Sweet on You

by Katana Collins

  Yvonne: Oh, good! Steve is at your house right now repairing your door!

  I groaned. Steve was repairing it? Great. That just meant Cam and I would have to redo what he attempted. I love my second-oldest brother, but there’s a reason he went to veterinary school and didn’t help Cam take over Dad’s carpentry business.

  “Hey,” Lex said, his hand touching my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, I need to cut this short.”

  I startled, jumping in my seat, since I hadn’t heard him come back. He reached into his pocket and tossed a twenty-dollar bill onto the table.

  “Is everything okay?” I started to get up to help him with the animals, but he waved me off.

  “Yeah. Yes, everything’s fine, just… complicated.” He sighed the last word so heavily that I saw his chest concave and his shoulders sag. “Please don’t feel like you have to leave just because I am. Stay and enjoy your drink.” Lex bent and lifted Frost from the ground, placing her gently onto his shoulders. She gave a disgruntled meow, voicing her dislike at being moved around. But just as quickly, she laid down across his shoulders, her head on the left side, her body curled around the back of his neck, and her tail swishing over his right shoulder.

  I glanced at the drink and shook my head, standing and grabbing Penny’s leash. “No, drinking alone isn’t fun.” Not worth the calories is what I wanted to say, but thought better of it. I was trying to hide the crazy, not shine a spotlight on it.

  With our animal’s leashes clutched in our hands, I gave a wave to Nick, who owned the place, and he waved goodbye as well before we exited the little outdoor seating area.

  “Oh, shit,” Lex muttered. “I forgot I left my car parked at your house.”

  Since I only lived about half a mile from Nick’s Pizzeria, we had chosen to walk. He sighed and thrust his hand into his hair. “No big deal, I’ll take an Uber and pick it up later tonight.”

  I bit my lip and gave him a smile that was truly more of a grimace. “Your backpack is at my house, too.”

  He winced. “Shit. That has my keys in it.”

  “Is your apartment unlocked?”

  “The back door is always unlocked for this very reason. I’m a dolt who forgets his keys constantly. But still.” He took a deep breath, his eyes fluttering closed momentarily. “Okay. Can you leave my backpack with the keys on the floor of my car? That way I can come grab it tonight without bothering you or having to ring the bell and get this guy all worked up over nothing.” He bent and rubbed his hand between Penny’s ears.

  “You know,” I said. “I have a much easier solution. Why don’t I just drive your car back to your place?”

  His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped into a panicked ‘o.’ “Tonight?”

  Well, shit. Not with that reaction, it wasn’t going to be tonight. I cleared my throat. “Or tomorrow.”

  Lex scrubbed his hand down his face. “Ronnie, I need to be honest with you.”

  My heart dropped into my stomach. Any conversation that starts with “I need to be honest with you” is likely not going to be a good one. I swallowed and carefully answered, “Okay,” drawing out the word to be about eight syllables long.

  “That kiss we shared was magical.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Truly, really, fucking magical.”

  Huh. Okay. Maybe I need to be honest with you isn’t such a terrible phrase.

  “But—”

  Ah, here it comes. The but.

  “—my life right now isn’t magical. At all. It’s far from magical. It’s…”

  “Complicated,” I repeated his word from before. “So you told me.”

  His gaze lifted to meet mine. And even with how sorrow-filled his eyes were, the turquoise blue shone bright. He nodded. “Complicated. And I-I’m not ready for you to walk into this complication. Not yet. I will be. I hope to be… sooner rather than later. But I don’t want to make a promise I can’t keep. It’s why I said no to you a month ago when you asked me out.”

  I arched a brow at him. “Yet… you kissed me today.”

  He sighed and looked up to the sky, nodding. “I know. I couldn’t help myself. But… I shouldn’t have. I wasn’t ready for how intensely beautiful you’d look today. Or how funny you’d be. Or how this one piece of your curly hair would keep falling into your eyes.” He reached out, brushing the fallen piece of hair back from my forehead. His fingertips lingered at my temple briefly and I turned my head into his touch, nuzzling it. “I’m sorry if I’ve led you on. I do want to continue this someday in the future.”

