want to help?”
“How hard could it be?”
She shrugged a little and said, “If you want to. Tillie says she wants some juice.”
I got up and found some apple juice in the fridge. Two sippy cups were on the counter next to it. I filled them up and brought them back. “You must be Tillie,” I said to the little girl, who smiled shyly. “Nice to meet you.”
The little girl happily took the sippy cup and babbled something back.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be chasing that girl you were talking to?” Ember asked with an amused smile.
I sent her a sly look. “What? Why be with one when I’ve got three right here?” She tried and failed to hide her smile. “So, where are your parents? Shouldn’t they be taking care of the kids?”
Ember merely looked down at the toddler in her arms. Molly was smiling around her sippy cup. “They aren’t what you would call involved parents. My dad’s at the bar, and who knows where my mom is.”
“Don’t you have school or a job?” I asked.
“I’m an EMT, but I only work three times a week, so I take care of the babies on my day off.”
“I thought this was only university housing?”
“Technically, it is, but I’ll keep a secret if you can. I don’t think the twins will rat us out.”
I could only stare down at Tillie who’d taken a seat next to me, momentarily shaken, when I realized she was staring up at me as she sucked back her juice. She blinked owlishly, and her throaty little grunts made me smile.
“You’re pretty good with her,” Ember said.
“The ladies love me,” I cooed to Tillie.
“Whatever you say, hotshot.”
“What’s up with the hotshot?”
“You play ball, don’t you?” She nodded toward the hoodie wrapped around my waist. “I’ve gotten used to reading people. You seem like the cocky sports type.”
“I can’t argue with that. I’m a pitcher.”
“Naturally,” Ember said, lifting Molly onto her lap for a cuddle. She pulled out baby wipes from a basket under the coffee table and began wiping Molly’s sticky hands.
Tillie was already fighting sleep again as I picked her up to do the same. I copied Ember as she patted Molly on the back. Both girls fussed a little, and Ember showed me to her room, which she shared with the twins. She put Molly down in one of the cribs and then Tillie in the other.
“So, your parents live here with you?” I asked as the twins settled into a deep sleep. They were kinda cute when they weren’t screaming.
“For the most part. They’re rarely here. This used to be my place, but they got kicked out of theirs, and then mom got pregnant. I couldn’t exactly leave them on the street.” The red tinge of shame colored her cheeks, but I didn’t judge her for that.
Ember pulled the door closed on the sleeping girls, and we were alone in the hallway.
The silence closed in around us, and my heart began to thud in my chest. I’d followed her because I couldn’t not, but now that I had her alone, I couldn’t quite find any words. It was a first—being awkward around a woman.
She raised a hand before I could get them out. “Don’t,” she said warningly.
“Don’t what?”
“You’re going to ask me out—and you’re cute and everything—but I’m in no place to have a boyfriend. I just started my job at the station, and I’ve got the twins and my parents. I’m sorry, but I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”
I nodded and tried to hide how crestfallen I was. Which didn't make sense. We had just met, and I wasn't looking to get tied down either.
“I understand, but I should get going,” I said and made to move toward the front door.
She stopped me with a hand on my arm. “I could use a friend though,” she said.
Chapter Three
Ember
“Ember! EMBER! EMBER!”
I struggled to consciousness, slowly at first, and then all at once, snapping awake and jerking to a sitting position. There was a moment where I wasn’t sure where I was. Sometimes it was like that at the station when we got a call and I couldn’t remember if I was still at home or not. Then my eyes focused on the twins, who’d fallen asleep on my bed again, and I relaxed.
Molly slept with her mouth slightly open to my left. Tillie was curled into a protective ball on my right. We must have fallen asleep watching TV after I