by Lia Lee
I turned to walk away but decided against it. It was what I always did. I avoided conflict and didn’t do anything to stand up for myself. Well, no more.
I pushed open the door to the conference room and cleared my throat. Jamie and Randy bounced away from each other as if that would change what I had caught them doing, and Jamie turned bright red. Randy didn’t look embarrassed or sorry at all, and that only pissed me off more. It was so typical.
“Fiona, this isn’t what it looks like,” Jamie said.
“Spare me the cliché, Jamie,” I said. “We both know that’s bullshit. You’re supposed to be my friend.’
Jamie swallowed and nodded. I appreciated that she wasn’t trying to make it sound any different than it was.
“Hey, babe, calm down,” Randy said.
“Don’t fucking call me that. Asshole.”
Randy put up his hands in defense, but he didn’t look any less neutral about it than before.
“You know what, Jamie?” I said, finding my words. “I came here to tell you everything in my life is perfect. That it’s all okay again. Maybe, when you’re not so busy, I’ll tell you what’s happened.”
Jamie wanted to say something, but I shook my head and lifted my hand, silencing her.
“And you,” I said to Randy. “You broke up with me because I wasn’t interesting enough for you. But I get it now. All this time I thought I was lacking. Now I realize you couldn’t see who I really was because you’re too in love with yourself. I’m not the boring one, you are. You’re working through all the women in the office. That’s so fucking typical. I hope you two are happy together.”
I turned around. I didn’t care about what they had done. It didn’t hurt me because I had moved on. Because I had my own happily ever after to go to. I had a man that loved me, and I loved him, too.
And that was all that mattered.
I turned around and walked out of the office. I had work to finish before I could go to the man who wanted to build a life with me. I was moving forward, finding love and life in a way I had never had before.
And Jamie and Randy? They were stuck right where they had always been. I hoped it was enough for them.
I was on my way to something that would be enough for me.
Chapter 22
Laird
I was losing my mind. It was still a full day before I would get to see Fiona. I was alone with my thoughts – after Jackson had called Fiona for me, he had left to do work, and he would be busy all weekend.
I didn’t have anything to do, and it was driving me crazy. Usually, I would be right next to Jackson out there, handling the hikers, taking care of them, taking the invalids back down to the lodge.
Not that I had done such a swell job of it the last time. I had nearly written myself off, and I could have hurt the woman behind me badly as well. It wasn’t that I’d lost my nerve, but I wasn’t in the best place about the accident.
But that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was Fiona and that she was so damn far away. If my leg wasn’t hurting like a bitch right now, I would be pacing. Because I was stuck on my ass, my frustration was so much worse. I couldn’t even walk around to get some of this pent-up energy out.
I couldn’t imagine what she had been going through. To see me in a state like that only to have me wake up and not know who she was? It had to have been terrible. I tried to figure out how that would be like if I had been in her shoes. If she had been the one to nearly die, I would have lost my mind.
And the baby, God, the baby. How must she have felt thinking she would have to go through the pregnancy completely alone? That I didn’t even know who she was or anything about the baby? It had to have been torture. And Jackson hadn’t told me anything about her. What had he said to her about me?
The thought of Jackson trying to keep us apart in some way made my blood boil. I hadn’t pummeled him yesterday, but maybe I should have gotten a shot in.
But he had only been trying to help. I couldn’t blame him for doing that. What would I have done had I been in the same shoes? I shook my head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. Putting myself in everyone else’s shoes was doing nothing more than confusing me. What had happened, had happened. I couldn’t change that. All I could do was fix what had broken and move forward.
Now that I had all my memories, I didn’t have to start over, and that was a big deal.
I tried to get up and hobble around, but it hurt too much so I sat back down again. Shit. I couldn’t wait another twenty-four hours before I saw Fiona. I was going to lose my mind.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I found my phone and called into town for a cab. It would cost me a shitload of cash to get a cab to come all the way out here to pick me up, but right now, I was willing to pay anything. I needed to see Fiona. I needed to get into town and see her face, to reassure her that everything was okay, now.
The cab took almost an hour to arrive, and it pissed me off that I had to wait so long, but finally, the car pulled up in front of the cabin. The driver opened the door.
“Mr. Fairchild?” he asked.
“That’s me,” I said, hobbling out of the house. The driver looked down at my cast and raised his eyebrows. I made my way to the car and maneuvered myself in. When I was buckled up and ready to go, the driver pulled out onto the main road. I was jostled around again and now and then my cast knocked against the door so that I curled in pain. The driver apologized profusely every time it happened.
Finally, we hit the main road, and it was smooth sailing from there. The drive to the city felt longer than usual but we arrived, and I directed the driver to Fiona’s offices. She had told me the name of her company, and it had been easy to find on Google.
“Thank you,” I said to the driver and paid him.
“Are you going to be okay getting inside?” he asked.
I nodded. “I’ll be fine, thank you.”
