I hopped up out of my chair and went to the counter, grabbing some paper towels to hand over. I waited on bated breath for Max to get angry.
Dean would have been fuming at the first splatter of egg on him, but Max was unflappable. He just wiped them off, wiped off Charlie’s hands, and scooped up the rest of the breakfast she had in an effort to unload her arsenal.
After cleaning up the remnants of the one sided food fight, he lifted her from her high chair and held her in his muscular arms. In that instant, I swear my ovaries combusted.
“Charlie, no throw,” he scolded gently, all while keeping a stern face and eye contact. She shook her head from side to side and giggled.
“No, no, no,” she chanted back at him, all while still shaking her head.
“Right, no throw.”
“No tow!” she screeched back.
I could see his resolve slipping as he attempted to keep from smiling down at the cuteness in his arms.
“No throw, good girl,” he repeated, tickling her ribs lightly. She let out a squeal and wiggled in his arms in an attempt at escape.
“MOOOOOO!” she shouted at him while squishing his cheeks together between her tiny hands.
“Yesh, we ca go see da moo,” he said from pursed lips. Charlie giggled and continued to squish his cheeks. “Why don we wet mama go get dwessed an meet us at da moos?”
I laughed lightly as Charlie attempted to decipher whatMax was saying between squished lips. She giggled and looked over at me with a cheeky grin.
“Mama go!”
I looked up at Max, who’d been relieved of squishy egg covered hands pushing his cheeks together and he smiled.
“Yeah, mama. Go! Little one and I will meet you out at the grazing field. Take your time. Shower, shave, wash your hair. We’ve got this,” he said with the confidence of a dad who’d been doing this job since day one.
Without a moment’s hesitation, and with a voice certain and strong, he readily took the reins and assumed the parenting role this morning. It almost seemed like hewantedto spend time with my daughter.
“Let me just change her first, then you two can go on your farm adventure,” I said, taking Stella from Max’s arms and quickly running back to her room to change her diaper.
When I got back to the kitchen, Max was back reading something on his phone; those hot nerd glasses were back on his face. When he saw the two of us, his smile beamed and I was struck stupid by the intense happiness that radiated from him.
He reached out his arms and Charlie all but threw herself into them, ready to get started with her day.
I let out a light sigh in concession as I transferred her into his arms and I brushed the curls away from Charlie’s forehead to lean in and give her a kiss.
I was met with not only the sweet smell of my little girl, but the manly smell of what I can only assume was Max’s aftershave. It was a heady mixture of leather, spice, and vanilla. It took nearly all my willpower not to lean in and sniff a line up his neck like a creep.
“Be good for Max.” I reminded my daughter, waving a finger at her.
“Mass!!” she repeated in her attempt at saying Max and patting him gently on the cheek. She laid her head on his shoulder and tears welled up in my eyes.
My girl was falling for this rugged cowboy just as fast as I was. Neither of us had ever known unconditional love, but we were learning quickly what it was like to have people in our corner who genuinely cared.
“Go.” Max said sternly, pushing me towards the hallway.
With a light laugh, I retreated to my room for the longest shower imaginable. I was about to shave everything, exfoliate, wash and blow dry my hair, the works. Eventually, Max would reap the benefits of all of this work, I’m sure.
If he continued to shower my daughter and me with the kind of love and attention one reserves for the most precious people in the world, I wouldn’t be able to resist his charms for much longer.
FOURTEEN
max
Things had falleninto an easy routine around the house over the couple of weeks post parents’ night out. Stella’s initial reluctance to let me assist with Charlie’s care lessened each day, replaced by a growing trust. I could almost see the layers of her distrust, like an onion, slowly peeling away, revealing a core of vulnerability. She was broken, and I was a man determined to build her back up.
