Sweetest Goodbye (Navy Book 3)

Chapter 14

When Kate exited her bedroom the following morning she fully expected to be tripping over men, but there was no one else in the house. It was silent and empty. Kate looked over at the couch and noted that the blankets and pillow she had put out the night before were exactly where she had left them.

Shrugging her shoulders, she moved to the bathroom to get ready for the day only to discover a note that told her to take the day off from the ranch. Finding it odd, but knowing that she had about as much chance of finding out why as she did of winning the lottery, she brushed away the oddness of the situation and continued to prepare for her day.

She was in the kitchen an hour later preparing a large pot of chili when the backdoor opened and Devon came slouching in, looking exhausted. The baby was screaming and Devon looked as if she was about to cry.

"I don't know what to do!" she wailed and the baby's cries escalated to be heard over Devon's. Amelia was crying so hard she shook in her carrier.

Kate knew she didn't have a choice if she wanted peace, so she swooped in and picked up the baby cuddling her to her shoulder. Amelia's cries immediately fell to small whimpers as she snuggled into Kate's warm shoulder.

"See! I'm a horrible mother! I've been trying to get her to stop crying all morning and she wouldn't. You pick her up and bam, she's quiet. I'm not meant to do this. She hates me!" Devon's head slumped onto her arms on the table and shook with quiet sobs.

"No, you're a normal mother who is over tired and frustrated, and the baby senses that. I am well rested and calm and she senses that too." Kate listen to the silence that descended as both Amelia and Devon calmed down.

"Out of curiosity why did you decide to travel with Josh, wouldn't you have been more comfortable at home with the baby?" Kate felt the warm weight of Amelia as she grew heavy while falling asleep.

"I wanted to meet you," Devon said honestly as she sat up and wiped the tears off of her wet cheeks. "Charlie wanted to come too but she had to go to a conference. She would have blown it off but she was presenting so she couldn't. I think Kellan was secretly relieved."

Kate turned back towards the chili stirring it as she hid a smile.

"Josh said that Lee said that there was nothing between the two of you. Is that true?" Devon continued on with her honesty streak and it was evident that she felt Kate should do the same.

"Yes, there is nothing between us. We're just friends, if that." Kate couldn't even really call Lee a friend. Friends knew stuff about each other.

"Oh..." Devon sounded disappointed. "So last night was pointless."

"No, I wouldn't say that. I did learn Lee's nickname as a kid." Kate said it more for something to say since Devon still seemed upset.

"What was it?"

"Little Lee." Kate looked over her shoulder, smiling, as Devon laughed out loud. The sound made the baby jump and Devon quickly clapped her hands over her mouth as she noticed the small movement.

"Spider is so much better." Devon smiled.

"Spider?" Kate watched Devon cringe at the question.

"Damn it!" Her head fell back to the table with a thump.

But Kate wasn't going to give up that easily. She was guessing that Spider was Lee's new nickname but she wanted to know why. "Why Spider?"

Devon raised her head, shaking it. "You'll have to ask Lee. I shouldn't have told you that much."

They were silent for a while and Kate noted that Devon had dozed off in her chair.

"Devon."

"What?" she asked, immediately awake.

"If you bring me some of the baby's things I'll keep her while you take a little nap. Lee gave me the day off so I have the time." Kate slowly lowered Amelia back into her carrier where she continued to doze.

"You wouldn't mind?" She looked hopeful.

"No," Kate said as she adjusted a blanket. "We'll keep an eye on the chili and watch the Gameshow Network."

"I'll be right back!" Devon jumped up and ran out the door, not even bothering to close it behind her. She was back in less than five minutes with a diaper bag full of goodies. After a ten-minute explanation of everything Devon disappeared leaving Kate alone with a baby for the first time in thirteen years.

Kate did exactly what she said she was going to do, and it was three hours later, when she was really into a game of The Price is Right with Amelia asleep on the couch next to her, that the backdoor opened and Lee, Kellan, and Josh entered.

She heard them moving around in the kitchen, and like most males, they found food and immediately started to eat it without a thought as to whether it was for them or not. She listened to the soft murmur of conversation and bowls and spoons clinking as they ate. Eventually, one by one, they wandered into the living room to watch the T.V. and then return to the kitchen for more food.

When Josh saw the baby, he raised an eyebrow in question.

"Devon needed a nap." That seemed to be explanation enough as he nodded and went back to the kitchen

Kellan wandered in, looked at her and the baby and said, "Uh." Then wandered out again.

When Lee entered, he didn't raise an eyebrow or make a comment as he fell into a chair and closed his eyes. He looked as if he had been up all night.

Kellan wandered by on his way to closing himself off in the guest bedroom and Josh disappeared, she guessed that he went back to the apartment.

Kate didn't know if she was pleased that he seemed to trust her with his daughter or perturbed that he left without asking if she wanted him to take her. She was also working herself up into a fine anger as she thought of the dishes that must be in the sink. She had heard them eat, uninvited, but she hadn't heard a single one turn on the faucet to do the dishes.

She was so caught up in her angry thoughts that Lee's laugh caught her off guard.

"You're cute when your angry, something I don't think happens all that often." He rose and approached her dropping a kiss on her forehead. "The chili was delicious, thank you. I'm going to borrow your bed for a quick nap," he said, not giving her the chance to object.

She was so stunned by the compliments and tender kiss that it took her a minute to register what had just happened. When she did notice he was already in her room with the door closed before she could object.

Amelia started fussing and Kate picked her up cuddling her close. "One day girl, you will find out just how truly impossible boys, of all ages, are."

Amelia only belched and then smiled as she drifted back off to sleep. The previous night must have been just as hard on her as it had been on her mother.

Kate looked at the closed door and thought of Lee, asleep in her bed, and how easy it would be to join him. She was never so glad to be babysitting in her life. She patted the baby and wondered if there was any chili left for herself, before wondering why Lee was called Spider for the hundredth time since Devon had told her. She was determined to find out as soon as Lee woke up from his nap.