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With a few other firefighters pausing to greet me, I decided to ignore my paperwork for now. Hours later, as I was leaving, Tish’s name flashed on my screen. Hope jolted me.
Tish: Something came up at work. I hate to impose, but I’m wondering if you could pick up Teddy from daycare for me. I can call over and let them know you’ll be picking him up. I wouldn’t ask, except I can’t leave yet. Somebody got injured over at the construction site and I’m dealing with the follow-up. Should be done in about an hour or two.
Me: Of course. Tell me where to go and make sure to give them my full name.
I hustled out to my truck and hopped in, glancing down to see her reply.
Tish: You’re a godsend. I’ve already called the daycare. I really, really, really appreciate it. His car seat is at the daycare. The house is unlocked. I’ll see you there.
Me: I’ll see you when you get home. Don’t worry about the time.
Tish thanked me again, and texted me the address of the daycare. When I arrived to pick up Teddy, the woman at the front eyed me suspiciously. “We’ll need to see ID.”
I handed it over. Once I had Teddy and all of his things, the woman stifled a laugh when she saw me juggling him in his car seat and the diaper bag. I grinned over at her. “I’m getting there.”
It felt strange to have a baby in the back when I began driving. He didn’t fuss at all and giggled after I got him situated. I had to review the instructions to make sure I buckled the car seat in properly. Although I was an uncle to several nieces and nephews, being solely responsible like this carried an unexpected weight.
Chapter Twenty
Griffin
I discovered when I got back to Tish’s house that being responsible for a baby also meant I didn’t check my phone very much. I had multiple texts from Tish. It was clear she was sending them via talk-to-text because there were some amusing errors. She sent me tips on feeding and more.
We got through dinner, which was messier than I expected, and he still hadn’t fussed very much. I changed his diaper and was startled when there was a knock at the door. Confused, I scooped him back up and he started mouthing his fist. I opened the door to find Graham there.
“Griffin?” His eyes widened.
“Graham, what are you doing here?”
“Well Tish rents this place from us and I saw an unfamiliar vehicle here so I stopped by to make sure everything was okay.”
“Who is it?” a voice came from behind him.
Madison appeared, along with a young woman. “Who are you?” she demanded.
Graham gestured to her. “This is my daughter, Allie. She babysits for Tish a lot. We were coming home from picking her up at the airport in Anchorage.”
Teddy recognized Allie and began to babble excitedly. I handed him over because I thought Allie might be upset if I didn’t.
“You know Tish?” Madison asked.
“She works for my family’s company,” I explained.
“Oh, right.” Madison nodded.
Allie was still looking a little suspicious about the whole thing. I held my hands up. “You can call Tish right now. She texted me because she had to stay late at work to deal with something.”
Graham chuckled. “I should’ve recognized your truck.”
Allie bounced Teddy in her arms as he giggled. “I can take him if you want,” she offered.
“I promised Tish I’d stay with him, so I probably should.”
Graham smiled at her. “Griffin can handle Teddy.”
Allie reluctantly handed the baby back to me, adding, “If he has trouble falling asleep, text me.”
“Thanks for checking on Tish,” I said.
