Page 23 of Cabin Fever With My First Flame

Ella giggles. “Micah, we use the term ‘cinnamon roll’ when it comes to people like Finn. It means they’re all ooey-gooey and sicky sweet.”

I lift one shoulder. “Ella, your mom deserves sweet. She always has.”

Ella’s smile turns upside down. “My dad wasn’t really the ‘sweet’ kind of guy.” When Ella sees my scowl in response, she raises her hands to placate me. “He wasn’t mean or anything, Finn. He just didn’t give out hugs freely or say ‘I love you’ nearly enough. I don’t ever recall my dad bringing home flowers for mom ‘just because’ or even chocolate on Valentine’s Day. You did more for her in the last 24 hours than my dad has done in the last 24 months. I bet Mom cried when you made her a hot bath.”

I don’t confirm or deny Ella’s assertion. I glance down the hall, getting worried that Bailey may have fallen asleep in the tub. It’s been nearly two hours. “Ella, can you go check on your mom? I know I told her to take all the time she needs, but…”

“Sure.” Ella leaves and returns less than a minute later with a pile of dirty clothes in her hand. “Um, Finn? Do you have somewhere else you can sleep tonight?”

My eyebrow arches up, and I look at Ella with a perplexed expression. “Why?”

Ella glances over her shoulder down the hall. “My mom must have thought your bed was more comfortable than Micah’s because she’s fast asleep. Trying to wake her is like trying to wake the dead.”

I rub my face and glance over at Micah. He points at me and says, “You’ve already relegated me to the couch. If you want to sleep out here, you get the recliner. This way, your head is in an upright position, and I don’t have to listen to you snore.”

“I don’t snore,” I argue.

Ella cocks her hip and her head. “How would you know?”

“You totally snore, Finn,” Micah says adamantly. “It’s so bad that I think you should get tested for sleep apnea. Then you can look like Mr. Snuffleupagus and sound like Darth Vader.” He makes the Darth Vader breathing sounds and then mimics, “Luuuke…I am your fah-tha.”

I throw a couch pillow at his head as I get up to grab a change of clothes and an extra blanket. “You are definitely your mother’s child.”

I tiptoe down the hallway, praying I don’t wake Bailey up with the creak of the floorboards. When I enter the room, Bailey is right where Ella warned me that she would be. Bailey is curled up on my bed with her hands tucked up under her cheek. I gently tuck a wisp of hair behind her ear and kiss her temple. I whisper, “Sleep well, my fair princess.”

Early the next morning, I briefly stir when a warm body curls up beside me on the recliner. Ava nestles in next to me and makes herself at home. Without a moment’s thought, I cover her with a blanket before wrapping my arms around her and tucking her head under my chin. I fall back asleep only to wake up to eyes boring into me like laser beams.

Bailey stands over me with her hands on her hips. She whispers so as not to wake Ava or Micah, “What are you doing, Finn?”

“Sleeping. At least, I was trying to.”

“I meant, why is my daughter cuddled up next to you?” she asks.

I close my eyes and turn my head away. “Ask her when she wakes up. What time is it, anyway?”

“It’s almost five,” Bailey retorts.

I groan. “Give me another hour, please. I need my handsome sleep.”

“Handsome sleep? What the heck is that?”

Micah pulls a sofa pillow over his head. “It’s the male version of ‘beauty sleep.’ I’d like to get some, too, if you don’t mind.”

“Sorry, Micah,” Bailey whispers. Then she turns to me, “We will talk about this later.”

Half an hour later and unable to go back to sleep, I scoot out from underneath Ava and leave her curled up peacefully on the recliner. I check both Micah’s room and mine, looking for Bailey, but she’s not there.

I head to the basement and find her bent over the washing machine with her feet kicking wildly in the air as she digs out the remaining few socks that are stuck on the bottom. She grumbles, “Why couldn’t Finn have a front loader? Doesn’t he realize that some of us are vertically challenged and not everyone is as tall and beefy as he is?”

I chuckle. “There’s a step stool next to the washer, Bailey.”

“Oh, Finn. You’re up,” she says, blowing away the loose tendrils of blonde hair that have fallen in her face.

“It was hard to go back to sleep after your 5:00 a.m. wake-up call. Usually, if I’m woken up at that hour, it’s to a fire alarm or medical emergency. What was your emergency that we need to discuss?”

She throws the last few articles of clothing into the dryer and turns it on before jumping up and planting her butt on top. “I wanted to talk to you about Ava snuggling up with you and what it means.”

I fold my arms across my chest and lean my back against the wall. “And what does it mean, Bailey?”

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