by Roxie Ray
Yet now I’d be seeing her again, and Nana.
I remembered the way to her place once I got onto the main road toward the town center. It only took about five minutes from my rental house to get there.
When I turned off the fancy car, I looked at their home. It wasn’t a whole lot bigger than the one I was renting, but this one had a big garage that I knew Harley had turned into a studio apartment for herself.
She’d offered for me to stay in the house, in the bedroom she’d used as a child. But that had felt like a whole lot of pressure, so I’d declined as politely as I could.
Harley opened the front door before I got out of the car. I guessed that meant I had to move.
My emotions jumped all over the place, from excited to nervous to absolutely terrified. But then Harley threw her arms open and rushed down the walk toward me. I had to laugh because she didn’t rush so much as waddle.
I threw my arms around her and her big belly pressed into mine. “Oh, my gosh, you are about to pop, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Today is my due date,” she said. “And nothing. Not a cramp or twinge or anything.”
I winced and held out my hand after she let go of me. “Can I?”
She pushed her belly out and put her hands on her lower back. “Sure! See if she’ll kick you. She won’t kick anyone except for Stefan.”
I leaned forward and put my hands on either side of Harley’s stomach. “Hellooooo, baby!”
To my surprise and delight, the baby kicked instantly, making Harley take a step back. “Whoa,” she said. “Do that again.”
I pressed my face against her stomach. “You pretty baby. Your Auntie Abby is going to spoil you!”
The baby jerked and kicked again. “She likes me!” I exclaimed.
“Of course she does.” Harley took my hand. “Come on in. Nana is excited to see you.”
Nana was in her chair in the living room. She and I had been writing letters back and forth for months. Harley said it helped her keep her mind clear to write letters. She wrote slow but was dedicated and had several pen pals.
She held her arms out, and I bent over to hug her. She smelled like flowery perfume and some sort of ointment. A pang of regret washed through me. Her smell should’ve been something that made me nostalgic. I resented my mother a little more for never allowing me to know this woman.
Neither of us spoke, but she didn’t let go of me. I was okay with it. She could’ve hugged me all day. It felt amazing to be in someone’s arms that loved me. She’d proven over the last several months that she did. She’d called every day and sent regular letters. She hadn’t cared that I’d been duped by my father. Instead of asking me for an apology, she’d given me one.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” Nana said in my ear. “I wish you could stay with me.”
“Me, too.” And I did. More than she knew. I wasn’t sure there was anyone else that could’ve loved me like the woman with her thin arms wrapped so tightly around me. My mother certainly hadn’t.
“Come sit,” Harley said. “We’ll eat in here so Nana can eat with us.” It was early for dinner but late for lunch.
“I’ll help you,” I said as Harley walked toward the kitchen. “You might drop the baby on the kitchen floor.”
She snorted. “I wish. I’m ready for her to evacuate.”
“Where’s Stefan?” I asked.
“He sends his love and apologies. He’s dealing with the remodel. They used the insurance money and put it with some from the business loan to add on to the shop.”
I busied myself with moving around for Harley. “How about you sit and direct me?” I asked.
She chuckled, but then rubbed her belly. “Okay. I’ll take you up on it. When you’re forty weeks pregnant, I’ll return the favor.”
“I hope you’ll get a chance to,” I said sarcastically as I looked for a ladle for the macaroni and cheese.
“Of course I will. In good time.” She pointed to the cabinet for more plates. “Sorry for eating so early. If Nana eats too close to sleeping, it gives her indigestion.” She winked at our grandmother. “And it’s almost her bedtime. We normally try to make meals we can reheat and eat later. Her nurses are wonderful with helping with that, but it’s the day nurse’s weekend off.”
“No problem. I’m just happy to be here.” I gave her what I hoped was an encouraging smile and showed her the plate of food. “This good?”
“For Nana? Perfect. She picks at her food, but I always give her plenty in case she decides to have a big appetite. Sometimes she surprises me.” She took the plate. “Make yours and I’ll take this in.”
I made a plate for both of us and joined her before she had a chance to return. Once we sat around the coffee table and began talking and eating, it was like nothing bad had ever happened.
Then things turned more serious. “Abby, darling,” Nana said. She’d insisted I call her Nana, which nearly made me cry. “I want you to know before I excuse myself. I hold no ill will toward you for what happened to your father. My son. He was on a bad path, and that is his fault and his fault alone. We gave him every chance in the world to do the right things, and he never did.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “And that is a heavy burden on you, what he did to you and what he had you do. But that lies at his feet, not yours.”
All the emotions I’d built up inside me for the months since he died burst all at once, and a sob ripped out of my mouth. Tears poured from my eyes, and I grabbed my napkin and covered my face. “I’m sorry,” I said between sobs.
Then, arms went around me. I knew it was Harley because her stomach pressed into my hip. I laughed through my tears, but it wasn’t enough to stop them. The pain of losing my father and losing who I’d hoped he could be for me was just too much. After a few minutes, another set of arms went around me, and I looked up in shock. Nana had gotten up and made her way to hug me. It had to have been difficult for her, and something nobody wanted her to do alone. I hadn’t realized she was getting up until she put her arms around me. I was that important to her.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
We stayed like that for several minutes, until my tears stopped. When they pulled back, I realized they both had tears running down their faces as well. The doorbell rang, pulling us out of our hug.
