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Claire took off her jacket and draped it over her arm. She headed in that direction, and when she reached the entrance to the living room, she stopped.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Chris was sitting on the couch, leaning slightly forward. In his arms was little Willow, who looked thoroughly unimpressed with the situation she had found herself in. With one tiny hand, she was trying to push her father’s hand away, while the other was clutching his shirt. Chris was apparently trying to calm her down. And he was doing it with remarkable patience.
Claire leaned her shoulder against the doorframe and smiled to herself. Seeing Chris as a father was still a little strange to her. Not because she couldn’t picture him with a child. Quite the opposite. Chris had always had that protective side to him. He was the kind of man who could pretend nothing bothered him when, in reality, he cared deeply about everyone and everything he considered his own. Claire knew that trait all too well. But seeing him with his own daughter was something entirely different.
Chris, who could be stubborn, serious, and at times far too responsible, was now sitting on the couch trying to convince a several-month-old baby that life wasn’t so bad.
“Come on, sweetheart.” he said quietly. “Easy.”
Willow answered with a long, unhappy grunt.
Chris looked at her seriously.
“Really? That’s your answer?”
Claire covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing out loud. Chris looked up.
He saw her.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.”
“Claire.”
“Don’t let me interrupt. That was very touching.”
Chris sighed.
“Jill went into town. She had something to take care of.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“No.”
Chris frowned. Claire shrugged.
“I just guessed.”
“Of course you did.”
She smiled wider and walked closer. She set her coffee down on the table, then looked at Willow. The little girl stopped fussing for a second and looked at her aunt with wide eyes.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Willow blinked.
Claire held out a finger toward her. The baby immediately wrapped her tiny hand around it.
“Well, look at that.”
Chris glanced at his daughter.
“Don’t fall for it. She was screaming five minutes ago.”
“Maybe she just doesn’t like your methods.”
“My methods work.”
“She looks thrilled.”
As if to prove her point, Willow let out another dissatisfied noise.
Claire snorted.
“See?”
“It’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny to me.”
Chris shook his head, but the corner of his mouth twitched. Claire sat down beside him. For a moment, she watched them in silence.
Willow was tiny, soft, and completely helpless. She had dark hair and that distinctive baby way of looking at everything, as though the whole world was brand new to her. Claire remembered the first time she had seen her. She remembered being unable to say anything coherent for several seconds. She had simply stared at the tiny little person and felt something tighten in her chest. She was an aunt. The word still sounded a little strange to her.
Chris shifted Willow higher on his shoulder.
“I think she’s tired.”
“Or hungry.”
“She ate recently.”
“Maybe she wants to be held.”
Chris looked at her.
“I am holding her.”
Claire smiled innocently.
“Not like that.”
“What does not like that mean?”
“Let me show you.”
“Claire…”
“Give her to me.”
Chris hesitated for a second, then carefully handed his daughter over. Willow immediately stopped squirming.
Claire looked at her brother with a triumphant smile.
“See?”
“Coincidence.”
“Of course.”
Willow rested her head against Claire’s shoulder and almost immediately settled down.
Chris looked at the two of them.
“She betrayed me.”
“Get used to it.”
“I’m her father.”
“And I’m her favorite aunt.”
“You’re her only aunt.”
“All the more reason for me to have a monopoly.”
Chris gave a quiet snort. Claire gently rubbed Willow’s back. The little girl slowly began to close her eyes.
“Will Jill be gone long?”
“She should be back in an hour or two.”
“So you still have time to learn.”
“Learn what?”
“How to be a father.”
Chris raised an eyebrow.
“You really want to explain that to me?”
“No. I want to make fun of you.”
“That, you’re good at.”
Claire smiled to herself.
“Remember when you were convinced you’d be great with kids?”
“I am great with kids.”
“Willow was trying to escape your arms five minutes ago.”
“She’s a baby. She can’t escape.”
“Technically, she tried.”
Chris sighed, but this time he laughed. Claire looked at him fondly. She didn’t often get to see him in moments like this.
Chris had always had a tendency to take too much responsibility upon himself. Even when they were children, he could act as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. Not much had changed over the years. He still had the same instinct. Protect. Help. Keep watch. Take everything upon himself, even when nobody asked him to.
And now he was doing the same thing with Willow. Except this time, it wasn’t about responsibility.
It was about love.
