by Piper Rayne
Phoenix sits on her porch when I pull up to her house. She’s basking in the sun with her head facing up. She looks in my direction as I put the car in park. I exit the vehicle and she walks toward me. My mental pep talk from the car ride over about not getting upset crumbles as soon as her arms wrap around me in a tight hug.
“Come on. Griffin took Maverick and Palmer on a bike ride, and I may have called Grandma Dori and informed her where. We have some extra time.”
I laugh as she leads me to the front door. “You’re horrible. Griffin’s gonna be mad.”
She shrugs, and we walk through her house out onto her back patio. The pool they installed last year is still closed, but her comfy outdoor furniture is nice to sit on and enjoy the perfect spring day.
She tucks her legs underneath her. “So what did he say?”
“He said he wants us back.”
“What an asshole,” she says.
I hesitated to come here because I knew how she’d be. Phoenix will never warm to Jamison.
“I told him there was no chance for us.”
“Of course! Can you imagine? He’s such an arrogant prick.”
I run my hands over my belly. “He wants to know whose baby it is.”
She snickers. “And what did you say? Did you tell him?”
“No.”
Her snicker turns into a full-on laugh. “Good. It’s none of his business.”
Her animosity upsets me, but it shouldn’t. She’s being protective of Palmer and me. I’d be the same way if the roles were reversed. Not to mention I was all “crucify Jamison, burn him at the stake” until he showed back up. Now all I think of is Palmer and the fact that she deserves to have her dad in her life. I just have to figure out if Jamison is worthy of that title.
“Regardless, he’s her dad and I have to see where this is gonna go.”
She rolls her eyes and lets out an annoyed huff. “No, you don’t actually. Do you really think if his career didn’t blow up, he’d be here? Think about it. He has nothing else in his life right now. What happens when he finds his next dream or finds himself looking at the bottom of a bottle again? You two will be in his rearview mirror.”
I stand in a huff. Damn, my back is killing me. I forgot the crappy things that come with being pregnant. “Can we please not go there at this point? I don’t have a crystal ball and I can’t forecast the future. Neither of us can.” I rub my lower back as I waddle toward the pool.
“He’s already softened you.” She throws her arms up in front of her. “God, that’s it. We’re doing the switcharoo.” She raises her finger and twirls it in a circle.
I stare at her. “We’re a little old for that. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’d figure it out.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. I could convince him otherwise.”
“Not unless you were in your third trimester.”
Her face falls at the realization.
“And anyway, we’re not switching on him.”
“Then grow a fucking backbone. He can’t just show up now after you’ve picked up all the broken pieces he left behind and expect you to bow at his feet.” She meets me at the pool’s edge.
“Just stop. I know, okay? But Palmer is his daughter. She deserves to have a relationship with him.”
“He deserves a shit bomb on his front porch. Or a punch to his junk. He doesn’t deserve to have that sweet girl wrap her arms around him and call him daddy.”
I blow out a breath. “Imagine Maverick not even knowing Maggie. Look what you did to make sure she stayed in his life.”
Her features soften. Sometimes with Phoenix, she just can’t see anyone else’s side but her own. She nods, then sighs. “Just do me a favor and don’t let him Rico Suave you, okay?” She places her hand on my shoulder.
I shake my head as if that’s the most absurd thought ever. “Of course not.”
“Hey, you two.” Griffin walks in, a sweaty mess, with Palmer in his arms.
Her eyes light up when she sees me. Mommy.
“Thanks so much, Griffin,” I say, taking Palmer from him.
Daddy. She points at Griffin.
I blow out a breath and give Phoenix a look.
“You may have a point,” she says and laughs.
Griffin goes in to kiss her and Phoenix pushes him away because he’s too sweaty, but he runs his cheek along hers and she giggles until he captures her.
“Gross,” Maverick says. “Hey, Aunt Sedona.” He sits on the lounger and starts playing on his phone.
