Page 20 of Trust Me (Rivers Edge #1)

Maddox

Who knew entertaining a three-year-old would be so exhausting?

I’ve played Barbies, had a tea party, watched cartoons, and even played outside for a bit, and I’m pretty sure I could have lain down and napped when Brooklyn did this afternoon.

If I’m being honest with myself, I actually had a great time with the kid.

I drew the line though at playing house and dress-up.

I’m already pretty sure the pictures I caught Jake taking on his phone of me playing Barbies are going to bite me in the ass soon.

Jake and I are trying to get control over the mess in the living room, while Brooklyn sleeps in Jake’s bed, when I remember I want to tell Jake about running into Erin Anderson. “So, I ran into Erin this morning.”

Jake instantly perks up and turns to face me. “Where?” he asks, trying to sound casual and failing miserably.

“Hardware store.”

“Did she say anything to you? About anything? About me?”

“What is this, sixth grade? We BS’d about her moving back to town, though she wouldn’t tell me where she was going to be working either.

Just said that she’d be starting soon. She was buying stuff to fix up the house she’s renting.

Apparently, the landlord is cutting money off her rent if she puts a little TLC into the place. ”

“What place is she renting?”

“The old Johnson house on Third Street.”

“Really? That’s a pretty big house for one person.”

“Maybe she’s not the only one who’s living there.”

Jake looks wounded at the thought of Erin living with someone. “I didn’t see a ring on her finger.”

“There doesn’t have to be a ring on the finger to live with someone, Jake.

Erin’s gorgeous. I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t have a guy living with her.

” I see Jake’s ears turn red when I call her gorgeous, but I choose to ignore his irritation at my comment.

He’s trying very hard to hide it, and I don’t feel like calling him out on it again .

“Well, good for her, I guess,” he says as he turns back toward the pile of dolls he was picking up. After a few moments of silence, he can’t seem to help but ask, “She didn’t ask about me at all?”

I laugh out loud, hard. “Nope, sorry. I did offer to help her with any of her little home projects she’s got going on. She didn’t say anything about having someone or not who can help her, but I wanted to be polite and at least offer.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Jake thunders back at me, his face starting to turn an angry shade of red.

“Think about what?” I ask, my defenses instantly on high alert.

“Going over there and sleeping with Erin!” he booms, eyes the same color as his sister’s boring hard into mine.

“What? Dude, I’m not going to sleep with her.

She’s great looking and seems nice, but I’m not into her.

She’s not the one I want.” Before I can stop the words from flying from my mouth, they are thrown out there waiting for Jake to pounce on them.

He looks at me, huge questions written all over his face.

“Who do you want? ”

“No one.” Time to redirect. “My point is, I don’t want Erin. She’s all yours. I would never do that to you anyway, knowing you kinda have a thing for her.”

Jake’s temper simmers down as he replies, “First off, I don’t have a thing for her.

I’m not even sure I like her. She’s…I don’t know.

She’s not like anyone I usually date. And second, I know you wouldn’t try to move in on her.

You’re a great friend. I know you wouldn’t do anything to break the guy code. ”

Great. Now I feel like an even bigger pile of crap.

I would never ever do anything to hurt Jake, but I can’t seem to walk away from his sister.

I am breaking the unofficial guy code. But there’s something there that just draws me to her.

I have no response for him. Any way I respond, I’m lying to him.

So, I decide to steer the conversation another direction.

“I can’t believe one little girl could have so much stuff,” I declare as I throw the little plastic cups and saucers into the bag. “Seriously, I’ve never seen so much pink in my life.”

“And this is only a tiny part of it. You should see her room. By the way, you looked great holding that little pink teapot earlier. The guys at the station love it. ”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I already texted those pictures to the guys,” he responds with a huge grin.

I sigh heavily. I just knew he couldn’t keep that shit to himself. Some friend. I can’t help but shake my head and laugh a little because I’m pretty sure I would have done the same thing to him.

*****

I grab the ice cream that I picked up on my way home from Jake’s from the freezer and head out the door.

It’s only a few blocks walk over to Avery’s house, but I don’t mind.

The cool night air helps clear my head, and as I discovered on the walk home very early this morning, it also helps wake me up.

