Cocky Senator's Daughter: Hannah Cocker (Cocker Brothers of Atlanta Book 8)

by Faleena Hopkins

  “Nice way of putting it!” I call after him, laughing.

  He knocks on the door. “Hannah?”

  “Yes?”

  “You almost done?”

  The door opens and she walks out. “I don’t have a toothbrush.”

  He bends down. “Breathe on me.”

  She opens her little mouth wide and huffs as hard as she can.

  Justin winces. “Yeah, we need to get you one.” That sends her into giggles and he tickles her, lifting her up and spinning her around so that she’s aimed at me. “Go to Jaimie!” He disappears into his room.

  She comes running and I grab her. “Whoa whoa whoa. You know what you need? Socks!”

  “No!”

  “You can slide in them! You like sliding?”

  It’s like I just offered her chocolate cake, how excited she becomes. Plopping onto the ground, squealing, “I can slide?!” she lifts a foot for me, and then the next.

  The entire time we wait for Justin to return she skates on the hardwood, back and forth and all around into every nook she can find. When he appears in grey jeans and a lighter grey button-up shirt, I check him out and get a sexy wink in return. “First time I’ve seen you in jeans.”

  “I don’t own any blue ones,” he says with pride.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Not my style.”

  “Huh. Well, I think she likes your floors.”

  He laughs as Hannah slides toward him and grabs onto his leg to stop herself, nearly toppling over as she cries out, “Whoa!!”

  “At least there’s something here she likes. Hannah, get your shoes.”

  “She’s a fan of the enormous flat screen.”

  “You think it’s enormous?” he smirks, alluding to something other than the television.

  I shake my head and grab my purse. “I think it could be bigger.”

  He laughs and grabs his keys. “Yeah, right. You’ll never convince me that anything is lacking in that department.”

  Hannah’s green eyes go frantic with desperation. “Where’s Lou?! Where’s Lou!”

  “Right here.” Justin dips toward the suitcase. “You set him down when you picked out your clothes.” She holds the treasured alien to her chest and closes her eyes. Justin lifts her up into a hug, her little legs dangling as he whispers, “He’s not leaving you, Hannah. He’s staying right here.”

  A lump forms in my throat as I realize he’s not talking about Lou.

  Justin

  Scanning the bottom floor of Jaimie’s two-story Craftsman home, I nod with approval, “Your place is nice.”

  As she opens up the cream-colored curtains by the front door, she smiles over her shoulder. “There, now we can see her.” Hannah is swinging in the hammock on the porch. When we arrived she climbed onto it like it wasn’t her first. Another reminder I know nothing about her.

  “I still need to get more furniture. I love my eggshell couch, but I need a couple chairs for it. And that moving box obviously won’t do as a coffee table,” she laughs.

  Kicking the box to see if it’s empty or not I ask, “Eggshell?”

  “The color.”

  “Ah. Yeah, I’m not much into design.”

  Walking toward me she explains, “I am too familiar with color palettes. Brides can be very particular.” She heads for the stairs. “You okay while I shower?”

  “Yep. Hannah’s in heaven out there.” We both glance through the window to see the top of her blonde head, and feet in the air as she shifts her body weight to force the hammock to swing. “I don’t bore easily. Take your time.”

  Seeing through me, Jaimie sarcastically throws back as she heads upstairs, “Yeah, I believe that. Why don’t you sell me some swamp territory while you’re at it.”

  I’m wondering what it looks like up there.

  “Jaimie?”

  Her voice travels down, “Yeah?”

  “You renting this place?”

  “I bought it.”

  My eyebrows lift in admiration as I look around with new eyes. It’s more summery than I would have guessed for her. Even with the sparse décor I can see where she’s going with it. I would have expected more modern, like my space, since Jaimie has an aloofness to her. Although, I’ve seen another side when she’s with Hannah than when she was dealing with just me. Perhaps I was projecting my own detachment onto her? No, she really was cold to me in Savannah. That wasn’t in my head.

  “You okay, Hannah?” I call out through the open front door.

  “Uh huh!”

