Page 29 of The Foul Out

“I want to be alone,” she repeated, this time without the aggression. That was something, at least.

“Mom,” Sam called from the family room, where he was already dressed and ready to head over to day care. Although he was nervous about being in a new place, he was excited to see Grey.

Piper, on the other hand, couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that it was Monday, since she didn’t have school. Teacher in-service days and school holidays were the bane of my existence. Change didn’t come easy in our house, so situations like this, where not only did the kids not have school, but they were starting at a new day care, were a struggle, no matter how much I prepared her.

The Tums had tempered the burn in my esophagus, but my stomach rumbled. I needed to eat before I left. I’d fed the kids,but while they were eating, I’d jumped into the shower and had gotten dressed.

“Mom, come here,” Sam called again. He’d eaten, but he probably wanted another cup of almond milk. We’d been going through more than a gallon a week lately.

“I’ll be right there,” I hollered. Then I refocused on Piper. We had to get a move on, or I’d be late for work. “You have five minutes before it’s time to pick one shirt and a pair of pants,” I warned.

In response, she put her headphones over her ears and turned away from me.

Reining in my frustration, I set the alarm that would buzz when it was time for her to get dressed, then left her alone in the bedroom. This method didn’t always work, but I was crossing my fingers that it would do the trick today.

By the time I’d gotten home from Lang Field on Saturday, I’d had a welcome email from Little Fingers sitting in my inbox. After googling the program and looking into their New Jersey locations, I had to begrudging admit that I couldn’t turn down their offer. So I had filled out the paperwork. Then I’d spoken with Dylan Machon last night. She had been lovely. Although the program was set up for employees of Langfield Corp, she had been understanding of my position and had agreed that I could pay the New Jersey rate for my two children. Once Dylan had assured me that transportation between their facility and Piper’s school was available, I finally resigned myself to sending the kids to Little Fingers. At least for the time being.

Dylan had been so kind and helpful. The last thing I wanted to do was show up late on day one.

“Mom,” Sam called again.

“I’m coming,” I said as I hustled down the hall. When two men came into view, I pulled up short, and my heart took off ata run. It only took a moment to place them, and my fear was quickly replaced by annoyance. “Why are you here?”

Kyle smirked. “Glad to see you’re in a better mood today, Crabby.”

My doorbell had been broken for quite a while, and when I was in one of our bedrooms, it was impossible to hear visitor’s knock. Even so, these guys hadn’t just opened the door and walked in.

With my hands on my hips, I frowned at my son. “You are not allowed to let strange people in without me.”

“They aren’t that weird.” He shrugged.

Both men chuckled, but I wasn’t the least bit amused.

“Sorry to drop by unannounced,” Cam said.

Kyle chuckled, his eyes dancing. “No we’re not.”

Cam and I huffed in unison.

Kyle just shook his head. His hair was damp, making his blond highlights stand out more than normal.

I surveyed the perfect streaks. They were even more annoying when they accompanied the “I didn’t bother to shave” look he was sporting.

“I’m not sorry.” Kyle’s lips were pulled tight. “I came because I figured Piper would have a hard time this morning, knowing she was going to a new place. I thought it might be easier if her favorite baseball player was here to get her out the door.”

That almost had me softening, but then he had to go and ruin it by opening his mouth again.

“Plus, I didn’t want you to flake on Dylan.”

Rage clouded my vision as I shot daggers at him. “I don’t flake on anything.” For all my flaws—and there were plenty—being a flake wasn’t one of them. “And asking if I wanted help would have been the right way to handle things.” Not that I wanted to admit that having his help could be a godsend.

“You would have said no.” Kyle shrugged again. “And you don’t have a car, so Cam will drop the kids and me at the stadium, and then he’ll take you to work.”

Cam shifted on his feet, grimacing.

With a sharp breath in, I crossed my arms. “We live in a city. Public transportationandUber arebotha thing.”

Kyle tossed his arms in the air, the move displaying a script tattoo on the underside of his bicep. “This is exactly what I mean,” he said, turning to Cam. “She’s ridiculous. Most people would be thanking us for making their day easier. But Harper? Shewantsit to be hard.Make it make sense.”

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