Deadly Mistake (Deadly Series Book 5)

by K. L. Humphreys

  “Thank you, Hailey, it’s so lovely to meet you. Nicole has been nonstop talking about you.” Mrs. Lynn tells us and even though Hailey isn’t looking in my direction I can tell that she’s got a huge fucking smile on her face.

  Mrs. Lynn brings us into the sitting room where we see Nicole’s Social worker Carrie sitting on the armchair having a cup of Coffee. Nicole drags me to the sofa, she lets go of my hand but waits until I sit down before running over to Hailey and taking her hand. I’m surprised to see that instead of bringing Hailey over to sit beside me, they sit on the floor and Nicole starts to have a tea party. “Can I get you tea or coffee?” Nicole asks Hailey in a sweet voice. I’ve heard parents say that when they see their kids they instantly fall in love. I never thought it was true until this moment, watching Hailey and Nicole play is everything I never knew I was missing.

  “Um, tea please if I have Coffee I’m never going to sleep tonight.” Hailey jokes and the sweetest laughter comes from Nicole. “Are you going to join me in having a cup of tea?” Hailey says in an awful British accent.

  “Hailey, did my mom love me?” Her voice is so quiet and unsure and I see that she has her head down, almost scared of the answer.

  “Oh honey, she loved you more than anything in this world. So much, so, so, so much.” Hailey’s barely able to keep her voice even.

  “Why did she leave me again?” She’s killing me, her haunted voice and tears make me want to kill someone.

  “Nicole, Maddie didn’t want to leave you again. She died saving me and I’m so sorry that you never got to be with her. Know that she loved you with all of her heart. Every day you were in her heart, you still are.”

  Nicole starts to cry and Hailey doesn’t even hesitate, she crawls over to her and pulls her into her lap. She’s whispering to her and I can’t hear what she’s saying but whatever it is, it’s making her cry too. I look over at both Mrs. Lynn and Carrie looking on in shock. I get up and walk over to them, leaving Hailey and Nicole to have this moment alone. “What’s wrong?” I ask as I reach them.

  “Nicole has never cried, not when her adoptive mom died and not when she found out that her biological mom had died. She’s been seeing a counselor, we’ve been hoping that she’d let someone in and it looks like she has.” Carrie tells me, her eyes glued to Hailey and Nicole.

  “Has she been working on her anger?” I ask quietly, Carrie has been up front with us about Nicole lashing out, getting into fights, talking back, and generally misbehaving.

  “She’s getting better, the counselor is helping with that. She’s less angry and violent, she’s getting on better with the other kids at school too.” Carrie smiles, she really seems to care about Nicole. Thankfully she’s had people around her like Carrie and Mrs. Lynn to help her through the darkest part.

  “That’s good. Our attorney is filing with the court next week. I want to know Carrie, what are our chances of bringing Nicole home with us?” I know that no matter what happens, Hailey isn’t going to give up, she’s going to make sure that Nicole is a part of her life.

  “Honestly, I see no reason why you two shouldn’t have Nicole. I’ll be telling the judge as much too.” She gives me a smile and I feel a weight lift off my shoulders. “She seems to be happy when around Hailey.” Carries says and my eyes are drawn back to the girls, Nicole is sitting on Hailey’s lap as Hailey does her hair, the two of them have big smiles on their faces. Seeing that bright smile on Hailey’s face is something I never thought I’d see again. This past year has been crap, she’s dealt with so much but to see her smiling proves that my girl is the strongest woman I know. I’m so fucking proud of her.

  I walk back to the sofa and both Hailey and Nicole look up at me, it’s kind of eerie how in sync they are. Looking at the little blonde nymph as she starts to brush Hailey’s hair, it’s funny, if Hailey hadn’t dyed her hair after Maddie died they’d look so much alike as Hailey and Maddie were.

  “So Nicole, tell us what you like to do?” Hailey asks her coming to sit on the floor beside my legs, she’s getting me involved.

  “I like to read; my favorite book is Horrid Henry. Have you read it?” She asks me excitedly.

  “No, I’m sure that one day you can read it to me.” Hailey rests her head against my leg at my words.

