Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
It was dark in the living room, and the glow of the television offered the only light when Lacey was roused from her sleep.
She groaned, attempting to discover the reason for waking up.
Her neck was stiff, and when she glanced over at her sister, she found Angela sprawled out with her arm hanging over the edge of the couch.
Their legs were a mess of bundled limbs, but Angela was a deep sleeper and likely wouldn’t notice when Lacey got up to move to her room.
What time was it?
Only eleven.
Sheesh. When she’d been younger, she could stay up past midnight without any issues whatsoever. Her phone buzzed, and she twisted to look at it.
The cause of her waking up. Figured.
She carefully pulled her legs out from under Angela’s and placed her feet on the floor before reaching for her phone.
Mack : Go out with me .
A rush of heat filled her cheeks, and her eyes darted to her sister, who let out a snort in her sleep. Lacey chewed on her thumbnail and let her eyes drift back to the device in front of her. She could ignore it.
Wrong.
She should ignore it.
But her conversation with her sister about how much he liked someone else lingered in the recesses of her mind, tempting her to do something about this revelation. She nibbled on her nail some more before she typed out a response.
Lacey : Wow. Not even a please .
There was a long moment, and she thought he might have decided to send the first message before going to bed, and she’d waited too long to respond. But then, just before she put the phone down, she saw those three little dots indicating he was typing something back.
Mack : Please.
A wicked smile touched her lips.
Lacey : Please… what?
Mack : Please go out with me.
She stared at the message again, unable to fight the smile that spread across her lips. This was a bad idea. Lacey had finally given in, and she was flirting with him.
Flirting !
It wasn’t fair to him for her to lead him on like this. Based on what he’d said to Angela, it was clearer than ever that he wasn’t going to give up. She really needed to put down her foot and make sure he understood just how important it was for her to stand her ground.
A sigh burst from her chest, but it wasn’t loud enough to rouse Angela from sleep with the television going, no matter how low the volume was.
Lacey : I can’t.
Mack : Give me one good reason.
Lacey : It just won’t work.
Mack : That’s not a reason.
She sighed again. Sure, she could tell him that she was worried her parents wouldn’t approve of any guy she was dating—that they could threaten to get involved in her life again.
She could tell him that she was worried about Bridger getting too attached, and that she wouldn’t let him get hurt just because she allowed a guy to take her out more than once.
Somehow, she didn’t think that Mack would accept those arguments. He didn’t know her mother, but she wouldn’t expect him to believe that a grandmother would treat her grandson like that.
Dragging a hand down her face, she put the phone away. She had no excuses. No answer would be good enough for him. He was nothing if not persistent.
She got to her feet and stretched before she moved to the kitchen and silently filled a glass with water.
Mulling over her options, she couldn’t come up with one solution to keep Mack at arm’s length.
Her own strength at being able to fight him off was waning.
Eventually, she’d get worn down unless he found someone else.
And she hated just how sick she felt at imagining him with his arms around another woman.
Something was wrong with her. That was the only possibility.
Thankfully, he didn’t respond after that.
“I’m going to the rodeo. Don’t wait up,” Angela announced at three. It was early yet, but seeing as this was an all-day event, Lacey wasn’t surprised.
When her sister opened the door, Lacey called out, “Have fun!”
“Mommy?”
Lacey whirled around and found Bridger looking miserable.
He’d been a little slow all day, complaining of a headache, but now he looked flushed, and his voice sounded more raspy than before.
She dropped the plastic plate she’d been washing into the sink.
“Do you still have a headache?” Lacey hurried to his side and placed the back of her hand against his forehead. It was warm to the touch.
He nodded.
She muttered a curse under her breath. “Come on, sweetie, let’s get you something to drink and snuggled up on the couch.”
At that moment, her phone buzzed on the counter. She glanced over her shoulder toward it then gave Bridger a little push. “Sit on the couch for now. I’m going to see if that’s your aunt, and then I’ll get you some feel-good food, okay?”
Bridger nodded and moved closer to the couch. He settled down and curled into a ball. It was then that she noticed the gorilla he’d carted from the bedroom. He hadn’t set it down once since he’d gotten it yesterday.
When she picked up her phone, she huffed.
Mack : I’m taking you out tonight.
Lacey : Not going to happen.
