I half ran to the door and out onto the porch. I turned to it with it still cracked as if I were saying goodbye and wiped up my tears. No fucking way I was letting anyone see me cry over being cut down by Jeremy's mother, though I was mortified by it.
"Bailey!" Austin's voice caused me to suck it up and turn.
I knelt and swooped him up in my arms as he laughed. "Hi, Buddy. I hear you need a cookie-baking elf to help you tonight."
"I do!" He laughed and clung to me.
"Hey. You okay?" Nina stopped in front of me, her face filled with worry.
I put Austin down and patted his back. "Go get in the backseat, little man. Ellen is in there and we have candy canes and Christmas music already on for you."
"Yes!" He hugged Nina tightly and turned, jogging down the stairs as best he could all wrapped up in his winter coat and boots.
"I'm okay. Just some stuff I'm dealing with from home." I reached up and wiped at my eyes. "It's all good."
"You sure?" She pulled me into a tight hug. "I don't like to see you crying."
"Yeah, well, I'm a girl. It happens from time to time." I moved back and forced a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow maybe?"
"Yep. We're all supposed to be over at Jer's around ten for breakfast and presents. I'll bring mom and the gifts then."
I nodded before turning to go. "Sounds great. Merry Christmas, Nina."
"You too!" She walked into the house as I made my way back to the car.
There was no way I was going to move things forward with Jeremy without first talking to him about the situation with his mother. I couldn't stand the thought of falling even more deeply in love with him only to have him shut me down because of her. He might say that wasn't a possibility, but I knew their relationship... he listened to her just like I listened to my folks, only my parents weren’t evil dark bitches.
At least not most of the time.
23
Jeremy
Christmas Day
I let out a long sigh of relief as I pulled up to the house early on Christmas morning. Bailey's car was parked in the snow, and the idea of her being in the house asleep in my bed had my pulse spiking.
There was nothing I wanted more than to fall into the bed face-first and pass out, but knowing she was there, that wasn't going to happen. Making love to her for a little while was first on my list of priorities.
I got out of the car and walked up to the house as the sun started to rise behind me. There was a slim chance Austin wasn't going to be up and hopping around the tree in the next hour, but I was praying for a quick fuck and a quicker nap if at all possible.
The house was completely silent when I walked in, and the scent of sugar cookies filled my senses. I walked to the kitchen to find a note scribbled in Austin's handwriting and another one beside it from Santa. I picked it up and smiled, realizing that Bailey must have written it for my son.
The cookies were half eaten, and the milk was all gone.
I stopped by the living room as my heart overflowed with love and adoration for the beautiful woman I was soon to ask to be my wife. She hadn't left anything undone. A huge fire truck sat in front of the tree with a teddy bear laying across it as if the little bastard was sound asleep.
I laughed as tears filled my eyes. How in the world could a cold-hearted asshole like me find another woman like her? She was everything I dreamed I would find in my first chance love, but so much more than I hoped for in my second.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to see Nina calling.
"Merry Christmas," I half-whispered into the phone.
"You didn't text me at midnight like you usually do." She sounded a little let down about it.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, Sis. I am honestly just walking into the house right now." I sat down on the couch and smiled as I realized Bailey finished wrapping all my presents and got them under the tree. There was no way she found the necklace I'd bought for her. It was high in my closet, just in case.
"Oh. Jeez. I'm so sorry, Jer."
"It's all good. We got the fire out about four this morning, and there was no loss of life. We're all good." I leaned back and ran my fingers through my wet hair. I was cold and tired. The only thing I wanted for Christmas was about an hour wrapped around my woman in the warmth of my covers.
"That's great news." Nina stopped talking, and the pregnant pause between us left me a little worried.
"What's up? You have something you want to say. Say it." I got back up and walked down the hallway toward Austin's room. I pushed the door open to find Bailey wrapped around him, both of them breathing deeply.
My heart felt like it might flood with love for them both.
"Something happened last night, but I'm not sure what."
I turned away from the bedroom and closed the door. "I'm lost."
"I took Austin down to Katie's place and, I don't know, when I got back with him, Bailey was on the front porch in tears." She took a deep breath. "Something happened with her and Mom."
"What?" I walked into my bedroom and closed the door before pulling off my t-shirt and crawling into my bed. I planned on talking to my sister and then going back to Austin's room to carry B back to my bed. "What happened? Did you ask Momma?"
"No. She was upset about it being the holidays and not having Dad." She let out a sigh. "Have you talked to Bailey?"
"She's still asleep. I'll go wake her up here shortly. She did cookies with Aus, cleaned the damn house, wrapped everything, wrote him a Santa letter. The fucking list goes on and on, Sis." I laid back and pinched the bridge of my nose as exhaustion rolled over me.
"She's a good woman, Jer. One you need to keep."
"I plan to." I yawned loudly. "I went to Laila's grave yesterday before the fire and said goodbye."
"Oh, Bubba. Why didn't you tell me? I could have gone with you."
"I appreciate that, but I needed to do it on my own." I turned on my side and pulled the covers from the other side of the bed over me. "It was time, you know?"
