His Lullaby Baby

by Airicka Phoenix

  A crash rang out as an entire tray of champagne flutes hit the floor. The two servers who had collided with each other began shouting at each other.

  “I better go sort that.” Willa sighed. “Calla’s out back making sure the stage is properly dismantled and put away.”

  She walked away before Addy could press her about the photos.

  It was unlikely anyone outside of Willow Creek would see them, but the fear was there all the same. The last thing she needed was for it to somehow make its way into the wrong hands and bring her entire world crashing down around her. Yet she had no idea how to stop it. She hadn’t meant to stay the evening. She hadn’t even considered press, not in a town barely big enough for a warrant a traffic light. But really, what were the odds the paper would ever leave the town limits?

  She kept reminding herself of that while she helped tidy up. Farrah was still in the kitchen, organizing leftovers into baggies. The woman looked drawn and exhausted, but she smiled when she saw Addy.

  “Still here?”

  Addy rolled up her sleeves. “I’m here to help.”

  She hadn’t been wrong. All the things they’d done earlier to set up had tripled in amount taking down. All the fabric strung across the ceiling and walls needed to be neatly folded, as did the table clothes and unused napkins. The dishes had to be brought into the kitchen. The vases emptied and rinsed out. It was a whole process and more exhausting than cooking for a week straight.

  By the time three AM rolled around, Addy was ready to chew the head off the next person who even looked at her. Most of the servers and attenders were sent home, leaving the kitchen attendants to finish up the last of the cleanup. Farrah had gone home a little after one, as had Willa. But Calla remained, stalking around in her seven inch heels, barking orders and checking things off her list. There wasn’t a single sign of exhaustion in sight. Addy kind of hated her a little bit.

  “Why are you still here?” Calla caught sight of her and frowned. “Go home.”

  Addy shook her head. “No, I’m okay. I want to help.”

  Calla looked over her clipboard, flipped a few pages and then shook her head. “There is nothing left for you to do.” She pinned Addy with a stern scowl. “Go home.”

  Unwilling to refuse a second time, Addy relented. She gathered her coat and headed out the door.

  The drive home was a mind numbing twenty minutes where she blasted the radio and kept the windows rolled down. Her cheeks were a bright pink and cold to the touch by the time she pulled into the driveway, but at least she hadn’t fallen asleep and crashed. Pocketing her keys, she headed inside.

  Silence greeted her. She hadn’t expected anyone to be awake, but it was odd to come home to that much quiet. She locked the door behind her and followed the stream of yellow light in the otherwise darkness into the sitting room.

  Toby sat on the sofa with Hanna curled up in his lap. Both were passed out with their heads back and their mouths hanging open. A book lay open across Toby’s chest. In the armchair, legs over one armrest, head propped against the other, lay Sean with his hands folded neatly on his stomach. Both children were in their PJs. Bowls of chocolate sauce swirling with melted ice cream, peanuts and bananas sat cluttered on the coffee table along with empty cups of chocolate milk. There were several more books stacked on the end table next to Toby’s elbow and she wondered how many they’d made the poor guy read before they passed out.

  Amused and thoroughly guilt ridden, Addy dumped her purse and coat by the door and moved to pick Hanna up. The movement jerked Toby awake almost like she’d shocked him. His arms slammed around the girl protectively even as blue eyes flew open.

  “It’s okay,” Addy whispered. “It’s just me.”

  Muscles uncoiling, Toby released his hold and let her scoop the girl up. He rose as Addy straightened and shuffled over to where Sean lay.

  “Hey.” He shook the boy lightly. “Come on, pal. Time to get to bed.”

  Sean woke with a start, the way someone would if they were dreaming of falling. His limbs stiffened before dropping. He blinked up at Toby.

  “Can you walk?” Toby asked.

  Nodding, Sean rolled off the armchair and staggered his way into the hall. Toby grabbed his cane and followed the procession upstairs.

  Addy put Hanna to bed and returned to find Toby snapping the lights out in Sean’s room. They shut the doors and stood in the semidarkness of the hallway.

