“Julia could still change her mind.” She stands there as I put my hand up.
“I don’t give a shit if she changes her mind or not, Mila’s mine. Not hers. She has two other children she chose to raise.”
“I’m not going to discuss my daughter in front of a stranger,” she says.
“We aren’t discussing anything. From now on, you call before you come into my home,” I tell her, thinking I need to change the locks anyway.
She looks over at Hailey then back at me and then back at her again. “Don’t get too comfortable. My daughter will be back, and she will take her rightful place as his wife.”
“Ex,” Hailey says from beside me, “his ex-wife.” Norma doesn’t say anything, so Hailey holds my hand, and she squeezes it and smiles. “From what I heard, she threw him away along with her beautiful girl.” Norma nods, then turns and walks out of the house, slamming the door behind her. “I’m sorry, I had to say something.” She looks at me as I try to get my anger under check.
“You’re sorry?” I laugh sarcastically. “You’re sorry? Fuck, I’m the one who needs to be sorry for bringing that woman into your life.” She shakes her head. “She crossed so many lines by saying all those things. This conversation with her isn’t over; I can tell you that.”
“I’m not the other woman,” she says quietly from beside me. My body goes solid, and ice fills my blood, and I have a hatred stronger than when Julia left. I walk to her, grabbing her face.
“You are not the other woman,” I tell her as she nods her head and tears form in her eyes. “You will never be the other woman again. Ever.” Her tears fall on my hands, and they soak into my skin. “I promise you will never cry because of that bullshit again.” I kiss her cheeks where her tears just rolled off.
“Okay,” she whispers, her voice cracking as the perfect night got drowned out by the nastiness of this morning.
“I really want to forget this just happened, but I know we won’t.” I kiss her lips. “Last night was the best night I’ve had in a long, long time.”
“Me too,” she says as her hands go to my waist and she holds on to my belt. The doorbell fills the room as I put my head back and count to ten in my head. Brody walks into the room with Darla, but they stop in their tracks when they see us in the middle of the room.
“Well, fuck me,” Brody says as Darla just looks stunned, “we brought doughnuts.”
“What is wrong with everyone today?” I say under my breath as Hailey laughs. My hands drop from her face, and I stand next to her, not sure what to do, but she surprises me by linking our hands together.
“Holy shit,” Darla says still stuck at her spot, “we are so sorry.”
Brody looks at her as he puts the box down on the counter. “Why are we sorry? They aren’t naked. So.” He walks around and starts the coffee. Then the door opens again, and Gabe walks in, taking in the four of us.
“What the fuck? Is this a meeting?” he asks as he walks to the doughnut box, opening it up and taking one out. A knock on the back door has us all turning to find Crystal looking in. “Fuck,” I hear Gabe say as he bites again and swallows. Hailey walks over to the door, opening it.
“Seriously, you can’t go out without your phone. I was texting you all night,” she says as Gabe starts coughing with a fist in front of his mouth.
“You spent the night?” he asks as he continues to cough. “I need water,” he says as he opens the fridge and takes out a beer. “Why are you here?” He points at Crystal.
“I was making sure she was okay. Why are you here?” She folds her arms over her chest.
“This is my cousin’s house,” he says, and we all look from one to the other like it’s a tennis match.
“Well, my cousin went out for dinner, and it’s breakfast, so …” she says, tossing her hair behind her shoulder.
“So you thought you would cock block her?” He smirks. “Nice.”
“I wasn’t cock blocking her; I was making sure she was okay. Why are you here? Did your date wake up and notice what an asshole you were?”
“I told you, she wasn’t a fucking date.” He smashes the can of beer in his hand.
“Whatever. I couldn’t care less.” She rolls her eyes at him, and I look at my cousin and see he is about to throw that can and smash my wall.
“Okay,” I say as I clap my hands together. “Who wants breakfast?” I ask, looking around. “Darla?” I ask her as she looks like she is in another world.
