Page 7 of Crossed Up

“Oh, that?” she asks innocently. “Finding qualified nannies for professional athletes is hard enough as is, but some of those women see them as mountains and do whatever they have to do to climb them, if you catch my drift. Aidan is extremely protective of his son and his space so when he came home to yet another nanny almost naked in his bed while Crew slept down the hall? He’s real hesitant to try again with that agency.”

My apprehension about meeting with Aidan and his son melts away like a popsicle left in the sun. I know exactly how it feels to have your space invaded against your will, and if there’s a possibility to take care of a sweet kid, use my degrees, and also make sure someone else feels safe in their own home? I’m going to do it.

“When can I meet them?”

3

AIDAN

My no-nonsense glare unsurprisingly doesn’t phase my friend through the small screen on my phone, but her too-innocent smile sure as hell grates my nerves. “So you’re telling me you invited a near stranger to my house to interview to be my son’s nanny? Did the cheese slide off your cracker since I last saw you?”

When Wren told me she had a crazy idea but didn’t clarify beyond “I might have a solution to your problem,” I idiotically assumed she meant keeping Crew with her in the offices or something during practices and games, not letting someone she’s known barely one year into my life and home.

Rolling her eyes, the meddling blonde pushes up her dark sunglasses and levels me with her own version of a glare. “Near stranger is a stretch, Aidan. I’ve known her for a year and I am fully confident Lyla is the best person for the job, and from where I’m standing, you’re fresh out of options. Just meet with her and let Crew spend some time with her. I promise I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think it was the best thing for both of y’all.”

A deep chuckle comes from off-screen before Rhodes’s face enters the picture next to his fiancé’s. “I’ve met the girl dozens of times, dude. I really think you and the tiny terror are going to love her. Plus, she just graduated college and needs a job.”

I lift my middle finger with a sneer I don’t really mean. “Y’all owe me big if this blows up in my face.”

They share a look and Wren gets a calculated gleam in her eye. “You owe us big if it doesn’t.”

After saying our goodbyes and hanging up, I place my phone face down on the island with a thump and haul myself off the tall barstool, running my hand over the smooth white surface before making my way up the staircase.

My routine is the same every morning. I rise with the sun, make my coffee, and sit in the kitchen or on the porch so I can admire our home before I have to go wake Crew; a.k.a the sole reason I’m up at ungodly hours just so I can drink my coffee in peace. My whole body relaxes like it does every time I have my son in my sight and can see with my own eyes that he’s safe.

Mia has been gone for almost four years now, but that hasn’t stopped the constant worry about something happening to Crew, or of someone taking him from me.

I went back to therapy for about six months after she died, but it just felt redundant so I stopped, choosing instead to put all my time and energy into raising my boy.

I crouch down next to the bed, shoving a herd of small plastic dinosaurs aside so my knees don’t get shredded by horns. These things are all over the house, and I’m constantly stepping on them.

They might be tiny, but those little fuckers hurt worse than stepping on legos.

Brushing a few stray locks of soft blond hair out of my boy’s face, I kiss his nose, earning a grunt of annoyance. “Good morning, my little raptor.”

The nickname pulls a smile out of him as his eyes flutter open, revealing an icy blue the exact same shade as mine. “I’m a hungry dinosaur, Daddy.”

Chuckling, I widen my eyes at him in mock fear. “Oh no, we don’t want a hungry dinosaur on our hands! What does my ravenous raptor want for breakfast?”

He sits up and stretches with a huge yawn, showcasing his first loose tooth. My heart thumps painfully when I see it because it’s just another sign of how fast he’s growing up. I try not to focus on that too much because it makes me sad, but the little things like this remind me how alone I would be without Crew.

Sure, my Ma is still in town, but she’s getting older and spends most of her time catering to her favorite son. I mean, I live five miles away from her and only see her once or twice a month if I need an emergency sitter.

She travels a lot to be with my younger brother Wesley in Seattle and I try not to let it bother me, but after a lifetime of being the one who always had to be okay, it would be great to have someone who cares about how I’m doing.

Not someone who cares about me as Crew’s dad, not as catcher for the Charleston Raptors, not as the jokester friend who’s always happy to lighten the mood. Just Aidan Black, exhausted man and single father who wants nothing more than a safe space to not be okay sometimes.

A small finger pokes my cheek, and I blink out of my little reverie to see Crew’s concerned face. “Do you have the sads?”

His whispered question brings a smile to my face while I help him out of bed. “I’m only sad because you’re getting so big! Pretty soon, you’ll be as big as me.”

He giggles, wiggling out of my arms and skipping to the stairs. “And then I can play football! Right, Daddy?”

I hide a snicker behind my palm. He has been on this football kick since his third birthday, and Rhodes and Copeland see it as damn near a cardinal sin. “That’s right, little linebacker. You can play football. In fact, you can start this year if you want! A few months after you turn six.”

Childish squeals of joy bounce around the open concept of our kitchen and living room, echoing against the beams that stretch across the high ceilings. I’d been keeping that little fact a secret from him because I knew he would never stop talking about it once he found out, but his excitement bolsters mine.

Crew turns six in three weeks, just before baseball season starts, and Peewee football runs from mid-September to the end of January, so I should be able to make it to every practice and game, barring any mandatory off-season workouts. But Coach has always been really good about letting me do make-up workouts when I’ve needed to be with Crew.

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