Josh had tried to press him, he even asked if his pop had heard him, to which his dad had gruffly responded, “Of course I heard you.”
And when he’d asked if he wanted to meet everyone, his father had simply said, “Yes.”
Stan Scott had never been a man that kept his opinions to himself, so it was strange to have no clue how his dad was feeling or what he was thinking about everything. Josh wondered if his pop’s uncharacteristically reserved response had something to do with his weakened health or the medication he was on.
Other aspects of his father’s personality and behavior had changed as well. He hadn’t asked for any cigarettes. There’d been no complaining about the food or the care he was receiving. His pop was subdued and if not agreeable, then at least cooperative. It was concerning.
“You sure you don’t want to stay with me for a couple days?” Josh threw out the offer for the third time as he pulled to a stoplight near the auto shop. He’d feel a lot better if his dad was under his roof where he could keep an eye on him.
“I’m stayin’ in my own house.”
As much as he wished his pop would agree, he knew that once his dad made his mind up about something, there was no talking him out of it. He took stubborn to a whole new level.
At least he’s still himself in that regard, Josh thought.
As he continued on past the auto shop, Josh noticed that the bay door was open and there were two cars on lifts being worked on. It was odd to see vehicles there and not have any idea when they had come in, what was being done to them, or what their timeline was.
He couldn’t remember when he’d been so out of the loop. He’d spent his entire adult life throwing himself into his work. He’d told himself it was because he enjoyed his work and went the extra mile because it was a family business. But he realized the truth was that he’d been hiding. He’d been hiding so he didn’t have to face the world. A world without Bailey.
To his right, a sight caught his eye that hit him square in the chest. Bailey was seated out on the patio of The Daily Grind with Leah, Bea, and Ginny. The sun beamed down on Bailey’s long, blonde locks, a waterfall of shimmer highlighting her strands of spun gold fell over her shoulders. Her beauty was truly unmatched.
“You still love her.”
Josh wasn’t sure if his pop’s comment was a question or a statement, but he confirmed it either way. “I never stopped.”
Stan didn’t comment further but for the rest of the drive to his childhood home, Josh’s mind was consumed with Bailey. She’d told him that they should put their relationship on the back burner since they were already dealing with so much. She’d said that things between them were complicated and she didn’t want to “muddy the waters.”
But now, Angie and Noah were back in Chicago. And he was on his way to getting his dad settled at home. And to Josh, nothing between them was complicated. It was as simple as it could be.
He was ready to move their relationship to the front burner. He needed to solidify things with Bailey. If it were up to him, he’d go straight from his dad’s house to find Bailey, get down on one knee, and ask her to marry him. If she said yes, he’d drive straight to the courthouse and make it official.
There are a couple problems with that plan, he thought to himself as he turned into his dad’s driveway.
First, Bailey had to accept his proposal.
Second, he didn’t have a ring.
He put the truck in park and hadn’t even cut the engine before he saw his pop reaching for the door.
“Hold up, Pop. I’m coming around.” Josh opened the driver’s side door and rushed around to the passenger side.
His dad ignored his instruction and was struggling to stand on two unsteady feet when Josh got to him. He put his arm beneath his pop’s elbow to give him some support. His old man must’ve needed it because he didn’t fight him.
Once he got him inside the house, he helped him to his chair, a threadbare recliner that had seen better days, though he refused to get rid of it. He looked around the house and for the first time realized that everything was the same as when his mom was alive. Well, everything except for the fifty-inch flat screen that had replaced their old TV. Besides that it was a time capsule. He wondered why he’d never seen that before.
“So, what are you going to do?” his dad grumbled as he shifted to get comfortable.
“I’m gonna check your fridge and see what I need to pick up, then go the store and pick up your medications.” It was the same routine Josh did every time he brought his dad home from a hospital stay.
“Not that.” He waved his hand dismissively. “What are you going to do about Bailey?”
