by S. J. Bishop
"He says that I should give Taylor the money. Give her anything she wants. He'll draw up some documents and make the whole thing legal."
"But..." Kaitlyn scrunched her face in that adorable way I was coming to know and love. "Isn't what she's doing bribery or extortion or something? How can he make something like that legal?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. That's what I pay Mark for. If he says he can do it, then he can." Still, just because he could do it didn't make it a good idea. "I don't know what to think right now."
Kaitlyn's soft, warm hand reached out and took mine. Our fingers intersected. I let her energy run through me, healing me like medicine. I wondered what Riley would think of her. She barely remembered Taylor. Would she like the idea of having a new mother?
"I'm going to take a shower," I finally said. It was getting late, and for tonight at least, I wanted to wash away all the crap that had happened today and in the last week. With Kaitlyn here, I thought I might be able to do that.
"I guess I should be getting home," she said.
"What? No," I said, a little too quickly. A little too desperately. I didn't want her to go, but I also didn't want her to know how pathetic I was. Football players were supposed to be tough as nails, not soft as cotton. If she knew how much I needed her right now, it might make her run away again.
"I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to," I said, trying to sound casual. "Riley's at my parent's for the night. So we have the place to ourselves."
Kaitlyn smiled, teasingly. "You mean sleep over?"
I wiggled an eyebrow at her, and she laughed. Her voice was musical. "I suppose..." she said, but I saw the hesitation.
"You don't have to," I said, turning away from her. My mind was racing. I'd been hoping to get one wonderful night with her. Tomorrow... well, tomorrow, Riley and I would be gone. I figured we'd get on a plane and go somewhere exotic, like Fiji. From there, we could travel the world. I would call Mark in the morning, after we were on our way, and ask him to set up some sort of Swiss bank account for me. I didn't know exactly how those things worked, but I knew they were untraceable. Perfect for someone on the run.
"Come upstairs and take a shower with me," I said suddenly, turning back to Kaitlyn. She was grinning at me.
"You gonna lather me up?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye.
"It would be my pleasure," I twinkled back.
"In that case..." She jumped up off the chair she'd been sitting on and ran for the stairs. She rounded the corner from the kitchen to the hallway and tripped over one of the bags I'd set out. She went sprawling on the floor. "Ouch!"
"Oh shit," I said. "Sorry. This place is kinda messy. Are you okay?"
Kaitlyn nodded, standing up and brushing off her pants. She looked at the bags, then at me. "Going somewhere?" she asked. It wasn't a suspicious question, merely curious, but it put me on edge.
"A trip," I told her, figuring short answers were best.
She looked at me with a strange expression. "Riley, too?" I nodded. "That's nice," she said. "I'm sure you could both use a vacation. Where are you going?"
"Fiji."
"Oh, wow. I was gonna guess Disneyland. I've never been outside the U.S."
I turned to her suddenly, a new idea springing into my head. "Come with us."
"To Fiji?" she laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. Come with us."
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow."
Her expression was growing more and more uncertain as I answered her questions. "Axel," she finally said. "How long are you planning to be gone?"
I took a deep breath. Either I told her the truth now or forgot the whole thing. "Indefinitely," I said.
Her eyes widened. She searched my face, stepping close to me so that I could feel her sweet breath on my skin.
"Axel, what are you talking about?" She looked alarmed.
"I'm taking Riley, and we're getting out of here. Taylor's never gonna stop. Even if I give her the money, it won't matter. She'll just want more. And every time she wants more, she'll use Riley as a bargaining chip. It's not fair to her."
I took hold of Kaitlyn's shoulders, pleading for her to understand. I wished I wasn't so constrained by the damned crutches. I would have loved to have taken her into my arms without having to worry about my stupid knee.
"Kaitlyn, I know we haven't known each other long, but I also know you're the only person other than Riley that I want with me. Come with me. Come with us. I'll take care of you. You won't have to worry about anything ever again."
I held my breath, waiting for her answer.
"What the hell," she finally said. "I've always wanted to see Fiji."
