SEAL Baby Daddy

“Talk soon,” Harper agreed wearily.

I hung up the phone, staring down at it for a moment. Harper hadn’t asked for help, but I could tell that she was exhausted. Would she be mad if I just showed up there with an offer to help? Would that make her feel like our relationship had gotten too serious too fast?

I shook my head. Even if it did feel that way, I wanted to help her. She sounded exhausted, and if she’d been dealing with medicine and doctor visits, I doubted she’d been able to get any work done that day, let alone cook either of them a solid meal.

Ava was really the only reason I had any doubts. What would Harper think about me showing up there and trying to help out with her daughter? She’d done such an amazing job raising the kid on her own, and I imagined that if she wanted help, she would have asked Maisie. Or her mother. But it hadn’t sounded like she had.

Anyway, Harper was my girlfriend. If she had been the one who was sick, rather than Ava, I wouldn’t even have debated; I would have been there already. Thinking of it that way made my decision a lot easier.

I pushed my keys in the ignition and headed for her place, making two quick detours along the way.

About an hour later, I knocked on Harper’s door. She looked shocked when she answered it. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

I held up the bags. “I brought some soup and stuff from my favorite deli. And some juice and things from the grocery store.”

Harper blinked like she didn’t know what to say. Then, she took a step back to let me in. “I really appreciate this,” she said as I toed off my shoes in the hallway.

“No problem,” I said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “How’s Ava doing?”

“Still sick,” Harper sighed. “She was napping last I checked.” She frowned. “I was finally getting some work done, but if you’re here, I can stop for now, I guess.”

“No, don’t do that,” I said, shaking my head. “You get back to work. I’ll dish out some soup.”

“Thanks,” Harper said, sounding grateful. Already, I could see the tension leaving her shoulders.

I headed into the kitchen and rooted around in the cupboards until I found the bowls. I split the soup into three bowls and then plated the grilled cheese sandwiches as well. Then, I went in to check on Ava.

The girl was curled up in her bed, a frown on her face even while she had her eyes closed. I could tell she wasn’t sleeping, just resting, and I sat carefully on the edge of the bed, lightly smoothing her hair back. Her eyes flickered open. “Mr. Ace?” she asked, sounding confused.

“Hey, Ava,” I said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

“Yucky,” Ava said, pouting adorably.

“Your mama told me that, so I brought over some tomato soup. Do you think you could come eat some?”

Ava nodded, holding her arms out to me. A moment of panic flashed through me. Would Harper be mad? Talking to her daughter was one thing but carrying her was another thing entirely. There was no going back now, though.

I reached out and lifted Ava into my arms, carrying her out of the room. Harper looked up from her position on the couch. She had her laptop in her lap, her fingers flying furiously over the keys. But she paused when she saw Ava and me. For a moment, her face flitted through a complicated set of emotions. Then she looked back at her screen. “I’ll be right in,” she said.

“Okay,” I said simply. I carried Ava into the kitchen and got her seated in her booster seat. Then, I put a bowl of soup in front of her, making sure it wasn’t too hot. “Crackers?” I asked her.

“Yes please,” Ava sai

d, nodding her little head.

I smiled and pulled out the crackers that I’d bought at the grocery store. “There you go,” I said, setting a small stack in front of her.

She giggled. “They’re supposed to go in the soup,” she said. “That’s what Mama always does.”

“That’s what Mama always does, is it?” I echoed. I grabbed one of the crackers and started crushing it up. “Like this?”

“Uh-huh,” Ava said, watching as I crumbled a couple more crackers into her soup. “That’s good,” she said.

“Good,” I said, sitting down at the table and picking up a spoon of my own, just as Harper came into the kitchen and sat across from me.

“Got my article submitted, so that’s a plus,” she sighed. She looked over at Ava. “How are you feeling, honey?”

“Okay,” Ava said, smiling at Harper. “Mr. Ace put the crackers in my soup, just like you do!”