Page 21 of Small Town Secrets

“Need help?” Adrian’s muffled baritone broke through her rising panic, the man himself being just as guilty for her frazzled state as her defective car.

She hesitated for a second, recalling he’d arrived just as she’d been doubled over her steering wheel, visibly overwhelmed and leaving no room to claim she was doing fine.

“I was about to take Whitney to my parents’ house for the night so I can turn in an assignment, but my car won’t start.” She gave a light shrug, and bit down to stop her lip from wobbling, her eyelids fluttering against the sting building behind her eyes.

His brow dipped at the center and his concerned gaze danced about her face, as though he saw the farce behind her shrug. “So that’s a ‘Yes,’ you do need help?”

Despite wanting help, just not from him, she pressed her teeth deeper into her lower lip and gave a reluctant nod. What other choice did she have?

He returned her nod with a more decisive one of his own, tapping at her window once more in a sign for her to open the door. “I’ll watch Whitney while you get that assignment done.”

She pushed her door open and stepped out, using the door as a shield between them. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t, I offered.” He paused a beat, his eyes narrowing as if he expected her to protest, but she was too dumbfounded for that, so he continued. “Between your fridge and mine, I’ll knock dinner together. Set up your workstation in the living area and you can keep an eye on me while I do your kid’s bidding.”

Her jaw slid open, not just at his offer, but that he preempted and didn’t belittle her doubts about leaving her child alone with a man she’d only met a handful of times.

“Mommy?” Whitney piped up from the backseat, jolting Laila into remembering her daughter could hear every word. “Is Adrian coming for a visit? Can I stay home?”

What to do? She frowned at Ramos, his brows raised in an amused look, while appreciation and guilt worked an unsettling course through her tummy. Yet another calling to take a leap of faith with this man. To accept even more on top of what he’d already given her.

His words about his past resurfaced. That upstanding people from this town had taken bigger leaps and trusted him with their lives... And still, a part of her wanted to say no. To deny him the satisfaction of her needing him in any way. Even as another part of her remained humbled by his offer and grateful.

She stepped back and slammed her door shut, keeping her attention down on the loose gravel while she rounded her car. “Just let me leave a message with my parents so they know about the change in plans.”

Whitney made an excited squeal from inside, a squeal that didn’t much match Laila’s reluctance. Her stomach twisted in knots as she pried Whitney out of her seat, staring at Adrian from over the car’s roof as she did so.

He’d been nothing short of her knight in shining armor here, and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that he would ultimately turn out to disappoint her. She’d experienced that exact same scenario with another man once before, only now her life was even more messy and inconvenient.

While Whitney skipped toward the front door, Laila left a phone message for her mom, and Adrian followed some paces behind, as though he sensed her need for space. Even as they entered her house, the silence seemed never ending, and he paused a few steps in from the entryway in a sign he took stock of the situation.

Not wanting to think too long on what he saw—a home not all her own, and lacking much of the colors or personal touches she’d like in here—a home very much lived in. There were traces of Whitney strewn in all corners. Randomly placed soft toys. Dented and worn furniture. Though Laila ignored all that and got busy opening her laptop on the kitchen table.

“Who’s helping with dinner?” She flinched at Adrian’s raised voice, but he strode into the kitchen confident as ever. And Whit, already low-key obsessed with the guy, of course bounded after him, shouting, “Me!”

In minutes, she sat on a high stool at the kitchen bench, just chatting away to him, while he showed her safe ways to use knives and peelers to prepare the vegetables for their meal, her giggles filling the air at his silly kid-friendly humor.

Not weighed down with managing her child, Laila raced through her work, occasionally glancing up at the scene in her kitchen, the same kitchen she’d shared with Mike. She would have given anything for him to engage with his daughter in this exact same way. It still baffled her that anyone could look at Whitney and not feel something. Or anything less than unwavering love.

But Adrian was not Whitney’s dad. Though maybe she responded to him with so much enthusiasm because she wanted just that. A dad. Someone to share these mundane moments with. Because even her mother failed at that most days.

Laila gnawed at the insides of her cheeks and frowned at her fingers tapping over her laptop keys. Pushing down the guilt. Elevating the knowledge that she by no means looked for Whit’s replacement father. One day at a time. She was enough. Any missed moments now would be made up once she could get a well-paying full-time job and drop her odd hours at the grocery store.

She kept that line of thought going until a good portion of her work was done and Adrian casually placed a bowl of baked pasta beside her open laptop. No crowing about his efforts. No requests for gratitude. No words at all, as he turned and sat next to Whitney three chairs away.

Just the uncomplicated act of making and serving food to Laila and her child.

Laila chuckled to herself and shoveled a forkful of food into her mouth, Whitney’s chirpy voice introducing Adrian to the wonders of Power Cats, along with an invitation to watch with her after dinner. That’s when he leaned in and whispered something in the little girl’s ear.

Whitney crowed an excited, “Yeah!” before turning to Laila and proclaiming, “Mommy, after dinner, can I help Adrian fix your car?”

Laila leaned back in her chair and raised a brow at Ramos, “You’re gonna get engine grease all over my daughter?”

He shrugged and turned to Whitney, “You won’t touch anything, will you? Just watch?”

Whit gave a hurried nod, her eyes all wide and pleading as she shook her head at Laila. “I’ve never seen inside the car’s thingy before.”

“You mean under the hood?” Laila giggled and peered out the large front-facing window to her left, where she had a clear view of her car in the drive. Next, she looked to Adrian. “She stays where you and I can both see her, and far away from the road, okay?”

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