by Chloe Morgan
“There. That should work,” he said.
Then, he bent over and slid the damn thing underneath the table foot so it wouldn’t rock.
My eyes darted around, taking in the cracked walls, the dust in the ceiling, the fans that looked to be spreading the dust around. I looked back into the kitchen and saw a man mopping, and I wasn’t sure about the cleanliness of that water. The countertops looked clean enough. The register was practically new.
Did they not have the money to update this place or something?
“This place has the best pizza with all the fresh toppings you could ever imagine,” Dane said.
“Fresh?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Yes. Fresh. Everything here is homemade. They pour their love into their food, not their decor.”
“Your mother would be appalled at such a statement.”
“Nine words. That sentence was impressive.”
I snickered and shook my head.
“Yes, she would be. But even she eats here on occasion. When I get it to go, at least,” Dane said.
“You want the usual, Dane?”
I peered over his shoulder as a bombastic man came down the small walkway. Dane craned his neck back and looked at the man, then stood and shook his hand. The two of them chattered away for a little while, but I tuned them out. I gazed out the window, watching the soft breeze push leaves and plastic bags around in the parking lot.
I wanted to go pick them up. I hated it when people made unnecessary messes of things.
“Give us a second to order. But yes. I’ll be getting my usual,” Dane said.
“I’ll come back with your drinks in a second,” the man said.
“My drink?” I asked.
Dane sat down. “Trust me. You want their root beer. They make it fresh here, in-house.”
My eyes fell back to the decor. I wasn’t sure if I wanted anything that was made in-house from a place like this.
“Stop judging by the outside, Erin. You’ve been around my mother way too long,” he said.
“Maybe,” I said, shrugging.
“How long have you worked for her?” he asked.
“About two years.”
“Where are you originally from?”
“Why can’t I be from here?”
My eyes whipped up to his, and he held my gaze. I felt him analyzing me. Picking me apart. I didn’t like it. I didn’t want him doing it. But his eyes were comforting. He did have hazel eyes like his mother, and they were beautiful. His short brown hair was cropped like a Marine’s. And he was massive. Even more so upfront than from a distance. I heard the chair groaning underneath him as he shifted around. His muscles flexed, and it took all the strength I had not to look at them. He most certainly had tattoos. I saw them peeking out from underneath the cuffs of his T-shirt, peeking beyond the neck of it from his chest.
I resisted the urge to ask him about them.
“Two root beers, on the house. Welcome home, Dane,” the man said.
“Thanks, brother. I appreciate it. Uh, Ricky. This is Erin,” he said.
“Oh, I know. She’s the one that works for your mom, right?”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
“You too. You know what you wanna order, sweet cheeks?” he asked.
“Don’t call me that,” I said.
“Yeah, Ricky. Don’t call the woman that,” Dane said playfully.
“No. Really. Don’t ever call me that,” I said.
Hailey’s father had called me that.
“Erin is fine,” I said.
“Then, Erin it is. Sorry for the trouble. So, I know what Dane here wants. You been able to take a look at the menu yet?” Ricky asked.
“Not really,” I said.
“Well, Dane here gets a large three-meat pizza with mushrooms and onions added. We’ve got every topping you can imagine, and we can make it into a calzone if you want,” Ricky said.
“Oh. Well,” I said.
“They’ve got olives. You like olives?” Dane asked.
I shook my head.
“What about green peppers? Or chicken?”
I shrugged, overwhelmed by my options. I picked up a menu from the table holder and scanned it. But it didn’t do anything to make me feel less overwhelmed.
“You like barbecue sauce?” Dane asked.
I paused before I nodded.
“Okay, Ricky. Get her a small barbecue chicken pizza. With some extra sauce on the side,” Dane said.
“Medium, actually,” I said.
Both of the men eyed me as if I had just won the lottery.
“Medium, then,” Dane said, smiling.
“Coming right up. Give us thirty minutes,” Ricky said.
“Sure you can handle a medium pizza?” Dane asked coyly.
“Pregnancy changes a woman’s appetite,” I said.
“Are you pregnant?” he asked.
I snickered. “No. I have a daughter, though.”
“What’s her name?”
“Hailey.”
“How old is she?” he asked.
“She’s almost two,” I said, smiling.
“I wondered when you’d smile for me.”
I giggled softly as I nodded.
“She’s a good girl. We’re lucky to have found your mother when we did,” I said.
“Why’s that?” Dane asked.
I paused, not wanting to go into the story.
“I’m originally from Boulder,” I said.
Dane nodded slowly, like he had understood my need to turn the conversation.
“I’ve been there a few times. Though, I can’t say I enjoy it,” he said.
“Don’t worry. It’s shit,” I said.
He looked at me with shock in his eyes before the two of us shared a chuckle.
“That’s a good word for it,” he said.
“That, it is,” I said, smiling brighter.
The conversation flowed a little easier with Dane. Well, at least I thought it did. I found myself wanting to talk with him, which was new. Not really what I had expected from him. And he was right. The pizza was delicious. The barbecue sauce was incredible, and I ended up getting a to-go cup of root beer because I wasn’t ready to give it up yet.