  I swallowed, feeling momentarily brave. “Someday? That’s all I get?”

  “Someday in the not so distant future? I just can’t make any promises or commitments right at this moment,” he offered. Then with another heavy sigh, he lowered his forehead to mine, Frost’s tail swishing gently between us. “I don’t expect you to wait around for me or anything. But just know that the second I have more of myself to give someone, it will be you. I wish I had more to give right now, but I don’t.”

  I understood that. I nodded and the movement shook his head along with mine. “You need to go,” I said, pulling back and jerking my chin in the direction of his apartment. With a few steps backwards, he gave me a little wave before power walking back toward the center of town.

  I sighed and with a small tug on Penny’s leash, he stood as well. When I turned left, he whimpered, pulling in the direction where Lex was still walking away from us in the distance. “I know, Penny. I wish he wasn’t leaving, too.”

  But sometimes we don’t get what we want. It was a lesson I had a feeling both Penny and I had learned in our lives the hard way.

  10

  Lex

  “You’re telling me, I’m going to meet my daughter soon? Maybe before the end of the week?” I froze halfway between my couch and the window on the wall where Lana was leaning, sipping the glass of wine I had poured for her. Even though the question was directed at my lawyer, this new man I’d only had one conversation with before this, I couldn’t help but look to Lana. She’d known this case longer. She’d been working with me for over a year. And she and her husband were easily my two closest friends in the area. In some ways, it was instinct to turn to her first.

  She gave me an encouraging smile before glancing at her husband who was sitting in my armchair, Frost curled up in his lap. “I told you that you didn’t want to miss being here, Tony.”

  He lifted his glass in my direction. “I’d get up, but I don’t want to disturb your first furbaby, here.” He winked and ran his free hand down Frost’s back. I could hear her purr from across the room.

  Brady, my new lawyer, held his hand up. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Step one is you and I need to be at Sarah’s arraignment tomorrow morning.” Sarah. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to hearing London called by her real name. “You’ll present yourself as baby Olivia’s father. They will likely want to do a DNA test to be certain.” Brady leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and taking a sip from his water. He had declined the glass of wine I had offered him from one of the few dusty bottles I keep on hand… just for visitors. “But I have to say, Sarah’s parents seemed relieved… cautious, yes… but relieved that Olivia has a father. However, they’ve watched their own daughter struggle with addiction and she told them about your history with drugs as well. Naturally, they’re very hesitant.”

  “I’ve been clean for two years. I haven’t fallen off the wagon once, not since London—I mean, Sarah—sent me that ultra-sound picture when she was four months pregnant.”

  Lana placed her hand gently on my arm. “We know, Lex. We believe you.”

  Brady nodded. “I think her parents want to believe that, too. But you have to understand that their daughter is their only real experience with addiction from what I can tell. And she has never managed to stay clean.”

  “Never?” What did that mean? Did she stay clean during her pregnancy at least? A lump lodged in my throat. “Is Olivia… I mean, did
Sarah fall off the wagon when she was pregnant?”

  Brady licked his lips nervously. That was all the answer I needed. I squeezed my eyes shut. Even though I’ve never been a particularly religious man, I prayed to whatever God would have me that Olivia was okay, despite the shitty decisions Sarah and I both made in our lives.

  “Olivia’s fine, Lex. I pulled her medical records. She has some vision problems. A disease called nystagmus which means her eyes move from side to side. She’s wearing glasses to help correct it and according to Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, it’s a very mild case.”

  It didn’t matter that it was mild. The lump in my throat grew. “She’s only a baby and she’s wearing glasses? Because Sarah couldn’t keep a needle out of her fucking arm!”

  I stomped into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water with shaking hands. I needed to calm down. Get a hold of my emotions.

  “Get it out now,” Brady said. “Because at the arraignment, you need to stay calm. You can’t show anger like this.”

