by K. C. Crowne
They had what I’d always wanted - a family. A whole family. I wanted Milo to experience that, to have a younger sister or brother to watch over, someone to play with. A father-figure that helped him navigate the world as he grew into a man.
I knew I didn’t have to have the family to be happy - my mother did very well raising me alone - but it didn’t stop me from wanting it.
Sarah walked up beside me. “You mentioned you had a son. How old is he?”
“He’s just under a year,” I told her with a smile. I was able to be a little more open about Milo now. Wade already knew about him, so keeping him a secret seemed pointless. He didn’t have to know Milo was his son, though.
“What’s his name?”
“Milo.”
“Aw, I’ve always loved that name. I actually considered it for Owen, but he’s named after Jake’s father. Maybe if we have another little boy one day.” She beamed proudly over at her husband.
“Would you like more kids?”
“Oh yes. I’ve always wanted a large family. Wo does Jake,” Sarah said. “But we had a little trouble getting pregnant.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Her face fell a bit, and she quickly changed the subject. “So is Milo’s father an outdoorsman as well?”
I stopped walking for a second, taken aback by her question. It was such an innocent question for most people, but I wasn’t sure how to answer.
She put a hand on her chest when she noticed my face. “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”
“Yes, he’s an outdoorsman,” I said slowly, adding a smile while thinking of Cyrus instead of Wade as I answered. Even if Cyrus backed out, these people were from the east coast somewhere; they would never run into him and I’d likely never see them again. It didn’t really matter what I said.
I continued walking, and the silence hung over us awkwardly. Finally, I decided to ease the tension. “Sorry, it’s just, we don’t exactly know what the future holds for us yet. It’s hard to talk about.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she murmured, offering me a sympathetic look. “I’ll pray it all works out for the best.”
“Thank you.”
We came to the wildflower patch I’d mentioned before, and Violet let go of her mom’s hand and took off. Sarah called out her name, laughing as she hurried to catch up to her daughter. Owen stayed back and shook his head. “Maybe they shouldn’t have named her after a flower.”
Jake ruffled Owen’s hair and chuckled. “What should we have named her instead?”
Owen seemed to think about it for a second before answering. “Nintendo would have been nice.”
“Nintendo!” I exclaimed, laughing.
“Yeah, because if she was as obsessed with video games as she is with flowers, then I’d have someone to play with more often.”
Jake and I shared an amused look.
“You have the most amazing kids,” I said to him. “Truly, they’re a delight.”
“Thanks. They’re a handful, but they’re worth it.”
We reached the wildflower patch and joined Sarah and Violet.
“Can I pick some of these, pretty please?” Violet asked me, her blue eyes wide.
“Yes, these are fine. They’re common.” They were mostly considered weeds and a little bit of a pest, but in the eyes of a child they were pretty flowers. It made her day to be able to pick some, bunching them in her tiny little hands as she made a bouquet. Her parents and Owen also helped hold some that didn’t fit in her hands.
I stood back, letting the family have their moment. On the outside, I was smiling and happy for them, but on the inside, I ached with jealousy.
I wanted that.
I wanted it so much.
And it felt like I might never get it.
If Cyrus agreed to marry me, that would give me a make-believe family, sure, but what if his heart wasn’t really in it? Or what if after a few years, we decided to end the fake marriage, to go our separate ways once Wade was out of the picture for good? I liked Cyrus, a lot, but would rushing into this put a strain on what we had and prevent it from being able to grow?
I had no answers, of course, and it killed me.
While I stood there, I pictured Milo at seven or eight. What would he be like? Would he be a protective older sibling like Owen? I got lost in my head, picturing Milo holding the hand of his little sister as he introduced her to the wildflowers on the trail. Tears welled in my eyes.
Violet rushed over with a handful of flowers, holding them out to me. Her big, blue eyes were wide and sincere, and she had the sweetest smile on her face.
“These are for you, Josie,” she announced. “For bringing us all the way out here.”
I took the flowers and smiled, thanking her as the tears dried up in the face of her happiness. Owen called out, “Can we please keep walking? I’m tired of flowers.”
“What would you like to see, Owen?” I asked.
He thought for a moment. “Think we could see a snake?”
I chuckled, while his mom looked absolutely terrified at the idea.
“We might. You never know. I have less control over that than wildflower patches, however. So I can’t guarantee anything.”
“And let’s try to not run into any snakes, please,” Sarah said, standing up.
Owen shook his head. “You know if you leave them alone, they leave you alone. Right, Mom?”
Ooo000ooo
“So that sounds promising,” Elle said with a wink.
We were chilling at her house after work. I’d stopped by for a chat, and she brought out a bottle of wine. Mom had told me to relax a bit and have fun, so I decided to have one glass and fill Elle in on everything that had happened. I’d just told her all about the night with Cyrus, and how he’d slept over.
“Why? Just because he spent the night doesn’t mean he wants to marry me.”
Elle giggled, falling back against the couch cushions. She was on her second glass of wine and obviously a little giddy. “Well, maybe not under normal circumstances, no, but all things considered—"
“He hasn’t agreed to do anything yet,” I said, stopping her.
