The Hot Daddy Box Set

by Lexi Wilson

  “Come with me,” he said.

  I frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “Come with me. I have plenty of room in my house.”

  “I’m not coming with you.”

  “Well, I’m not leaving until you do,” he said.

  “Then you’ll be here all night.”

  He sighed. “Look, Kaylee, now is not the time to be stubborn. Think of Allie. Wouldn’t she like to sleep in a proper bed for a change? Come on, just come for the night at least. We can discuss it properly in the morning.”

  Jaxon was a smart man. He knew how to get me. All he had to do was to mention my daughter and he knew I would put her first. But I didn’t want to be the sort of woman who just listened to a man. I had already done that, and it had gotten me into a whole heap of trouble. I needed to start doing things on my own. I looked him in the eyes this time and shook my head.

  “Thank you, Jaxon. But I’ve got this. We’re fine.”

  “I’m sorry to do this to you, Kaylee, but I can have you arrested for your stolen plates.”

  “What… my…”

  He sighed. “I know they’re stolen. I also know that you’re running away from something. But, despite this, I know that you love your child and that you want the best for her. So, I can have you arrested, or you can just take my hospitality and come and spend the night at my house. You’ll have your own room, far away from me.”

  I glared at him. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Had he been snooping around, digging up information on me? I was so angry, and I wanted to tell him to go away. But right now, I couldn’t afford to do that. If I got arrested, then Bill would find my name on a record. I had to lay low.

  “Fine, but I’m not coming in your car.”

  “That’s fine. You can follow me home,” he said.

  “Fine.”

  I looked away and waited for him to get into his car. I considered trying to speed off, but he’d catch up with me in no time. My car wasn’t that fast, and I had barely any fuel left anyway. Also, the thought of a nice, warm bed and a hot shower really did sound like a wonderful idea to me. I sighed and followed him home. It felt like I was just jumping from one problem to another.

  Chapter 7

  Jaxon

  Toby wagged his tail next to me, completely oblivious to what had just happened. I kept looking back to make sure that Kaylee was still following me, and I was surprised each time I saw that she was. I kept expecting her to turn a corner and take off, but I suppose she knew that I would just come after her. Her car was certainly not the fastest. As soon as we got to the house, I parked the car and directed her to park behind me, then I took her inside. Toby barked and Allie immediately woke up in surprise. She took one look at Toby and giggled.

  “Dog!” she exclaimed. “Doggy!”

  I laughed. “This is Toby, he’s the cutest dog in the world. He’s very friendly too, so you can pet him, but just be gentle with him, okay?”

  “Okay.” She almost leapt out of Kaylee’s arms and went to pet the dog. Toby was in his element. There was nothing that he liked more than attention from humans.

  I looked at Kaylee and smiled. “Are you still angry with me?” I asked.

  “I’m fine. Nice place.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, it’s a great place,” I said.

  “Big,” she said. She wasn’t in the mood to talk, but I could tell that she was still quite impressed by the size of the house.

  “Yeah, and plenty of space for you and Allie.”

  I’d specifically bought the place because of its size. I had always had big plans to have a large family, but life just hadn’t turned out that way. I was only 30 though, and I knew I still had plenty of time to fill the rooms. That’s what everyone told me, at least. I sometimes wasn’t sure if I was ever going to find the right woman to start a family with.

  “Look, Kaylee, I know you’re not happy that I found you,” I said when I was sure that Allie was out of earshot. “And I know you’re not happy that I’ve been snooping around, but right now the only thing that matters to me is that you have a roof over your head. Now, go and get your stuff and I’ll show you to your room.”

  She stared at me, and I could tell she wanted to argue, but then she just sighed and nodded. I had a feeling she was too tired to complain, and too happy to be indoors again. “Okay,” she said, and went out to her car.

