Baby: A Linear Tactical Romantic Suspense Standalone

by Janie Crouch

  And yet...

  And yet here she was sitting at the bar at the Eagle’s Nest on a Sunday night.

  If there was anything her time here in Oak Creek, the time with Baby, had taught her, it was that the real Quinn was more than the person she’d been at Harvard. Not merely the stiff, structured intellectual who liked to examine things from all angles. That was part of her, an important part of her, but it wasn’t the only part.

  The passionate part of her was equally important. The one who had screamed at Peter in his office. The one who had a zeal for making sure that students understood the basics of language and communication.

  The one who came apart in Baby’s arms every single night.

  That passionate part was just as important as the rational part of her.

  She’d never been one to take big risks, but this one was worth taking. Putting herself out there, for Baby. Letting him know that she wanted him and wanted a permanent future with him was a big risk, but he was worth it.

  She’d talked to him both nights she’d been in Boston. He been excited for her and all they’d been offering. When she told him they wanted her to stay, there been a pause before he’d quickly gone on to say he wasn’t surprised.

  That pause. She was putting herself out here based on the pause.

  She’d left him a voice message thirty minutes ago.

  Hi Baby. Listen, I know things are up in the air right now, and this may seem a little weird. There is someone I want you to meet. Someone I think you will really hit it off with. I think she’s perfect for you in the oddest way. Anyway, she’s going to be in town for one night and is waiting for you at the Eagle’s Nest, so get over there and see what you think of her. A new start for a new future.

  She’d been about to hang up when she had a little second of panic. She didn’t want him to feel like he had to talk to her if he didn’t feel the same way.

  But, you know, if you’re not interested, if she’s not what you want, she’ll understand. So that’s okay. Okay?

  She’d hung up before she could make it any worse.

  This was why she didn’t play these silly games. She was terrible at them.

  She wrapped her hands around her soda and took a sip. The important thing was that she’d taken the first step. She let him know that she was interested and wanted something serious between them.

  Hopefully, they could make it work.

  Oh God, she hoped they could make it work out. She hoped he wanted her the way she wanted him.

  Because there was no job at any Ivy League school in the country she wanted more than she wanted to be with him.

  Their paths were different, but maybe they could find a way to make them intertwine.

  “You look like you’re about to bolt any second now,” Lexi said from behind the bar.

  “I asked Baby to meet me here. To let him know I’m interested.”

  Lexi laughed. “You don’t think he’s figured that out already seeing as you two have hardly come up for air since you met one another?”

  She could feel herself turn bright red. “I mean future stuff. Hopefully, permanent future stuff.” She took a sip of her drink, wishing it was something stronger. Stronger wouldn’t help her right now though; she needed to keep a clear head.

  “Is that stupid? I’m so much older than him.” Those tiny insecurities tried to seep in as the minutes ticked by.

  Lexi reached over and squeezed Quinn’s hand. “Professor, I think you’d have to be a hell of a lot older before Baby Bollinger would consider you too old for him. You guys have something special. You have what’s important. Trust.” Lexi glanced down toward the other end of the bar before snapping her eyes back to Quinn. “You guys have what’s most important.”

  Quinn didn’t have to look down at the other end of the bar to know that Gavin Zimmerman was sitting there. Word was already flying all over town how the now ex-sheriff must have a crush on the town’s newest bartender since he was at the Eagle’s Nest every single night that Lexi worked.

  Quinn knew it wasn’t a crush. Lexi knew it too. Gavin was surveilling in the least subtle way.

  For the first time, Quinn could see why it was so easy to get caught up in small town drama. She so wanted to know what was going on with these two.

  But she had her own drama to deal with first.

  The minutes ticked by, but Baby didn’t show up. It was okay, she knew he was busy. He’d been out in the shop every spare minute while she’d been in Boston trying to make up for all the other minutes he’d spent with her the past two weeks.

  And then the message came.

  A text message, which would have made her smile if it wasn’t for the content.

  I went by the Eagle’s Nest but didn’t stay. I’m sorry, Quinn. That’s not the new start and future I want.

  Quinn read the words over and over until she couldn’t read them anymore because of the tears flooding her eyes.

  He’d come, he’d seen her, and he’d left.

  She had her answer. She wasn’t the future he wanted. She should appreciate that he hadn’t come made a public spectacle of telling her that to her face.

  There was no reason for her heart to feel like it was shattering into a million pieces.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Lexi asked when Quinn slid the bar stool back with a little too much force.

  “Yeah. I got a message from Baby. He’s not coming.”

  “Oh. Well, go over and see him if he can’t make it here.”

  Quinn shook her head. Her tears fell down her cheek, and she wiped at them. Her composure was shot, but she couldn’t seem to care. That was part of embracing both sides of herself, right? She didn’t have to always be composed.

  Which was good because she couldn’t seem to be composed at all.

  “He doesn’t want me. That’s why he was going to meet me here. A new start. I—” She broke off, shaking her head.

  Lexi reached out a hand toward her. “Quinn...”

