Placing a hand on his arm, I paused, taking a deep breath to steady myself before speaking.
“She’s safe.” I repeated out loud this time.
As soon as the words left my mouth, Max pulled me into his arms. My body went limp against his chest as theadrenaline drained away; the scent of his cologne filled my nose, grounding me in the moment. He rubbed gentle strokes up and down my back while keeping me tethered to him in a warm and comforting embrace.
“She’s safe. I’ve got you,” he whispered into my hair, never stopping his ministrations of gentle coasts of his fingertips up and down my spine.
Once my ragged breathing subsided, I cautiously took a half step back, still remaining in his arms, and looked up at him. He smiled gently down at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners, a warmth spreading through his features.
“Good morning, Trouble.”
“I was so scared that something had happened to her.” I said, looking down at my bare feet in embarrassment. He resumed his gentle up and down strokes across my back, easing the tension and pulling me back into his embrace.
“I should have left a note. I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “She woke up around eight and I was already up for the day. I figured I’d let you sleep in a bit and get her some breakfast. I took her out with me to feed the horses and then made her some eggs and toast…”
He looked almost boyish, a shy smile playing on his lips as he recounted his efforts to do something nice for me. The sound of his voice was gentle and sincere. My fear and the subsequent panic attack I had nearly caused me to ruin everything. When would I be able to live without the constant fear of having to look over my shoulder every second of every day?
Sensing that I was calm enough, he let me go and walked to the coffeemaker. A fresh pot was just finishing brewing, and he poured some into a cup. He added a dash of cream and a couple heaping tablespoons of sugar, stirring it around. As asymbol of peace, he walked over to me, presenting the cup with an outstretched arm.
I gave him a gentle smile and took the coffee, bringing it to my lips. It was perfect - just the right amount of cream and sugar and brewed dark like I liked it.
I have no idea how this man managed to stay hidden from all the women in the world, but I can tell you that he was certainly unlike any other man I’d ever met.
In all the years Dean and I had been together, I’m sure he couldn’t tell you even close to how I liked my coffee in the mornings. I’d been here a little over two weeks and Max had managed to make it perfectly.
“Thank you.” I conceded, walking over to the table and brushing the curls off Charlie’s forehead, leaning down to give her a quick kiss, lingering to take in the feel of her warmth and her quickly fading baby smell.
“I’m sorry about the freak out.” I added, sitting in a chair next to Charlie’s high chair and looking over at Max, who’d taken up residency on the other side of the table.
He scooped some more eggs onto Charlie’s high chair tray and subsequently scooped up the mushy bread she’d been gnawing on to throw in the trash.
“Stella, please don’t apologize. If anyone should apologize, it’s me. I didn’t think about how scary it would be for you to wake up and not know where Charlie was,” He said sheepishly as he sat back down at the table. “This is one hundred percent on me.”
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve done everything myself. I’d get up every morning with her, change her, feed her, and make Dean’s breakfast before the sun even rose. I can’t remember the last time I slept past eight.”
Max’s jaw tightened, the movement sharp and angry, andthe grinding of his teeth was almost audible, a low, tense rasp. I became aware of the depth of his discomfort, caused by his realization of the significant amount of independent responsibility Charlie and I had shouldered.
“Anyway, she probably needs to be changed,” I said, standing up. “I’ll be right back.”
As I shoved my chair away from the table, Max reacted swiftly, extending an arm to grasp my wrist firmly.
“Yeah, that’s the one thing I didn’t do,” he said, looking over at my daughter. “I figured you didn’t stink too bad, and that Mama should be the one changing your diaper.”
Boundaries. He was drawing boundaries when it came to Charlie. He wasn’t going to overstep and assume I was okay with him changing her. I think, at that moment, I fell a little in love with Maxwell Daniels. I shook my head at him in disbelief as I sipped my deliciously perfect cup of coffee.
“You’re something else, Maxwell.” I said over the lip of my cup, a gentle smile gracing my lips.
“So are you, Stella,” he grinned back flirtily.
Charlie broke our heated gaze as she flung a handful of scrambled eggs right at Max’s cheek. I set my cup down and covered my mouth in an attempt to hide my laugh.
The experience of parenting was a strange mix of necessary scolding, balanced by a far greater need to discreetly conceal your laughter to avoid undermining one’s authority in the eyes of their children.
Max swiped the egg from his cheek and leaned down to get eye level with my girl.
“Now, is that how you treat the man who walked you out to see the ‘bawk bawks’, the ‘neighs’ and the ‘moos’ this morning?” He asked her, keeping eye contact.
If watching him make animal sounds at my nearly one-year-old wasn’t enough to make me break out into laughter, the sound of eggs slapping against his face as Charlie chucked another handful at him was.