“I’m sorry.” She blinks her eyes. “She spent the night?” She points at Hailey. “And Gabe wants Crystal?”
“I don’t want her,” Gabe says at the same time Crystal yells out, “Oh, he doesn’t want me,” and they glare at each other.
“I actually slept on the couch,” Hailey says, “and nothing happened.” I wrap my hand around her shoulder, and I bring her to me and kiss her head.
“Honey,” Darla says to Brody. “I think we need to go outside and walk back inside,” she whispers as he bends down to kiss her.
“I would love, love to eat something,” Crystal says as she walks into the kitchen and grabs a doughnut. “I can make the toast.” She chews on a piece of doughnut. “Hailey makes the best pancakes of life.”
“I can make pancakes,” she says as she wraps her hand around my waist.
“I can make the bacon,” Brody says.
“I can set the table,” Darla says
“That means you can leave.” Crystal looks at Gabe. “You might have another date waiting.” She smirks at him.
“I’m not leaving.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Me and you are going to have words later,” he says, and the way he speaks, I know I don’t want to be part of that conversation.
“I don’t have to speak to you before Monday,” she says as she turns to face him, “so I guess we can talk then.” He walks to her, and when she looks up at him, he bends over, picks her up, and throws her over his shoulder.
“Now.” He carries her into the backyard as she howls, but only gets two feet away.
“You asshole. You’re hurting me,” she yells, and he stops and puts her down. You could see the horror in his eyes.
“Where are you hurt?” he asks as he checks her out, and she slaps his hands away.
“You hurt my stomach,” she says as she tries to shoo him away.
“I didn’t mean to.” His voice going soft, he touches her stomach, and she lets him.
“Holy shit,” Darla says again. “It’s like aliens have invaded our city.” They look inside, and Crystal walks past him, breaking the moment.
“Are we going to eat or not?” she asks as she opens the fridge and takes out a water bottle. No one says anything as we watch Gabe look at the sky and say something under his breath. We all go into the kitchen and take our places to try to cook breakfast. The saying too many cooks in the kitchen is in fact the right one. With every turn, we were bumping into someone. We finally finished and all ate outside.
After we clean up, we’re all standing around the kitchen. Brody and Darla are the first to leave, kissing us all goodbye. Darla smirks at me the whole time. “You dirty dog, you,” she whispers in my ear.
“Let’s go,” Gabe tells Crystal as he gets up.
“No, thanks,” she tells him as she turns and walks out the back door, slamming it on the way.
“That fucking woman is going to be the death of me,” he says as he turns to walk out the front door, slamming it. I look at Hailey, and she looks at me, and then we hear the door open again and watch as Gabe runs through the house to the back where he slams the door while yelling Crystal’s name.
We both look at each other, shaking our heads. “Come on,” I tell her as I grab her hand and walk back to the couch. “I want to kiss you again.”
“Really?” she says. “Aren’t you sick of me yet?” she asks as I look at her.
“Not even close,” I tell her as I kiss her lips, and we fall onto the couch.
Two days later, I’
m still replaying the weekend in my head. Her taste still on me as my cell phone rings, and I see it’s Jessica.
“Hey,” I say as I answer.
“Walker,” she says, whispering. “Norma is here, and I think you need to come home.” I get up from my desk as I walk to my truck.
“What’s going on?” I ask her as I hear rustling in the background.
“She showed up and tried to come in with her key, but it obviously didn’t work,” Jessica says as I start driving home. I had the locks changed the next day. “Anyway, she insisted she see Mila. I didn’t think anything of it till she took her to her room and …” She stops talking, and my blood turns cold. I think I see black, but all I know is that I couldn’t get home fast enough.
“And what, Jessica?” I yell.
“She didn’t know that the baby monitor was still on, so she just started asking her questions …” Jessica stops talking. “About you and Hailey.”