  “Yes, I’m such a good reader. I can read anything.” She’s so proud of herself and has a huge smile on her tiny face. “Aunty Hailey, will you come back and see me?”

  “Yes honey, I will.” Hailey doesn’t even skip a beat; her reply is instant.

  “You promise?” Nicole says in a small voice.

  “Off course. Why Hunny?” Hailey reaches out and strokes Nicole’s hair.

  “Mommy Maddie said she’d be back but she never came back.” Fuck, this little girl is going to be my undoing.

  “Oh honey, Maddie would have been here if she could. I’m so sorry she died. I’ll be back, I promise I’ll be back.”

  “Pinky promise?” Nicole asks and Hailey looks at her holding her little finger out waiting for Hailey to do the pinky promise.

  Hailey takes her little finger and they shake on it, “I pinky promise we’ll be back.”

  Nicole smiles and nods her head, “Yay, you’re coming back. Pinky promises can’t be broken. I should have got mommy Maddie to pinky promise. She would have come back.”

  “You know you’re a lot like your mom.” I tell her hoping that talking about Maddie may help her get to know her.

  “Really?”

  Both Hailey and I say yes. “Yeah, not only do you look like her, you both like to read and you have her smile.” Hailey tells her and being able to talk about the good stuff will help Hailey heal and remember the best about Maddie.

  “Do you have any pictures?” Hailey climbs up on the sofa beside me as Hailey pulls out her cell and looks through her gallery, no doubt searching for the best pictures she can find. “Can I have one?”

  “Off course, I’ll print some off and I can give you some. Here, this is a picture of Maddie and I when I was your age.” She shows her a picture of them at the fourth of July picnic, I remember that day, it was the day Hailey lost her first tooth. She’s grinning from ear to ear, with her front tooth missing.

  “Wow, you look like me.” Nicole says in awe, “Both of you, how come you don’t look like me anymore?”

  Hailey’s laughter is contagious, “I dyed my hair Hunny, I usually have blonde like you and Maddie had but I needed a change.” She looks up at me with a sad smile, probably remembering the day I came home to see the change.

  Opening the door, I’m assaulted by the smell of roast beef, damn I love a good roast dinner. “Hi Honey I’m home.” I call out and I can hear her laughter. She’s been lighter these past few days, there’s still times that I’ll catch her staring off into the distant with pain in her teary eyes but I know that’s going to happen.

  “Hey Scott, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. How was work?” She asks I can hear her bustling around in the kitchen so I follow the sound of her movements.

  As I reach the door of the kitchen I stare at the purple haired woman that has a smile on her face dancing around the kitchen. I’m speechless, she looks absolutely stunning, Hailey’s always been a blonde, a fucking sexy blonde but this, she looks beautiful.

  “Are you just going to stand there creeping?” She asks turning around to look at me, her eyes filled with laughter.

  “God, you look amazing.” Fuck, my mouth’s gone dry.

  “Thank you, I needed a change.” She says shyly.

  I walk up to her and use my thumb to tilt her chin up so she’s looking at me. “Why did you need a change?”

  “I saw her every time I looked in the mirror, I saw sadness too.” Gone is the playful Hailey I walked in on.

  “What do you see now?”

  “Me.” Is the simple reply.

  I lean down and capture her lips making sure she knows that no matter the color of her hair I’ll always want her, I’ll always
see her.

  She pulls away, “You finally finished being a gentleman?” She teases. “I’ve missed you.” She says breathlessly.

  “Fuck, I’ve missed you too baby. I needed to make sure you were okay first.” I lift her into my arms and walk over to the oven, she switches everything off and I carry her into our bedroom, “Nothing wrong with being a gentleman, but right now I need to fuck you senseless.”

  Hailey gives me a look and knowing her she probably knows what I was just thinking about.

  “Sorry to cut this short but I’ve got a meeting in twenty minutes.” Carrie tells us and she really does look sorry.

  Hailey and I stand, “It’s okay, we really appreciate you coming today. You don’t know how much it means to me, to us.” Hailey tells her, her voice shaky.

  “I don’t want you to go yet. Please don’t leave me.” Nicole cries running over to Hailey and holding onto her leg.