“That’s probably my nurse,” Nana said. Harley hurried to let her in, and the nurse took over, getting Nana ready for bed.
Harley and I cleaned up the dishes. “Let’s go get ice cream and take some to Stefan.”
I nodded and hung up the kitchen towel, and we were off. We made it to the ice cream parlor without any more waterworks, and Harley even managed to get me laughing about her pregnancy.
“So, tell me...” She licked her ice cream cone. “What is the deal with Jury? Are you going to see him? Stef mentioned some tension there.”
“Ugh, I don’t know.” I enjoyed a few bites of my cookies and cream cone while I thought about it. “He clearly doesn’t like me, but I can’t help but feel amazing when I’m around him.”
“Is it a fated situation like me and Stef?” she asked.
“Jury mentioned it once, but he also can’t stand me, so I doubt it.”
“Jury?” The waitress had been passing by and stopped when she heard his name. “Jury Kingston?”
I nodded dumbly as my ice cream dripped onto my hand.
“Girl, guard your heart. He’s a player. He’s slept with every girl in this town.” She grunted. “And some twice. Never has he made a move for a relationship. I say steer clear.”
She nodded her head as if that settled it, then went toward the counter.
My chest ached. As much as I knew it was a bad idea, part of me hoped he’d come around. But I was never into hookups. Not after growing up with my mother and seeing her with a different man every week. I needed emotional connections and caring.
Just as I finished my cone and we were about to order a milkshake to take to Stefan, the object of my months-long obs
ession came sauntering into the cafe.
Well, great.
8
Jury
Oh, no. No, no. I’d pulled into the ice cream parlor’s parking lot when I saw Harley’s car and smelled Abby. I figured I’d go in and run into them—accidentally on purpose— give Nyx some time with Abby so he’d chill and shift for me.
As soon as I got out of the car, I realized they were talking about me. Then I spotted the waitress. We’d hooked up a couple of times, then she’d started going on about dates and stuff. Crap I couldn’t possibly commit to. So, I’d put distance between us. Then, as I hurried inside, I heard her. He’s a player...steer clear.
Crap, crap, crap. I walked as fast as I could without trying to be super obvious. I didn’t want them to realize I was hurrying in to stop the waitress from talking.
Abby looked up at me with an emotion in her eyes that was hard to read from across the room. Pain? Maybe. She hadn’t liked hearing that I’d played the field. “Hey,” I said weakly. “Can I join you?”
When I looked at Abby again after hurrying over, my chest ached. Why was I so eager for her to approve of me? I didn’t even like her!
Stop sleeping with women who don’t matter to us.
She looked away as I stopped in front of their table but scooted over so I could sit in the booth next to her. The table was shifted toward Abby. I smiled at Harley and her protruding belly. “Still no baby?”
She groaned. “I’m going to have it put on a t-shirt that says, ‘Yes, I’m still pregnant!’ splashed right over my boobs.”
We all laughed and talked about her due date for a minute, then the waitress came by and gave me a wry look. “Chocolate?” she asked. She knew my ice cream order.
“Sure, thanks,” I said.
Instead of saying something polite, she huffed but walked away. Maybe I should’ve skipped the ice cream. It might’ve ended up being a sneezer.
Maddox and I both had our fair share of fun while we were in school, but we never slept with anyone who wasn’t willing, and I, for one, never gave anyone any idea that they might mean more to me than a bit of fun.
I was always perfectly clear. No relationship. Bringing a woman into the fold of my family was way too hard. The woman who I chose to do that with would have to be truly exceptional.
Abby.
I ignored Nyx and his relentless insistence. “So, Abby, how long are you staying?” I asked. It was the first I’d spoken directly to her since I walked in. She ignored me. Not that I didn’t deserve that. “Abby?”
Her hard gaze told me she’d put a wall up. She didn’t want anything to do with me. I needed to spend some time with her for Nyx’s sake, but now I wasn’t so sure she’d let me.
You deserve it.
Maybe I was hard on her. But she’d set Harley up. Harley had forgiven her, but that didn’t mean I had. But still, a little pang of guilt shot through me. “Would you be free later? I’d like to talk to you,” I said.
“I can’t see that we have anything to talk about.” Whoa, her voice was like ice. It was clear she was over being snubbed by me.
Can’t blame her.
I had to get her to at least hang out with me for a bit, or Nyx was going to lose it. Plus, for some reason, I couldn’t stand the thought of her thinking of me as the town slut. I wanted her to see that I was more than that, more than partying.
As much as I wasn’t a big fan of Abby, the weight of her disappointment was heavy, and I didn’t like it one bit.
“We started on a bad note.” I looked in her eyes and couldn’t help but note the color. Again. “And with some misunderstandings.” I hadn’t meant to mumble the last part, but I was embarrassed I’d treated her as badly as I had.
She blinked those gray-blue eyes several times as they turned hard. Damn it. “Misunderstandings?” She stared at me with her lips slightly parted. “You were mean to me. Outright mean.”