After I knock on the door, it takes her a few moments but Avery answers the door looking a little disheveled. Her normally long, blond hair is pulled back in a crazy sort of bun thingy and she has a wild look of worry and fear in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I ask as I close the door behind me.

“Brooklyn has a fever. It just started a little bit ago along with this deep cough. I was just going to call you and tell you not to come over. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, babe. What can I do?” I lean down and kiss the crown of her blond head.

“I just dosed her with Motrin and am getting ready to put her in a lukewarm bath. She was fine an hour ago. And now she’s coughing and whining and has a one-hundred-and-three fever!” Avery starts to tear up as she recalls the past hour with Brooklyn. “I hate it when she’s sick. I feel so helpless.”

“Come here, babe,” I urge as I pull her into my chest. She snuggles in close, resting her head on my chest, her hands around my waist. I feel so content with her pressed against me.

“What’s that? It’s cold,” she asks as she starts to squirm and pull away. I realize I still have the ice cream in my hand and just laid it against her back.

“Oh, that’s the dessert I brought for us,” I respond.

“Wait, you have ice cream? That might be good to help cool her.” She grabs the carton from my hand and pulls me into the kitchen.

“I’m going to go get her in the bathtub for a little bit. Can you dish her out a small scoop of ice cream, please?”

“Of course. Whatever you need.”

Avery takes off toward Brooklyn’s bedroom, and I set out to dish up some ice cream.

Her kitchen’s pretty small so it doesn’t take me too long to find her bowls and utensils.

I can hear Brooklyn start crying when she’s placed in the bathtub.

It’s hard for me to hear so I can’t imagine how Avery’s holding up back there.

After the bowls are dished up and put in the freezer to keep frozen, I head back toward the bathroom to see if I can lend a hand.

I slowly step into the doorway, not really sure where to look or what to say.

“Maddox!” Brooklyn stops whining long enough to holler at me.

So, I walk into the little bathroom and crouch down next to Avery, who is using a cup to cover her daughter with water.

“I sick.” She starts to whimper again and has this glassy, empty look in her eyes.

“I know, kiddo. Your mommy’s gonna try to make you feel better.”

“We pway,” she says and hands me a cup that’s floating in the water.

Play in the tub? She might as well have spoken a foreign language.

Since I have no idea what I’m doing, I dip the cup down into the water and poor it into another floating cup.

We continue to pour water back and forth between all the floating cups while Avery continues to gently dump water over Brooklyn’s head, back, and chest. Before I know it, Brooklyn and I are playing happily while she takes her bath.

She’s oblivious to the fact that all of this is an effort to try to bring down her fever.

“She hasn’t coughed since she’s been in here,” Avery says as she pours water over her head one last time. “She’s been in a while, so I can probably get her out now.” I reach down and release the drain as Avery stands Brooklyn up and wraps the towel around her.

“Come on, baby girl. Let’s get a T-shirt on and then we’ll go have some ice cream that Maddox brought over.”

“Ice cweam! I want chocowate ice cweam!”

Avery winks at me as she heads across the hall to Brooklyn’s bedroom.

I finish picking up the remains of the bath and head back into the kitchen.

Pulling out the bowls I stuck in the freezer, I set all three bowls of chocolate chip ice cream on the kitchenette and wait.

I hear Brooklyn before I see her as she runs around the corner and grabs on to my leg.

I pick her up and start to put her in her booster seat at the table, but she won’t let go of me.

She’s clutching onto my neck like she’s afraid I’m leaving forever.

“I sit wiff you,” she says in a small voice. How in the hell can I deny her that? I can’t. Period. So, I sit down and place her on my lap. I reach for the small bowl I had just set down in front of her seat and hand her the spoon. She digs in with gusto.

I look up and notice Avery staring at us, watching very closely. When she meets my gaze, she gives me a little smile. I slide the second bowl in front of her chair and point at her to sit. She does, and together we sit quietly eating our ice cream.

“She’s going to need another bath,” Avery says.

“That’s what I had planned after ice cream tonight. Though, she wasn’t factored into my original plans,” I share coyly with a half grin.

“Sorry tonight got all messed up.”

“It didn’t. It might not have gone exactly as I was planning, but this is just as good.” I take another bite of the ice cream and give her a big smile.