“Pop.” Josh said in warning. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but since his dad never had anything supportive or positive to say, he doubted it was anywhere good. He didn’t want to fight with his dad, so the conversation needed to stay off of Bailey.
“Go to my bedroom and get me the box on my nightstand.”
Josh started walking down the hall toward the downstairs master.
“No, my bedroom.”
Like it was on a swivel, Josh’s head spun back toward his dad in shock.
“Upstairs,” his pop grunted as his head tilted back and his eyes closed.
Josh took a deep breath as he headed up the stairs. His parents’ bedroom had been off limits since his mom had passed. To Josh’s knowledge, his dad hadn’t spent a night in there since she died. After the funeral, he’d find his dad asleep on the couch most mornings. Eventually, he converted the downstairs office into a master bedroom and had been in it ever since.
When he was young, especially the first year after his mom was gone, Josh would sometimes sneak into their old bedroom and smell her clothes, just to feel close to her. But he hadn’t been in there since he was a kid.
The room looked exactly the same as he remembered. Lace curtains framed a large window on the far wall, while an oak dresser stood in the corner, dusty trinkets and photos covering its surface. In the center of the room sat a queen-size bed, covered in a patchwork quilt. He waited for the wave of sadness that he was sure would wash over him at any second, but it never came. He missed his mom and he always would, but instead of crippling him with pain, the room and its memories filled him with the warmth of nostalgia.
A small grin tugged at his mouth as he crossed to his father’s side of the bed. A small, wooden box sat beside a table lamp. He picked it up and resisted the urge to peek inside.
As he made his way back downstairs, he thought about broaching a subject with his father that he’d long avoided: his mother. The two of them never spoke about her.
Over the past week, he’d spoken about his mom a lot. Angie had wanted to know everything she could about her namesake. Josh had been reminded of stories that he hadn’t thought about in close to twenty years. When they were younger, he talked to Bailey about his mom all the time, but when she left, he stopped talking about her altogether.
It felt good to talk about her. His dad may not agree, and while Josh planned on waiting until he was stronger to broach the subject, when the time was right, he would.
His pop was in the same position Josh left him in when he returned downstairs. Head back and eyes shut, in his recliner. The bottom step creaked as he walked on it and the sound alerted his pop that he was back. He opened his eyes and held out his hand. Josh gave him the box and turned to go to the kitchen to check what he needed to pick up from the supermarket.
“Sit down,” his dad commanded, not taking his gaze off the box that sat on his lap.
His father wasn’t big on talks. Not real talks. The man would gripe, complain, and argue for hours but a sit-down talk was something he’d never initiated. A sick feeling sank in Josh’s stomach.
Had the doctors, had Bailey, not told Josh everything about his dad’s condition?
Was his pop in worse shape than he’d let on?
Was that why his dad had been so subdued?
Josh braced himself for the bad news as he lowered onto the couch.
“After your mom died, I was…” His dad shook his head and stared down at the box. Josh could see the torment in his expression and the posture of his frail frame. “I didn’t know how to keep living. I wasn’t there for you. It wasn’t fair what I did to you.”
Josh could see that his dad was getting upset, something he was supposed to avoid. He reached out to his dad. “Pop, you did your best.”
“No!” His dad jerked his hand away and Josh retreated, not wanting to upset him any further. “That’s bullshit. I didn’t do my best. I drank. I abandoned you. I might’ve been there, physically, but I wasn’t there.”
Josh sat silently, not sure how he should respond. His dad had never admitted he was wrong about anything, and to be honest, Josh was in a state of shock.
Tears began to slide down his father’s cheeks and Josh felt his own eyes filling with emotion. His dad sniffed as he shifted in his chair and pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket. He used it to wipe his face. “I’m sorry, Josh. I promised your mom I’d be there for you, and I wasn’t.”
“It’s okay, Pop,” Josh assured him.
“It’s not okay.” His dad lifted his gaze to Josh and the years of pain he’d been carrying around were clear in his eyes. “Do you know what I was upset about when I had my heart attack?”
