Under The Willows (Jackson Bay #1)

by Ciara Shayee

  “They’re down the hall. First door on your right.”

  A small frown pulls his brows inward. As he passes me, sucking in a shaky breath, I impulsively reach out to touch his arm. Electricity pulses between us. Peering down at me, I can feel the turmoil rushing in his veins. He’s nervous, but I don’t know why. His eyes are tinged with something like sadness and regret, but I don’t know why that’s there, either. So I give his forearm a light squeeze and reassure him the only way I can right now.

  “They’ll be really happy to see you. They’ve asked after you a million times.”

  Kellan closes his eyes for a moment. When they open, his lips curl up just a touch on one side. “Thank you.”

  Nodding, I let him go, tucking my hands into my pockets as I watch him walk down the hall and listen to my boys’ over-the-moon excited squeals when he steps into Arlo’s room.

  “Kellan! What are you doing here?”

  I hear a muffled “oomph” and figure it’s the boys hitting Kellan. I can’t resist taking a peek, and the view from the doorway doesn’t disappoint. All three boys are wrapped around Kellan’s legs, their smiles miles wide and only for him.

  “I’ve actually brought you something. D’you want to come see it? It’s out front.”

  “Duh!” Arlo crows, grabbing the pocket of Kellan’s shorts to drag him toward me—and the gift, by default.

  We all follow Arlo and Kellan through the house, the boys running ahead as Kellan laughs and tells them not to get their hopes up too high. Having done everything he can, Sebastian tells me he’s going to drive the truck back to Mom and Dad’s to grab the last few boxes, clapping Kellan on the shoulder on his way out.

  “Actually, I think I’ll come with you,” Mom murmurs, pulling me in for a quick hug. “I’ll grab a couple of things that I think you might like and put them with the rest of your bits and pieces to come over. We’ll see you in a little while, but give me a call if you think of anything we’ve forgotten. See you later, KP.” She stretches up to kiss his cheek just as Arlo loses his last shred of patience and tugs Kellan out into the front yard, the rest of us following.

  My feet skid to a stop on the porch as soon as my eyes land on the ‘little’ gift Kellan brought.

  Fifteen

  Piper

  When Kellan said he’d brought us a little housewarming gift, I thought it would be something small. A vase, something for the wall, I don’t know. Something simple.

  There’s nothing small about the enormous trampoline currently in pieces leaning against the side of the truck emblazoned with the Burger Co. logo. The mat is rolled up, but it looks huge. As the boys rush to get a closer look, I step up beside Kellan and elbow him in the ribs.

  “Oomph…shit, Piper,” he huffs, laughing even as he leans away from me. “What was that for?”

  “This is way too much, Kellan! Christ, this must have cost a fortune!”

  “It didn’t cost a thing,” he insists, rubbing his side as he stares at the boys hanging all over their ‘little’ gift. From what I can see, it looks brand new.

  There’s no way he got this for free.

  “This is so cool! Look, Momma!”

  “That’s great, baby,” I call back distractedly, turning to face Kellan. “You can’t honestly expect me to believe this was free.”

  “It was,” he says calmly, looping an arm around my shoulders to lead me toward the boys. “An old buddy of mine was getting rid of it, his kids have outgrown it, and I thought your boys would like it. They were complainin’ that they’d lose the pool when your mom brought them in for lunch the other day, so I just figured this might sweeten the deal a little.”

  Any annoyance I might have been feeling evaporates the moment I sigh and look up at his face.

  His eyes, so often dark and clouded with memories I can’t even begin to imagine, are alight with pride that he’s made my boys look so happy with something he sees as simple. To most, it would be. Lots of people get their friends housewarming gifts, and if he’s telling the truth about his friend giving this to him, it’s not out of order for him to gift it to Jaxson, Finley, and Arlo.

  “Thank you,” I finally breathe, wrapping an arm around his waist and leaning into him for a moment—just long enough that I get a strong whiff of his delicious woodsy aftershave and find myself battling the desire to pepper his bashfully smiling face with kisses.

  This man…he’s a total dichotomy, a lesson in contrasts. He’s light and dark. Sunny grins and steely stares. He’s warm-hearted one moment, cold the next. Giving, and yet closed-off.