  I plop down on the couch and toss my feet onto the cardboard box. “Don’t have to worry about scratching it up,” I mutter.

  Jason picks up on the first ring. “Hey! How the hell are you? How’s it going? Dad said you talked to him finally.”

  Huffing a laugh through my nose I say, “You tell one person and it spreads to everyone.”

  “I like that about us,” he says with an audible smile.

  “I’m more private than you.”

  “That’s ironic because your life is all over the news and no one gives a shit about mine.”

  Sighing, “It’s that bad?”

  “It’s worse.”

  “I haven’t looked.”

  “How are you handling things with your…wait for it…your CHILD! Holy shit. I still can’t believe you’re a fucking dad, Justin.”

  With matching awe I agree, “It’s crazy. I’m finding my way. Jaimie’s helping.”

  A quick pause happens. “Oh, reeeeeeaaaalllllly? She is, is she? How did that happen?”

  “Total accident. It’s all good. I would have probably punched myself in the face several times by now if she hadn’t come over. Do you know how to comb girl-hair?”

  “No, I most certainly have no fucking clue. That is a skill I do not have. Hey, Jake’s on the other line. Hang on.”

  “No! Jason!” Too late. He’s gone. Great. I already know what he’s going to say.

  “Hey Justin, that was Jake. He says call him right now.”

  Sighing I rub my eyebrows and glance to the hammock. “I knew you were gonna say that.”

  “I’m hanging up.”

  I glare at my phone’s blank screen. “I can’t believe you just hung up on me.”

  It rings in my hands, with Jake’s name and photo glowing. “What the fuck, Justin! Why are you not returning calls!? You’re being an asshole.”

  Grinning despite myself I inform my younger brother, “I’ve been a bit busy, Jake.”

  “No shit!! But I’m a dad! Why didn’t you call me immediately and ask me questions? She’s not a baby, but I could have tried to help or something.” He mutters to himself, “I sound like an idiot.” Louder he says, “Why haven’t you reached out to me? Drew’s been telling me you’re in shock. I laughed at her. I know you better than that. Your skin is tougher than steel.”

  Watching Hannah’s feet bounce around while she sways in the hammock, I admit, “She’s right, Jake. I’ve been in shock. Been taking it one step at a time.”

  “Do you need anything? How’s it going? Jesus, I have no idea what’s happening!”

  “Okay, you wanna know? Here’s how it’s been.” I inhale, about to launch in.

  But he interrupts me.

  “Hang on. Let’s make this a conference call. You wait there.”

  The phone goes silent as he makes the calls. In less than two minutes I hear the voices of Jaxson, Jett, and Jeremy all swearing at me at the same time. Jake mediates by shouting, “Guys! Guys! You done?”

  Jett yells, “Hell no! What the fuck Justin? I know you’re a cold fucker but what the fuck?”

  Jeremy grumbles, “Look, I know I’ve been distant lately but when something this big happens, I want you to call.”

  The phone is silent for a moment before Jaxson calmly mutters, “What they said.”

  Suddenly I feel guilty. Way more than I did with my parents. My brothers and I have a bond that runs deep. We have matching tats to remind us of it. But me
n are stupid and we feel like islands unto ourselves most of the time. It took hearing four of them shouting at the same time to get through to me.

  “Shit, guys. I’m sorry. I’m barely hanging on over here. It was a situation I was unprepared to handle and I did the best I could.”

  They all mutter forgiveness before Jett demands, “So, is she with you now?”

  “Yeah. She’s outside on a hammock.”

  Jake beats them to it with, “You don’t have windows that open, Justin. Much less a hammock.”

  “I’m at a friend’s house.”

  I hold the phone away on a wince as they all explode, “WHAT!???”

  Jaxson is always the voice of reason among us so Jake groans, “Jaxson, talk to him!”

  I can see my eldest brother cross his arms as if he’s right in front of me. “You don’t call your brothers, but you’re with some friend? We’re not okay with this, Justin. You listening? We’re not okay with this.”

  “I heard you.”

