Just One Night - Josh & Bailey (Crossroads Book 13)

by Melanie Shawn

  “Yeah, and he’s my brother-in-law,” Brian revealed.

  Chase had been the lead singer of the band Midnight Rush before embarking on an even more successful solo career. He was older than Brian and Josh, and had left Harper’s Crossing when he was a teenager. But he’d moved back several years ago and reconnected with Krista Sloan, Becca’s older sister.

  “But the real star is Noah. Where is the little man?” Josh asked, bringing the conversation back to why they were there.

  Angie’s face lit up. “He’s right through there.” She pointed to the closest door. “There’s a viewing area down the hallway. I’ll bring him to the glass to show you.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Jacob and Angie were both buzzed through the door and Brian and Josh headed to the viewing area, which was basically a large glass window. He’d seen this scene play out hundreds of times in movies, television shows, and commercials. Men waiting behind the glass. He never thought that the first time he experienced it he’d be waiting to see his grandchild.

  There were several babies in incubators in the dim room and Josh scanned them all, not knowing which one was Noah.

  “How ya doin’?” Brian asked. “You all right?”

  “I think so.” Josh wasn’t exactly sure how he was, but he appreciated that his cousin was there.

  After what felt like an eternity, Jacob and Angie entered the nursery wearing gowns and masks. They spoke to one of the nurses briefly before the trio made their way to the middle incubator.

  The nurse lifted the clear top. Angie bent at the waist and gently picked up a small lump covered in a blanket, tubes, and wires. She took three steps, crossing to the window and pivoted so Josh and Brian could see Noah’s face.

  Tears filled Josh’s bottom lids as he looked down at the baby. He was so tiny. So frail. So helpless. Seeing how little he was gave Josh even greater respect for Bailey. For what she’d had to face alone eighteen years ago and also for the fact that she’d operated on this tiny human. Brian liked to say that Josh had a cape and loved to fly in and save Bailey, but the truth was, Bailey was the superhero.

  Brian’s hand landed on Josh’s shoulder and his fingers squeezed. “He’s got the Scott chin.”

  His cousin was right. Noah had the Scott family’s square dimple in the middle of his chin. “He does.”

  Josh’s eyes lifted and met Angie’s, which were also filled with unshed tears. A calm and certainty spread through him as he looked into her eyes and then back down at Noah. He wasn’t sure how things were going to work out, or what the future held, but he knew that he loved Angie and Noah and he’d do anything to protect and support them. He missed out on the first eighteen years of his daughter’s life, but he would do everything in his power to make up for that lost time.

  Chapter 21

  Part of what Bailey loved about her job was that the most critical decision she had to make when it came to her attire was light blue, dark blue, or, if she was feeling really adventurous, gray scrubs. She’d never been a woman who loved fashion. Her curves may be coveted but they were not easy to dress. She’d never been self-conscious of her ample bust, but she was always aware of it.

  If she wore something too tight or low cut, it looked like she was trying to accentuate and draw attention to her Dolly-Partonesque frame. If she dressed in something loose with a high neckline, it made her look boxy and matronly.

  There’s a fine line between looking like Jessica Rabbit and SpongeBob SquarePants, Bailey thought to herself as she stared into her closet.

  “What do you think, Felix?” Bailey blew out a frustrated breath before glancing down and discovering Felix was much more interested in bathing himself than he was in helping her pick out an outfit. “You’re no help.”

  She lifted her gaze back up to the rows of clothes lining her closet.

  What does someone wear to go to dinner with the couple that adopted their baby?

  When Angie mentioned that her parents wanted to take her and Josh out to dinner, Bailey figured that she meant sometime in the future, after Noah had been released from the hospital, not the following night.

  Nerves bubbled up inside of her and the only thing keeping her moderately sane was knowing that Josh would be there as well. He’d offered to drive her, but she’d told him she’d meet him at the restaurant.

