She leaned into his chest and released a tiny sigh, capturing Nathan’s heart completely. He wrapped his arms around her protectively.
Lynn rose from the rocking chair. “Let me grab her bag and I’ll walk out with you.” Without waiting for him to respond, she retrieved it and they left the building together. “She’s so glad you’re here. What you saw was the rare few minutes she wasn’t crying all day, unless she was asleep.” She reached over and patted Mia’s back.
“I’m pretty sure you could calm a grizzly bear with your singing talents.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, Nathan realized it sounded like he was flirting. He almost apologized and realized he wasn’t the least bit sorry. Especially when her blush returned along with a pleased smile on her face.
“I’ll just be praying she feels better soon.”
“I appreciate that.” He frowned. “With just a few days until the wedding, I need her feeling better, and I need both of us to avoid getting sick, too.”
Lynn chuckled. “Thankfully, being around little ones who are always getting sick has vastly improved my own immunity. I’m sure you’ve found the same teaching classes.”
“You are right about that. Still, the timing is a little too close for comfort.” They reached his Jeep. He leaned into the back seat to secure Mia. The moment he had her harness clicked in, she started to cry again. “I’d better get going. I don’t think Miss Mia has much patience left.”
Lynn passed him the diaper bag with a sympathetic smile. She placed a palm on his forearm. “If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
He glanced down at the physical connection that had electrical currents racing down his arm. At that moment, he was certain that only his daughter fussing in the car could pull him away from Lynn.
He lifted his gaze to her face while simultaneously covering her hand with his. “Thank you.” The instinct to hold her hand—to holdher—was nearly overwhelming. He had a feeling that she’d fit into his arms perfectly. He imagined being able to rest his cheek on the top of her head and then mentally shook himself when he realized how much his mind was wandering.
Mia’s fussing morphed into full crying mode. Nathan wasn’t sure if he moved his hand first, or if Lynn had started to pull hers away. Now they stood facing each other, arms at their sides.
Since Mia couldn’t return to daycare for a full twenty-four hours after being fever-free, that meant he wasn’t going to be seeing Lynn tomorrow. That disappointing thought had him frowning. “I guess I’ll see you on Thursday. I’ll let you know how she’s doing tomorrow.”
Lynn nodded. “Sounds good.”
Nathan gave a small wave before going around and getting into the Jeep. With a final look in Lynn’s direction, he drove away. Even through poor Mia’s cries, he could still hear the soothing sound of Lynn’s voice singing.
~*~
To Lynn, it seemed weird to not have Mia there at the daycare center. She’d texted Nathan yesterday evening to see how the little girl was doing. Sadly, he responded saying Mia hadn’t wanted to eat and spent most of the afternoon crying.
Lynn wondered how they got along last night. She was tempted to text him again, except it was only nine in the morning. If, by chance, he and Mia were able to sleep in, Lynn would feel horrible for waking them up. Instead, she busied herself caring for her little charges and trying to ignore Sharon’s pointed looks.
She was marginally successful but could only take them so long. Baby Brian burped on her shoulder and then followed that with a long yawn. She rubbed his back as she moved the rocking chair back and forth with her foot. “Spit it out already.”
Sharon’s eyes widened as a look of mock innocence crossed her face.
Only after Lynn narrowed her eyes did Sharon finally cave in. “You’ve been walking around all day like you lost your best friend. Or your cat ran away.”
“It seems weird to not have Mia here. Don’t you think so, too?”
“Of course I do. But I suspect it’s more than that for you.” Sharon hiked her right eyebrow. “Just call him. See if you can take them dinner or something. I’m sure he’d appreciate it, and then you could get your Nathan fix for the day. It’s a win-win.”
Lynn released an exaggerated sigh. Sharon wasn’t too far off. Not that Lynn was going to admit it. So what if she didn’t see Nathan yesterday when he’d come to pick up Mia? Or this morning when he’d normally drop her off? Was she really so pathetic that less than twenty-four hours had her distracted?
She chose to ignore the real question that kept teasing at the back of her mind: Was it bad that she was having constant thoughts about him in general? She convinced herself it was because she was worried about Mia and tried to focus on taking care of the little ones relying on her.
Instead, she hid a smile and turned the tables on her friend. “So you still think I should go back to Nathan’s self-defense class?”
“Absolutely.” Sharon pointed at Lynn. “It’d be good for you to get out regularly like that. The exercise is healthy. Plus, I think it would help you feel more in control of things so you’re not as nervous all the time.”
Lynn could’ve done without the reminder of her neurosis about someone recognizing her or following her around. “Then you should come to classes with me.” There was something incredibly satisfying about seeing Sharon look shocked.
“Are you serious?”
“Yep. If I go, you’re coming with me. I want to take the class with someone I know.” She pinned her friend with a firm look. “Someone besides the instructor.”
Sharon seemed to think about that for several moments. “I want to talk to Walt about it first, but I think it would be fun!”
