Nate grinned at them. Damn, they were cute little guys. “I can make both,” he said. “Lucky for you. Where’s the soup?” He opened and closed cupboard doors, started cooking, aware of Krissa walking and walking with the crying baby. But the screams were quieting, interspersed with soft snuffles. Krissa rubbed Emma’s back and at one point sat down tentatively, but the crying resumed.
Nate caught her eye and she smiled ruefully. “I was afraid that wouldn’t work.” And she paced again.
“She needs to move,” he commented.
“Yes. There’s something about that rhythm…putting her in her car seat and going for a drive apparently works, too. I’ve heard of parents who put their kid’s car seat on top of the clothes dryer. The hum and the vibration put them to sleep.”
“How do you know she’s okay?”
Krissa shrugged. “If she’s not hungry, wet or poopy, she’s probably okay. The first time this happened when I was here, I freaked out just like Cameron. But after a couple hours of crying, Emma was exhausted, fell asleep and was fine. Nobody really knows what this colic thing is. Some think it’s gas. Others think it’s just the stress of the day built up to a point where the baby can’t handle it anymore.”
He nodded, ladled soup into bowls. “Now this is hot,” he cautioned them. But impatient, Ben had to try it, then started crying when it burned his mouth. Shit.
“Here.” Nate poured him a glass of cold juice.
“Mommy puts ice cubes in our soup,” Alex said helpfully. Okay. He could do that.
When the twins had eaten, the baby had fallen asleep and Krissa sat down with her. “I don’t want to put her down,” she said softly. She’d changed Emma’s position so she cradled her in her arms. Nate watched the tender expression on her face as she gazed down at the sleeping little bundle. Now she was quiet, she was adorable.
Nate played with the twins, although he felt he should clean up the kitchen and do the dishes, but they dragged him outside to see their play structure. Outside it was easy to amuse them, and he let them run and swing and slide until Cam arrived home.
Inside, Krissa was handing the baby over to Cam. “She just woke up,” Krissa said. “And I think she’s hungry, so it’s perfect timing.”
The baby nuzzled at her mother’s breast. Cam looked much better, exhausted but in control. “Thank you,” she said with a sigh, dropping her purse to the floor. She sank onto the couch and unbuttoned her blouse.
Startled, Nate averted his eyes. Uh, yeah. That’s how babies were fed.
“You remember Nate, don’t you?” Krissa asked Cam. “I didn’t get a chance to say anything earlier.”
Forced to turn to her, Nate kept his eyes above Cam’s shoulder level.
“Of course,” Cam said with a smile. “Sorry about all the drama, Nate.”
“No problem. It was fun playing with the boys. They’re good kids.”
She rolled her eyes. “They’re little monsters.”
“Cam!”
Nate’s gaze went to Krissa’s horrified face.
“They are,” Cam said.
“They have a lot of energy,” Nate put in. “They’re kids.”
Krissa nodded, glanced at her watch. “We should go. Derek was planning to be home around eight.” Then her eyes drifted to the kitchen. “I’ll just clean up a bit…”
Nate followed her and helped do the dishes and wipe the counters.
“Thank you again. You’re a lifesaver, Kris, truly.” Nate read the gratitude in Cam’s eyes, dropped his gaze to the nursing baby for a fleeting look, then turned to Krissa. She watched the baby with a look in her eyes that was…hunger. Longing.
How hard was this for her, to come and help her friend, see the baby, knowing she was never going to have this? He rubbed at a strange twinge in his chest.
“Any time, Cam,” Krissa replied quietly. She met Nate’s gaze. “Shall we go?”
“Bye, Kris, bye, Nate,” Cam called.
“Bye, Auntie Kwissie! Bye, Unca Nate!”
Uncle Nate. Amused, Nate waved at the boys as they left.
“Whew.” Krissa blew out a breath once out of the house. “That was crazy.” She eyed him. “Thanks for coming. You were a big help with the twins.”
He shrugged. “No problem. I like kids.”
She tipped her head and got a funny look on her face. “You were good with them.” She hesitated, then slid into the car.
Derek had arrived home before they did. He’d already had dinner with clients, but Krissa and Nate hadn’t, so she quickly made them sandwiches. “Gillcheese sammiches,” she said to Nate with a grin.
“But not just any cheese,” he noted. “Not that processed cheese on white bread I made for them.” He looked approvingly at the Havarti and Gruyere combination on thick toasted multi-grain bread.
“Gourmet gillcheese,” she agreed. They laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Derek walked into the kitchen, having changed out of his suit into jeans.
Krissa waved a hand. “Nothing. We just got back from rescuing Cam. She was having a mommy meltdown.”
“Again?” Derek frowned, took a beer out of the fridge. “Want one?” He looked at Nate, who nodded. Derek handed the bottle to him and got another one.
“Uh…Krissa? Want a drink?” Nate asked, sending Derek a frown.
She smiled at Nate. Aw. That was so nice of him. Derek, the big idiot, hadn’t even thought of her. “I’d love a beer,” she replied and shot Derek a look, so he retrieved another one from the fridge and brought it to her. “Thanks, hon.”
“What’s Cameron’s problem now?” Derek raised the bottle to his mouth. “They should never have had that third baby.”
“That’s what she says.” Krissa couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice and both men glanced at her. She shrugged. “Hey, Emma was an accident. She admits that.”
Krissa looked at Derek, tried to catch his eye. She wanted to talk to him, to see if he’d though any more about her idea. They had to do this. Amazingly, spending two hours walking a screaming baby hadn’t diminished her desire to have one of her own even a bit.
She took a bite of her sandwich. Warm melty cheese and crusty bread melded together in a delicious mouthful. “This is good.”
“Very good,” Nate agreed. He’d almost finished his.
Impatience made her take small breaths, her chest tight. She stuffed the rest of the sandwich into her and slid off her stool. She reached for Nate’s plate, but he shook his head.
“Let me clean up.” He took her plate instead.
“Again. Thanks for helping at Cam’s place. Finding time to do the dishes is hard. I know it’s hard for her to even have a shower.”
Derek gave her a look that she knew said, “And you want that?” She glared at him. “We need to talk. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the kitchen, down the hall, to their bedroom.
She closed the door of their bedroom and leaned against it. “Did you think about it?”
“About what?”
She huffed out a breath. “Derek! You know what. About Nate.”
“Oh. Yeah.” He ran a hand through his short hair. “I did think about it. All goddamn night. I don’t think I slept more than an hour.”
“Oh, no.” She stepped toward him “So? What do you think?”
Her tummy tightened painfully.
He smiled at her. Oh, God. Could he…
“I think it’s worth a shot. You’re right. If we have to do this, it should be him. No, let me rephrase this. I won’t do it—unless it’s him.”
“Oh, God.” Her whole body trembled and she took another step toward him, held out her hands. He met her and took her hands in his. She stared at him. “Really? Really, Derek?”
He nodded, but a frown edged his brow. “We can ask him—but remember, Krissa, he could say no. Don’t get your hopes up too much.”