31
Kaitlyn
I woke up wondering what the hell I'd been thinking. Fiji was some place you went for your honeymoon, not some place you took a four-year-old kid.
"Axel, this is crazy," I said as he poured me some tea. "You can't just flee the country."
"But you said—"
"I know what I said, but I..." Was being hormonal? Wasn't thinking clearly because your baby was spinning inside my stomach and making me sick? "I wasn't thinking clearly."
He knocked his spoon against the side of his mug, looking agitated.
"Axel, come on. Think about it. What kind of life would that be for Riley? What about her friends? Your parents? Is it really fair to her to just take that away?"
"Yes!" Axel shouted, looking at me. "She's my daughter. I promised her that I would take care of her. I told you what happened here yesterday. I don't want Riley to be here the next time some creep decides to take his anger out on me. What if he misses and gets Riley instead?" He looked like he was on the verge of tears. The alpha persona I had grown so used to crumbled away when it came to Riley.
My mind swam with images of Axel's house on fire. Poor Riley. Thank God she hadn't been here. Axel's back was to me. I reached out a hand and stroked the back of his neck. My pulse quickened as I rubbed my fingers over his skin. "Don't go," he said.
"Who said anything about going?" I asked.
He spun around and grabbed hold of my waist, pulling me to him. His lips found mine and pressed against me, hot and steady. My hand slipped down inside his pants. Axel's hands slipped under my shirt.
That's when his front door opened. Riley came running into the room. "Daddy, I'm home."
I jumped back at Riley's entrance. Axel's face turned white. I quickly pulled my shirt down and attempted to smooth out my hair. My nerves stood on end. I'd never been caught making out with someone by a toddler before. She looked surprised to see me, but not frightened. I took that as a good sign.
If I'd never seen Riley's picture before, I still would have known she was Axel's daughter the second I saw her. She was the spitting image of him, with golden hair and butterscotch eyes. Her mouth crinkled at the corners when she saw me. I smiled back at her.
Axel's parents stepped in just behind Riley. They looked more surprised than she had to see me in Axel's kitchen. I kicked myself for not leaving earlier. This wasn't the way I wanted to meet his family.
"Hi," Axel said, trying to sound casual. "I thought you weren't bringing Riley back until nine."
Axel's mother looked at him questioningly. "It is nine."
"Oh," Axel said. "How did you get past the reporters?" he whispered, shooting a glance toward Riley, who was busy putting her shoes and coat away. She wasn't paying us too much attention, except to shoot an occasional glance toward me.
"We didn't, exactly. The reporters don't care about your father and me. And we had Riley lying down in the back, so they didn't even see her."
"Good," Axel said, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah. You know she's asking questions, though. You're gonna have to tell her sooner or later what's going on. Especially now that child services has been here."
I couldn't believe Riley still didn't know what was happening. She seemed so bright. Kids usually knew things their parents di
dn't want them to know. I wondered if that was the case here.
"Hello," his mother said, turning to me.
Axel sighed. His cheeks glowed pink. "Mom, Dad," he knelt down on the floor as best he could with his knee, summoning Riley over. "Riles, this is Kaitlyn. She's a friend of mine." He stood back up and looked from his parents to me. I felt my own cheeks burn. "A very special friend."
"Kaitlyn," Axel's mother said, extending a hand, "I'm Mrs. Cooper. It's so nice to meet you." Her face ran through alternating expressions of joy and mistrust.
"Thanks," I told her. "You too. Axel's told me so much about all of you."
"Has he?" Eleanor asked. Her eyes widened.
"Well, any friend of Axel's is a friend of mine," said Axel's father, giving me a hug. He looked like an older version of Axel. "You can call me Teddy."
I smiled at Teddy, then turned my attention to Riley. She'd come bounding into the room, full of energy, but stood silently by now, clearly uncertain about me. "It's nice to meet you, Riley," I said. She looked fearfully at Axel's mom, who smiled and laughed indulgently at Riley, though her eyes shone with suspicion.