Even though I was stuffed.
“I have to give it to you, that was good food,” I said.
“See? I told you all you had to do was give it a chance,” Dane said.
“I have a feeling I’ll be gaining a few extra pounds by eating there too much.”
“Well, let me know when you’re headed that way. I’m always looking for an excuse to dip in there and eat my weight in pizza.”
I smiled as we stopped outside of Claire’s shop.
“Well, you didn’t have to pay for lunch, but thank you,” I said.
“I invited, so I pay. That’s how it works,” Dane said.
I nodded as I reached for the doorknob.
“I wanted to ask you,” he said.
“Yes?”
“What are you doing this weekend? Because if you’re free, I’d like to take you somewhere,” he said.
I nodded and sighed.
“It’s a nice gesture, but I don’t think that’s going to be a good idea,” I said.
“Why not?”
“It just isn’t.”
Dane smiled, and it clenched my heart. He had the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen on a man in my life.
“Well, I’ll try again soon. See how you feel then,” he said.
And as he opened the door for me, I tried to bury the smile his statement granted me until he left.
Chapter 7
Dane
“So, how are things back at Camp Pendleton?” my mother asked.
“Good enough for me to tell you that I can cook us breakfast, for once,” I said.
“I thought you had slop halls where you go and eat with the guys?”
“The term ‘slop hall’ should tell you all you need to know about those places,” I s
aid, chuckling.
“Well, I hope you at least have decent coffee and a decent room this time. Because where you were stationed last didn’t have a hope or a prayer of keeping you comfortable.”
“I’m technically living off-base this time. In a little apartment not too far down the road.”
“How is training going? You look even bigger than I last saw you,” she said.
“The gyms at Pendleton are nice. I hit them up regularly,” I said.
“Good. Because I don’t want to hear another story about how some machine broke on you. I swear, you’d think they’d provide the fighters of our country with better things to help them with their jobs.”
“Mom, let me—”
“Sit. Down,” she ordered.
I held my hands up as she scraped eggs onto my plate. She dipped me up some hash browns and placed a slice of fresh cheese onto my eggs. There was fruit she sliced and bagels she toasted up. There was that decadent whipped cream cheese and coffee as well as orange juice.
The woman didn’t know how to be anything other than overprotective and overproviding.
“So, I heard about your little lunch excursion with my employee,” my mother said.
I sipped my coffee. “I figured you would. I’m shocked it took you this long to bring it up. I mean, we were in this house all night last night and you didn’t say anything.”
“I figured you’d be itching to tell your mother first. I’m hurt, you know.”
“No, you aren’t. You’re curious,” I said.
“It’s the same thing.”
“It’s nowhere in the realm of the same thing, Mom.”
“Would you just let me have this one so you can get to telling me how it went?” she asked.
I laughed as she sat down with me, a plate of her own made with only half the food mine had.
“You’re not any more hungry than that?” I asked.
“Now look who’s getting all up in someone’s business,” my mother said, grinning.
“Well, to answer your question, it went so well that I’m trying to get Erin to go out with me again,” I said.
“I think that’s a great idea. I like Erin. She’s kind of quiet. Reserved.”
“I noticed.”
“But once she opens up, she really is a sweetheart. Full of warmth. Support. Passion. And she loves that daughter of hers more than anything. You make sure to treat her right. She’s had a rough go of it.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
My mother flicked her eyes up to me.
“I’m not going to feed you anything she doesn’t want to tell you herself. But Erin is a single mother. She doesn’t need someone coming in and out of her child’s life. If you’re serious about taking her out, then you better make sure you’re ready for what comes with her. Including that cute little two-year-old of hers.”
“Almost two,” I said.
“Right. Almost two,” my mother said.
“I promise I’ll be good to her, Mom. You’re the one that raised me. You know how I am.”
“I know you will, but that girl doesn’t have anyone in this town standing up for her. So, I’m going to do it.”
“She doesn’t have anyone?” I asked.
My mother sighed. “Quit fishing, Dane.”
“It’s more like you’re talking too much, Mom.”
I grinned as I dug into my food, getting through half my plate before a question crossed my mind. I looked at my mother, watching as she ate. Sipped her coffee in perfect fashion, with no dribble, no spill, and no slurp. She was the epitome of grace and poise. She was a beautiful woman, and it made me want to ask the question even more.
“Mom?” I asked.
“Mhm?”
“Why didn’t you ever remarry after Dad died?” I asked.
She sighed and put her coffee mug down before she leaned back into her chair.
“You know, I get asked that question a lot. Why I never dated. Why I never remarried. Why I didn’t pack up and go somewhere else to start again. And I’ve given a lot of answers. I wasn’t ready. I still wasn’t ready. I didn’t know where I’d go. I didn’t want to leave his memory. But you want the truth?” she asked.
“I do,” I said.
“I only had room in my heart for him. And you.”
“Mom.”
