He had and was mostly convinced she was his too, but until he got confirmation, he didn't want to put a title to what he was to Maddie.
"Until we know, she can call me Alex." He looked into the eyes that had watched him since they entered the store. "Okay, Maddie. You can call me Alex."
"Awex," she repeated.
It took over three hours for them to get everything Mercy thought Maddie would need, including several books, a few toys, and more hair ornaments than a show poodle, but the smiles on both of their faces were worth it.
At the checkout, the cashier gave him the total, which was less than he spent on skins for his drums.
"You've got a beautiful family," the woman with a nametag that read, Linda said.
He looked at Mercy and Maddie and realized they appeared to be a family unit. He could spend ten minutes explaining how they weren't together, but that meant ten more minutes before they could have lunch.
"Thank you."
"Your daughter favors you."
He slid his card into the machine. "She does." He decided to play with Mercy since she watched him closely, no doubt wondering how he'd respond. "But she's got her mother's disposition. It's half angel and half capuchin monkey. They're the troublemakers of the primate family."
"I'll give you trouble." Mercy took the receipt from Linda, and they moved forward. "You haven't seen trouble yet."
"I'm scared."
"Scared isn't enough, you should be terrified." Mercy raced forward with the full cart and Maddie. Once she got to a speed she liked, she stepped onto the bar of the cart and rode it with a giggling Maddie to the car.
"How about pizza?" Mercy asked as soon as they were in the car.
"Pizza," Maddie called from the back seat. "I wuv pizza."
“You love pizza. Not wuv it.” Mercy turned in her seat to face Maddie. She placed her tongue to the edge of her upper front teeth and said, “La la love.”
"I love pizza too.” Alex said, making sure to put emphasis on the L. “Lead the way, Ms. Meyer."
She gave him directions to Piper's, and in less than ten minutes, they were in a booth waiting for lunch while Maddie played in the ball pit.
"You know those things are disgusting and full of germs, right?" Mercy pulled napkins from the dispenser and folded them in half before placing them on the paper placemats.
"But, they're fun." He glanced over to watch Maddie dive from the side into the center and pop back up laughing.
"You'll need to bathe her when you get her home."
His heart stopped entirely and restarted with an explosion that caused the blood to pump through his veins at record speed.
"I can't bathe her. I mean … she's a girl, and that seems wrong."
"She's your dau … your responsibility right now, and cleanliness is important."
He shook his head. "Nope. Can't do it. I'll pay you more if you take care of that."
Mercy laughed. "You already pay me a fortune, so I'll do it now, but when she becomes a permanent fixture in your life, you'll have to figure it out. I'll see how she does in both the shower and the bath. Maybe all you'll need to do is get them ready and sit close by while she washes."
Just as his heart settled, he heard a loud cry come from the ball pit. It was a duet of unhappy kids. He took off toward Maddie to see what happened. She stood in the center next to a boy, and both were rubbing their foreheads.
He stuck his head inside the opening to the net. "Come here, Maddie. Let me see you."
She trudged through the balls, tears running down her cheeks, and an egg forming on her forehead.
"I hit my head."
He pulled her out and held her close. "I'm sorry about that. It looks like you crashed into each other." She buried her head into his chest and bawled while he rocked her and consoled her.
Mercy stood in front of him, smiling.
"You know, anyone can make a baby. Anyone can be a father, but it takes a special man to be a daddy."
Maddie was stealing his heart while Mercy was messing with his mind. He was screwed.
Chapter Nine
Fridays were one of Mercy's favorite days of the week. She recharged over the weekend and was fresh for her students on Monday. Today wasn't the same as most Fridays. Once Maddie went home with her father, she'd have forty-eight hours of loneliness and no purpose.
Her phone rang, shocking her from her doldrums. Alex's name popped up on the screen. It was just after seven o'clock. Waking with the sun was the norm for her, but for a man who stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, this was odd.
Her heart skipped a beat and then another. A rush of panic crawled up her spine and squeezed her throat. Something was wrong with Maddie.
"What's wrong?" It was a rude way to answer the phone, but she'd grown fond of the little girl and didn't want anything to happen to her. No, that wasn't right. She'd fallen head over heels in love with Maddie, and if something happened to her, it would be devastating.
"Nothing is wrong."
"Then why are you calling me at seven in the morning?"
"Because I'm tired."
Her heart pumped so hard and fast she was sure she'd keel over if she didn't get it to calm down. Air, she needed air. A fresh mountain breeze to cool the heat rushing to her face. The fragrance of lavender in bloom.
"If you're tired, then go back to bed." With her coffee in hand, she walked into her backyard and took a seat in the Adirondack chair.
"Maddie's up, and she doesn't want to sleep. Listen, she's cranky because she's missing her mother. She cried all night for her, and if I don't get some sleep, I'll never be able to record this afternoon."
She was a sucker for someone in need.
