Then There Was You: A Single Parent Collection

by Gianna Gabriela

Levi: I don’t have them. But I’m down for calming yours.

  Emerson: Oh God, shut it. I gotta go.

  Levi: ;)

  Face beet red, I rush into my place and shut the door behind me.

  Levi Jackson is trouble. And I like it.

  5

  LEVI

  “Shut the hell up, Syd. I did not.”

  My sister’s laughing at me, and I have to bite back a grin.

  “You did too. You should have seen it, Cade. It was so funny.”

  Sydney and I are sitting at the coffee table in the shop with Caden. He has an appointment in an hour, but he brought a pizza with him so we’re all eating a late lunch. Sydney is currently telling him that I had puppy eyes for Emmy and dropped my balls when I walked her out to her car. She’s not wrong, but I won’t admit that.

  “Lay off Levi, Syd. He’s a grown man, and he can date or fuck whoever he wants.”

  “Thanks, man. I think.” I smack my little brother on the head, and he chuckles before stuffing half a slice of pizza into his mouth. “And trust me, since Lily became my responsibility alone, there has been no fucking or dating. So maybe, I dunno, you could just be happy for me?”

  I raise an eyebrow at my sister, and she gives me a small smile. “I am happy for you, Levi. I just don’t want you to get too attached and then she bows down. How do you know she’s ready not only for you but for Lily?”

  “Trust me, my daughter isn’t an issue for her. Emerson adores Lily. She was the nurse in the hospital the night I brought Lily in. She was so good with her, and so kind and patient with me. She’s amazing, Syd. She really is.”

  Sydney leans forward and touches my forearm, squeezing tight before letting go.

  “Then I’m happy for you. You and Lily deserve that. Lily deserves a mom and a dad.”

  “I know she does. I want that too.”

  The phone ringing from the front desk interrupts us, and Sydney stops to give me a kiss on the cheek before she hurries over to answer it. Caden trains his eyes on me, a smirk on his face.

  “What?” I ask, closing the empty pizza box and standing so I can throw it away.

  “Nothing, bro. Just happy for you and that little princess of mine.”

  “Don’t get too excited. We don’t even have our first date till this weekend.”

  “Yeah, but you never even got this excited when you first started seeing Dana. The only time we see you this happy is when you’re talking about Lily.”

  “True, Cade, but still.”

  “Just let me know when my best man duties kick in,” he jokes, and I laugh at him.

  “Yeah, don’t take the time off quite yet, man.”

  “Oh, I won’t. I’m just waiting to see how long it takes before you’re both ruined. Because I sense it’s coming quick, if this is how you talk about her already.”

  I have nothing in response, because I know it’s true. Emerson has completely rocked my world, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

  Caden takes the empty box and trash out of my hands. Clapping him on the back, I grab my ball cap from the couch and pull it on, waving as I head out of the shop. I send my mom a quick text to let her know I’m on my way to get Lily and jump in the truck.

  “Daddy, can I wear the princess pajamas tonight?” Lily has a towel wrapped around her and her hair up in another one. She just had her nightly bath, and now we’re looking for the perfect nightgown for my little lady.

  “Sure, baby girl. Here you go.” Grabbing it from the dresser, I hand it to her and she pulls it on as I get a hair brush and elastic.

  “Come here, Lily.” Plopping down onto her bed, I settle her between my legs and run the brush through her wet hair. In a few minutes, her long hair is in a braid and she’s scurrying downstairs.

  Emerson texted me a few minutes ago to ask if she could call soon. I was grateful, as I’d figured she would’ve called earlier and was starting to worry that she changed her mind.

  Coming down the stairs behind Lily, I step into the living room as my phone starts ringing with an incoming FaceTime call. “Lily, come say hi to Miss Emmy!”

  Running over, she jumps onto the couch and I sit next to her, holding up my phone to accept the call. In a matter of seconds, Emerson fills the screen, and I can’t help the large grin that comes onto my face. She’s so beautiful. But something is wrong. She looks exhausted, and her eyes are slightly puffy and red.

