“I, Simon Brennan, do hereby agree not to ask Joseph Jackson Leigh to sign lists that have the acronym S.W.A.T. on them. I also agree to stay out of Joseph Jackson Leigh’s way unless there is a level ten emergency as determined by the Joseph Jackson Leigh emergency scale.” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What Joseph Jackson Leigh emergency scale?”
“Level ten is where I ask you for help, one through nine is where you let me do my job.”
We stared at each other, and I waited for him to lose his cool, but then he snorted a laugh, signed the form, and then closed the clipboard cover. “I like you, Joseph Jackson Leigh.” He held out a hand and we shook, and it hurt because he was a bear of a man and I had hands more used to making models of planets than facing down someone like him.
“Stay out of my way, and I might end up liking you, too.” I tilted my chin, and all he did was laugh again, clapping a meaty hand on my shoulder, which nearly pushed me to the floor.
“This way,” he said and walked out of the door, expecting me to follow. I wasn’t ready to leave Maddie just yet, I needed to know the rhythm of her sleeping, and to acquaint myself with what kind of baby she was, but when I stepped just outside the room, he had the opposite door open and I could see my bag on a huge bed with a purple and orange quilt. “This is your room, and there is surveillance in Maddie’s room, that you can check in on with the laptop on the desk.”
“A nanny cam, okay.”
He looked affronted. “It’s not a nanny cam, it’s surveillance, five cameras, with split screen and crisp audio.”
“I didn’t see any cameras.”
“I know,” he said smugly, then cracked his neck. “I’ll leave you to it, last I saw C was asleep on the sofa by his piano, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
Only when he’d gone did I explore my surroundings. The nursery had views out across the extensive back yard, terraced and flowing down the hill. I could see the pool from there, and the heat shimmer on the various plants attempting to offer shade. It was a typical rich man’s yard, with weird sculptures, but it also had chairs and tables everywhere which made me think that having lots of people to visit was a thing. When I crossed to my room I heard vacuuming, and voices at the bottom of the stairs, along with Simon’s laughter, so I assume that the cleaners had arrived, but up here it was pristine. All the damage and chaos had been kept to the downstairs, which was a blessing because my room, complete with garish comforter, was an oasis of calm.
I unpacked my bags, keeping an eye on the door and across to Maddie, and also checked out the laptop which really did give clear views inside Maddie’s space. Within a few minutes, using my love of all things math and perspective, I’d worked out where the cameras were; tiny little dots in the corners of Maddie’s room, and then without anything else to do for the moment, I settled on the mattress there and began working my way through the next book in the pile on my bedside cabinet. This one was A new paradigm for advanced planetary field geology developed through analog experiments on Earth, and it was utterly fascinating. I stopped reading when Maddie woke, I changed her, fed her, burped her, and we took a grand tour of the house, which was now tidy and clean. The place was massive, room after room, one small one was completely devoid of furniture, and faced the garden. The AC kept the place cool, even as the Arizona sun beat down outside.
“This would be the perfect place for a sofa,” I explained to Maddie, and circled to show her it all. “A small table for drinks, a book, and this room would be the best place to study. Maybe a desk and somewhere for my resources, and I could get this degree done in the year. Not that I’m here a year.” She blinked up at me, her tiny bow-shaped mouth open, and her eyes wide. She could see me from there, but I sat on the window ledge and cradled her so she could check me out better. “Emma would love to meet you,” I said, and I traced her soft rounded cheeks and then flattened her fluffy hair. She didn’t look much like her dad, although I couldn’t tell that much about Colorado underneath his scruffy stubble and long disheveled hair. He was tall, muscled, thick thighs, tanned, and not that I’d been looking, but his pants left nothing to the imagination. I’d need a better peek, up close, and maybe I could pet his arm and reassure him that everything would be okay, then maybe he would be anything but a jock, and actually give me the time of day.
Talk of the devil, I heard a clattering and then Colorado ran into the room and slid almost the full length, fear in his expression and a wild look in his eyes.
“You. You’re…”
“Here,” I finished. Simon strolled into the room at a much more sedate pace.
“What in hell’s name are you doing, C?” he asked.
Colorado shook his head. “I thought… I woke up, and I was in the room and she wasn’t…” He scrubbed at his eyes.
“Get some rest, Mr. Penn,” I said. “I’ve got this.” After some hesitation, he left the room at more of a crawl than a run, and Simon followed, taking his looking-after-Colorado task seriously.
Colorado slept through dinner, in fact he slept all night, and I moved bedding into Maddie’s room and slept on the mattress which had a kind of funky patchouli kind of scent, but was incredibly comfortable.
