by Green, Vicki
“No, baby. I’m sorry. That was a cruel joke,” he says wiping away the tear. “Really, I was just trying to be funny. I’m sorry.” He pulls me into his warm embrace and kisses me on my cheek, over and over. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry!”
My head moves around until I meet his mouth with mine and our kissing becomes heated. Pulling back, I look at his gorgeous eyes, smile and say, “Move your things up here. You spend all your time here anyway.” He smiles back and winks, then a frown appears.
“Believe me, I want to but Bailey depends on both of our rent money,” he answers. My smile turns into a frown as well. His eyebrows raise, his smile reappearing. “Hey, I’ll move my stuff but just keep paying the rent on the other room. She’ll never know. She doesn’t ever go in there anyway. She says ‘A man’s place is a man’s place’. She just leaves clean towels and linens outside the door.” We both laugh.
My lips find his again. “Good, go get your stuff. I want to be with you every minute I can.” I gently push him, and he leaves the bed quickly. He pulls on his jeans and a t-shirt and runs out of the room. It doesn’t take him long to move his few belongings up to my room. Our room. Damn, that sounds so nice.
Chapter Ten
Later, that afternoon a delivery truck arrives with a juke box, pool table, two video game stand up consoles, and a wall dart board. We worked until the evening, helping to get everything set up in the basement. We were too tired to cook, and Bailey wasn’t feeling well so I ordered pizza. Once it arrived Zoey and I ate at the kitchen table.
“I’m worried about Bailey. Do you think I should call Doc Marrow?” Zoey says biting her lower lip. She needs to stop that, it makes my cock so fucking hard and now is not the time for that.
I reach over and gently remove her lip from her teeth. “Baby, don’t do that. You know what that does to me.” She smiles and shrugs. “Why don’t you go check on Bailey and suggest that?” She nods, kisses me quick and walks out of the room.
I’m cleaning up the kitchen when she returns, her arm’s wrap around my waist, and I feel her head laying on my back. “I called the doctor. She’s got a pretty good fever going. He should be here in a few minutes. I’m worried.”
Turning around, I envelope her into a hug, kiss the top of her head and rest my chin there. “You’re sweet to worry, but Doc will take care of her. He’s the best.”
Zoey is pacing the floor in the living room as Doc is in with Bailey. Her lip biting is going to be the death of me. Finally, Doc comes out of the room, his phone by his ear. “Yeah, ok. We’ll watch for you.” He closes his phone and walks over to us. Zoey stops pacing, and I take her hand in mine. The look on her face is full of anxiety. “I called an ambulance. Bailey needs some constant care.” He looks at Zoey and smiles. “She hasn’t told you, has she?” Her eyes go wide. She looks at me and then back to the doctor. “Well, it’s for her to tell. I’m sorry. But for now, I will get her back to where she’ll be feeling better. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.”
He turns to leave, and Zoey puts her hand on his arm. “Doc. Can we come there, sit with her maybe? Just for a little while?”
His hand covers hers, and he gives her a sad smile. “Why don’t you wait until morning. I’ll make sure to tell her you asked.” She removes her hand and nods.
It wasn’t long before I was closing the front door, after watching the paramedics take Bailey out and put her into the ambulance. I lock up the house as Zoey goes to our room to get ready for bed, and I follow shortly after. We are lying in bed, she’s nuzzled in my arms, her arm around my waist, when I hear a big sigh leave her mouth. “What do you think’s wrong with her that she’s hiding from us?” Her beautiful eyes are sad as they look up at me. “Do you think something is seriously wrong with her?” She whispers.
I rub her arm and sigh back. “Does sound like it, huh? I’m sure she will tell us when she’s ready. Maybe it’s something that isn’t as bad as Doc is making it out to be.” I kiss her head and look at her again. “Now, if we are going to head over there tomorrow, you need to get some sleep. Simon and Chris will be here in the afternoon and if I know you, you will want to come home and make sure everything is in order before we meet them at the station.” She gives me a sad smile, nods slightly and buries her face into my chest. After she finally falls asleep, I lay there staring at the ceiling and think about Bailey most of the night. Zoey’s right, something is really wrong, and I aim to find out just what that is.