“Jessica, I’m there in two minutes. You do not let her leave. When I get there, I’m going to need you to take Mila for a walk, for ice cream, I don’t care, but I want her out of the house,”
I tell her as I disconnect the phone. Turning in the driveway, I run into the house and see Jessica in the kitchen, her face white as she has just seen a ghost and she points toward Mila’s room.
I walk into the room, stopping at the doorway as I see Norma and Mila sitting on the floor playing Barbies. “So if she comes…” Norma is talking as she looks up, but then she sees me in the doorway, and the blood rushes from her face.
“Hey,” I say as Mila looks up and jumps, running for me.
“Poppa.” I kiss her neck, putting her down.
“Say goodbye to Grandma Norma. Jessica is going to take you out for ice cream,” I tell her as she cheers and runs to go find Jessica. Shouting goodbye over her shoulder to her grandmother.
Norma gets up from the floor and stands in the middle of the room. I wait for the sound of the front door closing before I speak.
“What are you doing here?” I ask her, giving her a chance to see if she will tell me the truth.
“I came to speak to my granddaughter. I missed her,” she says.
“Soo, you didn’t try to use your key to get in, a key I told you not to use again?” I ask her as fury takes over.
“You weren’t really serious about that, were you?” She laughs.
“I was as serious,” I start. “I was as serious as when I told you that you would not get to see her if you didn’t abide by my rules.”
“Those rules were four years ago. What is this?” she starts asking.
“I have to say I really wish I didn’t have to do this.” Norma starts to say something, but I put my hand up. “I warned you, the minute I thought you were playing games with Mila, it would end. Your visits would end. It started when you kept Julia’s picture, with her twins, up on your fireplace mantle when she visited, and I told you to take it down. Then you come over here and ask her questions that are none of your business.”
“What goes on with my granddaughter is my business.”
“She isn’t your granddaughter,” I throw at her, and she gasps in shock that I would go there.
“It ends here. No more visits, no more nothing. You want to see her, call me and I’ll set it up that you are at the same restaurant as us. Other than that, until Mila is old enough to decide whether she wants to see you, that is how it’s going to work.”
“All this for her. You’ve known that woman for five minutes.”
“You don’t get to question me, but just to put your mind at ease I’ll tell you. Your daughter left me, shattering me, and day in and day out that shattered man healed, but then the hatred set in. I hate her, but not because she was a coward and just left me. No, I hate her for not loving her daughter enough to fight me for her. Every day, my daughter smiles at me, and I couldn’t imagine leaving her and just saying see you later. Especially for someone else.” I sigh and then smile. “She’s the first girl since Julia who makes me want more. She is the first one who I ever thought about dating; fuck, she is the first one I want to take that chance with. She is the first one who looked past the man who was left behind.”
“She is going to change her mind,” Norma says, “Julia is going to see reason.”
“I don’t fucking care if she changes her mind and comes crawling back on her hands and knees begging for forgiveness. I don’t want her. It’s been four years. It’s not going to happen. I will not let her near my daughter. Not now, not ever.”
“You can’t stop her.”
“Get out.” I shake my head. “Get out. I’m done here. This is over.” I turn to walk into the living room, and Norma follows me out.
“You’ll change your mind,” she says as she walks toward the door.
“Not a chance in hell because, you see, I have one job, and that job is to protect my daughter, even if it’s from you.”
She nods at me as she walks out the door, and I’m left to wonder if she finally gets it.
Chapter Twenty
Hailey
“I should go,” I say three weeks after our first kiss. “If Mila gets up and I’m still here, there may be questions.” I smile at him as I get on my tippy toes to kiss his lips.
“But I don’t want you to go,” he whines as he wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my lips and then my neck.
We have been going very slow. After his talk with Norma, he sat down with Mila and told her that we were friends and that I would be around more. Mila, of course, did what every four-year-old did; she shrugged her shoulders and asked if she could have cake before dinner. I’ve been over a couple of times. We don’t kiss in front of her, but when she goes to sleep, all bets are off. When I don’t have dinner with them, I walk over after, just so I can hug him. I don’t even need to kiss him. I lie … I need him to kiss me.
