Page 5 of Gabriel & Skye

I’ve been juggling more balls than I care to think about since Tiffany left me. I compartmentalized my life in stages when my life turned to shit, and I guess I was afraid of what would happen if I dropped one of those balls.

My family has always been supportive of me, but I’ve carried the burden of what happened between me and Tiffany on my own. I hid a lot of it. My unhappiness at my marriage ending, and the shock of being left with a small baby to care for on my own will forever haunt me. It’s just not what you expect to happen when you bring a new life into the world, even without planning.

I love Trinity more than I love anything, and we’ve made it work, just the two of us.

I couldn’t have made it without my family, though. My parents have been a godsend.

I even see Tiffany’s parents on the regular since they live about an hour out of Stoney Creek. I didn’t think it was fair that they should miss out on seeing their grandchild because their daughter went rogue and moved to Nashville, leaving us all behind. They’ve been very good about everything and we get along. Thank Christ.

They love picking her up from kindergarten whenever they can and spending time with her.

“Me and Gray have had sibling rivalry since we were old enough to walk, sis. It wouldn’t be normal if we didn’t fight sometimes,” I say.

One thing is certain; I was never so happy to see my brother that night of the fire when me and Brooklyn helped pull them out. When I saw the smoke from my house I rushed over, trying frantically to call Gray. We buried the hatchet then and there. That’s when he decided to tell me he was never vying for CEO and couldn’t care less about it. All my brother wants in his immediate future is his family. Even I got a lump in my throat over that one.

“It’s kinda strange what we consider normal in this family.” Georgia sighs.

“True.” I glance up at her from my computer screen. “Was there a specific thing you wanted me for, or are you just killing time because you’re bored?”

She scoffs. “As if I have time to be bored. I had an idea.”

The corner of my mouth pulls up as I smile. Georgia runs the marketing side of the business. She helps out in the tasting room, training new staff, and in our retail store, where Celeste recently came to manage and design our new branding and staff uniforms.

“God help us.”

“You need a new nanny. ASAP.”

As If I needed reminding. “Yeah, and?”

She huffs. “I already told you about Skye, and yet here you sit.”

“Who?” I frown, thinking back.

“You know, Aunt May’s friend; Dot’s Granddaughter and Travis’ sister. She just arrived in town. I told you about her. She’s looking for work and she’s great with kids.”

I sigh and run my hand over my face. I suppose now I think about it, she did mention something, but I’ve been in denial about Geraldine retiring. “I’ve had a lot on my plate. I can’t remember everything,” I mumble. To say I’ve been fussy about the applications for the new nanny role is a complete understatement. But can anyone blame me? Geraldine has been my lifeline for so long, and Trinity loves her, so the fact she won’t be around in the way she has been over the years is a hard pill to swallow.

Trinity is my reason for living. She has been for the past five years. Everything I do is for her. I may have been a little wild for a few years after the realization that my wife wasn’t coming back and refused to take my calls. She ended up in Seattle or so I heard, and, according to her parents, has just finished furthering her studies just like she wanted to, extending her career into Cardiothoracic Surgery.

My sister likes to call me a ‘reformed bad boy’. Trust me, I wasn't like that when married. But I got a little loose on the weekends when Trin was with my parents. Every second weekend I got to be me again, and I took liberties. Drinking too much. Getting into fights. Fucking anything that moved. That was then, though. This is now.

I’m in a much better place now. And I have my family to thank for all of it.

My daughter has gotten me through the darkest days of my life. None of it was easy, but it’s made me a better man. A much stronger one — some would say it made me harder, and more difficult — but deep down, I needed to protect myself. I never want to be blindsided or hurt like that again. If I never let anyone in, then that can’t happen. And I don’t intend to.

“Why don’t I set up an interview for you?”

I think about it for a moment. “What do you know about her?”

“She has qualifications in early childhood studies.”

I raise an eyebrow. “That’s a stroke of luck.”

She rolls her eyes. “As far as I know, she’s back for a few months, so it won’t be a long-term thing, but it might get you through until you can find a replacement. It isn’t like Stoney Creek is crawling with available nannies.”

It is helpful that Trin started kindergarten this year, but I still need after-school care and days in between. Somebody part-time would work out well.

“I’ll check her out. Send me her details.”

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