We are at Doc’s house early the next morning and sat with Bailey for about a half an hour until Bailey asks to speak with Zoey alone. I’m sitting out in the waiting room for about an hour wondering what the hell she is saying, and I am ready to barge in there when Zoey comes out of the room. It is apparent by her face that she’s been crying. Wiping away some tears, she walks to me, bows her head in the crook of my neck and hugs me tight. My arms instantly move around her, my hand on the back on her head, and she starts crying. “Shhhh, baby. I’m here. I’m here,” I whisper.
Between her sobs, I get out of her that she wants to go home, and she will tell me everything when we get there. I take her hand and start leading her to the door, when Doc walks into the hallway and nods my way. I give him a nod back. I am sure I have a confused look on my face, but right now I need to take care of my girl.
Once we’re home I make us some coffee. I pour some into coffee cups, take them to the living room and set them on the coffee table. I pick up my girl from the couch and place her on my lap once I get settled. She looks at me, her eyes all swollen and puffy, and she kisses me tenderly.
“She has Cancer.” My eyes go wide with the news, and my heart plummets. She looks down, and I watch a lone tear drop from her eye. “She’s known for about six months, had all the treatments she could but nothing has really helped.” Looking up at me, I see her chin quiver. “Doc told her last night it won’t be too much longer but that she will feel better after she stays with him for a couple of days, at least for a while.” Her face presses into my chest and her sobs are uncontrollable at this point. Fuck! I’ve really gotten to love that woman. I hate this. Cancer. It’s an evil thing and takes away people we love. My head moves to hers and I press against it. I can’t help the tears that form in my eyes, some already making their way down my face.
“We’ll do what we can to make her comfortable. We’ll take care of everything here at the house for her,” I tell her rubbing her back. We sit like this for about an hour, my girl falling asleep against me. Looking over at the clock, I see that it’s almost time for Simon and Chris to get here, so I pick her up and gently laid her down on the couch, covering her sweet body with the afghan that was lying on Bailey’s favorite chair. I write a quick note, place it on the coffee table and take off to the train station. Shit! I don’t even know what they look like. Of course, there probably won’t be many people on the train, especially since they are mostly bringing supplies.
Getting there a few minutes early, I sit on a bench inside the station and read the newspaper I bought at the stand. Fuck! There’s a huge article on Zoey missing and the damn reward for any information. I smack the pages together, crumple up the paper, get up and throw it in the nearest trash can. I look up as I hear a train whistle, walk over to the window and look down the tracks. I look at my watch and back outside the window. Right on time.
I watch the train for what seems like hours, and no one debarks. Shit, I wonder if something happened, and they didn’t make it. Surely, they would have called or texted Zoey. She’s going to be so disappointed, especially after the bad news today. Turning to leave something catches my eye, and I hear my name.
“Hutchinson Parker?” A man about my size approaches me. He’s a nice looking man, blondish brown hair kind of shaggy hanging over his forehead and down past his ears and about my height and build. I shake his hand, his head turning to another man walking up to us. This other guy is huge, like he could play football with ease. He has short dark hair, dark eyes and a
big smile on his face.
“Simon?” I ask, skeptically.
“Yes, Simon Taylor,” he says.
“Nice to meet you, Simon?” He laughs as we continue to shake hands, looking over at the huge guy and then back at me.
“And this is Chris Dalton…”
“Chris Dalton, defensive linebacker of the Miami Dolphins. Wow! It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say, shaking his hand. I look at Simon. “Both of you.” They both laugh, and the three of us stand there smiling at each other until the train conductor yells, “All aboard!” Simon and Chris grab their bags, and we head towards my Jeep. Once we are all in, I take off for home. “So, just to catch you up a little, before we get there, and in case Zoey didn’t tell you…” Their heads whip around to look at me. I laugh. “Yes, I know her name’s Zoey. I think I know most of what happened to her but not sure I know everything.” They both seem to relax a bit, but I can feel the tension in the air. “Zoey broke her arm. We were, um. We were clowning around. I tackled her and her arm hit the hardwood floor.” Simon gasps and Chris turns to him and whispers. “She’s ok,” I add quickly. “She has a cast, but she’s fine.”