Palmer squirms out of my hold, and crawls up next to him on the lounger to watch.
“You got back sooner than I thought,” Phoenix says and smiles at me.
Griffin raises his eyebrows. “Because your plan backfired on you.”
“What plan?” she asks innocently with wide eyes.
“Sedona, sit down.” Grandma Dori comes out of the house with Ethel in tow. “You need to be resting. Keep that baby in as long as you can. Especially with all the stress of that good-for-nothing boy showing back up here.”
Griffin laughs and bops Phoenix on the end of the nose with his index finger. “I’m going to take a shower.” Then he disappears into the house.
Grandma Dori leads me over to the couch, physically putting my feet up on the table while I give Phoenix the death stare of all death stares. I’m not sure what will end up being more painful—this meeting with Grandma Dori and Ethel, or the one I had earlier with Jamison.
Four
Jamison
I arrive back at Glacier Point and take the elevator up to my floor, half expecting my stuff to be sitting in the hallway. To be honest, I was surprised it wasn’t already waiting with Mac the bellhop.
But once I turn the corner to my room, I’m faced with something I wasn’t expecting—Kingston leaning against my door with his arms crossed.
“King,” I say with a nod.
He nods in return and waits for me to use my keycard to gain access into my room. “We need to talk.”
Sliding in front of me, he enters my room, looking around as if he expects to find someone here. He sits in one of the two chairs by the small table next to the window that looks out at Lake Starlight. I sit at the end of the bed.
Kingston’s never been overly protective of his sisters, so I’m surprised he’s the Bailey here. I feared the wrath of Phoenix more than Kingston, but he clearly has a connection with my daughter. One I’m already jealous of.
“Go ahead and say what you need to.” I untie my shoes and place them under the luggage holder, where my small suitcase holds only a week’s worth of clothes.
“I loved you like my brother and wanted you to be part of this family, but you abandoned her and that puts us on different terms now. Do you have any idea what she’s had to deal with? What it was like for her?”
I run my hand through my hair. “I don’t, no. And I know this is hard to understand right now, but the way I was when Sedona was pregnant… I wasn’t good for either of them. It took a long time for me to realize that Sedona leaving me was the best thing that could have happened.”
A hollow laugh escapes him. “Why? Because it got you clean? Still an egotistical asshole, huh?”
I lock my gaze with his. “No. Because I could’ve harmed Palmer.” Her name still doesn’t roll off my tongue like it should. “You have no idea how bad it was because I know Sedona hid my problem from you guys, but I was fucked up, man. She did what she should have.”
He leans back in his chair. “How did it get so out of control?”
I bury my head in my hands, my toes sinking into the soft carpet that comes with a top-notch resort like Glacier Point. “I don’t know. I was depressed. After the first injury to my ankle, they said take it easy and I’d be back up and ready in no time. But I probably shouldn’t have played on it that soon. I rushed it. Told my coach I was ready when I probably wasn’t, but fuck, playing soccer was my everything.”
“My sister could have been your everything.” He
sneers.
I can’t fault him. He’s right. But pathetically, it wasn’t that way. “True, but soccer was my first love.” He opens his mouth, but I put my hand up to stop him. “I’m just being straight. That was then. It’s been a long road to recovery to get my priorities in order. And they are now. Sedona and Palmer are all I want. Sedona isn’t available and I’m not going to fuck up her life any more than I already have, but Palmer is still my daughter.”
“Did Sedona tell you that?” He props his ankle on his knee while a smirk he can’t win the fight against rests on his lips.
“Pretty much. Not to mention she’s pregnant with some other guy’s baby. She told me this morning anything between us is off the table.” My heart still physically hurts when I think that I destroyed my future so thoroughly.
“True.”
I peek up. “Who’s the guy? I mean, do I know him? Is he from high school?”
