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Hunter
It’s hours later that I get back from the clubhouse, feeling both more secure in having Ironwood Falls as a home base, or at the very least a respite from being on the move, and unnerved at what that respite will cost me. Molly was right to warn me. But nerves are nothing if it means Charlie can have a place to rest and recover. I owe him that.
As soon as I finish at the clubhouse, I check in with Sophie. Her response comes so quickly that I’m sure she’s not holding Charlie, which means he’s either sleeping or, more likely, Emily is taking care of him while Sophie is playing on her phone.
I tell them to meet me back at the house. It’s late and well past Charlie’s bedtime, whatever bedtime babies have.
They’re waiting for me when I pull into the driveway, and they get out of Sophie’s car. Sophie slips out of the driver’s seat holding a can of hard lemonade, and Emily gets out cradling Charlie.
“Our baby boy likely has the common cold, but the doctor’s going to run some tests to be sure,” Sophie says, grinning.
“You took Charlie to the doctor?” I say. Then the first part of what she said hits me. “And what do you mean ‘our baby?’”
“There was a thing, and they were about to take our Charlie away, so we had to agree to take him to the doctor to get him checked out for his cold,” Sophie says.
“You’re talking real casually about the fact that you nearly lost Charlie when all you were supposed to do was watch him for a few hours while I took care of something,” I say. Then I turn to Emily, because I want actual answers. “What happened? And why is she saying it’s ‘our’ baby?”
“Maggie saw Charlie and noticed he still looked sick. She also had a lot of questions about the phone call I made to her to help with Charlie’s allergic reaction. I’m sorry, Hunter, but we had to come up with a story and we had to take Charlie to a doctor friend of hers or else she was going to call child services.”
“Between the two of us, it was more believable that I’d be the one to have a secret bastard baby, so we just went with it,” Sophie says. “But we kept your name off of any records. As far as the doctors are concerned, I got pregnant by an anonymous drifter. It was the best we could come up with on the spot.”
“Seems about right,” I say.
“Why does everyone keep saying that about me and random drifters?” Sophie says.
“Because it’s accurate,” I say. I turn my attention back to Emily. “So Charlie’s going to be OK?”
She nods, looks down at him, and smiles. “I’m sure he will be. It’s likely just a common cold, and he needs more rest to get over it. There is something else, though. You wouldn’t happen to have his immunization records, would you?”
I shake my head. “No. What are those?”
Her eyes widen a little. “You don’t know what immunization records are?”
“The military handled all that for me. When I served, if I needed shots before going on deployment, they told me when and where to be and the doctors gave me the jab and the all clear."
“Charlie’s yours, right?”
“Of course he is.”
“Then how can you not know any of this? When he was born, the doctors should’ve walked you through this, at least.”
Emily’s so damn responsible it blows me away. That the idea of someone not following through on a basic duty like an immunization schedule is enough to get her to stare down a man who literally had a gun to her head the day before. I need her, but right now, I don’t need the surprised — and judgmental — look she’s giving me.
“He’s had a non-traditional upbringing. Hasn’t that been clear from the start?”
“I’m not trying to judge you, Hunter. How you raise Charlie is up to you, but this is important stuff. Basic stuff, too.”
For as basic as it sounds, she’s putting a lot of damn weight in her words and making me feel out of my element. Which I am — I’m not dad material, because I’m not a fucking dad — but she doesn’t need to look at me like I am.
And why do I care about her opinion, anyway? She’s just the babysitter, right?
“Fine, so we’ll give him his shots and take care of it. No problem, right?”
“You don’t want to overdo it with immunizations. If he’s already had certain immunizations, it’s not a good idea to double up on them. There’s a schedule you follow, where you get certain shots at certain intervals. At four months, Charlie should get his second shot for DTaP, RV, Hib., PCV13, and IPV,” she says, rattling off a string of intimidating abbreviations like it’s nothing. It takes me back to my military days, when commanding officers would fire off strings of jargon in briefings, usually to remind me of what rules not to break and the consequences I’d be facing when I inevitably broke those rules.
“Why are you smiling, Hunter?”
I pause. It’d alter the nature of our relationship if I told her what I was really thinking — that with her help and the MC’s permission, I feel like I might have a shot at making this place a proper home for Charlie. That she is a vital piece of a puzzle and that I can’t do this without her. That I’m damn impressed by her.