  As hopeful as she was that they might actually have a future, she knew with everything they had going on neither of them were in the right head space to make decisions regarding their relationship now. So, she was doing her best to avoid spending any time alone with him. Every time they did, things got physical and she didn’t want to do anything to muddy the already choppy waters.

  She knew Josh. Finding out about Angie and Noah would split his heart wide open. Bailey didn’t want him mixing up his feelings for them with what he felt about her.

  As amazing as he’d been about the entire situation, she wasn’t completely convinced that he wasn’t harboring anger or resentment toward her. Even if it wasn’t on a conscious level. He’d insisted that he was the one who should be apologizing to her, but the news was still fresh. It was a complicated situation and she was concerned that once he’d recovered from the initial shock, there might be some issues buried beneath the emotional rubble of his heart exploding.

  They’d messaged back and forth a few times, mainly about Noah. The little guy was improving by the hour. It reminded Bailey of Angie. Her baby girl had been released from the hospital two days earlier than expected because she’d been so strong.

  It had been bittersweet for Bailey. She’d been ecstatic that the baby was doing so well, but devastated because that meant saying goodbye forever. Or at least, so she thought.

  Felix did a figure eight between her legs and she bent down to pet him and noticed the time. She was running late. She’d taken extra care to blow out her hair and put on mascara and lipstick and had not allotted enough time to pick an outfit.

  “Screw it.” She grabbed a blouse, skinny jeans, and a cardigan.

  It didn’t matter what she was wearing. She wasn’t on trial here.

  So why do I feel like I am?

  Bailey never cared if anyone liked her or not. People had always judged her based on things that had nothing to do with who she really was. When she was a child, people’s preconceptions had more to do with her parents and the secondhand clothes she’d worn than her. She’d developed early, and once she had, that was all people saw. They put her in a box that had nothing to do with her character or intelligence.

  Instead of trying to prove each and every stereotype wrong, she’d decided her time would be better spent living her life and not giving a damn what anyone thought. But, no matter how much she told herself it didn’t matter what Angie’s parents thought of her, deep down she knew it did. She wanted them to like her. She wanted them to know that giving Angie up had been the single hardest thing she’d ever done.

  As she tugged the denim up her thighs, she tried to envision how the evening might go. She’d spoken to Gloria and Timothy briefly at the hospital and they’d been lovely. They were exactly how she’d imagined they would be.

  But Angie and Jacob had been present when she’d met them and it was clear to Bailey, even from the limited time she’d spent with the Steins, that they’d do anything to support the young couple. She’d heard about and observed more than one example of just how tight of a family unit they were. The most glaring illustration was finding out that when the Steins discovered Angie was expecting, they’d sold their house and followed their daughter and son-in-law to Illinois so they could be close in case they needed them.

  There was a part of Bailey that was afraid this dinner might be Timothy and Gloria telling her and Josh to stay away from their daughter and grandson. Angie was an adult, but just barely. And Bailey couldn’t blame the Steins for being protective of her.

  They didn’t know Bailey. All they knew was that she’d given up her baby. She might biologically be Angie’s
mother, but she wasn’t under any illusion that she was more than that.

  Bailey hadn’t been there when Angie had her second surgery at three months. Or when she’d been teething, took her first step, lost her first tooth, when she had a nightmare. She hadn’t been there on her first day of school, or when Angie got braces. She didn’t even know if she’d had braces.

  Tears threatened to ruin her mascara, so she waved her hands in front of her face to fan herself. For almost two decades she’d managed not to let her mind go to those places. In some ways, it felt like she was grieving the loss of seeing her daughter grow up for the first time.

  But this was not the time to indulge in any of that.

  She slid on a pair of heels, grabbed her purse, gave Felix a kiss, and was out the door.

  The drive over to The Grill was short. At least, it felt short to Bailey. Before she knew it, she was pulling into the parking lot. When she saw Josh’s truck was already there, she breathed a sigh of relief. Before heading in, she checked her reflection in the rearview mirror and was pleased to see that the woman staring back at her didn’t look like a basket case, which was how she felt.