"How do you two know each other?" Eleanor asked, addressing me.
I couldn't stop blushing. I must've looked like a beet. I hadn't anticipated meeting Axel's parents anytime soon, and I didn't want their first impression of me to be a bad one. Maybe it would help if I told them they were going to be the grandparents of my unborn child. They were clearly in love with Riley, and I was certain that, distrust aside, they would be equally in love with any other grandchildren they might have. But I should probably tell Axel about the baby before spilling it to them.
"We work together," I told his mom.
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "In what capacity?"
"Mom, for crying out loud," Axel said, blushing profusely. It was so cute I could hardly stand it. "She's my physical therapist."
Eleanor's attitude toward me changed almost instantly. She smiled widely and her eyes lit up. "Oh, really? You mean you have a job? A real job?"
"Yes, Mrs. Cooper."
"Oh, call me Eleanor. How long have you known Axel?"
I glanced at him, uncertain of how much he wanted me to tell his folks. But there was no reason to lie about my recent move. "Not very long," I said. "I just moved to Denver a few weeks ago."
Axel interrupted us. He was holding Riley's hand now. "Kaitlyn was just going over some new exercises with me," he said. "For my knee."
Neither of his parents were buying it. They exchanged a look with each other but said no more.
"Well, I guess I should get going," I said, looking at Axel.
Thankfully, my stomach had not bothered me once this morning. I didn't feel right leaving without telling him about the pregnancy, but I just hadn't found the right time. He'd been acting crazy last night, talking about "going on the lam" and "Swiss bank accounts," as if he were some sort of criminal.
"Oh, don't go on our account," Eleanor said.
"Yeah," Axel said. "Stay for breakfast. It's not like we have to go to Fiji or something." He shot me that panty-melting smile, and my heart raced. I guessed that was his way of saying he wasn't going anywhere right now. I still had to tell him I was pregnant. Maybe if I stayed, I'd get an opportunity later.
Riley was watching me, more curious now than scared. If I was going to give her a little sibling to play with, I had better get to know her. "Alright," I said. "Since you're not going anywhere, I guess I can stay for breakfast."
32
Axel
Of course, Riley wanted pancakes. Kaitlyn thought it was cute the way she called them "pamcakes" and got her to say it over and over again.
"Pamcakes, pamcakes, pamcakes," Riley cried, doubling over in a fit of giggles. Kaitlyn laughed with her. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen Riley so happy. I was glad my parents had left. I wasn't prepared to answer their questions about Kaitlyn.
I still wasn't sure what to do about Taylor, but I supposed Kaitlyn had a point. Running with Riley would only make things worse. It would make me look like the bad guy. I should just pay Taylor off and be done with it. If she came back for more later, then I'd just have to pay her again.
"Daddy," Riley said, turning to me from her seat at the kitchen table. "Is Kaitlyn my new mommy?"
Kaitlyn and I froze. We looked at each other across the room. Her face had paled, but there was an underlying glow on the surface of her skin that made her look even more beautiful than usual.
"Uh," I said, trying to think of a way around Riley's question. "You want ice cream with your pancakes, Riles?"
Riley's eyes lit up. "Ice cream with pamcakes?" She nodded her head feverishly, and I congratulated myself on dodging her question. I shot a glance to Kaitlyn, who seemed to have recovered as well. It was crazy, but part of me thought it wasn't such a bad idea. Kaitlyn was gorgeous, sexy, kind, intelligent, dependable—everything that Taylor wasn't.
"So Kaitlyn is my mommy now?" Riley asked, causing Kaitlyn to cough orange juice up her nose.
I took a deep breath. "No, Riles. Kaitlyn is just a friend."
Riley nodded, but her eyes looked doubtful.
"Do you want a mommy?" Kaitlyn suddenly asked. I looked up to see Riley shrug.
"I don't know. If she was a nice mommy. You seem nice."
"I think most mommies are nice," Kaitlyn said. "Don't you?"
Riley shook her head. "Not my first mommy."