“She didn’t tell me when we’ve spoken. I’m gonna have to get after her for that,” Simon says shaking his head.
“Well, before you do… We just got some news that Bailey, the owner of the boarding house where we’re staying, has Cancer and we’re not sure how much time she has left.” My heart races as I think of Bailey. “Zoey and I have become very close to her.”
Silence fills the car until Simon speaks. “I’m sorry. Zoey has told me about Bailey and I think she’s come to think of her like a grandmother. That had to hit Zoey hard.”
I look in the rear view mirror and nod. “Yes, she cried herself to sleep right before I left to come get you guys. She’s heartbroken. We both are.”
We talk all the way home, Simon tells me some things about Zoey that I didn’t know. It ended up being way too short of a drive. I really wanted to talk to him more about her. Might just have to have a guy’s night out and quick.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Stretching I see the clock on the wall and sit up quickly, an afghan falling off me. I look around and find the room empty and no sounds coming from within the house. “Hutch?” I yell but get no answer in return. He must be picking up Simon and Chris. He’s the sweetest man, letting me sleep. I really needed it too. I don’t think I’ve cried that much ever in my life! I walk to the window when I think I hear Hutch’s jeep, opening the drapes just in time to see him pull into the driveway. In the hallway, I grab my shoes, and I push my feet into them, open the front door and run down the steps and straight to the jeep. I about fell on the way, sliding on the snow and almost bowled Simon over when I collided with him, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing on his cheek all the while squealing.
“SIMON!!!! Oh, my God, I’ve missed you!” I yell as I keep kissing his face. He’s laughing and pushing on my arms.
“Hey, now. Let me breathe you insane person,” he laughs, and I start giggling. Chris walks up behind me, and I scream as he lifts me in the air, turning me around in his arms.
“CHRISTOPHER!!!!!” I scream. He slides me down his body, and I hug him tight. “I’ve missed you too, Chris.”
I lead them into the house, and after taking them to the large room at the end of the hall upstairs so they can set their bags down, we all get comfortable in the family room. Hutch went to make some coffee and Chris turned on a football game. “Seriously, don’t you get enough of football?” I snicker.
“Hey, I gotta keep up, plus it’s my passion.” He takes a cup of coffee from Hutch then looks back at me. “We can’t help what we love, right Hutch?”
Hutch gives a cup to Simon then sits next to me on the couch. He hands me a cup and puts his arm around me. He looks into my eyes and smiles. “Yep, we can’t help who we love.” Chris clears his throat and laughs.
“I said what we love, man, not who we love,” Chris informs him.
Hutch smiles at me. “Yeah, I heard you.” He kisses my lower lip that I am biting and looks into my eyes again. “This is who and what I love, right here. She’s all that matters.” I think I just melted right here.
We watch the game and then take the guys downstairs to show off our half complete game room. “The furniture, big screen TV and stuff for the bar comes tomorrow. We also have a press bench, weights and a treadmill for one section of the basement. Will be a nice little workout room,” Hutch says as he rubs his hands together in excitement. “We plan to have it all ready for when Bailey comes home tomorrow.” He looks at me and winks. “Simon and Chris said they would help with whatever’s needed.” I walk over and put my arm around his slim waist and wink back.
Hutch made a fabulous dinner, and Chris stayed in the kitchen to help him clean up while Simon and I went into the family room to talk. “So, Hutch said you told him about what happened. How’d that go?” Simon gets right to the point once we sat down on the couch.
“It actually made me feel better, and then I also talked with Kathryn, the town Psychiatrist. I am going to start writing a journal about everything that happened. She thinks it will help me get stronger.” He smiles and cups my chin.
“You’re the strongest person I know, girl.” I smile as the tears start flowing.
“I don’t feel very strong, sometimes.” Smiling, I sit up straight. “But I’m getting better. Did he… did he tell you about Bailey?” He nods slowly, and I let out a big sigh. “I hate this. I have taken her as my official grandmother, since I haven’t had one since I was younger. What am I going to do when she’s gone?”
