Unsuitable

>

“No. Today we have swimming.”

“Not today, honey bun. Next time,” said Merrill.

Mia shook her head. “No. Today.” She got up from the table where she’d been dressing Princess Olivia, walked into Reece’s side and wrapped her arms around his leg.

He put his hand to the top of her head. She’d been so brave. “It might be better if we keep her routine as close to normal as possible. She’s had a hell of a morning.”

“We appreciate your effort, but this is a time for friends and family,” said Joe.

He studied Joe, a suit and tie stiff. “It’s my job to look after Mia.”

“Yeah, look, mate. We can’t leave Mia with you,” Joe said. “We want to do what’s best for Audrey.”

Reece shook his head. He didn’t like where Joe was going with this. The guy had obviously detoured from work and needed to be back there. He kept checking his watch.

“I’ve taken the day off,” said Merrill. “I’ll take the week if I have to. Whatever Audrey needs.”

“There’s no reason for you to do that. I can do my job.” Is that what Audrey would want? They’d never talked about this kind of emergency and they should’ve thought to.

“Mate, we’ve got this. How about you leave your number with Merry or Les and we’ll keep you in touch.”

Fuck. “No.” He shook his head. He almost laughed. He sounded like Mia with her declarative statements. He wasn’t letting them shut him out of this. He’d kissed Audrey last night and this morning she was deathly ill. Everything had changed even before he broke the door down to get to her and Mia.

Once he’d seen her so pale, so fragile, all the life washed out of her, something had shifted inside him. He was not going to be shut out of this willingly.

“Looking after Mia is my job and there’s no reason to change that. I think Audrey would expect things to be as normal as possible for Mia.”

“This isn’t simple, Reece. Audrey might be out of action more than a day or two,” said Les.

“I couldn’t wake her. The paramedics shook her so hard I thought they were going to break her. You don’t need to tell me how serious this is.”

“That’s right, mate. But you’ve done your part. Let us take over now,” said Joe.

Merrill got down on her haunches to go face to face with Mia. “Let’s get Harry Giraffe and whoever else you want and let’s go.” She gave Reece a wary look and clapped her hands, smiling brightly to encourage Mia. Mia turned her head away and ground her forehead into his leg. He tried not to look smug about that.

“Pick her up, Merry—” said Joe.

Merrill frowned. “I’m not—”

Mia grizzled. Reece watched as his position got eroded like a set of waves eating at a sandcastle.

“What if—” said Les.

Joe cut her off. “Look, you seem like a nice enough guy, Reece, but we can’t rely on Audrey’s mum and it’s not your responsibility. Mia is better off with us.”

“You’d rather take her away from her routine than let me do my job?”

“Never thought she’d hire you. No hard feelings. Merry and I are Mia’s legal guardians. We’re not leaving Mia with you.”

No hard feelings. “Please let me do my job.” If there wasn’t a very unsettled three year old in the room, Reece would have a different response to suit and tie, legal guardian or not. If he was a woman would they even be having this conversation? Would there be any doubt Mia was better off with him, with her regular routine for now?

Joe shook his head. Mia started to cry. Reece picked her up and glared at Joe. Fuck Joe. Mia wasn’t some toy to pass around, and he wasn’t some two bit teenage babysitter you could send home with a pat on the head when things got tough.

Merrill plucked at Joe’s arm. “Why don’t we wait and see what we learn from the hospital. Audrey might be conscious and she can tell us what she wants.”

“Good idea,” said Les. She handed Mia a biscuit. Mia threw it at her.