“I know, I know, but I think if the idea totally turned him off, he wouldn’t have stayed the night. He’d have run like hell.”
She had a point, but there was something still bugging me. “But what if rushing this actually ends up ruining what we might have? What if the marriage hurts my chances of being with him in the long run?”
“So now you think you’d like being with him?” she asked, taking a sip from her glass as she stared at me from over the top of it.
“I think so? I mean, yes, if we didn’t have to worry about Wade, I’d be curious to see where this goes. I like him a lot.”
“And he likes you too,” Elle said in a silly, sing-songy voice as she took yet another sip from her glass.
“He likes me, sure, but does he like-like me? I don’t know. It’s too early to know for sure.”
“Sweetie, that man is smitten with you, and don’t pretend like you don’t know each other that well. You’ve run in the same circles for a while now. You’re not strangers.”
“Yeah, but I always thought he was a bit of a cocky asshole.”
“Well, to be fair, he is kind of a cocky asshole,” Elle laughed. “But one with a heart of gold.”
I rolled my eyes and sunk back into her oversized sofa. Her house was so luxurious, like something you’d expect in New York City, not the middle of nowhere Utah. Elle still had finer taste than most. The couch was comfy and stylish.
Elle gave me a knowing smile. She wasn’t telling me something, I could sense it.
“What’s that look for?” I asked.
“Oh, just that maybe I put this plan into action to bring the two of you together. I mean, yes, technically it’s to protect you and Milo and keep you here too, but I feared you’d never pull the trigger on dating him if I didn’t do something.”
My jaw hit the
floor. “Elle, do you really think pushing us together like this is the best idea?”
“Had to do something, or you’d have let that hottie slip through your fingers. It helps that he’s big, strong, protective, rich…”
“I get the picture,” I mumbled. “I still think this could backfire.”
“How so?” Elle leaned closer to me, her breath sweet from the wine. “You’re a match made in heaven, absolutely perfect for one another. I’m sorry if you can’t see it, but the rest of the world can. And he can also help solve your problem. Two birds, one stone.”
She thought of herself as a genius. I still wasn’t so sure.
“Well, he hasn’t said he’ll do it yet, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“He’ll do it.” She sounded so confident.
“Oh, you’ve suddenly developed psychic powers?”
She shrugged. “I’m a journalist, it’s called intuition. And I’m rarely wrong about people.”
“Even if he says yes, I’m not sure I want to do it.” I sat up straight and held my head up defiantly.
Elle raised her eyebrow and studied me before breaking out in laughter. I narrowed my eyes at her and growled, “What’s so funny?”
“You’re full of crap. You might be able to lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me.”
“What do you mean? It’s a big decision.”
“Yeah, you’re head over heels, Josie. You know Cyrus is a good man, and he’d make a good father. We both know this. You can admit that you want this. I’m not going to judge you.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out. I wasn’t sure I could argue with her. She had a point. I did think Cyrus was a good man. My one run-in with him where I thought he was an ass had been a mistake, and every other time I’d seen him, he was always pretty decent.
“I—” Before I could say anything else, my phone buzzed. I checked the number, and saw it was Cyrus. “I’m sorry, but I need to end this conversation and take this.”
“Is it Cyrus?” Elle asked.
“Yes.”
She smiled even wider. “What are you waiting for? Take the damn call!”
I hurried down the hallway to her bathroom, answering it on the way. “Hey there.”
“Hey, can we talk? Are you free tonight?”
I remembered my mom’s encouragement to take the night off and relax. She said that after her visit with Darlene, she was recharged and ready to take care of Milo for an evening. I almost always put him to bed, and it was getting close to time for that, but I also knew Cyrus and I needed to figure this out fast.
“Yes, where do you want to go?”
“Smothered in Love in about half an hour?”
I didn’t like the idea of talking about such important matters in public, but I also didn’t want to give Cyrus any trouble. He was already doing so much for me. It was late, though; the restaurant would be closing in about an hour and was usually pretty empty this time of night.
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll be there.”
Chapter 14
Cyrus
I knew the diner was usually dead this time of night. The only people there were Felicity and one of her waitresses, a teenage girl who was still in braces. Felicity seemed shocked to see someone come in so close to closing but happily handed me a menu when I sat down.
“I’m meeting someone,” I told her.
She placed a second menu on the table with a smile. “Let me know if you need anything. Allison will be taking care of you, but I’ll be in the back.”
I knew Felicity and Josie were close, but I wasn’t sure how much Felicity knew about the plan, if anything.
I thanked her and she went back to the kitchen while Allison folded silverware into napkins. She brought over my water and checked on me, but I told her it would be a few minutes. She went back to her task and the place was eerily quiet.
When the front door swung open, bells chimed and caused poor Allison to jump. She was so lost in her task and the thoughts in her head, that the sudden noise startled her.
“Welcome to Smothered in Love,” she said cheerfully. “Oh, hi Josie! How are you?”