  “I had to repeat it because I don’t believe you did. Why aren’t you at Jason’s? That we could understand if you chose him. Not some random outsider.”

  “This makes no sense,” Jett grumbles.

  Jeremy stays silent. He’s been silent a lot.

  Jake demands, “Well?”

  “It’s a female friend. She called when Hannah was crying, missing her mom, and I didn’t know how to handle it. It wasn’t premeditated. I didn’t purposefully leave you out. I just wanted to do this on my own.”

  There’s some grumbling and then Jake laughs, “Please tell me you didn’t have sex with someone to make her help you.”

  “Shut up, Jake,” I smile.

  Jett jumps on the bandwagon. “Hey baby, I’ll go down on you for hours if you do this one little thing for me?”

  All five of us start laughing. I say, “Hey, Jeremy, it’s good to hear you laugh.”

  “Been a while,” he mutters, still chuckling.

  “Keep it up, kid,” Jett tells him. “So, Justin, how are you handlin’ this? What’s she like? Sofia’s just started standing on her own, holding onto tables, and there you had to go and outdo me with a five year old? It’s fuckin’ bullshit.”

  I can hear Jaxson’s smirk as he agrees, “Yeah, Ben’s got three older girls ahead of him in rank now. Not cool.”

  It’s weird because I suddenly feel like I’ve been let into a secret club. I launch into details of the craziest twenty-four hours of my life. They listen with rapt attention, letting me tell the story at my own pace because I’m not holding back. I’m giving them a ton of details to chew on.

  This is not a time to summarize or hold back.

  They all know I’m the brother least likely to be voted Father Of The Year so I want them to see how seriously I’m taking it.

  “And that’s it. Today we’re going shopping for a bed and dresser, some clothes. Hey, Hannah!” I call out. Her feet stop swinging and she pulls the side of the hammock down to look at me through the window. “Come inside a minute!” To my brothers I ask, “Wanna say hello to her?”

  Of course they all shout yes. She walks in, pushing her soft hair back from her face with both hands. “My brothers are on the phone.”

  “Jason?” she asks in her little voice.

  “Oh my God,” Jake groans.

  Jett hoarsely whispers, “She fucking talks for chrissakes!”

  Grinning, I tell them all, “Okay guys, I’m going to put you on speaker. No swearing. Only I get to do that.”

  Jaxson laughs, “We saw you do it in your speech!”

  I hit the speaker with my thumb and hold the phone out between us. “Hannah, I have a big family, which means you have a big family now. We’re not meeting them all yet, but they want to say hello. Is that okay?”

  Never have my brothers been this quiet before. Hannah’s high-pitched twinkly voice says, “Hello? Anyone there?”

  They go berserk. Bellowing hellos. Lots of swearing. I start laughing because Hannah jumped at the first explosion of sound, but now she’s smiling like they’re crazy and staring at me with her eyebrows raised. They quiet down and she whispers to me, thinking they can’t hear her, “They’re very loud.”

  Everyone besides her cracks up. Her excited face locks onto something behind me and she gasps, “You look pretty, Jaimie!” I tap the speaker button and bring the phone to my ear. “Guys, I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” Hanging up I stand and turn around. “Hey, you all set?”

  Jaimie’s eyes flicker as she pulls her freshly blow-dried hair into a ponytail. “Uh, yep. All set.” She’s in purple jeans, a white blouse and short boots.

  “First time I’ve seen you dressed casually, too,” I smile.

  She returns a smile but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll just get my purse.”

  Hannah asks, “Can I go upstairs?”

  Resting a hand on her head I whisper, “Another time.”

  Jaimie calls, “Did you say something?”

  “Nope. Let’s go.”

  Her eyelashes flutter as she returns and we all step outside, waiting for her to lock the deadbolt. I pull her to me and kiss her. “Thanks for doing this.”

  “It’ll be fun.”

  “Hannah, give me your hand.” She slides her fingers into mine and we cross the street for my Audi. Jason was right, the car seat takes up most of the back, but so fucking what? I’m not giving up style just because I’m suddenly a father.