  “Miss Emmy! I been waiting for you to call me!” Lily shrieks.

  Emmy laughs loudly. “Hey, sweetie pie. How are you doing?”

  “I’m clean from bath time! And we had hot dogs for dinner.”

  “Sounds good, I’m so jealous. I love hot dogs!”

  Lily talks to Emmy for only a few minutes before she asks to go play with Barbies before bed, so she says good night and runs upstairs. Settling back into the couch, I train my eyes on Emmy’s beautiful blue ones and smile at her.

  “She’s so sweet, Levi. I hope you know how lucky you are.” Her voice is quiet and shaky, and I can tell something is wrong, but I don’t want to push her.

  “I am. She can definitely be a handful, but that girl is my entire world.”

  Emerson nods and I watch as she tries to hide the tear she wipes away.

  “Em, what’s going on? I can tell you’re upset. You don’t need to hide from me.”

  She bites down on her bottom lip and nods, her chin trembling.

  “Levi….”

  “What is it, baby? Are you okay?”

  Emmy’s head drops and she lets out a quiet sob, her free hand covering her face. I watch her fall apart for only a few moments, my heart hurting for whatever happened. She composes herself a moment later and starts wiping all the tears from her face.

  “What happened, Em?”

  “Sorry. My coworker Andie called me about an hour ago. One of our patients died earlier today. She was an older lady, but she’d been in many, manytimes over the last year for episodes related to her Alzheimer’s. She wandered from her home, had accidents, and her son would bring her in to get checked out. She was the sweetest lady ever.”

  “Oh, Em. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Can I do anything for you?”

  “Yeah, you can,” she whispers, lying back on what looks to be her bed.

  “Anything, you just name it. Tell me what to do.”

  “Can you stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep? Just talk to me about anything.”

  “Of course. So after you left my work, my brother, Caden, showed up and we…”

  As I tell her about the rest of my day, I watch her eyes grow heavy with sleep, and she moves so her phone is propped up and she can lie on her side. I watch her fall asleep, and for a few minutes I just stare, rapt with the vision in front of me. Hanging up the call, I scroll to my texts and leave her a message for the morning.

  Levi: I’m so sorry for your loss, baby. Call me when you wake up.

  Satisfied with the message, I shove my phone into my pocket and head upstairs to play with Lily for a little while before bed. But my mind doesn’t stray too far from Emmy.

  Standing in the kitchen waiting for the pancakes to be done, I absentmindedly scroll through my phone. I got a text from Emmy earlier, thanking me for last night and that she was off shift today due to the circumstances. I hate knowing that she’s home alone and grieving and there’s nothing I can do.

  Lily is sitting at the table, drinking her orange juice and babbling on about this new toy she saw on the TV this morning.

  “Yeah, baby? Maybe we should put it on your list for Santa.”

  “Yes, Daddy! Let’s do that! Will you help me?”

  “Of course. Pancakes are ready, so let’s eat up, okay. We’re gonna run an errand in a little bit.” Dropping one onto her plate, I cut it into pieces and slide it down in front of her with a kiss to her head. Lily douses her pancakes in syrup and digs in, a smile on her face.

  Ten minutes later, I’m cleaning up the sticky mess all over her face and laughing
when she insists yet again on dressing herself. My little girl is four going on twenty-four, and I want her to stop growing and stay little forever. Crossing into my own bedroom, I go to my dresser and grab a pair of jeans and a shirt to get changed into. As I’m pulling a pair of socks on, Lily comes racing into the room and I can’t help laughing. Her outfit this time consists of pink leggings and a blue and purple striped T-shirt, topped off with her cowboy boots.

  “How do I look?” She holds her arms out at her sides and tosses her hair back.

  “Beautiful, baby. So beautiful.”

  “Fank you!” She runs from the room, her boots clomping down the stairs. After stuffing my wallet and cell phone in my pockets, I follow her downstairs, shove my feet into my sneakers at the front door, and grab my keys off the table.

  “Ready, Lily?”

  She comes around the corner with her bunny tucked under her arm and a juice box in her hand. “Ready, Daddy.”