“You’re going to be the strong person you are and I’m gonna take care of you,” says Hutch walking into the room with Chris, carrying beers. He sets down the beers in his hand, sits next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder. “We’ll get through it together. I love her like a grandmother too, you know.” He kisses my lips and wipes away a fallen tear. I nod and give him my best smile.
“Ok, enough sadness. Let’s go play some pool!” Yells Chris. We all grab our beers and head downstairs.
We played about four games of pool, Chris and Hutch kicking our asses. It’s so hard playing pool with an arm in a cast. Simon starts yawning, so I hug Chris and Simon, and we all head to our separate rooms.
We spent the next day getting the basement all setup and by early evening, we were sitting at the bar. Hutch played bartender while we were drinking some beers watching a football game on the big screen TV and the small TV over the bar. It felt like we were at a real live bar. The guys yelled at the game and snacked on peanuts, pretzels and dip and chips that I brought down. During halftime I went upstairs and cleaned up Bailey’s room for her return tomorrow. The doc said she’s doing much better, and I even got to talk to her on the phone. I miss her terribly. We’ve gotten so close in the week I’ve been here. Has it only been a week? I feel like I’ve lived here all my life! I’m so glad Simon and Chris will be here a couple more days to get to know her. She will love them. The guys decided to play pool after the game, but I was tired from all the work today so I went to bed.
Morning came and I stretch fully moving my arm behind me, my hand searching for my man. My man. I love that! He is MY man. My hand comes up empty, and I move my head around finding exactly what my hand did. Hutch isn’t in bed. I head into the bathroom and get cleaned up, throwing on some clean sweatpants and shirt and then head downstairs. I stop short of the kitchen when I hear my name.
“You know you will have to tell her as soon as she gets up. Maybe we need to move her somewhere else, but where?” Simon’s voice rings out. I move against the wall, my hands flat against it. I lean my head to the side hoping to be able to hear better.
“Oh, I’m planning on telling her, quickly. Will have to see what she thinks but if I can convince her, I think we need to stay and fight. He can’t take her against her will. She has the police behind her here and the whole town. If
she leaves, no telling what could happen.”
I’ve heard enough and walk into the kitchen. The guy’s heads whip around and watch me as I walk towards them. I stop by the breakfast bar and lean my hand on the counter, holding me up. “He found me.” I look at Simon, then at Hutch. “Didn’t he?”
Hutch rises quickly and is in front of me before I have a chance to blink away the tear in my eye. He grabs my arms and bends down to look me in the eyes. “Baby. Yes. Someone must have followed Simon and Chris here. That’s all we can figure out. But don’t worry. We’ll protect you.”
I shake free from his grasp. “But who will protect you all? You don’t know him. And you…” I quickly look at Simon, his brows raising high. “You do know him. No one is safe, you know that. He’ll stop at nothing to get me back, to protect himself and what he’s done to me.” I turn and start to walk towards the door when strong arms turn me back around.
“Hey.” Hutch wipes away a tear and looks me in the eyes, a relaxed look on his face. “Hey, now. We will protect you. We won’t let anything or anyone hurt you or anyone else in the town. You can count on that. Now, come here.” I walk into his arms and bury my face into his chest. He begins stroking the back of my head, his fingers running through my hair. “Come. Sit. I’ll get you some coffee and we can all talk about this rationally. Ok?” I look up at him and nod.
I sit at the table with Simon while Hutch gets me some coffee. “Where’s Chris?” I ask Simon. He smiles and takes a drink of his coffee.
“Chris went to get some groceries. He’s decided to make his famous beef stew and homemade biscuits for a house warming reception for Bailey coming home. He’s just so damn sweet.”
“Oh, my God! I haven’t had that in years. That will be just perfect for Bailey’s home coming.” I watch my sexy man walking towards us and sitting down. He takes my hand in his and kisses the top. I should be so worried with Darrin on his way, but Hutch just has a way of calming me. I try to smile but don’t succeed very well. “Ok, so how did Darrin find me and what’s going on?”