  When she came back, I took her to the spare room and showed her around. I wasn’t expecting anyone and I wished I had cleaned up a bit more, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  “Right, well, these two rooms share a door, but the door is locked so don’t worry about it. The bathroom is down the hall if you want to use it. I have a shower and a bath, and a whole lot of bubble bath that I have never used. So please, go wild,” I said. Then I stopped as I saw she was staring at me. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.

  “You…you have a bath?” she asked timidly.

  “Yeah, why? I have a shower too, if you prefer.”

  She shook her head. “I just… well… I would love to have a bubble bath right now. You sure you won’t mind?”

  “Of course not. Please, go ahead. Why don’t you come down after and have something to eat with me. But take your time. I’m in no rush to eat.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to,” she said. “I already ate something in the car.”

  I raised my eyebrows at her. “You’re eating with me. I have plenty. Trust me.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Thank you. I won’t be long, then.”

  “Honestly, Kaylee, take all the time that you need.”

  I went downstairs while she went to have a bath with Allie. I could hear the two of them giggling and I couldn’t help but smile. It was quite strange having a woman in my house, as well as a kid. I hadn’t had a girlfriend in a very long time, and part of me didn’t know how to react. Although I had to remind myself that she wasn’t my girlfriend so it didn’t really matter what I did. In fact, I wasn’t even sure why I had brought her into my house in the first place. It wasn’t like I wanted her to stay here forever. What if she didn’t want to leave? I had no idea who this woman was or why she had nowhere to live. I heard her giggle again and I sighed. I knew she was angry with me, and I knew that most of that had to do with her being embarrassed at being caught out. Hearing her laugh made me smile. Even if she was only there for one evening, at least I knew she was having a better time than she would’ve had in that car.

  When Kaylee came back down, she was wearing a sweet flannel pajama set. Her hair had been washed and towel-dried and lay semi-damp around her shoulders. Allie was wearing matching clothes and the two of them looked adorable. Kaylee looked almost too young to have a child. She looked shyly at me and smiled.

  “I’m sorry if we took forever. We were having such a good time,” Kaylee said. “And I feel so unbelievably clean. You have the biggest bathtub in the world.”

  “We had bubbles!” Allie shouted, and I laughed at her enthusiasm. I had been given bubbles over the years as gifts but I’d never bothered to use them. I’d always been more of a shower sort of person, but now I wondered if I was missing out on something. They both looked so happy.

  “That’s good, and you didn’t take long at all. I promise you.”

  “Smells so good,” Allie said.

  “It’s my grandmother’s recipe. It’s a chicken and potato stew that she used to make all the time. Why don’t you both take a seat at the table. I’ll bring some out for all of us.”

  “Wow, you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, Jaxon,” Kaylee said. “I feel so bad now.”

  “Would it help if I said my mother made this and dropped off a pot of it for me yesterday? Would it also help if I said that I had far too much to eat by myself so having someone to share it with is actually helping me?”

  She smiled. “Yes, that would help, actually.”

  I nodded. “Good. Now, take a seat and I’ll be right there. How about some wine?”

&
nbsp; Her eyes widened. “Oh, goodness, no, I couldn’t.”

  I smiled. “I take that as a yes, then. Red fine?”

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  I poured us both some red wine as well as some red grape juice for Allie, and took everything to the table. It was a little bit awkward and I could tell that she didn’t know quite how to be around me. Sometimes she looked angry and then she’d soften completely and just look grateful. I was dying to find out more about her, but I didn’t want to pry too much. Especially not with Allie listening in on the conversation. Instead, I turned my attention to Allie.

  “So, you like dogs?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “I love dogs. I like cats too. And I like squirrels even though I’ve never really seen one. And I like big whales. And I like dolphins. And I also like ants.”

  I chuckled. “Wow, does that mean you’re going to be a vet one day?”

  “What is a vet?”

  “A vet is like a doctor, only they help animals instead of humans.”

  She gasped. “Yes. That’s what I’m going to be. Mommy, I’m going to be a vet.”

  Kaylee smiled. “That’s a great thing to be, my girl.”

  “Mommy, can we have a dog?”

