What she really wanted to do was peel off her own drenched clothes. The smell of vomit surrounded her, permeating everything. But she couldn’t very well drive to her house to get cleaned up with a nauseous child in tow.
As Kate changed Audrey’s bedding, she called Jaxon. He picked up after a couple of rings. “If you’re calling to check on me, I’m still not in prison.”
“Glad to hear that. I just wanted to tell you that Audrey threw up.”
“What? Is she okay?”
“Yes.” Kate laid a new blanket on the bed, careful not to let it brush against her soiled clothes. “She was spinning around. I think it was too much for her stomach.”
“I’ll come home.”
“You don’t need to. She’s fine, really.” Jaxon probably didn’t get many nights out. Kate hated to ruin this one. “I wouldn’t have even called, but vomit seems like it’s on the list of things babysitters should report.”
“Then I might stay a while longer.” He lowered his voice. “I don’t know. I hate to admit it, but Landon was right about this party. Not that I was ever here to say that.”
“Someone has to see that the groom stays out of police custody. That can be your wedding gift.”
Jaxon laughed. “I was planning on a toaster, but we’ll see.”
After Kate hung up, she put Audrey to bed again. This time, she placed a large bowl nearby in case nausea decided on an encore.
The little girl settled onto her pillow, all blue-eyed innocence. “Sorry for throwing up on you.” She scrunched her nose. “You smell really bad.”
“Yes, Evil Queen. You’ll have to add vomit showers to your ways of tormenting princesses.”
Audrey giggled, a sign she really was feeling better. “When I get dirty, Daddy makes me take a bath before I’m allowed to touch the furniture.” She nodded like it was a hardship she didn’t like enduring. “It’s the rules.”
Kate surveyed her wet clothes. This was beyond the scope of dabbing herself with a washcloth. “Maybe I should take a quick shower.”
Bisbee was a twenty-minute drive away from the Wyle Away, so even if Jaxon decided to come home, she had a while before he showed up. And he probably wouldn’t leave the party until later anyway. She could throw her clothes in the Wyles’ washing machine and find something to wear until they were done.
“I’ll be fast.” Kate moved to the door. “If you need anything, yell really loud.”
“Daddy always lets me watchHappily Never Afterwhen I’m sick in bed.”
The show might not be the best influence, seeing as Audrey wanted to pursue a career as a villain, but at that point, Kate wasn’t going to argue. She accessed the program on her phone, gave it to Audrey, and headed to the bathroom.
Undressing and getting into someone else’s shower felt odd. Specifically a shower that Landon Wyle had probably used. He’d grown up in this house. This might have been his bathroom once.
She tried not to imagine him here taking a shower…water glistening on his broad shoulders… his head titled back, eyes shut. Honestly, what was wrong with her? There were a dozen reasons why things would never work out between her and Landon.
She turned the water hotter and hurriedly washed her hair. Who cared if Landon was gorgeous? And hardworking. And had a drawl that made you want to hang on his words. Right now, he was out with another woman. A woman who probably didn’t know he offered kissing therapy to his neighbors. He was clearly a player.
So it was a good thing Kate had learned what sort of guy Landon was early on.
She got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her, and peeked into Audrey’s room. The phone lay on the little girl’s chest, the show still playing. Audrey’s eyes were shut. She was either asleep or close to it.
Kate carried her soiled clothes down the hallway to the laundry room. It was on the second floor, a convenience she appreciated right now, as she would have felt even more awkward walking around downstairs in front of the picture windows wearing only a towel.
After the washing machine was chugging along, she looked in the dryer for something to wear. The load was mostly shirts and boxers, which would have to do. She pulled out a light blue oxford and wondered who it belonged to. The color was the same shade as Landon’s eyes. He’d look good in it.
Kate slipped the shirt on and rolled up the sleeves. She was still mostly naked. Would it be weird to put on a pair of the boxers?
Yeah, she decided with a sigh, it would be weird. However, it would also be weird to stroll around the Wyles’ house without underwear. She slipped on a pair of blue plaid boxers. With any luck, her clothes would be done before Jaxon returned, but if he showed up sooner, well, he’d just have to understand. Normal rules about the privacy of one’s boxers didn’t apply when vomit was involved.
She padded back toward Audrey’s room to retrieve her phone. Before she reached the door, a noise came from downstairs: the unwelcome sound of the front door opening and closing.
Great. Jaxon had decided to come home after all. She’d told him she was a capable babysitter, and he was about to find her wet and in borrowed boxers.