  I nodded and walked back into the living room. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  Brady handed me some paperwork, sliding it across the coffee table. “Fill these out tonight so that they’re ready for tomorrow. If Sarah’s parents ask for drug testing, are you willing to comply with that?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Of course.”

  “What if they want routine drug testing?”

  I blinked. “As in, random drug tests more than once? Like an employer would do?”

  He nodded.

  “I guess that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to have to do it for a lifetime, but I will if necessary.”

  Brady nodded. “I think that’s fair. What if we offer random drug testing for the first year of custody, revisiting after the twelve month mark.”

  “I can do that. I’ll take a drug test every day if it gives me my daughter.”

  Brady smiled at me.

  “Told you he was a good man, Brady,” Tony said from across the room. “Kind of sappy… but a good man, nevertheless.”

  I flipped him off, grinning as he sat there petting my cat like some evil villain.

  “Last bit of business, Lex. You don’t have to answer me now, but… do you want sole custody or joint custody with her parents?”

  I blinked in shock. Sole custody had never occurred to me. I’d just assumed London and I would share Olivia once I found them. “Holy shit,” I muttered, falling onto the couch beside Brady. I raked my fingers through my hair and could feel a bit of dough from my morning batch of biscuits in the strands. My bakery. I needed to call Seth… a college kid who was my one and only employee. He wasn’t scheduled for tomorrow, but maybe he could fill in so I could go to Sarah’s arraignment? I scrubbed my palms over my face. There was so much to consider. Was I ready to be a full-time father? Did I even have a choice? I yanked my phone from my pocket and texted him, hoping to God he was available at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow.

  “What do Sarah’s parents want? Do they want joint custody?”

  “Honestly, they didn’t really give me any indication one way or another. I can tell you… they seemed genuinely happy that you were coming forward. Whatever that’s worth.” Brady put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring squeeze. “You don’t have to decide anything tonight. But just know that it may all happen quickly. We could also be in negotiations for months. It totally depends. But if Sarah’s parents don’t want full custody, you might get Olivia sooner than you’re expecting. My understanding is that they’re older and are raising Olivia because they have no other choice. They obviously love her, but here’s what I know: if my parents were in their shoes? They would much rather be grandparents than parents at their age.”

  My knee was moving independently of the rest of my body, bouncing up and down. I hopped to my feet and resumed pacing my living room floor. “How soon do these things tend to happen?”

  Brady shrugged. “I hate to make a guess because they vary wildly depending on how congenial the guardians are. I’ve seen custody battles dragged out for months—even years. And I’ve seen cases wrapped up in one hour once paternity is established.”

  “I-I don’t even have a room for her here,” I said, gesturing around. “I don’t have furniture—a bed for her to sleep in. I don’t have toys for her to play with. I don’t even have any kid-friendly movies to put on.” I paced to the window where Lana shushed me.

  “Easy, Lex. Tony and I can help. We can set up a crib for Olivia in your bedroom. And what about the attic space? Could you finish that and turn it into a second bedroom?”

  I took a deep breath. “Maybe.” Not that I had the money for a renovation right now.

  “And I’m sure her grandparents will send her to you with her own toys,” Lana added.

  “And as for movies,” Tony said, “Hell, that’s what Netflix is for.”

  “I’m sure we’re getting ahead of ourselves here,” Brady said.

  I took a deep breath. They were right. They were all right. Including Brady. Step one was simply going to the arraignment and getting a feel for what sort of relationship I’m in for with Sarah’s parents. They might hate me. They might make this hell for me.

  “Will Olivia be there tomorrow?” I asked.

  “They weren’t going to bring her,” Brady said. I nodded, trying to hide my disappointment and fell back, leaning against the same table as Lana was.

  Then, Brady smiled. “But when they learned you were coming, they agreed to some sort of meeting. Just not inside the courthouse. They don’t want her to see her mom inside the courtroom. But they said they want you to meet her yourself.”

  “I-I’m g-going to meet my baby girl? Tomorrow?” Brady’s grin widened. Beside me, I heard Lana squeal. She grabbed me and hugged me hard.