My head snapped around. "Do you remember your first mommy?" I asked, trying to sound calm. Kaitlyn was watching me, trying to gauge my reaction. It had never occurred to me that she remembered Taylor. She'd been so young the last time she'd seen her.
Riley shrugged. "I member she hurt me. I don't fink she was a very nice mommy. Is that why she went away?"
Tears welled in the corners of my eyes. I turned back to the pancakes that were about to burn, wiping the tears away. "Yes, Riles. That's why your first mommy went away."
"Good," she said. "I like Kaitlyn much bedder. Maybe one day she can be my new mommy, and then I can have a new brudder to play with."
Kaitlyn's face turned to ash. I guessed she wasn't too keen on the idea of having kids. Riley was already more than I could handle, so that was fine with me.
"Pamcakes with chocolate chips," I said, placing three plates on the table and taking a seat opposite Kaitlyn. It didn't surprise me at all that Riley dug right in, but I was a little shocked to see how quickly Kaitlyn scarfed them down. Three minutes flat, and they were gone. She looked embarrassed.
"I was starving," she said. I nodded, secretly pleased that she wasn't one of those chicks who was always on a diet.
"Actually, can I have some more?" Her cheeks turned pink. She looked so damned adorable that she could have asked me to deliver Mount Everest to her and I would have told her I'd see what I could do. I grabbed my crutches and walked back to the stove.
"Oh jeez," Kaitlyn said. "What am I thinking? I should be getting that!"
"It's fine," I told her, but she was already beside me, pushing me back toward my chair. If she'd been any more forceful, she would have knocked my crutches out from under me.
"Cam we go to the park today, Daddy?"
I tensed slightly. I knew keeping Riley cooped up inside was wrong, but I couldn't risk her getting caught in a hailstorm of reporters and photographers.
"Not today, sweetie. Another time."
Riley's bottom lip stuck out. "But I don't ever get to play anymore," Riley said. Her voice had taken on a whiny quality that normally would have irritated me, but with everything that had been going on, it served to make me feel guilty instead.
"Riley, we could play in your room," Kaitlyn said, and I shot her a grateful smile.
"My room smells funny."
Shit. I had almost forgotten about the smoke bomb that had gone off in there. I'd told Riley that I'd broken her window playing football with Kaitlyn, and that's why there was cardboard taped up over it. Riley seemed
to think that made perfect sense since I was a football player and questioned me no further.
"Maybe the park isn’t such a bad idea," Kaitlyn said. I looked at her like she was nuts.
"Uh, Kaitlyn—"
"Pleeease, Daddy?"
"Yeah," Kaitlyn said. "It would be good for her to get some fresh air."
"Pleeeeaaase."
"No!" I finally snapped at Riley. I turned to Kaitlyn. "Butt out."
I saw Riley's face and realized she thought I was talking to her when I said "butt out." She got up from the table before I could stop her. Her eyes ran thick with tears. She threw open the front door and ran outside.
"Riley!" I shouted, but four-year-olds are sometimes even faster than running backs, especially a running back with a bad knee. "Riley!" I shouted as she ran across the lawn. She froze when she saw all the reporters. Flashes went off as I scooped Riley into my arms and hobbled back inside with her.
"What are you thinking running off like that?" I demanded, setting her on the couch.
"I j-just wanted to p-play," she said. "I never go outside. Who was all the people?"
Kaitlyn nudged me from behind. I took a deep breath. "Riley, there's something I have to tell you." I began to panic, uncertain what Riley's reaction would be to everything that had been going on, or how to explain it so that she could understand.
"You said you remember your bad mommy, right? The one who hurt you?"
Riley nodded, not understanding. "Well, bad mommy is back. And she wants to see you."
I could see her thinking. "I don't want to see her," she finally said, as if that settled it. "Can we go to the park now?
I nodded. "Yeah, okay. Let's go to the park."
33
Kaitlyn
Crane Park was a lovely place. There were swings and a slide and a nice big lake where you could feed the ducks. The only thing that didn't fit in with the idea of a park was the fleet of security guards Axel had hired just to accompany us here.