Page 7 of Threatened

Gage scowled.. She was right, dammit. It was enough for five bottoms Maya’s size, but he wasn’t about to tell Kylie that. Instead, he smeared it on the baby then wiped his hand on a towel before strapping on the clean diaper and snapping Maya’s outfit back on. He lifted Maya in his arms and started back out of the nursery. He should let it go. He absolutely should. But he felt the need to make something clear. Before reaching the door, he turned to Kylie.

“Back off with your opinions, okay?” he said. “You’re here as a guest. You’re the twin’s aunt, and I promise not to forget that.But you aren’t their mother or guardian. You never will be. Think about that next time you decide to comment on what I do. Got it?”

He didn’t miss the way her face paled at his words, and he regretted them immediately, but damn. She had gotten under his skin with her chi and Feng Shui stuff, and he didn’t know how to get her out.

What was worse was that when he saw her with Brennan cuddled to her chest like he was then, Gage wasn’t sure he wanted to. That scared him most of all.

Kylie stayed in the nursery with Brennan, fighting back the sting of tears. Gage’s words had struck far too close to home, but it had been a lucky shot, that was all. He didn’t know about her endometriosis or her inability to have kids of her own. He’d been lashing out from frustration. Most likely he didn’t even mean what he said, but that didn’t stop his words from hurting her.

With Brennan on her hip, she straightened up the nursery, fiddling with things that were already neat and tidy. When she felt the threat of tears recede, she carried Brennan back to the living room where she found Gage sitting on the sofa, flipping through channels on the TV with one hand, while steadying Maya as he bounced her on his leg with the other.

Kylie walked over to the chair in the corner and sat. She reached for a soft, stuffed truck with a silly face that was a favorite of Brennan’s. As she drove the truck along the arm of the chair, Kylie could feel Gage’s gaze on her, but she didn’t look up, not wanting to get into it with him again now.

He wasn’t the only one who was frustrated. In truth, she hadn’t slept well the night before, dreaming of her sister and the last time they’d seen each other. In the dream, she’d kept trying to reach Christine, but each time she got close, her sister moved farther away. It turned into one of those nightmares where you just kept running and running but never reached your goal. To say it mirrored her own life was an understatement.

After what felt like forever, Gage clicked off the TV and tossed the remote aside, sighing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you just now.”

Her usual “it’s fine” teetered on the tip of her tongue before she swallowed it down, nodding in acknowledgment instead. Him biting her head off every time she made a suggestion wasn’t okay, but maybe she had gone overboard, looking for reasons to criticize him. Either way, she didn’t want to fight with him again. Maybe putting a bit of space between them would help calm them all down. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day outside and she suddenly couldn’t stand not to be out in it. Kylie pushed to her feet and carried Brennan to the kitchen to set him in his carrier.

“I think I’ll take the kids for a walk,” she said. “I worked a job in this neighborhood a few years ago and remember a nice park about half a block from here that I liked visiting. Even posted about it on my social media. Where’s the stroller?”

Gage watched her for a second before pointing to the closet by the front door.

“Thanks.” She walked over and got the stroller out, setting it up before taking Maya from him. “Do you want to come?” She asked more out of politeness than any actual desire for him to go along. She really did need a few minutes without him.

“No, you go. I’ve got some stuff here I need to get done, but thanks.” He still seemed uncomfortable, and she couldn’t tell if that was with her or at his own behavior. It did compel her to ask another question.

“Are you okay with me taking them outside?”

He hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine. They like going for walks.”

Kylie got the two babies strapped into the double stroller before heading out the front door. “We’ll be back shortly.”

“You’ve got your phone, just in case?” Gage called once they were on the porch.

“Yep.” She patted her pocket where her phone was stored, then put her wallet in the diaper bag and then slung it over the handle of the stroller. She shut the door behind her before easing down the steps to the sidewalk. A warm breeze blew and as she walked slowly toward the park, her cares and burdens began to lift. Nature always did that for her. Perhaps that’s why she loved using plants so much in her decorating. She needed that connection to nature both indoors and out.

Birds tweeted and the sky was blue, and all seemed right with the world for a change. She couldn’t help gazing upward, wondering if Christine was looking down on her. A bittersweet pang tugged at her heart though, as she wondered if her sister would be happy to see her with the babies…or not. Gage hadn’t been entirely wrong in what he’d said. She wasn’t currently the twins’ parent or guardian. There was a chance she never would be. If Gage maintained custody, he could make it very difficult for her to have a relationship with the babies at all, and the last thing she wanted was to mess that all up. She’d heard hispromise to remember that she was their aunt. That helped. A little.

She exhaled slowly and crossed the street to the park. It was a nice little place, with lots of trees, a jungle gym, a swing set, and plenty of benches. It was early afternoon, so there were plenty of mothers with young kids and babies milling about. Still, she was able to find a quiet spot where she was away from too much commotion, giving her a chance to use the peace and solitude to center herself.

There was a man across the way reading a paper, but otherwise she had this little corner of the park to herself. She sat on a bench beneath a large oak tree with the stroller in front of her so she could watch the babies. They’d fallen asleep on the short walk here and looked so adorable that she couldn’t resist pulling out her phone to snap a couple of photos.

She stood and turned this way and that to get the right angle without all the shadows, then walked back a few paces to get a more scenic shot. With autumn approaching, the leaves were just starting to turn, and the colors were magnificent. She took more pictures, thinking they’d be nice to share with her fans on social media and also to record the hues for future inspiration on her jobs. She liked using natural tones whenever possible.

She usually took a bunch of pictures when working on her jobs to make sure she kept the proper chi flowing throughout all of her client’s spaces. In fact, she’d nearly maxed out her phone’s memory on her last job in Tokyo. The warning popped up on her screen before she swiped it away. She’d have to remember to go through all her footage from that job later and delete it since she wouldn’t need it now.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the man from across the way get up and tuck his paper under his arm as he walked toward them. Kylie looked up as he passed, murmuring a polite greeting. He was dressed all in black, which seemed odd on such a nice day, and his hat and sunglasses kept her from seeing his face.

She’d just tucked her phone back in her pocket and was moving to take a seat on the bench again when the man suddenly snatched the diaper bag off the handle of the stroller and ran off. Too shocked at first to react, it took Kylie a moment to move. Then she took off after him.

Chasing someone down with a stroller wasn’t the easiest or safest thing to do, but she couldn’t just let the man run off with her things. Bumping along the sidewalk woke the twins up and soon they started crying. Kylie felt like crying herself. Her wallet was in there and the kids’ things. Plus, she’d bought that diaper bag for Christine as a shower present. She felt weirdly attached to it.

“Hey! Stop!” she yelled but the guy was so far ahead of them now, it was pointless. She slowed to a stop.

“Everything okay?” a guy jogging by asked, his expression sympathetic.

“No. That man just stole my diaper bag and took off with my wallet.” Her heart was pounding after giving chase and the babies were howling. Kylie felt like the stupidest, worst caretaker on earth. She’d risked not only her own life by going after a criminal but the twins’ lives too. Stress still sizzled through her veins and tears stung her eyes once more as she touched each of the babies’ faces, trying to soothe them. “I just… God, I can’t seem to do anything right today.”

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