The driver took off, and I was left outside the building, looking up. I made my way inside, hobbling on my cast. I had brought my crutches, but I felt like I looked like a pussy using them.
As far as I went, heads turned toward me. Everyone was staring. I guess it wasn’t every day a rugged, muscular guy with crutches and a cast made their way through an office building.
I stopped in the lobby and found Fiona’s name on the list along with her office number.
Thank God, there was an elevator. I summoned it, and when the doors opened, I hobbled in. Two women were already in the elevator, and they made no effort to hide how they were looking me up and down.
When I reached Fiona’s floor, I hobbled out again and made my way down the corridor. She wasn’t in her office. I continued on, ending up in a break room where a handful of people were already standing around a coffee machine.
Fiona was one of them. When she saw me, her face changed. Her mouth opened in a little ”O” of surprise and everyone fell quiet.
“Laird,” she said breathlessly. My name was like music on her lips. I hobbled toward her and grabbed her, holding her against me. I balanced on one leg and held onto the woman that had become everything to me in the shortest time.
“I couldn’t stay away,” I said.
Her arms were wrapped around my body, pressing herself tightly against me and I knew I would never, ever let go. And neither would she. This was perfect. Everything between us was perfect. We were meant to be together – I knew it now more than ever.
“Come to my office,” Fiona said, letting go of me.
I shook my head. “Come home with me.”
She blushed. “Let’s talk in my office first,” she said. “At least get off that leg of yours.”
As soon as she pointed it out, my leg started throbbing, and I knew she was right. A murmur rippled through the rest of the crowd in the break room. Fiona blushed again as if she was self-conscious, and it was gorgeous. It made me hot for her. Whenever she blushed, I wanted to strip her down and make her mine again, give her something to blush about
.
Fiona took me to her office and offered me a seat.
“I can’t believe you came all the way here,” she said.
“I had to see you.”
She walked toward me and kissed me. It was a long kiss, an I-thought-I’d-lost-you kiss. It made my head spin.
“Come home with me,” I said.
“I have so much work left,” Fiona said.
“So? You have the rest of our lives together to do that. Come home with me.”
She paused for a moment before she turned around and left the office. I was alone in the office for a while before she returned.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay?”
She nodded and smiled. “Charlene heard that you were here and Jamie, a colleague of mine, told her it was you. She’s letting me go, but I have to work a bit on my laptop this weekend.”
“Let’s go,” I said and got up.
Fiona laughed. “Take it easy.”
We called a cab, and when we were finally on our way home again, Fiona and I tangled together in the back seat. I put my hand on her cheek. She leaned into me.
“I’m sorry I forgot you,” I said.
Fiona shook her head. “Don’t. It’s not your fault. I’m so glad you’re back.”
She put her hands on my cheeks and kissed me, and I forgot about everything, but this time it was the good kind of forgetting. When Fiona broke the kiss, there were tears in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” I said. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and I wiped them with my thumbs. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
She smiled, and I kissed her. When I kissed her, I was home. I wasn’t ever going to let her go again. And I wasn’t going to forget her, either. Fiona was the woman for me, and no matter what, that wasn’t going to change.
Chapter 23
Fiona
Charlene had let me leave early on Friday even though she had initially asked me to finish my work for the week. I was so glad I was able to go home with Laird. I didn’t know what my boss had heard or seen or why she had decided to be nice for a change – usually, she was a slave driver – but Laird and I were in the cab together and headed for the mountains.
It was almost too good to be true. I couldn’t believe everything was alright again. For a while, I had been completely wrapped in darkness, but it was only getting better and better.
The last bit of our trip where the road to the cabin was bumpy made me nervous. Laird tried to act all big, but I could see he was in pain and there was nothing I could do about it. When we climbed out of the cab at the cabin, I paid the driver and helped Laird inside. I tucked him into bed and made sure he took his pain medication.
“This shit makes me sleep, and I’d rather spend time with you,” Laird said.
“You aggravated your leg by coming all the way to the city after me. You have to take it. I won’t have you being in pain because of me.”
Laird wanted to argue, but I wouldn’t have any of it.
“Fine,” he said. “But you were worth it.”
Warm washed over me. Laird had a way of making me feel special no matter what he said to me. He was amazing in every way, and I realized with a pang that I loved him. I had nearly lost him, and that had made me realize how much he meant to me. And this? This made me realize I loved him. It was the strangest love story, with twists and kinks, and we had almost not ended up together. But I loved him, no matter how improbable it sounded.
“Come here,” Laird said and reached for me. I scooted back so he couldn’t grab hold of me. I knew what he wanted. If the bulge in his pants wasn’t enough indication the hunger in his eyes was. And God knows I wanted it, too. But I wouldn’t let him have it.
“I’m here all weekend. We have a lot of time to do whatever we like, but you need to rest.”
Laird looked disappointed, but I leaned over and kissed him, and he behaved. I lay down with him, my head on his chest and his arm curled around my shoulder holding tightly onto me. Slowly, his breathing slowed and deepened, and his arm around my shoulder relaxed. He was asleep. I was glad the medicine was forcing him to rest. I knew he would have fought it the whole night if it meant we could spend time together.