  “Hunny, we’ll be back. I pinky promised you. Scott and I will be back to see you and we’ll bring pictures.” Hailey is barely holding on, I can hear the lump in her throat when she speaks.

  “Nicole, we’ll set a date with Carrie, maybe next time we can go somewhere?” I’m hoping that we’ll be able to bring her to the carnival that’s coming to town next week.

  “Yes, that can be arranged.” Carrie says looking at Nicole with sorrow in her eyes, seeing Nicole so upset has affected all of us. I’ve only known this little girl for about an hour and it hurts to leave her here. I know that Mrs. Lynn is taking good care of her, it’s not the same though. She’s ours, mine and Hailey’s.

  It takes us another twenty minutes to leave Mrs. Lynn’s house and finally get Nicole to believe that we’re coming back to see her. As we get out into the front yard, I take Hailey’s hand and she squeezes mine, holding on as tightly as she can.

  “Scott and Hailey, I’m sorry that I’m having to rush. Get your attorney to get a court hearing and I’ll do the final checks needed.” Carrie tells us making Hailey deflate, she wants this more than anything.

  I was one hundred percent behind her, then I met Nicole and I never realized that Hailey and I were missing anything in our relationship. Leaving here now, I feel empty, almost as if I’ve left a piece of me behind. Nicole’s not my blood but she is both Hailey’s and my child and we’re not going to stop until she’s with us. I can’t explain why I feel like this, except it feels right and I don’t give a fuck what anyone else says or thinks. This is my family, our family and we’re going to do what works best for us.

  “Thank you so much Carrie. We’ll be in touch to set up the next time we can see Nicole.” Hailey sticks out her hand to shake Carrie’s, she’s still holding mine almost as if it’s her lifeline.

  We say goodbye and walk toward the car, neither of us have said anything to each other. Getting into the car, my eyes are drawn to the window of the house and I see Nicole looking out at us, she looks miserable right now, I can see the tears falling down her face.

  “Scott, I didn’t think leaving her would be this hard. I feel so bad, like we’re abandoning her. She’s lost so much already and hearing her say she didn’t think we were coming back broke my heart.” Fuck, she’s killing me, she sounds as though someone has ripped her heart out.

  “We’re going to get her Hailey, there’s no other option. She’s ours and no one comes between our family.”

  “God, how did I get so lucky to have you?” She reaches over and takes my hand bringing it to her lips and softly kissing it, “I love you so much.”

  “Baby, I love you too. Now let's get home.” I wink at her.

  Sitting in on the sofa with a beer in my hand watching the game is one of the best ways to unwind, Hailey’s in the bath relaxing. We contacted our attorney as soon as we came home, she’s going to get the ball rolling as soon as possible and if all goes according to plan we could have Nicole with us in six weeks. It’s going to be a long fucking six weeks.

  I hear footsteps, Hailey must have finished with her bath. “Hey baby, do you want a beer?” I call out to her.

  I smell the scent of coconut, it’s her body lotion, she’s close by. Her delicate hands touch my shoulders and she starts to massage me. I close my eyes and enjoy it, she peppers kisses over my head and onto my mouth. I open up and our tongues touch, it ignites her, the kiss that was gentle and timid is now frantic and hurried. I open my eyes and see a lacy purple breast in my face.

  I sit up, breaking the kiss and see that she’s in some fancy lingerie, she looks fucking amazing. I reach over the sofa and lift her over it so I can see her properly. “Fuck, why don’t you wear that all the time?” I can’t stop staring at her, her body looks perfect. I feel her bare back against my hands as I lean in and take her nipple between my teeth.

  She moans and her hands grab my head pulling me toward her, “Scott,” She moans and I love that I affect her this way. “Please Scott, I need you.”

  I run my hand down her back towards her ass, she’s not wearing any panties. Running my fingers around to her pussy and it’s soaking wet. I let go of her nipple, “God, Hailey, you’re soaked.”

  “I missed you.” She whines as I start to play with her pussy, her breathing getting faster and faster, she’s close. “Please Scott, I need you.” She cries and I remove my fingers and pull down my sweatpants. My cock stands to attention and Hailey wastes no time, she pushes me back into the sofa and positions herself over my cock. She lowers herself gently down on me, biting her lip as she does.

