a twenty-four-hour thing.” Maggie waved her hand as if waving away his concern would be that easy. “We only have—” she squinted at her watch and sighed “—five more hours to go.”
“Mommy!” Amber’s voice was rough and had an edge of panic to it.
Maggie snapped to attention and changed before his eyes. The sleep was gone as she raced into the living room. He followed, trying to make sense of all of this in his mind. He’d left them last night and everything had been fine.
“It’s okay, baby. Let’s get you to the bathroom.” As she passed him on the way, she seemed to realize he was there. “You should go home, Brady. You don’t want to get sick.”
Amber tried to smile at him but her face was pale and sweaty. They went into the bathroom and Maggie closed the door.
Brady stood undecided. Should he go? Maggie seemed to think so, but from the looks of it both she and Amber were on their last legs. He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the dining room chair.
Returning to the kitchen, he made short work of the few dishes in the sink and started some water to boil. The bathroom door opened and Maggie’s murmured words caught his ear. He could almost imagine her rubbing Amber’s back and saying those things only a mother could say when you were sick.
At seventeen, he’d done the same for his mother, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. But this was different. Amber was young and this wasn’t cancer. Kids got sick all the time. His grip tightened on the plate in his hands.
She’d be all right.
“You’re still here.” Maggie sank into the chair at the table and laid her head on her arms.
“Yeah, I’m still here.” He finished drying the plate and set it in the cabinet. “Where’s Amber?”
“Sleeping on the couch.” Maggie couldn’t stifle the yawn that made the words come out nearly unintelligible. “You should really…”
Brady sat at the table next to her. “It’s okay. I’m here. What do you need?”
Her eyes were shut but a partial smile lit her face. “Sleep.”
He stood and lifted her out of her chair. Her eyelids popped wide-open for a second before lowering again. She put her arms around his neck as he carried her in his arms up the stairs.
She snuggled closer as he passed by the open door to Amber’s room. Purple walls, a single bed with a purple-flowered cover on it, a shelf full of kids’ books. Taped to the walls were art projects progressing from thick lines of paint in no particular pattern to recognizable representations of owls, monkeys, houses.
Hundreds of questions fell over each other to get his attention. Things he’d never thought of before. What was Amber’s first word? When did she walk for the first time? Who had been there to catch her when she fell trying? What did she want to be when she grew up? How much time had Sam spent with her? Getting to know his niece? Who was going to hold her when someone broke her heart for the first time? Who was going to check out her dates to make sure they were good enough for her? Where would he be when her next firsts happened?
“You can put me down.”
Brady gentled his hold on Maggie but didn’t release her. Her hazel eyes were half-open. Who would be there for Maggie? “You’re exhausted.”
“Am not.” Yawns bracketed her words.
One of the other doors had to be hers. He carried her to the next door and pushed it open. A light floral scent wafted over him. His fingers clenched into her. When he was sixty, he’d remember this scent, Maggie’s scent. It tickled his nose and played with his senses, making him wish that Maggie weren’t so tired and their child wasn’t sick on the couch downstairs.
Draped in a multicolored quilt, a queen-size bed dominated the small, light blue room. The room was immaculate. Full of color. Almost picture-perfect. Just like Maggie.
Lowering her to the bed, he sat on the edge. Her eyes had drifted shut as she snuggled into the bed instead of against him. Coldness seeped into him where her warmth had been.
“Sleep, Maggie.” He stroked a strand of hair out of her face. “Let me take on the responsibility for a while.”
She mumbled in her sleep. He dropped a kiss on her temple before standing and heading downstairs.
Amber lay on the couch with a worn-out stuffed pig in her arms. She gazed at him with her wide, blue eyes. “Is Mommy okay?”
“Just tired.” He moved to the end of the couch where her feet were and looked at her expectantly.
She pulled her feet in, leaving enough room for him. “At least I wasn’t at school when I puked.”
As he settled, she stretched out, her feet in his lap. “No one had to dodge your splattering?”
A small smile appeared. “You want to watch a movie with me?”
“Sure.” For the moment, Brady was content to be with Amber and to let Maggie catch up on her sleep. Work pressed slightly at his mind, but he squashed it. Amber needed him to be here. Much as he hated to admit, the company would be fine without him even for a few hours or a few days.
Maggie stretched in bed. But when she opened her eyes, she could only make out the shadows of her bedposts and dresser. Bolting upright, she rushed out of her room and into Amber’s. Her bed was empty. Her alarm clock read ten o’clock.
Downstairs. Amber must be downstairs. Maggie rushed down the stairs, not entirely sure she actually stepped on every tread. She barely noticed the dishes drying in the rack as she passed by the kitchen and stopped in the living room doorway.
The TV was barely loud enough to hear it, but that’s not what caught her attention. Propped up by pillows, Brady was sprawled on her couch asleep. Amber was fast asleep tucked on the couch beside him with her head resting over his heart. A small wet spot had formed on Brady’s black shirt under her slack mouth.
Maggie leaned against the doorjamb as her heart settled to a normal pace again. She glanced at the TV, which had returned to the main menu of the DVD that it was playing. Rapunzel, one of Amber’s favorites.
No cell phone or laptop in sight. Had the New York Brady honestly watched a kid’s movie without his precious phone to connect him to his office? Had he really carried Maggie upstairs and put her to bed? Warmth spread to her face. Had he seen her without makeup and her hair looking like a whacked-out version of Medusa?
Had she dreamed the gentle kiss to her temple? Lord knows, she’d had plenty of dreams about Brady, but none of those stopped at her temple.
A rustling brought her out of her head. She held her breath as Amber shifted slightly. Brady’s snores died for a second. They both settled into sleep. Quietly, Maggie grabbed her camera and took a picture.
She slipped out of the room and headed into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat before she returned to bed.
“Brady says we can go to the park and maybe stop by Penny’s to visit Flicker.” Amber bounced in her seat at the table.
“Eat your pancakes.” Maggie avoided looking at Brady as she put a plate of pancakes in front of him. He’d told them the story of his phone and the cow while she’d gotten the batter ready. Amber’s appetite was back now that she was feeling better.
“How are you doing?” The words sounded almost tender. Holy crap, was that concern in Brady’s eyes?
She stumbled slightly on her way to the stove. “I’m fine.”
“If you need some