"You gotta make some room in your heart for new things."
"And not be the damaged one anymore?" I smiled and pulled my pillow down farther.
"You never were damaged, Jeremy. Just dented a little, but something tells me that Rhys's little sister is going to help heal all of those dents. Her, Austin and some time." My sister made more sense than anyone else in my life did. She loved me with a patient love. It was something I cherished deep in my soul.
"I love you, Sis. I'm going to rest my eyes and then go talk to Bailey. I think I'll propose in the late spring after we’ve had the time to date a little longer and get to know each other a little better."
"That's a great idea. Mom and I will be over in a little while unless you don't want me to bring her. We don't have to be there today."
"Sure you do. It's Christmas. I'm sure whatever is going on, we can solve it. Mom loves me. If she's being a bitch, she's doing it out of some sense of needing to protect me. We'll figure it out. Merry Christmas."
"You too, Bubba. See you in a little while. Sleep well."
"Yeah." I dropped the call and closed my eyes as darkness rushed in to take me under.
Sleep. I just needed a little bit of sleep.
"Daddy! Merry Christmas!" Austin jumped on the bed beside me, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Hey man." I grabbed him and pulled him down to tickle him. "Why you gotta wake me up like that? Scared the hell out of me."
"No, it didn't." He wrestled me with all his might. He was full of energy. "Did you know that Santa came and ate all the cookies me and Bailey made last night?"
"I saw that when I came in this morning. Looked like he put your presents under the tree too." I lifted an eyebrow as he shrugged. "You totally saw it already, didn't you?"
"Yes! And guess what?"
"What's that?" I glanced toward the door, half-expecting Bailey to walk in any minute.
"This means that I'm not on the naughty list." He poked me in the chest over an
d over with his forefingers on each hand. "You were wrong! You were wrong-o!"
I laughed and pushed him off of me before rolling over and getting up. "Where is Bailey?"
"Um, I don't know." He got off the bed and shrugged his shoulders. "She laid down with me last night, but she wasn't in my bed when I got up."
"Hm. Well, you go check out your presents, and I'm going to solve the case of the missing girlfriend."
"Oh wow. She's your girlfriend now?" His eyes widened. "Dad. You know that girls have cooties."
"No, not when they get older. They sluff those off like a snake does his skin." I gave him a knowing look and shook my head 'yes' at him.
"Really?" His eyes got wider. "Can you actually see it? The cootie skin?"
"Yep." I turned him around and sent him down the hallway with a head full of lies. "Bailey? Where you at, baby?"
Nothing. After checking every room in the house, I stopped in the kitchen and found a note by the coffee pot with my name on it. My stomach sank. Why would she leave a note and not stay to celebrate Christmas with us? We'd made plans to spend the whole damn day together.
I opened it and held my breath.
Merry Christmas Jer,
Just wanted to leave you a note to thank you for letting me spend the evening with Austin. We had a great time. I'm going to spend Christmas with Ellen and her folks. I know we made plans, but you enjoy your holiday with your sister and your mom. I have some thinking to do. I've been trying to talk to you about it for a little while now, but I never can figure out how to start the conversation.
It's just that you have a really bright future. You have a great family and an incredible career. You're older and just really well put together. You are set up to do some crazy awesome things. I think you should stop pushing against the grain and just accept the money that your father left for you, though it's none of my business. It would help you not to have to work so hard, and maybe you and Austin could take some trips together. He would love that!
Anyway. I'll catch up with you soon, and we can talk. I just think that maybe instead of settling for a plain girl like me who doesn't have her shit together and comes from nowhere that you should aim higher.
So, enjoy your Christmas, and I'll see you around.
Bailey
"No. No, no, no, no." The tear stains on the paper were still fresh. "Goddamnit no."
"Dad?" Austin came around the corner and skidded into the kitchen. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Horror raced through me. My stomach soured immediately, and with the lack of sleep I was running on, I wasn't going to be able to hold down my dinner.
"You sure?" He called after me as I jogged down the hallway and slammed the door to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet before I knelt and threw up everything inside of me.
No. No fucking way I was losing again. It wasn't happening. I didn't give a fuck what I had to do. There was no way Bailey was walking away from me. Not for the reasons she said on that piece of paper.
"Jeremy?" My sister's voice filled up the room as she knocked loudly on the door. "You okay? What's going on? We just got here, and Austin said you were sick."
I wiped my mouth and jerked the door open. Anger burned through me like never before. "What happened last night?"
My sister lifted her hands and took a step back. "I have no clue."
"What's going on?" My mother walked down the hallway.
"Bedroom. Now!" I yelled in a deep voice and walked to my room.
"Who?" Nina called after me.
"My. Mother." I walked into my room and pressed my hands to my stomach. A mixture of fury and disgust had me wanting to bend over again.
"What is the meaning of this?" She walked in and closed the door behind her.
I whirled around and lifted my fingers at her. "How dare you. You did this, didn't you? You did something to Bailey that has her running away from my goddamn life as fast as she can."
Mom lifted her hands and gave me a chastising look. "Now, Jeremy. You know as well as I do that she's just a rebound."
