I looked at the clock and was floored that it was a few minutes past time for the office to close. Shaking my head, I got to my feet and padded across the office to grab the phone on Beck’s desk. “Go on. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You’re an angel, girl.”
Ignoring her, I answered the phone. “Hello?”
Beck’s voice wasn’t any less frustrated. “Fucking plane is still delayed. I’m sorry, Win. If I give you Sawyer’s address, will you take the kids there? His boys got sent home early, and he’s got the nanny there helping. You can use a car service.”
I turned my back to the kids so they wouldn’t see my stressed expression. I didn’t need to spend more time with the kids I was quickly falling for. I didn’t need to see Sawyer again either. “Sure, Beck.”
He groaned. “I owe you so much, Win. How’s Olive? Is she pissed?”
I glanced back at her and found her frowning while clearly trying to listen to my conversation. “Maybe.”
“Fuck.” I could hear his stress so clearly. “Once again, I’ve managed to shit the bed. Thanks for taking care of them for me. I’ll text you the address.”
I dropped the phone back in the cradle and took a moment to fix my face into a smile before turning back to the kids. “Guess what? You get to go to Sawyer’s house for a bit.”
Arlo cheered and did a dancing jump move. “Uncle Sawyer’s house is the best!”
Olive pushed the picture she’d been drawing away from herself and scowled. “Whatever.”
My heart ached for her. My dad had never missed a single thing. He’d been there for me until the day he died. It was what hurt with the way Matthew had just walked away from Birdie, too. I knew what having a good father was like. Everyone deserved it. I didn’t think Beck could be as bad as Matthew, but it was clear that Olive was used to him letting her down. It made him seem a little less shiny, that was for sure.
I pulled out my cellphone. I had to rearrange my own childcare before I could do anything.
26
Winnie
“Whatisthis?”Arlo’s amazed voice took some of the sting out of the fact that he couldn’t seem to understand what Big Ham was.
“It’s a truck.” I had to admit, seeing them on the bench seat of Big Ham was amusing. They’d clearly never seen a vehicle that didn’t come with automatic everything.
Olive giggled. “Uncle Jack has a truck. This isn’t a truck. This is a dinosaur. It even sounds like one.”
Arlo mimicked the sound of the truck turning and included a few trademark dinosaur hand moves. “I love it!”
I laughed along with them and let myself enjoy the moment, since I couldn’t change it. Mom had been on for watching Birdie until I picked her up, but then she had a yoga class that I didn’t even want to think about, as it involved heat, nakedness, and some white-washed version of the kama sutra for people in their fifties. Gabe had a hot date and basically told me to take a flying leap, so, I was gathering my own child before driving back to the city to drop Olive and Arlo off.
Did I want to mix my two worlds even more than they’d already mixed in one day? No. Not even a little bit. However, there wasn’t a way around it, and I didn’t want to be a sourpuss around the kids. They didn’t deserve to have to be around my bad mood.
A part of me was eager to see their reaction to Mom’s home, too. It was so obvious the two of them had been sheltered from things in life that weren’t of a higher class. While I considered Mom as high class as it got, I knew her trailer would be a magical sight to Olive and Arlo. Big Ham had amazed them, and he was barely abnormal.
Sure enough, the moment I pulled through Mom’s trees and they saw her home, their squeals of delight filled the truck. Even Olive, who’d tried her best to stay mad after her dad failed to show up on time, was laughing wildly and pointing at different pieces of art around Mom’s property. When Birdie ran down the porch steps, her new hot pink clip-in extension blowing in the wind behind her, Olive’s eyes widened even farther.
Birdie was in full summer mode. She was wearing a pair of bright yellow leggings, a rainbow tank top that Gabe had added fringe and beads to, and a headband that made her my mother’s child, without a doubt. She looked like a little flower child, and the cowboy boots on her feet just added to it, as they were also hot pink. With her pink hair, she was definitely wilder than Olive was used to.
I opened the door and got out to catch Birdie in a hug. “Hey, babe. Love the outfit.”
She kissed my cheek and then wiggled down to climb right into the truck. She sat facing the other two kids and introduced herself like she was twenty. “Birdie Lane. Good to meet ya.”
Arlo was stumped, but Olive tilted her head. “I’m Olive. You’re named after a bird?”
Birdie snorted. “And you’re named after the bad pizza topping.”
I prepared for the worst, but Olive just grinned and shrugged. I saw the instant bond happen and wasn’t sure if I was over the moon or frustrated that things just kept getting more tangled.
“Freddie! Take the van. Big Ham isn’t made for that many babies.” Mom strolled down her steps in a complete faux fur set, sports bra and mini-skirt. Somehow, she made it work. “I’ll take the truck tonight. Your father will understand.”