  Kellan Patterson is an enigma. A puzzle I’m desperate to solve.

  “You’re welcome, short stuff. Now, how about we get this thing in the back yard and get it assembled before the boys lose their minds?”

  Between the two of us, we manage to get it all through the gate into the back yard. Kellan informs me that it’s fifteen feet across and perfectly sound; apparently, the guy who had it before was a total safety freak and barely let his daughters use it, hence the great condition it’s still in.

  It takes us a good couple of hours in the insane heat with the boys hurrying us along to get the trampoline assembled and set up. As soon as he gives them the okay, Jaxson, Finley, and Arlo clamber up the ladder to show off their ‘tricks,’ which mostly consist of awkward, lopsided flips, forward rolls, and bouncing off the safety netting.

  Kellan and I pull out the camp chairs from the hall closet, the ones I only just packed away this afternoon, and get comfy in the shade of the porch. Reaching for the cooler at my feet, I grin and hold up a cold bottle of Coke.

  “You want?”

  “Please.”

  Watching Kellan drink from the glass bottle is almost pornographic, but then…I could say the same about almost anything he does. The man is insanely attractive. His outward appearance is hot enough, but the man within is even more so.

  It’s terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure, but as we sit together on the porch, the boys flinging themselves around the trampoline, I can’t stifle the thought that now this house feels like a home.

  A couple of hours later, the back yard is significantly busier.

  Mom and Dad arrive first with Sebastian, Gianna, and Danny in tow. Shortly afterward, Everly and Rosie announce their presence by yelling “We brought wine!” over the fence. Dad has just gotten the grill started when Grandpa Freddie, Little Grandma, Carlie, and Bailee wade into the chaos bearing side dishes and bottles of their chosen beverages for after the kids crash. They all bring folding chairs or stools because I haven’t had time to look at outdoor furniture yet, and I pre-warned everybody that they’d be sitting on the grass if they didn’t bring their own seats.

  The kids don’t care where they sit. They’re more than happy on a blanket on the grass as they munch on Dad’s BBQ ribs and demolish the Pad Thai fries Kellan fetches from the restaurant.

  He hangs out with us all afternoon, much to my combined surprise and delight. The boys take great pleasure in showing him their small selection of gymnastic moves before insisting I get on the trampoline to demonstrate a real flip. My cheeks flame crimson when Kellan gives me a nudge and tells me he’d like to see my moves, more than a hint of mischief in his pretty green eyes. Needless to say, I make a show of stretching out right in front of him before executing a pretty stellar backflip.

  After that, we stick to watching the boys from our seats on the porch, the sun beaming down and the faint, far-off whoosh of the sea soothing my soul.

  By the time the sun begins to set on our first evening in our new house, my cheeks are sore from smiling and I’m looking forward to many more family cookouts here. Sipping my soda and gazing around at my loved ones, I can’t believe I’m this lucky.

  Sliding her arm through mine, Carlie offers me a bright smile. “This house is so beautiful, Piper,” she sighs. “I’m just a teensy bit jealous.”

  Laughing, I lean my head against he
rs and watch her daughter running rings around my boys with a soccer ball. Danny crashed in his mom’s arms an hour ago—I expect they’ll head out soon. Sebastian keeps complaining that I broke him today, much to the amusement of our dad who insists he feels fine despite the occasional wince when he moves suddenly. They’re all sitting together in a circle around the fire pit with Grandpa Freddie, Little Grandma, and Kellan.

  As if he can feel my eyes on him, Kellan shoots me a wink and a crooked little smirk before hiding his face behind his Corona as he takes a long pull. I swallow hard, watching his Adam’s apple bob and the muscles of his arm flex as he raises and lowers the bottle.

  Sweet Jesus, it’s hot out here.

  Thankfully, it seems Carlie missed our little exchange. She definitely would have said something if she’d caught it. A brain-to-mouth filter is something she never quite mastered; it’s one of my favorite things about her.

  “Do you want a refill?” I ask, nodding at her empty glass.