I had my reasons. “I thought you had plotted to hurt my brother and friends. It wasn’t that I wanted to be mean to you.” Nyx began to shrink inside me, pulling back and away from me again. “But I want to figure out what made you make those decisions and try to make it up to you that I didn’t give you a chance to explain things.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Why do I need to explain anything to you? I’m just here to spend time with my sister and grandmother.”
She’ll never forgive you.
I couldn’t stand my dragon feeling that way. “My dragon has become attached to you,” I said very quietly so I wouldn’t be overheard. “And being away from you is making him depressed. I can’t stand it. I’ll do anything to help him.” I leaned closer to her. “He can’t shift. Or he won’t, I’m not sure. But he perks up when we’re around you. Please, let me spend some time with you. Get to know you, and show you that I’m not the horrible person you think I am.”
Abby’s and Harley’s eyes widened. “Is that possible?” Harley asked.
“I never thought it was, but it’s sure happening to me and Nyx,” I explained. “I think it’s related to the depression.”
“And he needs me to help him?” Abby asked.
“I think so. I think spending time with you will help him.” I gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry.”
She looked conflicted. “I don’t want your dragon to be depressed, but I also wouldn’t want to force my company on you.”
I didn’t miss the venom in her voice. She didn’t seem to have a grudge against Nyx and seemed to care about his well-being. But did not want to spend time with me. Frustration bubbled up in me. “It’s not forcing your company,” I said through clenched teeth. My tone probably said otherwise. I wanted to apologize to her, but she was being so difficult. Didn’t she see I was suffering?
“Thanks for the invitation to come to spend time with your dragon, but I think I’m going to decline.” She scooted toward me. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get out.”
I slid out of the booth and stepped back so she could stand. “I’m messing this all up,” I said. “I really did want to apologize.”
“Well, you did. Now you can move on,” she said, then walked away.
I looked at Harley helplessly. “I wanted that to go so much better than it did.”
Harley struggled to her feet. I grabbed her arm and helped all I could. “I know, Jury. You’ll have to try again, because that was a disaster.”
9
Abby
The night had been amazing. We picked Stefan up and ended up in their little apartment playing cards and talking until Harley was too tired to continue.
I’d been looking forward to sleeping in, but bright and early the next morning, I was woken up by a hard banging on the front door of the house I was staying in.
I groaned and rolled over. Why would anyone be knocking here? Anybody I knew would just call me. The knocking persisted, then it hit me: what if something was wrong? Someone could’ve been here to tell me bad news best not said over the phone.
With my heart in my throat, I rolled out of bed and grabbed my robe. Slipping my hands through the sleeves and tying the waist, I scurried out of the bedroom and around the corner into the living room.
“Who is it?”
The knocking had stopped. I stood on my tiptoes and looked out the peephole. Someone was getting in a small sedan. I threw the door open and looked down to find a cardboard box with white bags inside and a bouquet of flowers. The driver spotted me and started to get out, but I waved at him. If he came back to the porch, I’d be obligated to tip him. Not that he didn’t deserve a tip, but I was low on smaller bills. All I had was a twenty.
I picked up the flowers and box, and to my surprise, the box was warm and smelled amazing. Balancing it in one hand, I locked the door behind me before hurrying to the kitchen.
A handwritten note was on top of the white bags.
I hope this came before you had breakfast. Just a little something to tell you I meant my apology, even though it came out all wro
ng. Please, can we start over? I don’t want to spend time with you only for Nyx. I want to get to know you, if you’ll let me.
Jury
Whoa. I set the note to the side and opened the bags. The first bag was full of pastries. Donuts, some sort of cinnamon twist, and what looked like fritters. Oh, sugary heaven.
The second bag had a paper bowl with a lid. I opened it to find a mess of eggs, peppers, and chunks of meat that was probably ham. My stomach growled.
The third bag held several fluffy biscuits and another bowl, which turned out to be sausage gravy. “Oh, my word,” I whispered.
I couldn’t decide what to eat. My heart swelled that Jury had gone so far above and beyond with breakfast. But conflict choked me up because he’d been a real ass. I could’ve forgiven him for being mad at me for a while, and for thinking I tricked Harley intentionally, but then he continued with the jerk act when we met again.
A little voice in my head kept trying to defend him and reminded me that he’d found me in a horrible situation. While I never, ever thought the victim should be blamed, I could’ve made smarter choices, knowing the particular clientele that frequented that bar. I should’ve been safe there and anywhere, sure. But that wasn’t realistic.
Maybe he’d gotten angry because he cared?
Nah. He just wanted to help his dragon. With a sigh, I put the eggs in the fridge for lunch and spread gravy over the biscuits. I couldn’t eat biscuits and gravy without thinking about a little girl I’d gone to school with. She’d moved to Texas from England, and they’d never heard of sausage gravy over there. She’d watched me eat it at school one day with huge eyes until I made her taste it. I always thought of her when I made it. I wondered what happened to her. We’d moved around Texas so much, I’d lost contact with her not long after we’d met.
When my belly was full, I put the rest in the fridge and closed the bag of donuts. I’d have a yummy breakfast tomorrow, too.