"No, the fuck she isn't," I barked and stood my ground. I wanted to cross the room and get in her face, but there was no way I was going to offend or hurt my own mother. I wasn't that kind of man. She'd pulled this same shit with Laila.
"Watch your language."
"You're going to find her, and you're going to apologize for being the meanest, black-hearted woman in the whole goddamn city. And you're going to do it right now, or catch this... you're going to leave this house, and me and Austin won't be a part of your life again. I've followed your silly rules and dating the series of sluts you sent me on dates with to make you happy." I locked my jaw as I shook in anger. "How dare you take away the only woman I can see me and Austin healing with. Do you hate me?"
"What? Of course not." She pressed her hands to her lips and let out a sob. "Why are you yelling at me?"
"What did you say to Bailey?" I forced myself to calm down just a little.
"I just told her the truth, son."
I pulled at my hair and let out a feral growl. "And what truth would that be?"
"That you're on the rebound." She lifted her hands toward me as I let out another deep, dark sound. "Jeremy. Stop that."
"You have two choices." I let out a long sigh and let my shoulders roll in. "My heart is breaking inside my chest like the day I stood at Laila's grave, and you've caused this. You can go fix it, or get out of my life. Forever."
"You're being-"
"Forever!" I screamed so loud the walls shook around me.
She took a step back and nodded. "I'll fix it. I'm sorry. I was only trying to do what was best for you."
"I'm thirty-two years old. You have no clue what's best for me." I ran my hands down my face. "You have until lunchtime today. I'm going to spend the morning with my son and my sister. Until this is righted, you're not welcomed in my house.
"Fine." She turned, flung my door open and marched back down the hallway. I had expected to hear her cry, but it wasn't her style. She barked something at Nina, spoke sweetly to Austin and I heard another door slam.
I sat down on the edge of my bed and pressed my face into my hands. I had to pull myself together. It was Christmas, and whether or not my mom did her part of setting things right - I would later that day.
I was in love with my best friend's baby sister, and she wasn't getting away from me that easily.
Not if I had something to say about it.
24
Bailey
"What are you doing here on Christmas Day?" Tanner glanced up from the bar and smiled at me. "You had off, remember?"
"Yeah, but I had off at Thanksgiving too. I'm good. Seriously. My whole family is back in Illinois, and my mom and dad actually went to Hawaii to get out of the snow this year." I lifted my hands to the side and looked around. "This place is much better than moping around my empty apartment."
"Alright. Well, if you're going to be here," he smiled, "get your ass in gear."
I nodded, forced a smile and walked to the back. With one manager on duty, I would be playing bartender or waitress, one or the other. The events from the night before washed over me and crippled my resolve to keep my chin up.
Ducking into the employees’ bathroom, I locked the door behind me and dropped down on the toilet. Why did what Jeremy's mother think matter so much to me? She wasn't the one I planned on marrying or having kids with.
A groan left me as I pressed my head into my hands. My heart hurt so bad I thought I might be sick.
I'd left him a fucking note instead of talking to him. What choice did I have?
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I ignored it for a little while, but it finally got on my damn nerves. I assumed it might be Jeremy, but it was Rhys.
"Hey. Where you at? You trying to avoid your only sibling on Christmas? What the hell?" He sounded as full of life as he always did.
"No. I just-" I pursed my lips.
"Bailey? Are you crying?
" His voice darkened.
"No. Yes. I don't know." I let out a sob and covered my eyes with my free hand. "Jeremy's mother hates me, and she made sure to let me know last night. I'm just a rebound, Rhys."
"Sis. Listen to me, that woman is evil. She tried to get rid of me and Laila. I promise you that her words are not Jeremy's. He just told me yesterday that he was falling in love with you. Please don't let her tear you guys apart." He let out a long sigh. "You just have to talk to Jeremy and stand up to her. She backs off when she realizes that you're not going anywhere."
"What if I am a rebound though? What if Jer thinks he's in love, but really it's just that he needs to start moving on, and I'm the first woman in sight when he takes that first step?"
"Not the case. I've already walked through all of this with him. He's my best friend. There's no way he would do anything like that to you. You know?"
"No." I sniffled loudly. "I don't know, and you know why?"
"Tell me why, boo."
"Because you don't know that you're dating a rebound until you find someone else more compatible or hot or wealthier that pulls you in an attraction toward them. Maybe he thinks he's falling in love, but when he finds someone better or more like Laila, he's going to walk. I can't do this, Rhys. Not with him. He's the man I've wanted all my life." I sniffled again. "Not a man like him, actually him. I've loved him since I was a little girl. I can't do this."
"Hey! Calm down, or I'm going to get my happy ass on a plane and bust his mouth open for upsetting you on Christmas. Now, take a deep breath."
I breathed in deeply and let out another sob as a fresh wave of tears came. I gave him my virginity, my gift. I handed it over without too much thought because it was him for shit's sake. Jeremy. My Jer. Rhys's Jer.
"Bailey." Rhys paused. "Where are you?"
Captain Hotness: A Single Father Bad Boy Novel Page 14