  “Thank you for watching them,” she whispered. “I hope they didn’t give you a hard time.”

  “Ice cream, chocolate milk, and reading. It was basically all the stuff I do when I’m alone.”

  Addy laughed. “Well, I appreciate—”

  He kissed her, moving with that innate speed of his to claim her mouth. The attack was hard and demanding and she melted into him. Her arms wound their way around his neck. Her fingers closed in his hair, gripping him to her as she returned the rush. Their bodies crashed together and staggered back into the wall separating the two rooms. His cane hit the ground and his hands were on her, lifting and holding and bruising. Her legs wound around his hips and she anchored herself to him as her entire being went up in flames.

  “God, I want you, Addy,” he growled against her swollen mouth. “So bad it hurts.”

  Breathless and dizzy, she could only moan and cling to him as he sliced a path with his mouth down the column of her throat. At the hollow of her collarbone, he paused. His hot breath burned the skin. She waited for him to continue, but he drew back.

  “I want to take you to bed,” he told her, only slightly out of breath. “I want to keep you there all night, naked, wet, and completely at my mercy.” The junction of her thighs gave a pang at his promise. “But we really need to talk first.”

  They did. She knew they did. They couldn’t go beyond the little they’d done without full disclosure on her part. He needed to know what he was up against. He needed to know before she gave him everything and he walked away. It was how to properly start that conversation that had her hesitating. It was the fear of watching his back disappearing out the front door, never to return. But she knew that if she wanted him for more than just a single night, she needed to tell him the truth. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stave off the burst of disappointment she felt at having to stop … again. The off and on was beginning to infuriate her. It must have shown on her face, because Toby chuckled and kissed her lightly.

  “I know.” He set her down gently. “I promise to make it up to you.”

  Addy busied her trembling hands by smoothing out her clothes. She watched as he bent down and picked up his cane. Then they just stood there, staring at each other.

  “Your mom invited me to dinner tomorrow,” she said, breaking the silence.

  Surprise danced across his face. “She did?”

  Addy nodded. “And the kids. She said she wanted to get to know me better.”

  His head bobbed slowly. “Great. What did you say?”

  “Yes.” She shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to say. Is that okay?”

  Toby grinned. “Of course.” He smoothed his fingers along her cheek. “Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Painfully aroused and grudgingly baffled, Addy left him standing there and slipped into her room.

  Chapter 13 ~ Toby

  The drive to his parent’s house was done in his truck and it was mostly done in silence, with the exception of Hanna’s humming in the backseat. Neither she nor Sean had asked where they were going or why, two unavoidable questions his niece and nephews would have demanded … relentlessly for hours. They seemed content to just go and get there when they got there. It only made him love them all the more. He liked that they weren’t like other kids, because they weren’t. Everything about them was as unique as their mother and that made all the difference.

  In the seat next to him, Addy was watching the scenery with tension tightening her jaw and turning the caps of her knuckles white around the pie platter in her
lap. She hadn’t said much, but he knew she was nervous about the dinner, not that he could blame her.

  “Hey.” He reached over and settled his hand over hers. “It’s going to be fine.”

  She offered him a half smile. “I know.”

  She was lying, but he let it go. He gave her fingers a squeeze before withdrawing to take hold of the wheel. He turned into his parent’s driveway and parked behind Damon’s Jeep. He killed the engine and pocketed his keys.

  It took very little fuss getting the kids out of the car and to the front door. They stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting for something to happen.

  Addy set one hand on Sean’s shoulder from behind and lowered her voice. “Remember your manners, okay? And no running or yelling.”

  Toby wanted to snort and assure her that there was plenty of running and yelling had without them, but the door flew open and his mom smiled at them.

  “I heard the truck pull up,” she explained. “Come in.”

  Toby motioned for Addy and the kids to go in first.

  “Thank you for having us,” Addy said as she ushered Sean and Hanna over the threshold. “I hope it’s all right, I brought a pie. I wasn’t sure if—”

  “Yes, thank you,” Hanna stated primly but hurriedly. “Can I play with Kari now?”