Mack : It’s gonna happen. I’ll be there at five.
Lacey : What about Angela?
Mack : My brother saw her at the rodeo.
She rolled her eyes. That didn’t matter. She could get home at any time. Before she could respond with something along those lines, Mack messaged again.
Mack : Find a sitter. I might have some recommendations. We’re going out.
She shook her head then typed out an irritated response.
Lacey : As much as I adore being bossed around, I can’t tonight. Bridger is sick.
His response was immediate.
Mack : Is he okay? Is there anything I can do?”
For a split second, her heart warmed at the message.
As she read over the words, she found her heart aching.
It would be so nice to share the burden of caring for a sick child with someone else.
What she wouldn’t give to have someone she could trust to fill that role, knowing he wouldn’t be scared off or leave when he got bored of tending to her.
Then Lacey found her wits.
Lacey : He’ll be fine. Just a small fever and sore throat. We’re staying in and watching cartoons.
He didn’t respond after that. Strange. It was easier than she’d thought it would be.
With a disappointed sigh, she returned her phone to the counter.
She shouldn’t be disappointed at all. She’d wanted him to leave her alone.
And now that he knew what real life would look like with her, he’d finally figured out that it wasn’t worth it.
The sting hurt more than she cared to admit. But drowning in those feelings wasn’t important right now.
Her eyes strayed to her son where he was cuddled up with the gorilla watching a show already.
She watched him for a full minute, and then she turned to gather up some applesauce and Gatorade.
Hopefully he’d be able to keep it down. He hadn’t thrown up yet, but she wasn’t sure how far his illness would stretch.
One hour later, she was seated beside Bridger, her arm around him as he snuggled into her. His temperature had fluctuated between a low-grade fever to one a little higher, but with some children’s fever reducer, it had been manageable.
Mack still hadn’t messaged her, and she fluctuated between an obsessive need to be irritated and the relief from not having to fight him anymore.
Bridger had a small burst of energy after he’d taken a twenty-minute cat nap, and now he was happily eating the applesauce she’d dished up for him.
A knock at the door drew their attention, and she frowned while Bridger’s brows creased with confusion. “Who’s that?” he asked.
She shrugged. “No clue. You stay here, and I’ll get it.” Lacey ruffled his hair and offered a bright smile. Before she made it to the door, the person knocked again. “Ease up!” she called, “I’m coming.”
Without realizing what she was doing, she pulled the door open. She hadn’t even bothered to check who was on the other side. And she immediately regretted it.
Mack stood on her doormat, his arms full of two large paper bags. He peered at her over both of them, his cocky grin less infuriating than it should be.
“Who is it, Mom?” Bridger’s raspy voice called.
Lacey folded her arms, her eyes narrowing. “What are you doing here, Mack? I told you?—”
“And I told you that I’m going to take you out.”
“I can’t go out. Bridger is sick.”
“That’s why I came to you.” He pushed past her, surprising her enough that she stumbled back a step. He chuckled, tossing his grin over his shoulder while she gaped at him. “You might want to shut that door so you don’t let in any bugs. Mosquitos are bad this time of year.”
She lurched for the door and shut it before she charged after him.
“Mack!” Bridger sat up straighter on the couch. “What are you doing here?”
Well, there went her plan of kicking him out. The second Bridger saw him, she lost all opportunity to do just that.
Dang it.
Mack gave Bridger one of his charming grins. “Hey, buddy. I heard you didn’t feel well. I brought you some stuff.”
Just like that, Bridger’s eyes widened with excitement. “You did?”
“Of course. I can’t have my best bud feeling sick without doing my best to bring him back to the epitome of health, now can I?”
Lacey had made it to his side by the time those words had filled the air, and she wanted to wring his neck. “He’s not your bud,” she seethed.
He arched a brow at her, but his amusement never left his face. “I think the kid begs to differ.” He moved to get a better view of her son, but she stepped between the two of them.
“You can’t be here. He’s sick. And Angela?—”
“I guarantee that Angela won’t be coming back any time soon. She’s hanging with my younger brother and a bunch of his friends. They’re going to be out late.”
Heat blossomed beneath the skin of her cheeks. Had he planned this? No. She refused to believe that. This was just Mack pushing his luck like he’d been doing since the moment he entered her life.