“What?” Chris asked.
Claire blinked.
“What?”
“You’re looking at me.”
“Am I not allowed to?”
“You are. It’s just… you’re smiling strangely.”
Claire looked at Willow.
“It’s just nice seeing you two like this.”
Chris was silent for a moment.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Claire adjusted the blanket around the baby’s shoulders.
“I never thought I’d see you in a situation like this.”
“What kind?”
“Sitting quietly on the couch with a baby in your arms.”
“I’m a calm person too.”
Claire looked at him in disbelief.
“Chris.”
“What?”
“You’re not.”
“I am.”
“You’re not.”
“Claire.”
“I saw you trying to put the crib together.”
Chris grimaced.
“The instructions were defective.”
“The instructions were three pages long.”
“And badly written.”
Claire laughed quietly.
Willow shifted against her shoulder.
“Shh…”
The little girl started fussing again.
Claire looked at Chris.
“What were you doing before?”
“Rocking her.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Chris held out his arms.
“Give her to me.”
Claire handed Willow back to him. Chris pulled his daughter close and began gently rocking her to the rhythm.
“I used to do this with you.”
Claire looked at him.
“With me?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Really?”
“When you were little.”
Something soft entered his voice. Claire didn’t answer right away.
“And it worked?”
Chris looked at her with a faint smile.
“Very well.”
“I don’t remember.”
“I do.”
Claire watched him as he rocked Willow.
“How did you do it?”
“Like this.”
Chris began moving gently, almost automatically. One hand supported his daughter while the other softly patted her back.
“You always calmed down.”
Claire smiled.
“Really?”
“Yeah. You liked it.”
“How do you know?”
Chris looked at her as though the answer were obvious.
“Because I did it enough times.”
Claire lowered her gaze. Suddenly, the image of a young Chris holding a baby in his arms appeared in her imagination. She didn’t remember it, of course. She couldn’t. But for some reason, she could picture it perfectly. Her older brother.
A young boy who still needed someone to take care of him, yet was trying to calm her whenever she cried.
“You were a good brother,” she said quietly.
Chris glanced at her.
“I tried.”
Claire smiled.
“I know.”
Willow suddenly let out a loud, indignant squeal.
Chris looked down.
“Okay. You don’t like that.”
Claire burst out laughing.
“I guess not.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like that technique.”
Chris tried again, more gently. Willow answered with another fussy little noise.
“See?” Claire said. “It used to work on me.”
“Exactly.”
“And not on her.”
“Apparently she’s stubborn.”
Claire looked at her brother with amusement.
“Wonder who she got that from.”
Chris looked at her.
“You.”
“You.”
“You.”
“Chris.”
“Claire.”
For a moment, they stared at each other in silence. Then they both started laughing.
Willow apparently decided that her family was far too loud, because she started fussing again.
“Okay, okay.” Chris muttered. “I got it.”
Claire placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Maybe she just wants to sleep.”
“You think?”
“Yeah.”
Chris looked at his daughter. Willow’s eyes were already half-closed.
“I think you’re right.”
“Of course I am.”
“Don’t push it.”
Claire stood up.
“I’ll make some tea.”
“For me too?”
“If you behave.”
“I have a baby.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Chris shook his head. Claire headed toward the kitchen but stopped for a moment in the doorway. She looked back. Chris was sitting on the couch with Willow curled against his chest. One hand adjusted her blanket while the other gently moved across her back. His face was calm.
Claire smiled warmly. The sight was simple. Ordinary. And maybe that was exactly why she liked it so much. Her brother, whom she had spent her entire life associating primarily with his need to protect other people, was now sitting in his own home, worrying about whether his little daughter was comfortable. And when Willow finally fell asleep, Chris didn’t even move.
Claire came back with the tea and set the mug beside him.
“She asleep?”
Chris nodded.
“Yeah.”
“So, how’s your method?”
Chris looked at her.
“Doesn’t work.”
Claire smiled.
“Maybe she needs a different one.”
“Like what?”
Claire sat down beside him.
“Maybe she just needs her dad.”
Chris looked at Willow, then at his sister. For a moment, he said nothing.
“Maybe.”
Claire rested her head against his shoulder.
“I think she got a pretty good one.”
Chris glanced sideways at her.
“You got a pretty good brother too.”
Claire smiled.
“I know.”
And this time, neither of them needed to say anything else.