Nathan drew in a breath. “I thought someone had broken in.”
“You did.” Cheryl glared at him, handing him the girl.
“What? No!” He held up his hands and stumbled back.
“Take her,” Cheryl whispered. “Comfort her.”
“Shush now.” He took the kid and ran his hand hesitantly down her back She trembled like a bird cornered by a cat. What had made her scream? “Hush.”
Jesus. Now what?
Cheryl tucked Josh back into bed. “Go back to sleep, honey.”
Nathan bounced Isabella a little. Didn’t people do that with babies? But his daughter was four.
Her arms wrapped around his neck and her muscles softened. How could she trust him? He was a screw-up.
“I think she’s asleep.” He tried to hand her to Cheryl.
She shifted away. “Put her in bed.”
The sheets were pulled back, so he set her in the middle of her pillow. Isabella curled into a ball and whimpered.
“Rub her back.” Irritation filled Cheryl’s voice.
He did and Isabella relaxed under his hand. His tension eased with each stroke. Pulling up the covers, he tucked the sheets into the edge of the bed. His mom had done that. As kids, he and Daniel pretended they were caterpillars, tucked in a cocoon.
After joining Cheryl in the hall, he whispered, “What the hell was that?”
“Night terrors.” Cheryl put her fists on her hips. “How did you get into my apartment?”
“I heard screaming. You didn’t answer the door,” he shot back. “I used the master key.”
Her lip trembled. “Don’t you ever—ever—use that key again.”
He backed away. “Got it.”
There went his idea that they could work together, that she’d take on the role of nanny. That idea had come with his third beer.
Cheryl sniffed. “You’ve been drinking.” She said it like he was a serial killer.
“A couple of beers.” No big deal.
“Get your act together. You have a daughter depending on you.” She stalked down the hall to the kitchen and then pointed at the open door. “You didn’t even close the door!”
“I was worried.” How could he have known about night terrors?
“Out. Pick up Isabella by eight.”
Damn. Who would watch the kid tomorrow?
* * *
CHERYL TAPPED ON the top bunk. “Last call for breakfast.”
Both kids were exhausted from Isabella’s nightmare. Cheryl was tired, too. But the day wouldn’t wait.
She pulled back Isabella’s bedding and caught a whiff of urine. Great. “Time to get up, Isabella.”
She tugged off the little girl’s wet bottoms and led her to the bathroom.
Last night she’d washed Isabella’s meager laundry. When the girl was finished in the bathroom, Cheryl helped her put on the least stained clothes she’d found.
“Josh.” She shook his shoulder. “Unless you want to miss the camp bus, you need to move.”
He pushed off the covers, hung over the railing and dropped to the floor. “What’s that smell?” He pretended to choke, then headed for the bathroom, still gagging.
“Come on, Isabella.” She headed to the kitchen and the silent girl followed. She would deal with the sheets later.
She set her in Josh’s old booster chair and poured a bowl of cereal. By the time she was buttering toast, Josh joined them.
“That’s my chair,” he complained.
“And you’re too big for it.”
He took his toast to the table and started eating.
Cheryl quickly pulled his lunch together. Sandwich, apple, carrot sticks and a cookie.
“Can I have three cookies?” He turned those big brown eyes at her.
“Three? That’s too many,” she said.
“My friends like your cookies.”
“You’re giving them away?”
“I share.”
Great. Did the other parents know the kids were trading food? It was only for another week, so she tucked two more cookies into the bag.
Sipping her tea, she watched the kids finish their breakfasts. Josh had forgotten his resentment and chatted on and on. He even gave Isabella the last piece of toast.
The girl didn’t speak but she nodded every now and then. What would Nathan do with Isabella today? Not Cheryl’s concern.
At exactly seven thirty, the construction crew arrived. They were better than an alarm clock. Low voices murmured on the ground floor. She could measure the restaurant’s progress with each hammer strike and screech of the saw.
She wanted to work in Abby’s new restaurant, but she hadn’t gathered the courage to ask her boss. She’d hoped to take more classes, but that would bury her in debt.
“Brush your teeth,” she told the kids. Nathan should be here soon.
Right on time, she heard someone climbing the outside steps followed by a knock on the door.
She threw the dead bolt.
Nathan hadn’t shaved. His eyes were bloodshot. Had he been drinking all night?
Crossing her arms, she stepped back as far as she could to let him in.
“Did she have any more problems sleeping?” he asked.
“She wet the bed. You should buy Pull-Ups.”
He shoved his hand through his hair. “What the hell is a Pull-Up?”
“They’re a nighttime diaper,” she explained with a sigh. “Maybe Isabella wasn’t used to the bed.” Or to her father.
“Crap. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.” He held out a hand. “Did you think about taking care of her?”
“I can’t.” She wasn’t taking on his responsibilities when she had so many of her own. “You’ll learn.”
His shoulders slumped.
“Josh,” she called, “we have to go.”
Nathan caught her hand. At his touch, an unwanted zing went through her body. She tried to pull away, but he hung on.
“I need help. I need... I don’t even know.” He squeezed her fingers. “Can you at least help me shop? Please?”
His brown eyes were darker than her son’s. Darker than Brad’s. At the memory of Brad’s laughing eyes, she yanked her hand away. “Josh, hurry.”
The kids came to the door. Isabella wrapped her arm around Cheryl’s leg, hiding from Nathan. He reached down, but the girl scuttled back.
“It’s okay.” Cheryl picked her up and handed her to Nathan.
“Please help me shop for her. I’ll...pay you. Twenty bucks an hour. For...” His voice trailed off.
He couldn’t remember his own daughter’s name? “Isabella.” She didn’t have time to get involved, but her heart ached for the frightened girl.
“Fine. You don’t have to pay me,” she said. “Just...buy me and Josh dinner.”