  Beth’s mouth twisted into a grin. “They’re upstairs.” She looked to Sean. “You can both go straight up.”

  Both children toed off their shoes and handed over their coats before hurrying up the stairs.

  “They’re adorable,” his mom said, shaking out their jackets. She hung them up before reaching for the pie Addy was holding out. “And yes, we absolutely love pie. Thank you.”

  Addy undid her coat. “It smells delicious in here.”

  His mom took the coat from her with a free hand and added it to the pile draped along the wall. “Cole’s in the kitchen. We’re making chicken and sausage gumbo.”

  “Oh! That sounds really good. Can I help?”

  “Of course.”

  She led Addy deeper into the house without even a word to Toby. Alone, Toby hung his own coat up and made his way into the sitting room. Jared, Calla, Damon, and Willa were on the sofas, looking over a small mountain of photos scattered across the coffee table.

  “Hey!” Calla greeted him. “You look exhausted.”

  “Long night,” he muttered. “How’d we make out?”

  Calla shrugged. “I haven’t had a chance to go over the end tally. I do know that we more than likely surpassed our quota from last year, thanks to you and Addy.” She eyed him. “What was that all about anyway?”

  “Actually…” He moved to claim his favorite armchair. “That wasn’t Addy’s bid. It was Mrs. Donnelly’s. She’d asked Addy to hold on to it for her.”

  Calla groaned. “I better call Mrs. Donnelly.”

  She rose, phone already in hand, and left the room.

  “I like this one,” Willa said, picking up a photo of a bridge dangling over an angry river. “I think I’ll save the rest.”

  “I like this one,” Damon pointed to a picture of flat, orange desert and a single cacti in the distance.

  “What do you think, Jared?” Willa asked, desperation in her tone.

  Jared snorted. “Right. Ask the guy with absolutely no artistic abilities.”

  Leaving them to the photos, Toby hoisted himself up and made his way to the kitchen. Uncle Sloan and Cole were at the wooden table, dicing up vegetables, while Beth stirred a pot. Addy stood off to one side, watching quietly.

  “Hey.”

  She glanced over at him and offered him a small smile. “Hi.”

  He went to her and rested a palm along her lower spine. “Everything okay?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, just watching. I’ve never made gumbo,” she explained.

  “All right, that should do it.” His father dusted his hands and straightened. He glanced up at Addy. “Now, the trick, in my opinion, is how you batter the chicken.” He motioned her over. “Most just dump the pieces into a bowl of flour and consider it a job well done, but!” He tipped the bowl on its side so Addy could see inside. “It’s all about what you have mixed inside.”

  Toby leaned against the counter as his dad showed Addy how to properly season chicken. Uncle Sloan occasionally inserted his own view point on the matter, which was argued by Beth. It was somewhere between frying the pieces and roasting when Lily arrived with Rachel in tow.

  “Everyone knows you bake the chicken first,” Lily stated, moving around the table to kiss her husband. “Frying’s too oily.”

  “I think you’re all scaring her.” Calla marched in. “It’s only chicken for Godsakes.”

  “It’s not only just chicken,” Cole protested. “It’s the main ingredient. It needs to be done right.”

  “How did you do it before?” Addy asked, and the room immediately went quiet.

  Glances were exchanged.

  “We’ve never made it before,” Cole confessed.

  “Every so often, Dad and Uncle Sloan like to take over the kitchen and make a mess,” Calla chimed in helpfully. “Lucky for you, you get to witness it.”

  “This is not a mess, it’s progress,” Cole muttered.

  Calla met Addy’s gaze and rolled her eyes.

  “I saw that!” Cole brandished a spoon at her. “Don’t make me send you to your room.”

  “Can I vote for Addy to make dessert?” Willa, Damon, and Jared joined the crowded kitchen.

  “I second that,” Jared declared.

  “She’s already brought pie,” Beth said.

  “How many?” Jared asked.