  “Actually, I just came over to say me and Bailee are going to have to split.” Her smile slips a little as she admits, “Her dad is coming to get her early tomorrow. He’s taking her to New York for the week with Ashley’s family.”

  Ashley is Carlie’s ex-husband’s new wife; Daniel married her less than three months after he and Carlie split. Honestly, having been friends with both Carlie and Daniel at Bay High, having seen how their friendship developed into the sort of storybook romance people dream about, it still doesn’t make sense to me that they aren’t together anymore. I, like everybody else who saw them together, wholeheartedly believed they’d be together forever and have a bunch of Bay babies.

  Instead, Carlie spends every weekend alone while Bailee stays with Daniel and Ashley in their high-rise Miami penthouse.

  “We’ll still see you next Friday, though. She’s back Wednesday evening.”

  “All right. Well, thank you for coming.”

  Once Carlie has corralled Bailee, she plants a smacking kiss on my cheek and heads out.

  As it happens, they’re the first to leave, but not by much. Rosie and Everly stumble down the street together, complaining that they both have early starts tomorrow. Grandpa Freddie and Little Grandma are next, followed by Sebastian, Gianna, and Danny.

  “Bye, Lil Grandma!” Arlo yells as he throws himself at her, too excited and too hyped up on soda and ice pops.

  “All right, mister. What did we discuss earlier?”

  Arlo pulls back with a cheeky grin that can only spell trouble—for me, most likely. “We’re gonna have a sleepover soon so you can teach me how to play proper card games.”

  “That’s right,” she agrees with a nod, tacking a wink on the end for good measure. It doesn’t instill much confidence in me that the sort of card games she’s going to teach him are age-appropriate.

  Looking at Grandpa Freddie, I cock my head. “Should I be worried?”

  “I’ll keep an eye on them, don’t worry.” Slightly mollified by his promise, I make plans to arrange the sleepover before walking them out with my brother and his family.

  “Thanks for all your help today, Bass.”

  “No problem, little sis.”

  Holy—“Bass!” I squeak as my feet leave the ground, my oaf of a brother lifting me into the air. It’s possible he’s had a beer or five and is a little merry as a result.

  Gianna snorts and shakes her head, motioning toward their car across the street. “I’d give you a hug, but I’ve kind of got my hands full. Thank you for having us, we’ll see you at brunch.” Grinning over her sleeping son’s head, she adds, “You have a beautiful home. I can’t wait for our first Mommy’s Night In over here.”

  I can’t wait, either. I tell her so, waving them off with a soft, satisfied sigh before heading back outside. The sight that greets me makes my smile stretch wide, my stomach flip-flopping.

  Mom has abandoned her chair in favor of Dad’s lap. When I was a teenager, I would have groaned and called them ‘gross.’ Looking at them now as both an adult and a single parent, it’s nothing short of adorable. They’re so in love, still, after over thirty years together.

  Thirty years of annoying the love out of each other, as Dad always says.

  The low light of the moon mixed with the dying glow of the fire pit creates beautiful patterns over their smiling faces as they whisper to each other, Mom’s arm around his shoulders, her hand on his face. Their love is effortless, fathomless. I can’t imagine it, but I can see it.

  And then I look across the fire pit and my heart stutters to a standstill.

  Kellan has somehow managed to cram his considerable bulk into a folding camp chair with all three boys heaped on top of him. Their heads are pillowed on his chest, their legs a tangled mess across his lap. The low rumble of his voice travels across the lawn and up the porch steps, their hushed giggles and murmurs of awe calling me closer.

  But not without pausing to snap a picture on my phone.

  Heart slamming against my chest, my stomach flipping around like the boys on the trampoline, I save the picture to my favorites and cross the back yard. Jaxson is the first to spot me.

  “Hey, Momma,” he murmurs with a sleepy smile.

  Kellan’s head snaps up, his ears tinting pink. There are a million words on the tip of my tongue. A million things I want to say, a million more I want to ask.

  I don’t say anything, though. Instead, I silently sink into the chair beside them, my small smile encouraging him to continue. After a few moments, he does, and I join my boys being lulled into relaxation by the low cadence of Kellan’s voice as he tells stories of camping with his grandparents as a boy. My sons eat up his words even as their yawns cut their questions in half and their drooping eyelids close for longer each time.