  Kaylee’s smile wavered. “No. my girl, not now. But I promise you that one day I will get you one.”

  “But I want one now. I want to have one like Toby. And maybe it can be a girl and then Toby can have a girlfriend. Please, Mom. Can we go get one tomorrow?”

  Kaylee sighed. “No, we can’t. I promise you we can get one soon, though. You know Mommy always keeps her promises. We just don’t have space for one now.”

  “Yes, we do. We can live here, and we can get a dog and it can be a girlfriend for Toby. It will be so much fun. Please, Mommy.”

  Kaylee gulped. “Not just yet, Allie.”

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “Toby is very used to being by himself. I think he likes all the attention he gets. I’m not sure he’ll want to share it with another dog anyway.”

  “But I want my own doggie,” she said, and I watched in horror as her lips began to tremble.

  Unfortunately, there seemed to be no way to calm her down, and I had no idea what to do. Everything I said seemed to only make matters worse. Finally, Kaylee excused herself from the table and took Allie to the room. We had finished our food anyway, so I took all the plates to the kitchen to clean up. While I did the dishes, I thought about what had just happened. I thought I had done a good thing by letting them stay at my house, but now I wasn’t so sure. Had I just made things worse for Allie? Had I made things worse for Kaylee too? I wanted them out of the car and off the streets, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I wanted them here, either. Perhaps I had bitten off more than I could chew. I had always wanted kids, and I loved working with the kids at the music school, but I wasn’t used to being around kids as young as Allie. Anything older than kindergarten I could handle, but I had no clue when it came to toddlers.

  When Kaylee came back she started apologizing, and I told her not to worry.

  “Is she okay?” I asked.

  Kaylee sighed. “She’s fine. She’s at that age, you know? And things haven’t really been easy on her. I mean, her life isn’t exactly all fun and games. I’m trying my best to shelter her and keep her happy, but it’s not easy. Moments like these are bound to happen.”

  I nodded. “Why were you sleeping in the car?”

  “That’s none of your business,” she snapped.

  I looked at her and frowned. “Kaylee, you’re sleeping in my house. You work for me. It is my business.”

  “You made me come here. I didn’t want to. Yes, I’m very grateful for it. Of course I am. But just because I agreed to it doesn’t mean I owe you anything. Anyway, you threatened me. How the hell did you find out about me anyway?”

  “The detective in this town happens to also be my best friend. I asked him to look up your license plate. I was curious. I mean, you came looking for work without any sort of explanation as to who you were. I needed to know who I was dealing with.”

  “You obviously didn’t like what you found. Why then did you still offer me a place to stay? I’m clearly trouble.”

  I looked at her then and sighed. “Kaylee, that’s just the way things work in this town. We don’t let people struggle. Now, if you want to stay in this town, that’s just something that you’re going to have to get used to. We look after each other. It’s just what we do.”

  She looked surprised, but didn’t say anything. She just pushed me out of the way and told me to go away while she did the dishes.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “No, trust me… thank you,” she said softly. It sounded like she might be crying, so I quickly left the room to give her space. I had no idea what I was in for, but I just hoped that I would hear her and Allie laughing once more.

  Chapter 8

  Kaylee

  The next morning, I woke confused. Then I remembered where I was and I couldn’t figure out what to make of my emotions. Was I happy? Relieved? Mortified? I was probably a little bit of everything. I turned to look at Allie and smiled. She was fast asleep, snoring gently beside me on the bed. I stretched out and smiled. It was amazing the things we all took for granted every day. There was nothing special about the bed, but after sleeping in a car for so long it felt like the most comfortable thing in the world. I didn’t want to get up. Getting up would mean having to face Jaxon. What if he’d called his detective friend again? What if there were policeman waiting for me outside?

  Allie stirred beside me, then opened her eyes. She seemed as confused as I was, but then she smiled.

  “This bed is better than the car,” she said.

  I chuckled. “It sure is. Did you sleep well?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  I leaned in and kissed her. “Good. I love you, darling.”