  Addy’s expression grew uncertain. “One?”

  “That’s not enough!” Jared protested. “Have you seen the size of me?”

  Willa smacked his arm. “That’s not nice!”

  “Maybe she doesn’t want to make anymore desserts,” Beth piped in. “She’s been at it for weeks making everything for yesterday’s fundraiser.”

  “No, I’m fine,” Addy said. “I would love to make more dessert.”

  The atmosphere changed after that. Any remaining tension melted into its normal warmth. Chatter and laughter bubbled over. It was all the things Toby loved about the weekends, with an added bonus—Addy. His worries seemed ridiculous as he watched his family pull her into their folds.

  At the table, the conversation resumed, jumping from the fundraiser to the work load that coming week to random things like his aunt’s new shoes and Willa’s photos getting accepted in some journal. Occasionally, Addy contributed or answered a question thrown her way, but she seemed content to sit next to him and listen.

  “They love you,” he whispered into her ear.

  Her head turned, bringing their faces inches apart. “Yeah?”

  Toby nodded. “Yeah.”

  Addy smiled and the simple gesture stole what little of his heart he’d been holding on to. “I like that.”

  He leaned in, needing to taste her.

  “Don’t even get me started on Halloween!” Calla’s outrage had them both looking up. “I swear every year gets more and more boring. Colten doesn’t even want to go out anymore.”

  “Well, he is a bit old for trick or treating,” Lily said gently.

  “Rosie still wants to go,” Rachel said. “She loves dressing up.”

  “Yes, but Rosie’s a girl. Boys don’t really care for that,” Lily protested.

  “I was actually thinking of reopening the funhouse over at the inn,” Addy said, pulling the conversation into her corner. “Macy used to go all out for the holidays, but I wasn’t sure I could pull it off on my own. This year, I was thinking of maybe bringing it back.”

  “That is a fantastic idea!” Calla decided at once, her blue eyes shining. “What were you thinking?”

  Addy set her spoon down gently back in her bowl. “I’m not exactly sure, but maybe a haunted maze. I know Macy did that one year and it was a huge hit.”

  “I remember that,” Lily said fr
om the end of the table. “The kids loved it.”

  Addy nodded. “Mrs. Donnelly actually gave me the idea. Not the maze exactly, but that the inn used to get a lot of attention when Macy was doing her annual holiday events. I remember the maze, because Sean really liked it. I was also thinking a carriage ride at the end of the night and maybe a pumpkin carving station for the little kids who don’t want to go through the maze.” She flushed and gave a little shrug. “It’s still a thought in process.”

  “I love it,” Calla stated. “It’s exactly what this town needs. Something fun and new. Mr. Hinkley has a whole mountain of hay barrels we could possibly borrow for the night. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

  “We?” Toby cut in.

  Calla blinked. “You. Obviously, I mean you.”

  Addy chuckled. “No, we is fine. I’ll take whatever help I can get.”

  Calla beamed. “Well, I am all in. I will call Mr. Hinkley—”

  “Ketch,” Uncle Sloan muttered, cutting Calla off.

  “Sorry?”

  He raised his head and met her gaze. “His name is Ketch, not Hinkley.”

  Jared and Damon burst out laughing. Even Toby found himself chuckling.

  “How do you get Hinkley from Ketch?” Damon hooted.

  Calla’s cheeks darkened. “It’s not that different. Anyway!” She elbowed her husband. “I’ll call him and see if he can deliver three hundred barrels for the night.”

  “Three hundred?” Addy gasped. “Why so many?”

  Calla stared. “Well, you’ll need to create a large enough maze for it to be fun and you can lay the rest inside the carriage.”

  “Oh! You can have some of the older kids stationed around inside,” Willa suggested. “They can make sure the kids don’t get lost or cause any problems.”

  “They can also hand out the candy,” Beth added.

  “I wouldn’t trust teenagers with any chocolate,” Calla muttered.

  “We could make little goodie bags that kids can get at the end of the maze when they get out!” Addy decided.