  Jaimie

  Curled up on my eggshell couch with a fire warming the room and a glass of Pinot Noir warming my stomach, I tell Kate, “Justin bought up half of Bed Bath & Beyond and Gap kids that day. And over the past week, I’ve only come home to sleep. I’ve been with him every moment except when my dad gave his speech here. And Justin texted me about half a dozen times while I was gone.”

  “Why haven’t you stayed at his place?” she asks between sips of her own glass of wine.

  “I did one other time, but it’s too hard not to have sex.”

  “Stupid question coming at you in two seconds,” she dryly informs me.

  “We’re both terrified she’ll walk in.”

  “Lock the door.”

  Shrugging, I peacefully stare at the gorgeous flames. “We started with random, pseudo-anonymous sex in public places. I think we’re enjoying getting to know each other.”

  She’s silent for too long.

  “What, Kate? What are you thinking?”

  “That you’ve tripped into the friend zone.”

  Chuckling I take a sip and tell her, “Friends don’t make out like we do.”

  “I’m just saying, Jaimie, what if he’s using you?”

  I nearly drop my glass from the punch of that horrific sentence. “Jesus, thanks a lot.”

  “I’m just worried—”

  Angrily I cut her off. “—You were telling me he liked me and to believe I’m worthy of a man like him. Now you’re saying he’s just using me? Like I’m some dish towel or something?”

  “No! It’s just...don’t you think it’s strange how quickly he’s become like a boyfriend? You’re seeing him every day! Didn’t you say he told you never to care about him.”

  “He said something like that, yes,” I whisper, escaping into my wine. “Didn’t he say it while he was inside you.”

  “I think he was just scared.”

  Groaning, “Oh, no, Jaimie, listen to yourself.”

  “What?”

  “You’ve got the love goggles on.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Have you paid for anything?”

  “Of course I haven’t! Just the food that first night, but he didn’t ask for that. I was getting take-out already.”

  “Nothing else?”

  “No, not one thing. Not even a coffee. You’re being harsh, Kate. And you’ve really switched tunes on me.”

  “I just think the timing is fishy.” She sighs and takes a loud sip of her wine. “I don’t want you getting you
r hopes up if he’s just rebounding from finding out he’s a dad. Using you to ease the blow of this whole thing. Are the reporters still lurking at his building?”

  “No, they’ve given up since he won’t give them comments to print.”

  We’re silent after I tell her this, but the air is different now. I look forward to these calls. Drinking wine with my best girlfriend over the phone makes me feel like she could be in the same town as I am, not in an entirely different state.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I was just doing what I’m supposed to.”

  “Well, quit it,” I smile, relieved. “I’m going to read a book and go to sleep.”

  “Okay, Jaimie. I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  When the phone goes dead, my hand floats over to the cardboard box to set it down. I’m not reading anything tonight. I lied. She’s just made me look at something I’ve been avoiding.

  Is she right?

  I think she is. That’s what’s terrifying.

  I haven’t allowed myself to dwell, but there have been signs that Justin is holding me at arm’s length. I’m not worried about the sex. I know we’re both on the same page about it. With Hannah grieving and spending afternoons with her grandmother who is fading quickly, it’s been important to both of us that no doors be locked and she can feel safe. She’s cried herself to sleep four times, completely inconsolable. The one day I visited Claire with them, Hannah screamed and wouldn’t let go of her grandmother’s wheelchair. It was heartbreaking.

  But I have felt distance from him at times.

  “He’s got a lot on his mind,” I murmur as I take a sip of Pinot, staring at the flames for a long time.

  “Oh, stop it,” I groan as memories hit me of three separate occasions where I’ve walked in on him talking on speaker with his brothers and Hannah. All three times he’s hung up quickly. Thought it was my imagination the first time.

  But it’s hard to think that on the second.

  And the third.

  Sometimes we have to lie to ourselves. If we don’t, we have to make changes we’re not ready to make.

  My phone rings and I glance to see Justin’s name on the screen. Snatching the phone up I answer, “Hey there.”