“No.” When Jamie called, Josh had heard his dad yelling in the background, but he’d just figured it was because he was upset about his dinner, or what was on TV.
“It was flowers.”
“Flowers?”
“Flowers were delivered to my room and I lost it.”
“Who were they from?” Josh’s dad was prickly and grouchy, but he had no idea why someone sending flowers would exacerbate that.
“They didn’t say, they just had my room number on them.”
Josh was trying to puzzle out why the flowers would’ve upset him. If it wasn’t who they were from, then maybe it was because they’d make him ill. He’d never known his dad to have any hay fever, but maybe it was something that he’d developed. “Are you allergic?”
“No. I was upset because they were blue irises.”
“Blue irises?” Josh repeated as goosebumps rose on his arm.
Those were Bailey’s favorite flowers. Those had been the flowers that he’d gotten in the gift shop the same day as his dad’s heart attack. They were the ones that he’d brought up to her when he’d overheard her talking to Angie.
“Yeah. You probably don’t remember, but those were your mom’s favorite flowers.”
Holy shit.
No. Josh hadn’t remembered that. But he did remember that the day he met Bailey, there was a bouquet of blue irises on his mother’s headstone. Bailey mentioned how beautiful they were and that they were her favorite, but he’d never put two and two together that they were also his mom’s favorite.
“I was screaming to get them out of my room when I started having chest pain.” His dad’s shoulders slumped as he stared back down at the wooden box he held. His voice was so quiet Josh wasn’t sure if his dad was speaking to him or himself. “I got so upset over flowers that I almost died.”
“Pop, it’s gonna be okay.”
“I know it is.” His dad lifted his head and there was a renewed determination in his hooded stare. “I made a lot of mistakes, but from here on out, I’m going to do everything I can to make them right. I was wrong for saying the things I did to you when you told me that Bailey was pregnant. I was so angry that your mom wasn’t there, and I took it out on you. I don’t know if you can ever forgive me, but I am sorry.”
He’d never heard his pop say sorry once in his life, and now he’d heard him say it twice.
“I should’ve given you this that night.” His dad opened the box and pulled out a solitaire diamond ring. “This was your mother’s ring. She made me promise that I’d give it to you when you found the one. You and Bailey might’ve been young, but I knew then, she was the one for you.”
Josh took the ring from his dad. He never knew his mom left this for him.
“I can’t give you back the years that you lost with her, that you lost with your daughter. But I can promise you that I’m going to do everything I can to support you now. I’m going to start by meeting with Dr. Fischer.”
“Dr. Fischer?”
“He’s a shrink that Reggie thinks I should see.”
Josh wasn’t sure what he was more surprised about, his dad admitting he was wrong, apologizing, or that he was going to therapy.
“I’m going to start taking care of myself, son.”
Josh held back tears as he smiled. “Because you have a great-grandchild to watch grow up?”
“No.” His dad held his gaze. “Because I have a son who deserves a father.”
Josh stood up and pulled his dad into a bear hug. As he held him, he knew his dad was right about one thing. He had lost time with Bailey, but he didn’t plan on losing any more.
He tightened his fist around his mother’s ring. Now, the only question was whether or not Bailey would say yes.
Chapter 23
Three faces stared back at Bailey in utter and complete shock. She’d just filled Bea, Leah, and Ginny in on everything that was going on in her life—which needless to say, was eventful—over coffee at The Daily Grind.
Well, all the goings-on minus the hot, sexy times with Josh.
Bea was the first to speak. “The baby, Noah, he’s okay?”
“He is,” Bailey assured her friend. “He was released from the hospital a few hours ago.”
Just like when Angie had been released all those years ago, Bailey had bittersweet feelings about it. On the one hand, of course she was happy that Noah was doing well, but selfishly she was sad that she wouldn’t be seeing them every day anymore.
“Wait!” Ginny’s hands flew up in the air. “Angie, that was the girl I met and said looked like your sister.”
“Yep.” Bailey sipped her coffee, feeling relieved to have her greatest secret out in the open.