  Holding the door open for her, I follow behind her to my truck. As soon as she’s strapped in, I pull out my phone to text Emmy. A few minutes later, I get the text I was waiting for and with a grin, I pull out of my driveway and head downtown. Lily claps loudly in excitement when we pull into the flower shop.

  “C’mon, Lily bug. Let’s go pick out some flowers, okay?”

  “Okay!”

  Pulling her down from the truck, I carry her inside and she wriggles to be put down a few minutes later. She’s running around going from one display to another when an older woman walks out from a back room to help us.

  “I have no idea what we’re looking for, to be honest.”

  “Well, what’s the occasion? Let’s start there.”

  With a grim smile, I run a hand over my hair. “A friend just lost someone, and we’re trying to cheer her up.”

  “Oh, the poor thing. How about something with color? Something cheerful.”

  Following behind her, Lily comes up to take my hand. Walking with her, we’re led to a display of pink and red and yellow roses. Lily runs over and points at them.

  “Daddy, let’s get these! Miss Emmy will really like these! They so pwetty!”

  “I agree. Can I get two dozen?”

  Giving me a smile, the woman starts grabbing a mixture of the colors, arranging them all together in a beautiful bouquet. Lily and I go up to the counter to pay for the flowers, and then we’re swinging back out to my truck. Looking at the address on my phone, I realize Emmy lives in a seedy part of town, and I’m instantly glad when I remember she’s moving next week.

  Turning into her apartment complex fifteen minutes later, I spot her vehicle, so I know she’s still home. Getting Lily down, I hold her hand tightly as I grab the flowers and lock the doors. Keeping Lily close, we start up the stairs.

  When we reach the second floor, I look for Emerson’s apartment number and am unhappy to see it located at the back corner, with no type of security around it. Picking Lily up, I settle her on my hip and let her hold the flowers. Knocking loudly, I wait a few moments, and then I hear noise coming from behind the door. A second later, a lock flips and the door opens slowly. Emmy is dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and a pair of tight black pants. She has on no makeup and her eyes are red, hair up in a messy bun on top of her head.

  She looks beautiful.

  “Miss Emmy! I brought these for you!” Lily yells, thrusting the flowers at Emmy, who catches them before they hit the floor, a look of surprise on her face.

  “Oh, thank you so much, Lily.” Emmy reaches out with one arm to grab Lily from me and hugs her tight. I shove my hands in my front pockets and rock back on my heels, unsure of what to say to her.

  After a moment, she releases Lily and invites us both inside.

  “What are you guys doing here, Levi? I thought you needed my address for Saturday.”

  “Yeah, well I wanted to do something nice for you.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice is quiet as she pads into the tiny kitchen to place the flowers in water. I follow behind her, careful to keep some space between us.

  “Lily, would you like to watch a movie?” Emmy calls to her. After placing the vase down on the counter, Emmy brushes past me to help her with Netflix, and I soon hear the beginning sounds of Trolls.

  Leaning my back against the counter, I wait for her to walk back over. When she reaches me, her hands come to her hips as she stands in front of me.

  “What are you doing here, Levi?” Emmy asks. I see the tears in her eyes, and quite frankly, she looks exhausted.

  “I don’t have a good answer for that.”

  “Well, I really don’t mean to be rude. I’m looking forward to this weekend, but now isn’t a very good time. I’m not up for laughing and going out.”

  “I understand.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says quietly, hanging her head down.

  Pushing away from the counter, I step forward until only a few inches separate us.

  “Actually, I do know why I’m here,” I tell her, cupping her face gently.

  “Why?”

  “Because you need this.”

  Bending down, I pull Emmy into my arms, resting my cheek on top of her head. She goes willingly and buries her face into my neck, and I soon feel tears sliding down. Emmy clutches the back of my shirt tightly as I hold her, rocking her gently from side to side.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, kissing her head.

  “Thank you for being here.”

  “Always.”

  Standing in her kitchen, with my daughter watching a movie a mere ten feet away, I let Emmy collapse and use me for her comfort. I know she’s going to get through this, but I think what she needed was someone to be there for her. She needed to be held.

