His arms ached, he had a tweak in the small of his back, his shoulder felt damp and his feet hurt. And, when he’d managed to sneak a peek at his watch mid-jostle, it had only been a half hour.
Parenthood was not for sissies.
He had nobody to ask for help, either. Not long after Mike and Sandy lay down, he’d seen Delaney slip behind a screen to the cot she and another volunteer were taking turns using. With those three people all napping, Brody was essentially alone in a room full of people.
He’d walked away from this community and he knew, from the looks he’d been getting, they hadn’t forgotten he’d snuck out in the dark, leaving them, his family and Delaney behind.
“Why don’t you let me help you with him?”
A woman who looked vaguely familiar stood next to him. While it was a relief to know he wasn’t alone, after all, he wasn’t too sure about handing Sandy’s baby over to just anybody who asked.
“I’m Dani Harbour.” He must have looked blank, because she arched one eyebrow at him. “I was a year behind you in school.”
“Delaney’s friend.”
“Yeah, Delaney’s friend.” The you jerk was implied by her tone. “Let me walk Noah for a little bit. You look beat.”
She knew the baby’s name. And it’s not as if she could go anywhere. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“In this town, we help our friends and neighbors.” She paused. “Sandy and Mike are both.”
Just so he knew he wasn’t either. “I appreciate it.”
He handed Noah to Dani and then pressed his hands to the small of his back, twisting to work the kinks out. Relaxing was an entirely different thing, however, and he found himself hovering as the storm’s refugees took turns passing the baby. While he appreciated the way the community stuck together, that was his nephew they were playing hot potato with.
He breathed a sigh of relief when Sandy emerged from behind the screen almost an hour and a half later. Noah was obviously winding himself up for a good bawl and even the comfort of snuggling against Rebecca Cox’s really ample breasts wasn’t doing it for the little guy anymore. He wanted to eat.
Sandy looked well-rested, though, which was good. With her husband safe and her baby being looked after, she’d managed a power nap she desperately needed. She smiled when she spotted them and made her way over.
“Time for the little monster to eat,” she said, taking Noah from Becks. “Thanks for babysitting. I feel so much better now.”
“You needed the rest,” Brody said. “I wish you could have slept longer.”
As he said it, he caught Delaney slipping out of her sleeping area through the corner of his eye. She should have slept longer, he thought. Wearing herself out taking care of things did nobody any good.
She disappeared in the direction of the bathrooms and, when he saw her again, she was fresh-faced and looked ready to tackle whatever the next thing on her list was.
Well, she wasn’t going to tackle it alone. Brody wasn’t used to sitting around and he was more than capable of helping in any way he could. He made his way over to the check-in table, where she was drinking orange juice and reading something on her clipboard.
“What can I do to help?”
She jumped, almost dropping her plastic cup of juice. “Brody! Don’t sneak up on people.”
“All I did was walk. What are you reading?”
“I’m trying to find anything at all I can to justify putting off the next thing on my list.”
If Delaney was avoiding it, it couldn’t be a pleasant task. “What is it? I can help.”
She sighed, dropping the clipboard on the table. “It’s time to go around and clean and disinfect. With so many people in one place, it’s important to stay on top of the germs so I have to wipe everything down with bleach water.”
“Point me towards a bucket, oh fearless leader.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t really see you in rubber gloves with that sweater and those shoes.”
“What about them?”
“I know quality when I see it, Brody. It’s obvious you haven’t had to do manual labor in a while.”
That wounded him for reasons he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “I’m not afraid of hard work. I might have crews to do the heavy lifting now, but don’t forget I’m from here—from the docks. I know hard work.”
Her eyes met his and she tilted her head, as though he were a puzzle she was trying to solve. “Gee, Brody. That almost sounded like hometown pride there for a second.”
“I’m just saying I can do whatever you need done. That’s all.” Pride wasn’t an emotion he connected to his childhood.
“I’m not going to turn down the help. Let’s go get the stuff.”
He followed her through the double doors in the hallway, trying to keep his eyes above her waist and not on the gentle sway of her hips as she walked. Especially since they were being watched. They were always being watched in the gym as people kept watch for any scrap of gossip.
The supply closet was next to the gym, and he waited while she found the right key on the ring he assumed the school supplied to the emergency management volunteers. The small room must have been on the same circuit with the gym because, when she flipped the switch, the overhead light flickered and turned on. He followed her in and wrinkled his nose at the chemical smell.
“I saw that,” she told him, amusement in her voice. “I can probably find you other work, like holding Mrs. Cameron’s ball of yarn while she knits, if this is too much for you.”
The amusement in her eyes and the light teasing in her voice dragged him back to five years ago, when Delaney had been his only joy. The hours he’d spent with her had been the bright spots in a dismal life, and his body reacted to their achingly familiar chemistry with a rush of desire.
Her eyes widened when he stepped toward her, needing to touch her again. “Brody...”
“Delaney.” There were shelving units behind her and she couldn’t retreat. “Have I mentioned how much I’ve missed you?”
He watched her face, looking for anger or rejection or anything negative, but all he saw was the hot blush across her neck and cheeks, and her eyes focused on his mouth.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she whispered.
It had been inevitable from the second he stepped through the doors and saw her for the first time, he realized. Five years hadn’t cooled what sizzled between them. Under the ashes of his abandonment, the embers burned and now the fire flared again. This was the only woman he’d ever loved and there was no way he could stop himself from touching her.
* * *
BRODY WAS GOING to kiss her. Delaney knew the man more intimately than she’d ever known any other, and his intention was made plain in the hot and hungry look in his eyes and the way he moved toward her.
She should shove him away. There were plenty of other things he could do that didn’t require being near her. Kissing him was a dead-end road and she should bang a U-turn before she ended up stuck in that lonely place she’d ended up before.
But she was going to let him kiss her because she had no resistance against him. She never had. And she wanted the kiss, too.
With his hands braced against the shelves on either side of her head, Brody lowered his forehead until it came to rest gently against hers.