatters.”

She diligently does as I asked, while I pour some oil in the pan and get it heating up.

When it’s shimmering, I smile at Sophia. “Here we go. Can you see inside the pan?”

“Yes!”

I pour the mustard seeds in, and they immediately start popping and bouncing around.

“Oh my gosh. That’s so cool!”

“Cooking is fun, right?”

She nods boisterously.

“Want to know a secret?”

“Hm?” she asks, eyes bright.

“The food tastes even better when you help cook it.”

I wink at her, then get ready to add the next ingredient.

The rest of the meal comes together quickly, and since Deck isn’t home, I put it all in the oven to stay warm.

“Can I watch TV?”

I almost say yes because I’m exhausted, but then I spot the Investigators book series on the nearby bookshelf.

“How about we read for a bit?”

“Okay.”

With that, Sophia and I get cozy on the couch and read.

All the other craziness aside, it’s moments like these that I live for—that bring me peace.