While Laird slept, I moved around the cabin and cleaned up. He hadn’t been home for a week. The place wasn’t very dirty – maybe he had someone coming in – but I neatened up the place anyway. I washed the few dishes he had, swept the floor and wiped the counters. I wanted to take care of him, and while he slept, this was all I could think of doing.
When I was done with the cleaning, I opened the fridge. There was no food to be had, and he would need proper nourishment to regain his strength. We had come to the cabin in a cab, but he had a truck. I thought about waking him up for a second but decided against it. He needed to sleep.
I made sure he had a cell phone on the nightstand in case he needed me, took the truck keys from the hook next to the door and ventured out.
It was strange driving the truck after I had always driven a small car, but I managed. I carefully navigated my way to the closest store, using my GPS to know where I was headed, and I bought supplies for the cabin. I bought ready-made meals for the two of us so we didn’t have to spend a lot of time cooking. I bought apples and bananas, and in the toiletry section, I grabbed shampoo and conditioner for myself so I could stay the weekend.
When I was done grocery shopping, I bought a change of clothes and some underwear from the ladies’ department so I didn’t have to head back to the city. I checked my cell phone every now and that to be sure Laird hadn’t tried to get a hold of me.
Finally, I was done with everything, and I climbed back into the truck, starting it and turning it back to the cabin.
When I arrived home, I checked on Laird. He was still fast asleep. I filled a glass of water and put it on the nightstand next to his cell phone and prepared a meal for myself. I settled in front of the television to eat and flipped through the channels.
Being alone in the cabin in the mountains wasn’t as quiet and as isolated as I had thought it would be. It was a huge change from the city that I was used to, but I liked it here. Of course, I wouldn’t have been this happy to be here alone if I had truly been alone. I had Laird in the next room, and I was here for him. To be with him, to take care of him while he needed it.
I put my hand on my belly. To have this baby with him when the time came.
I closed my eyes and tried to picture what life would be like with Laird by my side and a baby girl or boy in our arms. It was so different from the life I had been living until now. I would have to take the time to wrap my mind around it.
I looked around the cabin. Laird had mentioned, before the accident, that we could expand the cabin to make room for the baby if I came to live with him. How would he do that, I wondered? It was a one-bedroom place. But I was sure Laird would figure something out. He was as serious about making it work as I was.
Charlene would let me work remotely so I could be home with Laird and the baby. I could still earn an income and Laird would carry on his job at the lodge. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect.
Time ticked on and there was nothing to watch on television. I was way too distracted to try and work. I made sure everything I had dirtied while I was here was clean again. I had packed away the groceries and taken out the trash. I walked to the bathroom and closed myself in. I took a shower and washed my hair before I tiptoed to Laird’s closet and found an oversized shirt to wear for the night.
When my hair was dry, and I had nothing else to do, I climbed into bed next to Laird. He was still fast asleep, but he slung his arm over me and pulled me against his body, curling himself around me like a question mark. I smiled. It was so natural to be with him, for him to hold me against him like this. It was where I belonged. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and relaxing.
I hadn’t been this relaxed since before Laird had his accident. It had been a difficult we
ek for me, and I had thought that my life would be miserable forever.
But everything was alright, now. I was where I belonged, and the love of my life had his arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly against him like he was never going to let go. And I felt the same. I wouldn’t let go, either. I was so glad I hadn’t decided to move on, in the end.
With love like this, we could make it through. We hardly knew each other, and we were going to bring a new life into the world, soon. But no matter how hard things became, I knew for a fact that we could make it through.
If we made it through this, we could make it through anything. The two of us together was all we needed.
Laird’s breath was hot on my neck, and his body was warm against mine. I felt safe and loved and wasn’t that all that any woman wanted in this world?
When Randy had dumped me, I had thought I would be alone forever, but now I felt that I was where I belonged more than I had ever felt with Randy. This was what fate felt like.
Chapter 24
Laird
I woke up groggy and disoriented even though I was home. I knew I was in the cabin, but I felt uncomfortable. The fucking cast made it hard to move, and the darkness was too much. The clock on my nightstand read midnight.
When I turned my head to the other side, Fiona was next to me, fast asleep. She wore one of my T-shirts and not much else. I smiled. The darkness that had seemed threatening before became a cocoon, and we were wrapped together. I was so happy she was here with me. My heart leaped out of my chest. I was the luckiest man in the world.
My leg throbbed like a bitch, but I ignored it. What did the pain matter when I had Fiona with me? When I knew who she was and I wanted her by my side, always.
“Hey,” I whispered, running my fingertips down her cheek. I wanted her eyes open and smiling at me. I wanted to make up for the past week, for everything we’d missed. I felt like because I had forgotten a whole year – even if it was only for a moment – we had so much more to make up for. It felt like it had been a lifetime since I had been with Fiona, not only a few days.