  “I love you too. Maybe we can go and see Toby now?”

  I smiled. “Of course. And Allie, I promise you that you’ll get your own dog one day. You have to believe me. Life isn’t too easy for me right now, but I’m doing the best that I can for us. As soon as we are more settled and we have our own place, we can get a dog. Okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay, Mommy. Today I’ll just play with Toby, then.”

  “He’s a lucky dog to have you to play with him. I think that’s a fantastic idea.”

  We got out of bed and slowly made our way downstairs. I couldn’t see Jaxon anywhere, nor could I hear him. Toby came running toward us though, which had Allie in a fit of giggles. I peeked into the kitchen and found a note from Jaxon telling me that he had to go out but that I should make myself at home. Please help yourself to food and coffee – and as many baths as you feel like taking.

  I smiled. I felt weird helping myself to his things, but I was starving, and I was also suddenly desperate for a cup of coffee. He must’ve had one before he left, because I could still smell it in the air. I made some coffee for me and some tea for Allie and the two of us sat in the kitchen to enjoy it. It was hard to get Allie to sit still with the dog there. She would take a sip, then play with the dog, then take another sip. She was having a good time though, so I didn’t stop her. After, I made us both something to eat, and sighed with relief at having something in my stomach again. Then I looked at Allie and grinned.

  “How about another bubble bath?” I said to her.

  “Yes!” she said.

  We spent the next hour in the bath, having the time of our lives. I kept wondering if Jaxon was going to come home, and hoped that we weren’t making too much noise, but I didn’t want to come out of the bath. I kept topping us up with hot water and smiling through the foam bubbles. I made a beard out of foam for the two of us and had Allie laughing harder than I had seen her laugh in a while.

  “I like it here, Mommy,” Allie said to me.

  I smiled at her. “Me too. But we can’t stay forever. This is not our home.”

  “Awww.
Why not?”

  “Darling, this home belongs to Jaxon. Don’t worry, though, I’m going to make a plan for us. You’ll see. I’m going to save up my money and I’m going to get us a nice place to live. A place that’s just for you and me.”

  “And a dog?”

  I laughed. When she had something on her mind, she never let it go. I couldn’t imagine what she was going to be like as a teenager if she was already like this now. “Yes, and a dog. What are you going to name him?”

  “Bubbles!” she said. “Or Bath.”

  I laughed. “Both are great names.”

  We got out and got changed. I had only one more clean outfit left, but I wasn’t sure how Jaxon would feel about me using his washing machine. I decided to wait for him to come home to ask him. I didn’t want him to think I was just taking advantage of him. Allie begged to watch some cartoons, so I put her in front of the TV. I had never been big on TV with her, making sure that she spent more time doing more productive things. But my heart had gone out to her when she saw the big TV screen, and I knew that an hour of cartoons wouldn’t harm her. If anything, she deserved the treat.

  While she watched, I decided to snoop around the house a little. I would have to be very careful to make sure that Jaxon didn’t come home, and I’d steer clear from his bedroom just in case. I was curious though, and I couldn’t help a quick look around the house. It was a big house, far bigger than a single man usually had, and I wondered why. Perhaps he had inherited the house, or maybe he used to be married. I couldn’t see any signs of another woman having lived here, though. The only photos I found were of him and his mother. I found a photo of him and a man who he resembled ever so slightly, and I wondered if that was his father. So far, he had not mentioned his father. I had just assumed his dad didn’t work at the school, but now I wondered if perhaps he was no longer living. It was then that I realized how little I knew about Jaxon. The only thing I really knew about him was that he was a good man, and that he did things for people without seeing what they could do for him first. I wasn’t used to that sort of hospitality. He said it was the way people acted in this town, but I was pretty sure that not everyone would’ve been as nice as him. I thought of Susan then and how kind she’d been to me, so maybe there was something to what he was saying. Had I really just stumbled into a town of nice people? Perhaps there really was something to this serendipity thing after all.