  She needed me.

  After a few minutes, she’s calming down and her tears have stopped. Sniffling, she pulls away from me, and I use my thumbs to brush the remaining tears from her face. “You okay, Em?”

  “Yeah. Sorry, it’s just really good to see you guys. And the flowers are beautiful.”

  “They don’t hold a candle to you, sweetheart.”

  Leaning over to the counter, Emmy grabs a box of tissues and uses a couple to blow her nose. She skirts around me to throw them away and then comes back to me. Standing on her tiptoes, she leans up to place a kiss to my jaw, and I take the opportunity to steer her lips to mine. Emmy’s arms move up to my forearms, and she uses the leverage to deepen the kiss. I immediately harden when I feel her tongue brushing against mine, and I reach down to grip the top of her legs and pick her up, spinning around to place her on the counter.

  Emmy opens her legs so I can position myself between them. One of her hands comes up to pull the beanie off my head, running her fingers through my hair. Groaning into her mouth, I press myself against her, and she breaks the kiss to throw her head back. Leaning toward the column of her neck, I start kissing my way down it. I’ve just reached the base when I hear Lily start laughing loudly, causing me to jolt backward.

  Breathing heavily, we both stare at each other, trying to control ourselves. Jesus, I’m such an asshole. She’s mourning the loss of someone, and my goddamn daughter is in the next room, and I was three seconds from ripping those tight-ass pants off her and fucking her into tomorrow.

  Shit, get yourself under control, Jackson.

  “I’m sorry, Levi. That was so inappropriate.”

  “Trust me, Em,” I scoff. “There was nothing wrong with that. Hot as hell, but not wrong.”

  Her cheeks darken and she bites her lip, which I lean toward and pull on with my teeth. Emmy moans and wraps an arm around my neck.

  “Fuck, you’re making me so hard. But we can’t do this right now.”

  Emmy laughs but doesn’t stop kissing me, one of her hands roaming over my chest. I have to bury my face in her neck when that hand moves down to rub against my erection.

  “Seriously, baby, we gotta stop.” But she just rubs me harder. Before I come in my pants, I have to grab her wrist, pulling it aw
ay from my rock-hard dick. “Baby.”

  Giggling, Emmy gives me one more gentle kiss, then pushes me back so she can hop off the counter. Walking toward the living room, she looks over her shoulder and winks at me.

  “C’mon, let’s go watch the movie with Lily.”

  “I’ll be there in a second, Em. I need a minute.”

  “I bet you do.” Sticking out her tongue, Emmy hurries over to my daughter, and I have to stand there thinking of anything to make my dick go down.

  When I’ve calmed myself down, I head into the living room, plopping down next to Emmy. It doesn’t surprise me when she cuddles up next to me, but it does when Lily crawls into her lap, snuggling against Emmy. But I love that my little girl is so taken with this beautiful woman.

  God knows I am.

  Four hours later, Lily has fallen asleep. After moving her to Emmy’s bed and shutting the door, Emmy and I are sitting at her small kitchen table deciding on what to do for lunch, since I figure Lily will probably sleep for another hour or so.

  “There’s actually this new diner a couple blocks over I’ve been meaning to try. We could go out when Lily wakes up. I’d just have to shower really quick.”

  “Sounds good to me, Em.”

  Smiling, she stands to put our coffee mugs in the sink, and I can’t help watching the way her hips sway while she walks, or the way her ass looks in her pants. Turning on the water, she starts washing the dishes and I can’t take it anymore. Standing up, I slowly walk up behind her, my dick already responding to her. But this isn’t about me.

  I rest my hands on her waist, placing a gentle kiss to her neck.

  “Levi,” she begins quietly, goose bumps breaking out over her skin.

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “What are you doing?” she whispers, shutting off the water. But she can’t move away from me, I have her completely blocked in.

  I don’t bother answering. Instead, I continue my torture on her neck and move one of my hands from her waist, trailing it up to the side of her breast. Her breathing speeds up when I run it under her sweatshirt and find her completely bare.