I smile at the thought of him, and sometimes I sit at my desk and just think about him. It’s come so easy, and naturally, it feels like it was always like this. That the pain we’ve both felt was in another lifetime.
“The sun is coming up,” I tell him as I kiss him one last time and walk out the back door. He stands in his jogging pants and t-shirt watching me leave. I’m familiar with his whole body. We haven’t been under the clothes yet, but I know his ridges, and I know his firmness—I actually know his firmness really well since he’s constantly firm around me. I breathe in the warm air; it’s getting warmer now. I walk down the wet sand as I make my way around the bend, the seagulls out in full force today. The wind blows my hair in all sorts of directions. I look at the mist of the water as it splashes on my face. Walking up to my back door, I push it open and head inside, taking off my Uggs before stepping into my bedroom.
I look at the clock and see it’s almost seven, then hear some noise coming from the kitchen. Cupboards being banged. I walk into the kitchen and gasp when I see Gabe in the kitchen, obviously searching for a coffee cup.
“What are you doing here?” I walk to the side where we keep the coffee mugs.
“Your cousin wasn’t answering her phone last night, so …” He starts talking when Crystal comes in.
“So he decided coming here at one a.m. and throwing rocks at my window was a good idea.” She opens the fridge, getting out the milk and her lunch bag.
“I wouldn’t have to do that if you had just answered your phone.” He pours himself coffee, and as I take in his jeans and t-shirt, the tattoos on his arm seem bigger.
“There was no need to answer my phone.” She shrugs, taking out some cereal and pouring it into a bowl.
“Because you hate being wrong.” He points at her, and her eyes narrow. The box of cereal smashes on the counter.
“I’m leaving,” she says, grabbing her purse, keys, and lunchbox. Turning to me, she says, “Blake should be here late today. He called last night.”
I nod at her as happiness fills me. I haven’t seen my brother in over two months and so much has ch
anged. “Oh, you answered his phone call!” Gabe says when he grabs his jacket and heads to the front door where Crystal stands.
“Well, he isn’t an asshole,” she counters when she opens the front door. “How are you getting to work?” she asks him when he laughs.
“You are going to drive me. I took a cab last night.”
“I’m not showing up with you in my car.” She turns on him. “People will see.”
“And that’s a problem because?” He puts his hands on his hips. “What’s the matter, babe? Scared they might think you have a thing for me?”
She shakes her head, laughing. “Trust me, the last thing I have is a thing for you.”
“I’ll remember that the next time you are beg—” She runs to him, covering his mouth with her hand.
“Get in, I’m dropping you off at the corner. I’ll slow down so you can tuck and roll.” He smacks her ass as she turns, earning a glare from her. “I won’t even slow down now.”
Gabe throws his head back laughing as he gets in the car and leans over to kiss her. What has me raising my eyebrows is that she lets him. Crystal has always said she is never getting married, never settling down. She adamantly insists she is happy being alone. She crossed kids off her list when she turned nineteen, vowing to be the best aunt she could possibly be. I watch her drive off as Gabe picks up her hand and kisses it, smiling at her.
“That poor, poor man. He has a better chance landing on the moon than changing her mind.” Shaking my head, I walk back inside, putting the cups in the sink and the cereal box away. I grab my laptop and head upstairs to my office to answer emails when I hear a knock on the front door. Walking to it, I open it and see my brother’s smiling face.
I leap into his arms, and he catches me in his big strong arms. I bury my face in his neck as tears come to my lids. Not sad tears, just happy, happy that he’s here. “You’re here,” I say when he lets me go. I step back, giving him room to come in, carrying his bag in with him.
“Look at you.” He points at me. “You look amazing. The fresh beach air suits you.”
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