  Her heels clicked on the brick path that led to the front of the restaurant and she began to second-guess her choice of footwear. Were heels too much? Would it seem like she was trying to hard?

  Stop it, she chastised herself.

  As she reached for the brushed chrome handle on the large, wooden door, it opened.

  Her chin lifted and she saw Josh. The look in his baby blue eyes acted as a balm to her fried nerves. Just seeing him righted her world.

  “You look beautiful.” His deep voice was soothing and also, a tad arousing.

  “Thanks.” Her cheeks warmed and she’d bet her bottom dollar a blush was visible. “So do you.”

  His lips curled into a lopsided grin as she walked past him into the waiting area. “I’m not sure how I feel about you calling me beautiful. That’s the second time you’ve done it.”

  The other time was when he’d been standing in front of her naked. The memory caused her face to heat, which she was sure had been his intention.

  “Stop,” she warned him.

  This dinner was serious and the last thing she needed was Josh distracting her by being adorably flirtatious. This wasn’t a date.

  “What?” he asked, his expression the epitome of innocence.

  “You know what.”

  “I know you need to relax. It’s gonna be fine.”

  “I am relaxed,” she countered.

  He met her gaze in challenge.

  “I am,” she insisted.

  “Right, that’s why you were talking to yourself when you walked up.”

  “I was?”

  Josh had been the first person to point out to Bailey that she talked to herself when she was overthinking something. He’d noticed it when she’d been cramming for her SATs. It had been pointed out to her by several other people since him, but he was the first to notice. Not even her grandpa had noticed it. But Josh had. In some ways he felt like the only person that had ever truly seen her.

  The large, wooden door opened again and Gloria and Timothy walked in.

  They all greeted one another and Gloria gave both Josh and Bailey warm embraces. The hug instantly put Bailey at ease.

  The hostess showed them to their table, which was a corner booth that afforded them a fair amount of privacy. They made small talk as they perused the menu and ordered their food. When their drinks arrived, Gloria reached into a bag she’d brought and pulled out a large, rectangular box. She set it on her lap as she took a deep breath. It was clear that she was getting choked up as the energy shifted in the group.

  When Gloria lifted her head, she stared at Bailey. “Wow, you two really look alike.”

  Bailey wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she remained silent.

  “They really do,” Josh agreed.

  “So,” Gloria shook her head, her shoulder-length brown hair brushing her shoulders. “The reason I wanted to meet with you both is to tell you thank you.” Gloria’s deep green eyes shimmered with tears as they moved from Bailey to Josh. “Angie has been the greatest gift that we could’ve ever received. She is smart and funny. She is stubborn and creative. She always finds a silver lining even if it’s just a gray line that she polishes to make silver. She is loyal and protective of the people she loves, and she never gives up.”

  Bailey and Josh glanced at one another, a weighted look passing between them.

  “When Tim and I decided that we were going to adopt, the only reservations we had were about the ramifications of having other people in the world that were our adoptive child’s ‘real’ parents. To be honest, I was relieved when our adoption counselor told us that the mother wanted a closed adoption. I think we both were.”

  Timothy nodded.

  “But once I held her in my arms, the first time, I knew that I was her mom and that didn’t exclude you being her mom, too.” She motioned to Bailey. “I decided two things right then and there. First, I made a promise to myself that if either of you came into our lives and you were good people, I would welcome you with open arms. And second, that because I couldn’t begin to imagine the sacrifice that you were making and all that you’d miss, that I’d make this.” She lifted the lid off the box and pulled out a thick scrapbook with Evangeline written on the cover. “This is for you. For both of you.”

