by Aly Stiles
Crisis. Breathe. Deal.
By the time I make it home and trudge up the stairs to my apartment, I’m desperate for the tiny, auburn-curled reminder that sometimes crises breed dreams you never had.
“How’d it go?” the babysitter asks as I drop my guitar case and gig bag by the door.
I force a shrug. “You know. Same. How’d Brooklyn do?”
“You know. Same,” she mocks, and I shoot Heather a lazy smile. She returns it and pushes up from the couch to follow me into the kitchen.
My gaze spreads over the room in slow amazement when I enter. Except for a few wet stains on the walls, you’d never know this place looked like a dental disaster site a few hours ago.
“You cleaned it up?”
“It’s no big deal. Brooklyn even helped. Apparently, the toothpaste was her attempt to wash off the jelly. We decided that it only works on teeth, not walls.”
“Heather, thank you. Really, this is…” I laugh, sudden emotion simmering in my chest. Damn, I must be beyond tired at this point. And now, thanks to the world’s best neighbor, I can get a full five hours of sleep.
“No problem. Happy to help.” She’s leaning back against the counter, absently tugging a lock of bleached blonde hair when I glance over. And staring. Hard. I feel her studious gaze shifting over my body in that same unanswered interest she’s expressed since the day we moved in across the hall. Like always, I feign oblivion as I reach for my wallet. I can’t date her; I also can’t live without her at the moment.
“Here you go,” I say, handing her a few bills. “I can’t thank you enough for coming through on such short notice.”
“I love watching Brooklyn.” And you, her eyes add when they rest on mine. It’s why the bills I give her are much smaller than they should be for babysitting a preschooler for six hours.
I swallow my guilt and return my wallet to my back pocket.
“Still on for tomorrow night?” she asks. “Do you need me to pick her up from school also?”
Shaking my head, I start toward the door to lead her out. “Rose will get her.” Sparks rush through me at the rest of the thought. The part I didn’t say. The part about tomorrow’s date with destiny I never should have encouraged. What was I thinking? I’ve been dreading this gig since the second I said yes. And after tonight, there’s no way in hell I’m humiliating myself on that particular stage. I’d rather perform in our building’s laundry room. “Actually, I’ll have to bail on the gig until I find a new bass player.”
Her gaze hangs on me, searching for a hidden story, and I look away.
“What happened, Mason? I thought tonight went okay.”
“Yeah, well, I lied,” I say with a smile. Her eyes narrow at me, and I shrug.
“Offer still stands. I can talk to my cousin who plays if you want.”
I pull open the door with another smile, polite this time. “Thanks, but we’ll be fine. You already help me out way more than you should.” I mean it too. I’ve known since the day she became indispensable to us that Heather Billings would be the next shoe to drop in my life. All gifts come with a price tag, and anyone who says differently just hasn’t paid yet. Until then, you hold on as firmly as you can.
“Okay well…” Her fingers make small arcs along the doorframe as she hesitates.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
Her gaze lifts to mine, searches deep in the silence. “Is it?”
I pull mine away and shrug again. “Fine.”
“It’s just… You’ve seemed worn down lately. Like, beyond exhausted. I’m worried about you, Mason.”
I do my best to blink away the evidence and force a smile. “I’m fine. It’s the new job that’s kicking my ass, that’s all.”
“The roofing project?”
I nod. “It’s brutal but the pay is better, and they just increased Brooklyn’s tuition. Plus, she needs to see the dentist. I’ve been putting it off, but the pediatrician said—”
“Mason.”
I meet her eyes again and breathe out relief at her soft expression.
“You’re doing great,” she says, squeezing my arm. “I wish my mom had been half the parent you are.”
Stunned, I can only stare after her as she retreats across the hall and lets herself into her apartment. She waves an all-clear signal, and I close my own door. Leaning against it, I draw in a long breath to steady myself before heading down the hall to check on Brooklyn.
I sneak through the door and dim the unicorn lamp by her bed. She insists on leaving it at full brightness. It’s the way unicorns are supposed to sleep—in the light, she says. I don’t exactly agree, so we compromise, and I reduce the unicorn to nighttime levels after she’s out. With her eyes closed and little arms tucked around the plush Lego brick named Bill, I know it’s safe to lower the magical glare.
“Hi, Daddy. I waited for you,” a sleepy voice mumbles from the pillow as I sink to her mattress.
“Is that so?” I say, biting back a smile. She’s already sleeping again when I lean over to brush my lips against her soft curls. Heather must have managed bath-time as well, and I linger an extra moment to inhale the scent of strawberries and soap. Can your heart explode from loving something so much? This little girl has brought so many questions and answers into my life since she uprooted my world.
“See you tomorrow, Baby Bug,” I whisper. Her delicate brow scrunches in protest as if she knows I broke our agreement to leave the “baby” off her nickname now that she’s a big girl. Big Bug doesn’t have the same ring. I soothe the wrinkle with another kiss and push up from the bed.
Read RISING WEST on Amazon (available in KU).
For updates and announcements, subscribe to Aly’s newsletter.
Stay in Touch
Thank you for taking this journey with me. I would love to hear from you! For updates, reveals, and more subscribe to my newsletter and join my fun, laidback reader group on Facebook: Aly’s Breakfast Club.
Aly Stiles
PO Box 577
Trexlertown, PA 18087-0577
Facebook Reader Group – Aly’s Breakfast Club
Newsletter
BookBub
Facebook Page – Author Aly Stiles
Goodreads
Website
Instagram
Spotify
YouTube
Twitter
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Epilogue
More From Aly
Note From Aly
Excerpt from Rising West
CHAPTER 1
Stay in Touch