I looked up and saw Josie walking near the front of the restaurant. She was in her usual work gear, the yoga pants and her hair piled high in a messy bun. No makeup, but she didn’t need any. She was gorgeous just the same. She gave me a nervous smile as she made small talk with Allison. I couldn’t hear what she was saying; she leaned in close to Allison as the two talked. Allison glanced outside with a serious look. I followed her gaze to the big windows overlooking the street, and instantly, I saw what they were looking at.
A man was leaning against a car parked on the street. He was just standing there, staring into the windows and there was a camera in his hands.
Allison went to the back, and I hurried over to Josie.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s probably nothing,” Josie said, wringing her hands. “That guy out there is just giving me the creeps. I noticed his car was behind me for a while, and I thought I’d lost him when I pulled into the parking lot, but now he’s standing out front. He took some photos as I walked inside. I think…” She glanced outside. “Well, I’m pretty sure that might be the private eye Wade hired.”
My hackles were raised. I looked at Josie, saw the fear in her eyes. Then I looked back outside. The guy was so fucking cocky, just standing out in the open, not even trying to hide. He was trying to intimidate her.
“I’ll take care of him,” I growled.
Josie grabbed my arm. “Allison is calling the sheriff. I’m trying to act normal, just in case it’s nothing, but—”
“He took pictures of you?”
“I think so, but maybe I’m wrong?”
I looked back outside. The man was looking right at us through the windows. I slipped my arm free from Josie’s grasp. “I’m just going to ask him what’s going on.”
I knew that was a lie. I don’t know if Josie believed me or not, but she let me go. I walked past her and out the front door, letting it slam behind me with those damned bells jingling away.
When the guy saw me come out, he straightened. He stood taller, trying to make himself look big. He was a big guy, sure, probably 6’2” or so, likely played football in high school.
But I was still bigger. Much bigger. He could stand tall all he fucking wanted, and I’d still have several inches and a lot of weight on him.
I cracked my knuckles as I approached. “What are you doing out here?”
“Can’t a person just stand around on the street? Didn’t know this was private property.”
“No, you’re free to stand here. You’re not free to take photos of my girlfriend.” The word slipped out before I’d even thought about. It just felt right.
“Girlfriend, eh?” the man chuckled. He handed me his card. “Maybe you should reconsider dating her.”
The card said Chuck Stahl, Private Eye. Yeah, just as Josie thought. I handed the card back to him. “I don’t care who the fuck you are. You need to leave.”
“You can’t make me leave.”
“Like hell I can’t,” I said, stepping forward. “Get the hell out of here, and hand me that fucking camera before you go.”
“Or what? I’m not breaking any laws. I’m just taking pictures of the fine architecture of Liberty, Utah.”
“Yeah, I don’t care if you’re breaking any laws or not. I’ll break both your fucking arms if you don’t leave Josie alone.”
I knocked the camera from his hands, and we both scrambled for it. I ended up with it, and there was no way Chuck was going to get it back from me.
The man’s survival instincts must have kicked in because he stared at me with a look of fear. It reminded me of a nature documentary when a gazelle catches sight of the lion in the weeds not too far out. I was ready for what was about to happen next.
Like a fucking gazelle, he took off down the street. Unlike a gazelle, he wasn’t all tha
t fast. Sure, he was fast for his size, but I was in better shape than him. I caught up to the man, grabbing him from behind and shoving him into the side of a nearby building. I held him there, pinned against the wall. Like before, I saw red, and I wanted more than anything to bloody up his fucking face for terrorizing Josie. But I clenched my free fist tightly and held it at my side.
“You leave Josie Parker alone, got it? I don’t care who hired you, but trust me when I say, I’m scarier.”
Chuck smirked at me. “Even if you scare me away, there will be others.”
“Others?”
“Wade has money, he has people. He’s not going to let this go until he has both Josie and Milo back where they belong.”
My fist was yearning to smash in his face, to wipe that god-awful smirk away. I was on the verge of losing it. “You don’t threaten my girlfriend or my son ever again, you got it?”
“Your son? Or now that’s fresh,” Chuck laughed. “Wade knew the girl was a fucking whore, but—”
Before he could finish the sentence, I slammed my fist hard into the wall beside his head. I missed him on purpose. A warning shot. If he dared push me any further, the next punch wouldn’t be a miss.
“What’s going on here?” a voice called from my left. I glanced over to see Sheriff Teddy, a hometown fixture for many years, walking toward us. He frowned when he saw me holding Chuck against the wall, but he knew me - and as far as I knew, Chuck was an outsider - so right away he looked at the man against the wall. “And who are you?”
“He’s a private eye sent to terrorize Josie,” I said.
“Let the man go, Cyrus. I’ve got this under control now.”
I didn’t want to let Chuck go. I wanted to pummel the shit out of his face. But Teddy was right. I needed to let the law handle it.
I handed the camera over to Teddy and released Chuck. My insides were boiling, and I was still seeing red. I knew if I didn’t get out of there, I’d end up getting arrested for something. And I couldn’t afford to do that if people were literally stalking Josie at Wade’s request. I let Teddy handle it, filling him in on the details, then I returned to the diner.