I shouldn’t ask Kingston, but I’m dying to know. How serious is this? Does the guy have a relationship with Palmer? She’s clearly attached to Kingston. Was the guy at the shower yesterday? I have so many questions. I respected Sedona when she told me it was none of my business. She owes me nothing and I can’t force myself into her heart no matter how bad it hurts that I lost my chance.
“If Sedona doesn’t want to say, I won’t tell you.” He stands.
I forgot how intimidating the Bailey men are. They all stand over six feet with broad shoulders and scowls that have you second-guessing anything you said and did in the last twenty-four hours. And that’s on a good day. Kingston’s scowl right now is the worst I’ve seen.
I stand and match his height.
He huffs as though he’s realized I’m no longer just his little sister’s boyfriend. “It goes without saying, you hurt either of them and your ankle will be the last of your worries.”
He doesn’t crack his knuckles, but I feel as if he wants to.
“I just want to get to know my daughter.”
“Speaking of, how do you know how to sign?”
“My uncle was deaf. He died when I was in high school, but…”
He nods. “Good thing for you she got Sedona’s brain. She’s smart as a whip and already ahead of kids her age. Then again, Sedona’s been signing to her since she was an infant.”
I nod, not acknowledging his insult. If Sedona passed her smarts down to Palmer, then I’m a happy father.
I have so many questions I want to ask Kingston about my daughter, but more than that, I want to find out for myself. My entire body itches to spend time with Palmer. To have her smile at me, or to have me be the one to protect her.
I put out my hand. “Thanks for doing what I should have.”
He stares at my hand and laughs. “Your thanks can be to do right by them.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets and heads to the door. “Just remember if I have to come find you again, it’ll be to kick your ass.” He opens the door and laughs uncontrollably. “Hey, G’Ma D. Your presence isn’t necessary. I’ve already put the fear of death in him.”
Dori slaps her grandson in the stomach. “Please, you don’t scare a fly.”
“I take offense to that.” Kingston turns, following her with his gaze as she walks past me and occupies the chair he just got up from.
He shakes his head and turns to leave again, but another senior citizen comes in holding a six-pack of cans. She thrusts them into Kingston’s stomach.
“From my grandsons’ brewery,” she says.
Kingston shuffles to grab a hold of them before they fall to the floor. He picks them up and inspects them. “Your grandsons own Truth or Dare Brewery?”
Why does that name sound so familiar?
She nods. “Yep, in Sunrise Bay.”
Bingo. I passed a restaurant with the logo that’s on the beer can.
“How did I not know this, Ethel?” Kingston takes one can, beelines to his grandma, and sets the rest down between them. Then he sits on the bed and cracks it open.
“I have no idea. Maybe because you just recently started hanging around Lake Starlight again?”
Kingston gulps down a sip. “Damn, Ethel, this is awesome.”
“She’s like their pimp. They asked her to share it with people in Lake Starlight to try to increase their business.” Dori eyes me. “Enough of that now. I need to talk to Jamison.”
She exchanges a look with Kingston, and he stands, takes the rest of the beer from the table, and eyes me. “Come on, Ethel, let’s go pimp your grandson to Wyatt. Maybe he’ll put their beer in the restaurant.” He swings his arm around the old lady who has hair that’s more silver than gray.
They leave, and Dori pats the table. “Come sit, Jamison. We need to have a conversation about how this is gonna go.”
“How what’s gonna go?” I stand and sit across from her.
“You returning to Lake Starlight. Your relationship with Sedona and my great-granddaughter.”
I open my mouth, but she raises her hand. For a moment, I contemplate whether the Bailey men learned their intimidation tactics from Dori.
“I’ll do the talking and you do the listening.”
I nod.
“I’m all for you returning, and I hope you’ve got your life squared away. Unlike others in my family, I’m glad you’re here. Sedona and Palmer need you in their lives.”
I scrunch my eyebrows, not understanding why Sedona would need me. She’s always been pretty independent. But I know better than to interrupt Dori, so I keep quiet.