  “Hailey, move.” I tell her when she has my cock fully inside of her. “Now.” I tell her, she’s got three seconds or I’m taking over.

  A salacious grin covers her face and she starts to move. She lifts off my cock only to slam back down, grinding against me as she does so. She lifts up again and slams down, grinding in a circle as she moans. Fucking hell, she keeps this up and I’m not going to last much longer. She lifts my t-shirt up and takes my nipple into her mouth, causing me to jerk and push up into her even more. She bites down on my nipple and I moan, the feel of her teeth is fucking amazing. I reach for her breasts and start to knead them. Her movements start to get erratic and I know she’s trying to reach for her climax. I reach around and knead her ass, causing her clit to grind against my pubic bone.

  “Scott…” She cries as she comes apart in my arms. I take over and start moving inside of her as she lay against my chest, pressing kisses against my heart. I thrust twice more before I finish inside of her, grateful that she’s on the pill.

  “I love you baby.” Hailey says sleepily against my chest.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Hailey

  Six weeks later

  The excitement I have is buzzing through my body, today is the day our family is complete. Nicole is coming home with us. It’s taken six weeks and they’ve been the longest six weeks of my life. We’ve finally been granted legal guardianship of her and we’ve been able to adopt her. She’s ours legally and we couldn’t be happier. Scott is driving us home and Nicole has the biggest smile on her face, she’s the happiest that I’ve ever seen her and she has no idea about the welcome home party we have for her. Scott and I wanted to pick her up and bring her home.

  The past six weeks we’ve seen a lot of Nicole, we wanted her to know that we’re here for her even if the adoption fell through. No matter what she was going to be a part of our lives. She’s so much happier lately and she’s stopped lashing out at everyone. Her school work has improved and the counselor she’s been seeing has helped a great deal. Scott and I have decided that even though the counselor is over an hour away we’re going to keep taking her. She’s likes Kate, she connects with her so we don’t want to break that connection.

  We’ve also done something that Maddie and I should have done a long time ago. We redecorated the house and gave my parent’s stuff to Goodwill. I kept the sentimental stuff and gave the clothes and stuff away. Scott and I have taken that room and we have redecorated both my old room and Maddie’s r
oom. Both have been decorated neutrally and we thought we’d give Nicole the choice of which room she’d like and we’d decorate it to her taste. Going through Maddie’s things was hard, it took me a week just to build up the courage to start sorting what needed to be disposed of. I left the bookcase up with Maddie’s books, Scott and I decided that whichever room that Nicole chooses we’d turn the other into a den/library. It will give Nicole somewhere she can read.

  “Do I have to call you mom and dad now?” Nicole’s voice calls from the back seat, she no longer is quiet and shy when asking us questions. We told her that she can ask us anything and she shouldn’t be scared of the answer, we’re there to help her and guide her. So now when she asks questions she has her head held high.

  I look over at Scott who’s looking through the rearview mirror probably trying to gauge where she’s at right now. This question, is something that we never even thought about. Yes, we’re now her legal guardians but I’m her aunty and I don’t ever want to take Maddie away from her.

  “You don’t have too, we’re Hailey and Scott… Do you want to?” Scott asks her cautiously, I bite my lip with worry, I don’t want to push her, she’s adjusting right now.

  “I don’t know, I’ll think about it.” She goes back to reading the book that Scott bought her as though nothing had happened, leaving me worried that I may be overstepping if I allow her to call me mom. Would Maddie be mad? I’ve so many thoughts swirling in my mind that I’m getting a headache.

  “Is that book good?” Scott asks, he went shopping last week and came back with bags full of stuff, mostly books for Nicole but he bought me earrings that are amazing. Silver hooped earrings that have diamonds encrusted around the edges. They must have cost a fortune but I really do love them.

  “Uh huh.” she replies distractedly and I smile, she's so much like Maddie. Maddie would be sitting next to you reading and she’d be so engrossed in the story that she wouldn't even hear what you were saying to her.