  The crackle of the embers in the fire pit a few feet away, combined with Kellan’s voice, the far-off whoosh of the sea, and a breeze rustling the leaves of the palms, creates an ambience so calming I almost drift off.

  “Sweetheart,” Mom’s gentle whisper pulls me from my semi-conscious state. She smiles brushing a lock of my hair out of my face. “Dad and I are heading out. Do you want some help putting the boys to bed?”

  Eyeing Kellan, who shakes his head just enough not to disturb Jaxson, Finley, and Arlo, I tell Mom we’ve got it covered.

  “All right. We’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I’ll pick the boys up and you can take the car to work.”

  “Sure. Thanks, Mom. I’ll walk you out.”

  Once Mom and Dad have set off on foot, their car parked on the driveway where mine will eventually go when I get around to getting one, I distract myself from the heartwarming scene in my back yard by cleaning up a little. Thanks to Mom’s forethought, we used mostly recyclable plates and cutlery, so I won’t be left with a year’s worth of dishes.

  Heading outside, I grin at Kellan buried under sleeping boys.

  “Give me a sec, and I’ll come rescue you.”

  Even from across the yard, I see the way his arms tighten around the boys. “I’m good. No rescuing necessary.”

  Gazing at him for a beat, I nod. If he says he’s good, that’s enough for me.

  My mind wanders as I mosey around the yard, picking up as I go, and of course my eyes routinely flick over to Kellan, Jaxson, Finley, and Arlo. Just as he said, he seems perfectly at ease with them all squished on his lap, his big arms wrapped protectively around them. Perhaps for the first time, I really think about how it must feel for him, being around them.

  Arlo is almost the same age as—

  “Uh, Piper?”

  Spinning around, I have to cover my mouth to stifle my laughter. Finley has shifted over a little, and even the little amount of fire light is enough for me to see the big string of drool he’s just wiped over Kellan’s shirt.

  “Oh, heck.”

  Carefully scooping Finley into my arms, I place a gentle kiss at his crown. He’s the lighter out of him and Jaxson, but he still
weighs more than I can comfortably carry, even at just six years old. Kellan shoots me an amused smirk as I heave him up higher.

  “You’re not gonna be able to do that much longer, huh?”

  “No,” I sigh. “I’d carry them all forever if my back could take it.”

  Carefully, Kellan manages to lift himself out of the chair without waking Jaxson or Arlo. Shaking my head, I share my admiration.

  He chuckles, his laughter cutting off abruptly as he grimaces and waits for the boys to stir. Of course, they don’t; they’re all deep sleepers.

  “Come on, let’s get these party animals to bed.”

  Carrying them down the hall to their new rooms, I can’t help but notice how surreal this feels. It’s both comforting and unnerving having someone help me with this. It’s wrong, and yet right, having a set of heavy footsteps follow me through the house into the bigger boys’ room. It’s odd, but somehow not, watching Kellan gently lay Jaxson on his bed before tugging his shoes off with one hand and flipping on the nightlight plugged in by his nightstand.

  He’s done this before. Not with my boys, but with a partied-out little one too sleepy to take off her own shoes.

  By the time I’ve gotten Finley situated and kissed both his and Jaxson’s messy hairdos, Kellan is across the hall tucking in Arlo. Leaning in the doorway, I’m treated to a sight that has my stomach flip-flopping and my heart speeding up. Luckily, my breathy sigh goes unnoticed.

  “Kellan?” Arlo whispers, hanging onto the pocket of Kellan’s shorts.

  “Yeah, buddy, I’m here. What’s up?” My pulse races as he pauses before carefully sitting on the edge of Arlo’s bed.

  “Are you havin’ a sleepover with me? It’s late, right?”

  “It is late,” Kellan chuckles. “But I’m not having a sleepover, no. I’m just helping your mom get you boys to bed, then I’m heading home.”

  Pity.

  The thought crosses my mind before I can stop it. Now it’s there, I can’t erase it.

  That new bed needs christening.