Charlie pulled hers out from underneath her shirt and held the stone under her nose. “Mine helped sometimes. But Connor said I stink like a fart.”
“And she said it was better than smelling like old socks, so I took off my bracelet.”
I asked the kids to bring me their jewelry and the essential oil bottles, then read off the ingredients and explained what each one was and how it helped. “Charlie’s oil is mostly lemons, oranges, and other citrusy stuff like that. Do you really think it smells like a fart?”
Garrett grinned. “He was mad at her for saying his warpaint looked dumb and just said that to be mean.”
“I wonder why you felt like you needed to be mean to your sister?” I turned to Connor.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged his little shoulders and stared at the floor.
Sibling rivalry was natural. Lord knew I’d wanted to bash Darian’s face in for the simple offense of breathing…many times, but something told me more was going on with these kids. I also knew I didn’t have the skills to untangle the feelings they must be dealing with after losing their mom, so I didn’t push any further.
Instead, I moved into more comfortable waters. “Have you guys ever heard of meditation?”
Three heads quirked in question.
Now that was something I could tackle. The four of us sat in a circle on the floor and I asked them to close their eyes and focus on their breathing. “The goal is to clear your mind, so all those itchy thoughts and worries can’t bother you so much. Sometimes you can say a little prayer, asking for help with a problem that’s too big for you.”
After much giggling and interruption, I managed to get all three kids to settle down and a few minutes later, the energy in the house did too. My mind, though? It never quieted. I was too aware of the time and the fact that Jack might walk through the door any second.
What would he say when he saw me here? Would he think I was crazy for sending the sitter home, feeding his kids, cleaning his house, and teaching them to meditate?
If he did, I kept telling myself, that would say everything you needed to know about the man. You are who you are and if that weirds him out, then at least you know now, before you get any more involved then you already are.
Chapter Seven
Jack
I parked beside Amelia’s car in my driveway—
Wait.
Where was the beat-up Honda that belonged to the babysitter? Half a dozen horrible answers to that question dashed through my mind as I walked into the house. In the foyer, I stopped, shook my head, and walked right back out again to double-check I was in the right place.
Yep.
This was my front porch, complete with the correct house number, but the clean, quiet serenity waiting for me inside was almost unnerving. The toys were put away. The house smelled like lemons and oranges—with something a little stinkier hiding underneath. Amelia and the kids sat cross-legged on the floor in the living room, eyes closed, hands resting on their knees, humming, “Ohhmmmm,” over and over.
I leaned in the doorway and cleared my throat. Four sets of eyes blinked open, followed by three wide smiles.
“Daddy!” Charlie stood and jumped into my arms for a monkey hug, with the boys following close behind.
I embraced them all, kissing Charlie’s cheeks and rubbing the boys’ hair. “What in the world is going on here?”
Garrett stepped out of my arms and into his position of eldest brother who knows all the things. “Amelia brought us snacks and taught us how to meditate.”
She stood, smiling sheepishly. “My intuition said I needed to be here, so I grabbed some fruit from Ted Mason’s market and dropped in. The sitter seemed…uh…relieved.”
That didn’t exactly leave me with the warmest of fuzzies and a quick look at my kids confirmed my fears.
It had been a bad day.
Except it didn’t look like it was anymore. The peace on the children’s faces… It had been too long since they looked so at ease. Normally, I’d launch into a lecture about how I expected them to behave, then start doling out consequences which would ruin the rest of the night for all of us. But I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it with everyone looking so damn happy.
That intense smell under the citrus caught my nose and I sniffed the air. “Did something burn again?”
“Amelia did a sage…” Charlie quirked her head. “A sage…smear?”
“A sage smudge.” Amelia shrugged and caught her lip between her teeth as she gauged my reaction. “Burning sage is great for clearing negative energy and, with the utmost respect, I felt like your house could use a little cleansing.”
It was all I could do not to roll my eyes. Cleansing? Sure, it’d been a while since I’d dusted and the counters could probably use a good wipe down, but negative energy? I didn’t think so.
Amelia laughed. “I can see disbelief written all over your face. It’s hanging right there in that crooked grin of yours.” Her smile was beautiful. And she was so easy to be around. There was no pretense or effort, she was who she was without apology—even if that meant talking about crazy things as if they were proven facts.
I folded my arms over my chest. “You think you can read me that easily?”
“Oh, Jack. I know I can.” She stepped toward me, twirling the ends of her hair around a finger. “And you don’t have to believe in all my woo-woo weirdness to acknowledge it worked.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d come home to such a clean house and relaxed kiddos, but I wasn’t about to give in that easily. “We’ll see what you say about that by the end of the night.”
Her eyebrows raised. “The end of the night?”
“Sure. I can’t kick you out without feeding you. What kind of monster do you think I am?”
Her eyes caressed mine as a slow smile warmed her face. “Who said I thought you were a monster?”
The two of us grinned at each other for a long, eye contact heavy moment until I realized the kids were in the room. I blinked, taking a deep breath, then turned to them. “What sounds good for dinner?”
Three sets of eyes stared back at me. Charlie grinned. Connor looked thoughtful. And Garrett? I couldn’t read his expression.
“What?” I checked my shirt for coffee stains. Nothing.
“You seem different.” Charlie quirked her head as she studied my face.
“It’s because he’s smiling a lot.” Connor’s statement hit me in the heart and I let out a derisive chuckle. It had been a long time since anything felt so…simple.
“Is there something wrong with smiling? Just because I’m a dad means I can’t be happy?” I swooped Connor into my arms and swung him over my shoulder. His laughter filled the living room, while Charlie shrieked and giggled. When I finally put my son down, I turned to Amelia.
“Do you like burgers? There’s a great place just off Main—”
“Mike’s?” Expectation lit her face. “Evie told me she’d never had a better burger and the fries are so good you’ll want to sleep with them.”
“That’s a strange thing to say, but that settles it. Mike’s it is.”