  “I’m okay.” She took a deep breath. “This way is probably better. He has his world and I have mine.” She wiped the tears away and took a breath. “I hate to leave you in a lurch, but I’m afraid I have to quit without giving you two weeks’ notice, Lexi.”

  “Why?”

  Quinn tried to smile enough so it wasn’t obvious that her heart was in pieces all around her. “It looks like I’m moving back to Boston.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Baby didn’t like lying to Quinn. He dropped back down on the couch, laid his head back against the cushion, and stared up at his ceiling.

  But for fuck’s sake, did she really expect him to go meet some friend of hers at the bar? Someone she thought would be perfect for him?

  The past two days that she’d been in Boston had been hard enough— hearing her talk about them courting her, wooing her, how desperately they wanted her to come back.

  And they damned well should. They should get on their knees and beg someone as talented and caring and perfect as Quinn to come back to teach; he didn’t care how good of school it was.

  So he’d encouraged her and told her how proud he was. Damn near bit his tongue all the way off to keep from begging her to come back to Oak Creek.

  To come back to him.

  And evidently, he’d done a fantastic job because not only was she still in Boston, she was trying to set him up with someone new.

  He didn’t want someone new. He wanted Quinn.

  But all of her dreams were coming true. Everything that Ramford had taken from her was being given back in spades. She deserved that. He wanted it for her, and, damn it, loved her too much to force her to split her focus between two things she cared about.

  The ceiling he stared up at didn’t have any answers. She hadn’t responded to his text, not even to remark about the fact that he’d texted instead of called.

  He kept hoping for more. Kept staring up at that same ceiling, hoping she’d call and say it had been a joke. That she’d never really
meant the friend for him. Or hell, even to ask what he hadn’t liked about her friend’s looks.

  Because if she had, he was going to tell her the truth. There was no way in hell he was going to be looking at another woman anytime soon, even if Quinn was in Cambridge.

  He was still looking at the ceiling when he woke up the next morning. Quinn had never called, never responded to his text.

  He knew he would hear from her eventually, but it looked like she was already moving on. To a future that didn’t include him.

  He forced himself downstairs to the garage to work. His other mechanics had been doing a stellar job keeping everything afloat, but there was always more work to do.

  At lunchtime when he stopped for a break, he was enough of a glutton for punishment to walk over to the Eagle’s Nest. The plan had been for Quinn to be back to work her shift today, and he was hoping maybe this was all a bad dream, that he’d walk in there and she’d be there.

  Of course, she wasn’t.

  Lexi was running around waiting tables herself. She spared a minute to glare at him when he walked in.

  “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here.”

  “Why? It’s not my fault Harvard had the good sense to beg Quinn to come back. And can you blame her?”

  “Really? You’re going to blame this on Harvard after she came back here to tell you how she felt?”

  Baby shook his head. “I don’t know exactly what we’re talking about here, Lexi.”

  “I’m talking about her face when she got the text that you weren’t interested in the future with her.”

  A sick feeling was beginning to pool in Baby’s gut. “What do you mean her face?”

  “It’s not rocket science. I mean—”

  “She was here?”

  Oh God.

  Oh God.

  It hadn’t been a friend. It had been her. She had been the one waiting for him, the one she thought he could have the future with. And he’d told her that he’d come there and then left because it wouldn’t work.

  She thought he’d seen her, then had left and sent her a kiss-off text.

  “What the hell have I done?”

  Lexi nodded. “Yeah, that was pretty much the face. I’m assuming you didn’t know she was here for some reason.”

  “Where is she?”

  Lexi shrugged, but took pity on him. “She flew back to Boston last night. Gave me her two weeks’ notice, even though it was more like twelve hours.”

  “I’ve got to go.”

  “Where?”

  “The only place that matters. Boston.”

  Baby threw himself on Kendrick’s mercy to get him on the fastest flight back East, as well as tell him at what hotel Quinn was staying at.

  He’d been sitting in the lobby so long, he was pretty sure the front desk would call security soon. But what else could he do? He had to talk to her, to explain.

  Wherever she was going, he was going there too.

  He stared at the sliding glass doors of the hotel lobby until his eyes burned. He didn’t move, wanting to make sure he didn’t accidentally miss her when she came back from her day at Harvard.

  He was so intent on watching for her in the front doors, that he was totally taken by surprise when he heard her soft voice beside him.

  “Baby?”

  He stood and dragged her into his arms at the same time. “Oh, thank God. I’ve been waiting for you. How did you get past me?”

  “I’ve been in my room all day. This is the first time I’ve come out.” She stepped back from him, tangling her fingers together and looking around. “What are you doing here?”

  “I lied.”

  She tried to take another step back, but he yanked her into his arms again. He couldn’t stand even the smallest distance between them.

  “Lied about what?”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “I didn’t go to the Eagle’s Nest last night. I know I said I did, but I lied. I honestly thought you were trying to set me up with someone else.”

  “It was me.”

  He reached up to frame her face in his hands. “I know. Lexi told me. I’m an idiot. Please forgive me.”