“You met her?!” Leah’s question sounded more like an accusation.
“Sort of, it was really quick. I was with Bailey waiting for the elevator and I ran into her. I said hi as I got on the elevator and when I turned around I saw the two of you,” her friend pointed to Bailey, “side by side and the resemblance is striking.”
“She looks like you?” Bea questioned.
“Yes. I have pictures of her and Noah if you want to see…”
“Yes!” Her friends all enthused.
Bailey felt so strange pulling out her phone to show her friends pictures of her daughter and grandson. She’d never thought she’d be that person. She was sure that she’d forever be the one oohing and aahing over other people’s family pictures.
She found one that Gloria had taken of Bailey sitting beside Angie as she held Noah.
“Holy crap! It’s your twin! You two look more alike than we do.” Leah waved her hand between herself and Bea.
“She’s so beautiful. Just like her momma.” Bea smiled. “And he is such a cutie.”
A sense of pride filled Bailey’s chest as her friends all gushed over her photos. After several minutes of scrolling through her camera roll, she put her phone away, ready to hear about what was going on in everyone else’s lives.
“So, what’s been going on with you guys?”
“Oh, no.” Leah shook her head. “You don’t just get to gloss over you and Josh having a baby eighteen years ago and then move on like it’s nothing. What’s the deal with you two?”
“I don’t know,” Bailey answered honestly.
Over the past week, there’d been hundreds of longing looks, “accidental” brushes, sweet texts, and a ton of moments. But she wasn’t sure what any of that meant. He’d respected her decision to set aside their relationship while there was so much going on and she was glad he had. Getting to spend this much time with him, without any pressure on
the two of them being together, had made her see that no matter how upset he might be in the future, or whatever residual anger might surface, she wanted to be with him.
Josh was the love of her life. But he was more than that, he was her best friend. Seeing him interact with Angie and her family and all the staff had reminded her of that. She’d fallen even more in love with him this past week than she’d been for the past twenty-plus years. She’d always known she loved him, but she’d forgotten how much other people did as well. He cared about everyone, truly cared, and that was reflected when he spoke to them.
He’d offered to put bikes together for CiCi’s twins’ birthday when she’d mentioned what she’d got them. He hadn’t said that he’d offered because he knew her husband was always out of town, but Bailey knew that’s why he’d done it.
When Grandpa J stopped by to meet Noah, Angie, and Jacob, Josh had asked Grandpa J to share stories that he’d heard about Grandpa J’s service during World War II and how he’d met his late wife Marie when he was ten and how epic their love story had been. He’d had Grandpa J tell them stories that Bailey’d never heard before. Bailey had sat in awe, wondering if she was seeing, truly seeing Grandpa J, the man, for the first time.
That was what Josh did. He saw people. And he brought the best out in them.
He was incredible, and if he could see the best in her, she wasn’t about to pass up the chance to be with him because she was scared.
“That’s it?” Leah prompted. “You don’t know? Have you guys talked about it?”
“You’d make such a cute couple,” Ginny put in her two cents.
“We’ve had a lot going on.” That was an oversimplification if Bailey ever heard one, but it was also the truth. The alarm on her phone sounded. “Wow time flies. I have to get back to the hospital.”
She stood and hugged her friends goodbye. Leah informed her that there’d be follow-up Josh Scott questions. Bea told her congratulations and she was so happy for her, and Ginny made her promise to tell CiCi “hi” for her.
As she walked down to the end of the block where she’d parked, she found herself looking over at the auto shop. She didn’t think that Josh was there since she knew that Stan was getting released this afternoon, but she found herself looking anyway. For all the years she’d been back, she’d done her best not to look in that direction because it was so painful. But now, now she smiled thinking of the night that they’d shared there. She smiled because there were no more secrets between them. She smiled because she loved Josh and he loved her, and for the first time in a long time, that wasn’t a heartbreaking fact.
Just One Night - Josh & Bailey (Crossroads Book 13) Page 19