Nate(27)

I had shit to do and a child to take care of now. End it all.

All that was gone in the blink of an eye.

“Quince?”

I heard Nova crying in the distance and moved for her. My voice sounded like it was coming from so far away, not from me. “I need to go to Nova. I’m sure she’s scared.”

“Uh. No.” Ricci was frowning but stepped aside. “Nova’s here, and she’s happy as can be.”

I heard a baby crying.

Whose baby was that? But it didn’t matter. Nova was smiling and trying to pull out chunks of Nate’s sister’s hair. I thought she stopped doing that, but I guess she hadn’t. Now she was trying to put Miss Penguin inside Aspen’s head.

I stepped forward, smoothly taking Nova to me and cuddling her against my chest. “Heya, little Nova Beanie. How are you doing?”

She took one look at me and started shrieking.

I closed my eyes, leaning forward to rest my forehead against her shoulder. I wanted a second, one second, and then I’d let her down. She wanted to run, and she probably wanted to eat.

“I have some milk in a bag for her.” I looked at Aspen. “Could we warm some of that for her?”

Nova was still shrieking in my arms.

Aspen and Ricci shared a look.

“Uh. Quince.” They must’ve come to an unspoken decision because Ricci stepped forward and moved to take Nova from me. “I can see the kitchen from here, so how about I go and warm Nova some milk? Aspen will show you where your rooms are and everything. You can get settled in, too.”

I was in a daze, but I noticed that Ricci was reaching into my pocket for something.

My phone.

She handed that off to Aspen, who tucked it into her pocket and smiled brightly at me. “For Logan. Just thinking ahead.”

He would need to hear from me, though. That was my thought about Duke, about when he would call, but a wave of exhaustion hit me. Could someone be both ready to run a marathon and sleep forty-eight hours all at once?

The front door opened, and Nate came in first.

His eyes found me, darkening. His lips thinned, but he didn’t say anything. His arms were completely full of our bags. He deposited them on the floor and turned to head right back out. His friend was coming behind him, doing the same.

Aspen gently touched my arm. “This way.”

We had staff who did that stuff.

I frowned, going with her. “I don’t remember the last time I saw my father carry someone else’s bag for them.”

That was an odd thing, right? Was I wrong?

I blinked a few times, noticing the hallway now.

The floors were hardwood. The walls were painted white with no paintings or pictures. It was a bare wall, but all of a sudden, I remembered that he just bought the place. Hell, he was getting settled in himself.

I hadn’t asked about the house.

Was it safe for Nova?

Had he baby-proofed everything?

What kind of paint was on the walls? Were those lights LED?

“Did Nate go through all the rooms here?”

Aspen put a hand on my arm, and she must’ve heard the alarm in my voice because she said soothingly, “He did. We walked through everything together. We looked at every wall socket. All the furniture was bought with rounded and soft ends, and the ones that aren’t have been baby-proofed.” She stepped closer, making sure to look me in the eyes. “The house is safe. That was very important to Nate. I promise.”

“But that was fast, wasn’t it? How did you get that all done?”

“It’s still in the process of being purchased, but the previous owners okayed us to move in ahead of the closing date. And it happened fast because I still know a lot of people in the area. I made calls.”

“Calls?” I didn’t let her finish. “Us?”

“You and Nate. Nate. And all the guests who are going to be here.”

Right. Because he had a tribe behind him, and I had Ricci and Emily.

“I have a small tribe, too.”

Phillip.

That was it. Those three.

Was that sad?

That was definitely sad.

I stopped and turned. “Am I wrong in doing this?”

Aspen’s eyes were wide, taking me in. She bit down on her lip and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. It was already there, so her movement was a nervous gesture. She seemed to rock back on her heels as she thought of a response, at least until her eyes suddenly grew more focused. “No.”

I waited to see if she had more to say.

She didn’t. It was a simple no.

I jerked a nod. “Okay.”

She nodded back, her shoulders loosening. “Okay.” She started forward again. “Nate thought you might want your own section with your own entrance.” She went past a large living room, going down the long hallway until it divided. She pointed to the right. “That goes to Nate’s bedroom.” She went left, and I saw that we stepped into an apartment. Or at least it looked like its own apartment.

There was a living room. A kitchen. A small dining room. Farther past was a small hallway. There was a big bedroom. She continued to the left, showing me another attached area.

She gestured toward a door and another door. “This is where your guest bedroom can be.” Emily stepped out from it, her bags now covering the bed.