  She handed the book to Bailey and her heart raced as she opened to the first page. It was a picture of Gloria holding Angie on that first day in the hospital nursery. Tears began to fill Bailey’s eyes as she and Josh looked through the scrapbook. It had a lock of hair from her first haircut, her first tooth, journal entries documenting the date she took her first step and when she got potty-trained. There were report cards, honor roll certificates, and Girl Scout badges. There were Easter, Christmas, and Halloween photos. First and last day of school photos for every year, and formal dance photos. Several of those had Jacob in them. The last few pages were filled with wedding photos and a sonogram of Noah.

  “This is…” Bailey wasn’t sure how to put into words what this was.

  “Amazing,” Josh completed Bailey’s thought.

  “I had no idea if I’d ever meet you, but I knew that if I got the chance, thank you wouldn’t be enough. And that’s not all.” Gloria pulled out a laptop from her bag and nudged Tim.

  “Oh, right. Well, I’ve always loved photography, so when Gloria told me on the way home from the hospital that she was going to document everything and put it in a notebook—”

  “A scrapbook,” Gloria clarified.

  “A scrapbook,” Timothy corrected, “to record Angie’s life, well I thought that I’d do my own project.”

  Timothy clicked on an icon and the screen filled with a picture of Angie swaddled in the blanket she’d gone home from the hospital in. He pressed play and a montage of pictures began to play. Each one was on the screen less than a second. It took Bailey a few frames to figure out that he’d taken a picture of her every day. She was watching Angie grow up before her very eyes.

  Angie saw her as a baby in her bassinet, then in a walker, then walking. She saw her haircuts and style change. Bailey laughed at the funny faces Angie would make at the camera and at the times she’d scowl, clearly not happy about being photographed. Angie’s personality shined in this video montage. When it stopped, all four of them were fighting back tears.

  “That’s so amazing!” Bailey gushed, wishing there was a better word to describe it than just amazing.

  “I’ll send you both the link,” Timothy said proudly.

  “Thank you, thank you both so much.” Josh said as he used the pad of his thumb and forefinger to wipe beneath his eyes and stood.

  “I, we,” Gloria motioned between herself and Timothy, “just wanted you both to know that we are in full support of whatever relationship you both have with Angie and Noah. We’re all family.”

  The tears that Ba
iley had managed to keep at bay burst from her lids like a damn breaking. All four of them scooted out of the booth and took turns hugging one another.

  They were just settling back in when their food arrived. The dinner flew by and Bailey found herself a little disappointed when the check came. She tried to reach for it, as did Tim and Josh. Josh was the fastest and insisted on paying.

  They all made their way to the parking lot and continued talking about Angie and Noah. Bailey was happy that she could assure them that the baby was doing better than expected, just like his mom had.

  After they said goodnight, Josh and Bailey watched the headlights as Timothy and Gloria pulled out of the parking lot.

  Josh rested his hand on Bailey’s lower back, his thumb tracing a circle. “You picked the perfect people to raise her.”

  Emotion clogged her throat as she nodded. She had. She might’ve made a lot of mistakes, but thank God she got that right.

  Chapter 22

  Josh rolled over a speed bump and was jarred slightly as he exited the hospital parking lot.

  “You okay, Pop?” he asked his father, who was seated beside him.

  “I’m not a china doll,” his old man grumbled. “I’m fine.”

  Today had been a big day; both Noah and Josh’s father were released. Angie, Noah, Jacob, Gloria, and Tim had all left earlier in the morning. He and Bailey had seen the group off. They’d all promised to stay in touch and Jacob had already texted that they’d made it back to Chicago safe and sound.

  The past week had flown by. Josh had taken the time off from the shop and spent every day at the hospital either with his father or with Angie, Jacob, and Noah. He’d told his pop about Angie and the baby a few days ago, and since then he’d met the whole, new, extended family.

  Somehow, his pop meeting everyone made everything feel more real. It cemented the connection, for Josh at least. He hadn’t been sure how his dad was going to react to the news. But when he’d told him, his pop hadn’t really had any reaction at all. He’d been quiet.