  The few people in the lobby were starting to stare, but Baby didn’t care. He would get on his knees and beg her forgiveness in front of the whole world if he had to.

  “Let me grab my jacket, and we’ll go for a walk.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t need privacy to tell you that I love you. I’ll tell everybody in this entire lobby. In this entire city.”

  Her smile was sad. “Just let me get my jacket.”

  As soon as she disappeared down the hallway, lead filled Baby’s gut. This was the old Quinn—stiff, afraid to be hurt, defensive. Not the loose, giving, passionate woman he’d known for the past few weeks.

  He took off down the hall after her. She was coming back out of her hotel room when he reached it. He pushed her gently back inside, crowded her up against the wall, and dropped her jacket to the ground.

  And he kissed her. He kissed her in all the ways he knew she liked, nibbling at her plump bottom lip, easing her lips apart, then devouring her.

  He could kiss her like this for the rest of his life and never get tired of it.

  He didn’t stop until they were both panting for breath.

  “I don’t want your logical reasons for why we can’t be together. We will be together. No matter what we have to do, we will work it out.”

  “Baby...”

  “I’m not playing around, Quinn. I know you think I’m young, but I’m not. I know what I want, and I want you. Forever. I want to marry you.”

  He couldn’t stand the tears that welled up in her eyes. “You haven’t thought everything through. I’m thirty-nine. I can’t have kids...”

  Kids? He hadn’t really been thinking of that, but obviously she had. “You don’t know that. Have you tried?”

  “Statistically, the chances of me being able to have a baby go down every single day.”

  “Then we’ll adopt. Or we’ll be cool Uncle Baby and Aunt Quinn to everybody else’s kids.”

  “You say that now, but...”

  He stepped back so he could stare into her eyes. “Cupcake, you have never once made me feel stupid. Not when you found out I’d dropped out of high school. Not when you found out I was a mechanic. Not even when you found out I couldn’t read. You’ve always treated me with respect.”

  “Of course.” She looked shocked. “Your academic difficulties have nothing to do with your intellect, nor does your career choice. You’re one of the most intelligent and insightful people I know.”

  God, he loved this woman.

  He cupped her cheeks, running his thumbs along those fine bones. “Then have the same respect for me now. Don’t take choices out of my hands that are mine to make. To know that I know myself well enough to weigh the cost versus the gain.”

  He kissed her very gently. “Because there is no cost, now or in the future, that could ever come close to what I gain by having you in my life. All that matters to me is that you love me.”

  “I do. I love you more than I thought was possible for me to love anyone,” she whispered against his lips.

  He pulled her against his chest. “Then we will work out the rest. They want you back here at Harvard. Since the school is supposed to have the smartest people in the world, I’m not surprised to hear that. So I’ll move here with you.”

  “What? No, I–”

  He put a finger over her lips. “I’ll find a college around here and finish my last three classes. My other mechanics can handle the garage this spring, and once I own it, I’ll sell it. I’ll open a new one here.”

  Tears leaked out of her eyes. He caught them and wiped them away with his thumbs. “Baby...”

  “Wherever you are, that’s where I’m going to be. You are more important to me than anything. You have always deserved to be the center of someone’s universe, and I would be beyond honored if you’d agree to b
e the center of mine.”

  “Baby...”

  “I’m not going to let you away from this wall until you agree to marry me, Cupcake.”

  She shook her head and let out a little sigh. “Can I say something?”

  “As long as your sentence starts out with ‘Yes, I will marry you’.”

  She rolled her eyes and he kissed the tip of her nose.

  “Yes. I will marry you, Baby.”

  He swallowed whatever else she was going to say with a kiss, but this time, they didn’t stop, even when they both were panting. He didn’t stop as they dragged each other’s clothes off. He didn’t stop as he slammed into her body right there against the hotel wall.

  He didn’t stop until they both sank to the ground exhausted, clinging to each other.

  “I love you.”

  She kissed his shoulder. “I love you —”

  “Nope. You know the rule, you have to start your sentence with “Yes, I will marry you, Baby.”

  She laughed, and it was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. “Yes, I will marry you, Baby. I love you. But you can’t come live in Cambridge.”

  He didn’t like that, but he knew he would have to take things slowly. She’d agreed to marry him. That was the most important thing.

  “Okay. I’m willing to have an adult conversation about this. Why can’t I come live in Cambridge?”

  He was prepared to fight. Whatever she thought he was giving up for her was nothing compared to what he was going to gain. And if he had to tell her that every single day for the rest of their forever, he would do it.

  “Well, I mean you can come live in Cambridge, but I won’t be here. I told the dean this morning that I didn’t want my old job back. Because I’ve found something I like better—actual teaching. Turns out, I have quite a passion for it. And this isn’t my home anymore.”

  “Are you sure?” He didn’t want her giving up anything that she might have regrets about later.

  “Yes.” She kissed his shoulder again. “It’s what’s best for me. I want to be in the classroom. It’s where I belong. Oak Creek is where I belong.”