  “Lex, I am so happy for you!”

  For two years, I had managed to keep myself calm through most of this ordeal. But the release I felt in this moment made it impossible to hold the tears back and they spilled from my eyes, distorting my vision.

  Tony stood up from the chair as Frost jumped down. “Sorry, Frost,” he said. “But I’ve got to get up for this one.”

  I crossed the space between us and Tony grabbed me, hugging me hard with a few masculine slaps to the back. “Congrats, man,” he said. And hell if his voice didn’t crack as he said that.

  My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I tugged it out to look at the text from Seth. My heart sunk as I read that he couldn’t come in until noon.

  “What?” Lana asked. “What’s the matter?”

  “I only have one employee and he… he can’t fill in for me tomorrow morning.” I scrubbed my palms over my face. “I guess I could just close for the day. One day isn’t going to kill my business.”

  Though, it certainly wouldn’t help matters, either.

  “Lana and I can open the café for you,” Tony said. “Do you have enough baked goods to get us through most of the day?’

  I nodded. “I always pre-bake a few batches of the popular items.” I sniffled and swiped the backs of my hands over my damp cheeks. “Thank you so much. For everything. Why don’t you both sleep here? Take my bedroom and I can sleep on the couch. That way, you don’t have to drive back into Maple Grove at the asscrack of dawn.”

  Tony groaned. “How early we talking here? When does that café open?”

  “Six.” I winced as his groan got louder.

  Lana waved him off. “Don’t listen to him, Lex. We’ve got this. The bakery should be the last thing you’re worrying about. Go get some sleep. You have an early morning tomorrow.”

  “She’s right, Lex,” Brady said, standing. I took his glass and set it in the sink along with Tony’s. Lana was still sipping what was left of her wine. “Get some rest.”

  “I will,” I said, walking Brady to the door. “I’ll just need to pick up my car from a friend’s house first.”

  It was only eight o’clock, definitely early enough to run back down to Ronnie’s house and get it. Brady an
d I shook hands and I closed the door behind him, opening the Uber app on my phone.

  “Why do you need to get your car?” Lana asked.

  I avoided glancing up at her as I punched in Ronnie’s address into the app. One look at my face and she’d know I had been on a date. Or sort of a date. Whatever we were calling what happened. “I left it at a friend’s house.”

  “Your Fiat?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “It’s right there,” Lana said, pointing out the window toward the street. “That’s it, parked out front, isn’t it?”

  I paused, just short of confirming my Uber, and crossed to the window. Sure enough, my Fiat was there, parked in the street. With my face pressed against the glass, I strained to see down the street for any sign of Ronnie. Was she walking home? Why did she bring my car back?

  I grabbed my jacket from the hook by the door and sprinted down the stairs, calling over my shoulder to Lana and Tony that I’d be right back. Phone still clutched in my left hand, I made it to the sidewalk and looked left to right, glancing into the window of my car. Sure enough, my backpack was on the floor of the passenger seat. I opened the door and grabbed it out of there, hearing my keys jingling in the front pocket.

  I texted Ronnie.

  Me: Did you drop off my car?

  Ronnie: No, why?

  Me: Seriously? It’s here in front of my apartment.

  Ronnie: Huh. Weird. It must have been the car fairy. ;)

  I grinned, both relieved and grateful that I didn’t need to wake up even earlier than necessary.

  Me: Can I at least give you a ride home? I assume you’re walking right now.

  Ronnie: I’m taking Penny for a jog. It’s good for both of us. Thank you, though.

  There was a pause as three little dots hovered next to her name.

  Ronnie: I hope it’s okay I brought your car back. I know you told me not to, but I wanted to help. And I didn’t ring the bell or anything because I didn’t want to interfere.

  I swallowed my guilty feelings about her wording. She wouldn’t be interfering. And she’d never be a bother. I just… I needed to figure out this dad thing before I could put the energy into figuring out whatever this was between Ronnie and me.