“I’m serious, Dane. It sounds like a typical mother answer, but it’s the truth. I had the perfect husband who gave me the perfect son. And there’s no sense in messing with perfection. Not when I was lucky enough to have it twice,” she said.
I set down my fork and leaned over, wrapping my mother up in a hug.
“I love you, Mom,” I said.
“I love you too, son,” she said as she patted my back.
I sat back in my chair and finished my food. I did feel like it was the typical mother answer. But I saw in her eyes how serious she was about it. And it got me thinking about Erin. Where was Hailey’s father? If he wasn’t in the picture, did that mean she didn’t want any man in the picture? It wouldn’t stop me from asking her out again. But it did make me think.
Was there room in her world for someone like me?
Chapter 8
Erin
“Can I ask you a question?” I asked.
“It’s never good when you preface it,” Whitney said.
I rolled my eyes. “What do you think of Dane Hamilton?”
“Claire’s son?”
“Yeah. Him.”
“Why do you ask?” she asked.
“Because he took me to lunch Friday,” I said.
Whitney gripped my arm, stopping me in my tracks
“He what now?” she asked.
“He took me to lunch. That little pizza place on the corner that looks gross. It’s actually really good. I should get us pizza from there one night,” I said.
“You went out on a date and I’m just now hearing about it?”
“It wasn’t a date. Just lunch.”
“Did he pay?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then, it was a date,” she said.
I sighed as Whitney and I grabbed my snacks from the kiosk. Maiden had this cute little indoor play place for kids to run around and jump in. There were slides that fell into ball pits and fuzzy animal mascots that came out and gave the kids toys to play with. There were little electric cars to ride around in and inflatable mazes for the kids to navigate. Hailey loved the place, and it gave me a chance to be a good mother while also getting time to sit and talk with Whitney.
We got back to the table with the snacks, and Whitney took my hand.
“Did you have fun on your lunch date?” she asked.
“Why are you asking me as if I’ve just lost my puppy to a car accident?” I asked.
“Because this is the first date since… you know.”
“Since Hailey’s father left. You can say it,” I said.
“Fine. Okay. So, you want to know what I think about him.”
“Yes.”
“I think he’s going to be nothing but trouble for you,” she said.
“What?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter what his personality is like, Erin. He’s a man. And men only want one thing, especially when children are involved. You think a man like him is looking for an instant family?”
“I mean, I wasn’t considering that far down the road, but—”
“I don’t want to see you get hurt. And a man like Dane has that word scrawled on his forehead. Just look at what Hailey’s father did to you,” she said.
“He left. I get it,” I said.
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
My stomach clenched. I shook my head as I gazed off into the distance. I didn’t talk about that side of the story with anyone. I didn’t tell anyone about the extra bullshit that man put me through. And it was moments like this where I regretted ever telling my sister about it. Yes, that man had hurt me. But I had people telling me I could
n’t carry that hurt around forever. That eventually, I’d have to let it go. I’d have to let go to what he did to me and move on.
And now, my sister was telling me I had to use that as an excuse to guard myself further?
“I mean, he seemed like a good guy,” I said.
“Then, let’s consider his occupation. He’s in the—”
“Hailey Sims! Where are the parents of Hailey Sims?”
I shot up out of my chair and grabbed the diaper bag. I heard the panicked state of the worker’s voice. And as I drew closer to the sound of it, I heard Hailey struggling to breathe. I watched Whitney gather Hailey in her arms, and I brought out everything I needed. The snout. The inhaler. Something for Hailey to drink after. I handed my daughter her favorite little bunny and she clutched it tightly, tears springing to her eyes.
“I love you. I’m sorry,” I said.
I shook up the inhaler and pushed it into the snout. Then, I held the device over my daughter’s face. She fought against Whitney as my sister held her close, and tears sprang to my eyes. I sprayed once. Twice. Hailey got her hand up to the snout and moved it away, so my sister brought her hand around and held it back to her mouth.
“Spray one more time for good measure,” she said.
So, I did as I was told.
I sprayed one last time and watched Hailey finally breathe to continue crying. She drew in full, deep breaths, and I peeled the snout away from her face. Tears rushed down her cheeks. I reached over and wiped them away before tucking all of that shit back into her diaper bag. I gathered my daughter in my arms and held her close, whispering how sorry I was and how I loved her so much for being such a good girl.
“Fank you, Mom,” Hailey said.
I smiled at her manners. Finally, we were catching on with them. I kissed the top of her head before I helped steady her onto her feet. She handed her bunny back to me before she looked up at the worker, and I sighed as I sat back on my heels.
“Is she okay to still play?” the worker asked.
I nodded as a bright smile crossed my daughter’s face.
I watched the two of them walk off together, a pep in my daughter’s step like nothing had happened. Like we hadn’t just pinned her down and forced her to take medication for a breathing issue she shouldn’t have even had. Flashes of her in the NICU popped into my mind. That fall at the gas station made me angry all over again. I felt Whitney rub my back before she wrapped her arm around me, and then the two of us stood.