“Palmer needs a dad. Hell, she’s already tried to call Kingston daddy.”
There’s that sword slicing my heart as if it’s made of paper again.
“Then Griffin earlier today. What is she supposed to think? Maverick has a dad. Easton has a dad. Lance and Brinley have dads. They all have dads and she wants to know where her dad is.” Her voice grows more agitated.
“I—”
“Nope. If you can’t be quiet, how can I assume you’ll listen to my next set of instructions?” She raises one gray eyebrow, and I sink down in my chair. “Now, you’re her daddy, but Sedona isn’t going to tell her that right away. She’d be a fool to put that much trust in you at this point. Then again, you weaken Sedona. Always have.” She shakes her head.
My shoulders sag. I never want to weaken her. Ever.
“She holds a soft spot for you no matter what. So ears open.” She waits until I straighten in my seat. “This is going to take a lot of groveling and time to prove that you’ve changed. I hope you’re ready. I’m on your side in regard to Palmer, but don’t do anything stupid to make me change my mind. I’ve talked with Wyatt and Brooklyn and you’re allowed to stay here as long as you’d like. They aren’t going to kick you out.”
“How did you—”
“I know everything that happens in this town. You’ve been away too long if you forgot that.” She taps her temple then stands. “I better go save Ethel before she drinks too much again.” Straightening her purse on her arm, she stares at me. “I always liked you, Jamison, until I hated you. I’m trusting you to stand up and do the right thing here. I hope we don’t ever have to have another conversation like this, but that’s solely up to you.” She walks to the door and I stand. “Use those dimples and that charm, my boy. Palmer’s easy—she wants you in her life. Sedona will be the real challenge.”
“But I thought Sedona is with someone?” I call right before she opens the door.
She holds steady and doesn’t turn around. “Did she tell you she’s with someone?”
“Not exactly, but I mean, she’s pregnant with someone’s baby.”
Her bluish-gray head nods. “Well, you’ll find out soon enough.”
“What does—”
The door shuts with a click. What the hell is going on?
Five
Sedona
Being pregnant for the second time is so much easier than the first. Then again, I don’t have the heavy heart I had when I was pregnant with Palmer. Being
asked about the father doesn’t bring me that feeling of shame. If anything, this time around, people in town beam at the father and look at me as if I’m an angel.
One thing that hasn’t changed is my nerves whenever I’m at the doctor’s office for an appointment. But overall, I’m more relaxed and at peace this time around. I see how my mom was able to have so many kids.
The exam room is the same as always—the table situated by the window, two visitor chairs by the desk with the computer on it, and a doctor’s stool on wheels tucked underneath the desk. The posters depicting the inside of a pregnant woman at various stages of her pregnancy make me look at my swollen belly with amazement every visit.
Still, there’s a buzzing inside me. A feeling of being off-kilter that I can’t shake. Jamison being back in my life at the same point as I was pregnant with Palmer when I left him has warped me back to that time in my life. The hurt and confusion, that feeling that I wasn’t enough, have replanted and sprouted up inside me. But I refuse to allow my fear to be my demise.
A short knock and Dr. Estes pokes her head in. “Ready for me?”
I nod and she opens the door fully, leaving it slightly ajar.
“I just saw Daddy rush into the waiting room.” She smiles and sits on her stool.
I stiffen at the news that he’s here, and a new form of tension wraps around me. He’s going to see right through me, and he’s going to ask about Jamison. And I’m already about a minute from breakdown just from thinking about him.
“How are you feeling?” she asks.
But my attention is on the door. He must’ve rushed over on his lunch. Last we discussed, he couldn’t make today’s visit. “I’m good.”
She types a few things on the computer. “Any contractions?”
“Nope.”
“Since your first delivery went smoothly, I don’t anticipate anything different with this one.”
A soft knock lands on the door even though it’s ajar.
Dr. Estes smiles at me like get a load of this guy. “You can come in.”