Hometown Valentine

“Goodness, no.” Kids tied a person down, limited their options. “I’m the oldest of four younger siblings and I helped raise them.” As the oldest girl it had fallen upon Lily to supply child care so Mom could work cleaning houses and at the local grocery store to keep the household afloat.

“Ah, I see,” Blake said. “Well, I appreciate your help. I’ve been at my wit’s end trying to get her to sleep.”

Curiosity rose in Lily, and she wanted to ask about Peyton’s mom. She opened her mouth to voice her question, but she clamped it shut just as quickly. She didn’t want to pry or bring up a possibly sensitive subject. She barely knew this man.

“You’re probably wondering about Peyton and me.” He put a green apron on.

Lily canted her head slightly. “Kind of.” Dying to know, actually.

“Peyton is my niece.” He filled a sink behind the counter with water, his jaw visibly tight. “My sister was her mother.”

Was? Lily’s heart sank. This didn’t sound good. She said nothing and simply waited for him to go on.

“She...um...” He turned the water off and stood with his head down and his eyes closed, clearly composing himself.

Lily’s eyes burned.

Finally he went on. “She was killed by a drunk driver a month ago, and I have temporary custody of Peyton.”

“Oh, no.” She swiped at tears that had sprung up. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks.”

“What about Peyton’s father?” she asked, then realized she was being nosy.

“He and Anna weren’t married, but were planning a wedding next summer,” he replied in an even tone. “He was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan while Anna was pregnant.”

A knot formed in Lily’s chest. “Oh, no. So she’s an orphan. Poor little thing. Thankfully she has you.”

“Anna and I were very close, and losing her...well, it’s been really rough.”

Empathy welled. “I’m sure it has.” Suddenly, his story tweaked a memory. “Did the accident happen out on Old Pass Road?”

He just nodded ever so slightly, seemingly incapable of speech.

“I used to work at The Clothes Horse, and Jean, the owner of the store, mentioned that accident.” Jean had suddenly decided to retire and close the store last week. Hence, Lily’s need for a job.

“Yeah, that was Anna,” he said, his voice husky. “Peyton was only three months old when her mom died.”

A horrific thought occurred to Lily. “Was the baby in the car?”

“Thankfully, no. Peyton was with me. Anna was on her way to a doctor’s appointment in Pacific Beach, and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He let out a shaky sigh. “She was only supposed to be gone for an hour or two.”

Lily shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I know how rough it is to lose someone you love.”

He looked at her, his gaze questioning.

“My dad died of cancer when I was in high school, and though my grief has muted over time, I still miss him terribly.” Everything had changed that day. Lily’s life most of all. Mom had gone to work, and Lily had become her younger siblings’ primary caretaker. All of her dreams had been deferred then.

“So the grief gets better?” Blake asked, a twinge of hope in his voice.

“Yes, it does.” It had taken a while to ease—a long while, actually—but Lily didn’t want to depress him even more.

“I hope so.” He turned the water back on and squirted some soap in the sink.

Lily looked around. “So, you’re running the business and taking care of Peyton full-time?”

“I usually have help with Peyton, but my babysitter called in sick yesterday. Hopefully she’ll be back tomorrow.”

“You’ve got a lot on your plate.”

“Yes, I do.” He put some dishes in the sink and turned the water off. “I had no idea what goes into parenting.”

“It’s a full-time job.” One Lily didn’t want for a long while. She was determined not to follow in her mother’s footsteps. No kids, no man, nothing tying her down right now. Now that her sister Laura was close to graduating from high school, Lily finally had the opportunity to pursue her own dream of winning the TV show Project Fashion and becoming a fashion designer.

“And I already have one running this place, so I’ve been crazy busy.” Blake gestured around. “I haven’t even had time to do my morning routine.”

“But the job is taken?” she asked, going back to the reason she was here. She’d saved every penny she’d made working part-time at The Clothes Horse, except for what she’d given Mom for unexpected car repairs, but Lily was still several thousand dollars short if she were to save for the plane fare and rent in LA, where she planned on staying indefinitely. A temporary job until June was a must.

“Yes, I’m sorry, it is.” Blake headed out toward the tables. “A kid showed up midmorning and I hired him.” He gathered a few empty coffee cups. “He starts tomorrow.”

Disappointment clogged Lily’s throat. “The early bird gets the worm, right?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Blake frowned. “Again, I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” She should have come in yesterday when she’d first seen the sign. But Laura had needed a ride to basketball practice, and with Mom at work, Lily had had to take her. Seemed there was always something pulling at her these days.

He dried off his hands on a bar towel, then went to the register and grabbed a pen and a pad of paper. “Here, write your name down and if the kid doesn’t work out, I’ll call you.”

She did so, then handed him the paper. “Thanks. I’d appreciate it.”

“And I appreciate your help with Peyton.”

“No problem. She’s a darling little girl.”

His blue eyes went soft. “Yes, she is. Now, if I could just get her to be a quiet little girl, we’d be golden.”

“It’ll get better.” Lily held her arms as if she were holding a baby, then did the baby-soothing swing, swing, swing. “And remember the motion.”

He nodded. “Right. I’ll give your technique a try.”

“If you need any more help, you know how to reach me. Call me anytime.” Belatedly she realized that her comment could have been construed as an invitation to ask her out. “For baby advice,” she said in a remarkably even voice. Yeah, just that. She definitely wasn’t looking for any kind of romance. She remembered how broken Mom had been after Daddy died. Lily never wanted to be so vulnerable to emotional devastation by a man. And, anyway, she was determined to leave Moonlight Cove permanently and follow her own dreams in LA.

“I hope I can keep track of your number,” he said. “Sleep deprivation has made me spacey.”

“I know how that can be. My mom routinely lost track of what day it was when she was up all night with babies. My twin brothers just about drove her around the bend.” Liam and Larry were still wild, though they were both now in college. Funny how they’d escaped to follow their dreams and Lily hadn’t. The benefit of being male and not firstborn in her family.

A look of horror materialized on Blake’s face. “I can’t imagine having two at once.”