13. Lennon
Chapter thirteen
Lennon
Light streams in from the window, and I know I should get up and at least check my phone, but I want to stay in the bubble of last night. On the drive home, Shelby just gave me a knowing smirk, but Cash decided to ask a hundred questions. It annoyed him when I told him nothing was going on between Hayes and me. While that is currently the truth, I had to shut the questioning down before I said something embarrassing in my drunken state.
Like, the feel of his strong arms wrapped around me, lit a fire deep inside me.
Do I think Hayes is attractive? You would have to be blind not to. And deaf because that man’s laugh awakens a part of me that I didn’t even know existed. When Hayes looks at me, I can almost forget the reasons I moved back home. Almost. But then that pesky voice sneaks in and ruins it.
“You are nothing without me. What, you think you can do better in some podunk town? No one has ever wanted you, Lennon. Your own brother couldn’t wait to ship you off to school so he could finally live his own life. A life without you. I should send you on your way so I can have one, too. But I’m not done with you yet.”
Vibration from my bedside table pulls me out of a dark memory. A memory that took time to physically fade. Mentally, I don’t think it ever will. Reaching over, I grab my phone and see that I have missed a few messages.
Hayes
Good Morning, sunshine.
Hayes
Are you still wanting to go to breakfast with us? I can hold Ro Ro off for probably another half hour.
Sunshine. When he called me that nickname last night I almost melted into a puddle onto the dirty, sticky bar floor. Hayes makes me feel seen even though I don’t understand the nickname.
Good Morning.
Yes, a greasy breakfast is needed today. I can meet you guys at the diner.
Hayes
No need. Your chariot will arrive in thirty minutes.
Realizing that I need to make myself look somewhat presentable, I jump out of bed and run to the bathroom, phone still in hand. While the water is warming up, I check the group chat with Tessa and Shelby.
Shelby
So, Lennon…what was that last night?
Shelby
And don’t say nothing. You’ve never been a liar, don’t start now.
She’s right. I have never been able to lie and have an awful poker face. Good thing for me this is a text message. But I always know when she is lying or is nervous about something, so she’s one to talk.
Hayes was just being friendly. We’re friends. And he is my boss.
There, that should be good enough. And it’s the truth.
Tessa
Is that why when I talked to Rosie this morning, she told me that they were taking you to breakfast?
Dammit. I can’t even be upset that Rosie gave our morning plans away. I am pretty excited to eat with both of them.
Shelby
WHAT!!
My best friend tends to be dramatic at times. I can picture of her downstairs, pacing in her kitchen, stress drinking coffee, wanting every detail. But there is no way a man like Hayes would want someone like me. His life is so put together…and mine isn’t.
Me
I have twenty minutes to shower and somewhat get ready. I will fill you in later .
After the quickest shower of my life, I throw on jeans, a light sweater, boots, and halfway dry my hair and throw it in a side braid. I don’t want to seem like I am putting too much effort into this outing, so I opt for just mascara, a little blush and some lip-gloss.
I finish getting ready just in time; just as I am putting the cap back on the lip-gloss, I hear the crunch of gravel, letting me know that they are here. Quickly, I snatch my phone and purse and hurry out of the apartment. We need to get out of here before my brother realizes that Hayes is here to pick me up.
I reach the passenger door before Hayes gets Rosie out of the back seat. The smirk he sends me lets me know that he knows exactly why I sprinted out here so fast. Rightfully so, my brother is protective, but there is nothing for him to worry about in this situation.
After getting buckled, I turn so I can face Rosie. “Good morning, Rosie! I’m so happy that I get to see you today!” With the way her whole face lights up, I’m glad that I made a point to speak to her first.
“Hi, Lennon! Daddy says that you need grease. I think I need some grease, too!” I really want to cringe at how loud she answered me, but I would never ask her to be quiet, so I just smile wide and glance at her father.
“Okay, Ro Ro. Let’s use our inside voices in the truck. How about we go get some breakfast?” Hayes says with a slight chuckle. The barely ten-minute drive to the diner, Rosie tells me all about how she dreamed that she woke up and the back yard was filled with puppies. Puppies that she got to keep. A whole yard of them. Hayes really needs to get this child a puppy.
Once we order our food and I inhale a cup of coffee, I start to feel human again. While I thought everything has been going pretty good, Rosie has gotten quiet. “Hey, Rosie, is everything okay?” I can tell something is bothering her while she is coloring.
Rosie looks up from her picture, looks to Hayes and then to me, but she has tears in her eyes. “My class is having something. I don’t know what they called it, but each kid is supposed to bring their mommy. And I don’t have one. Do you think you can come do crafts with me at school?”
At this point, she has tears streaming down her face, and she could ask me for anything, and I would say yes. But this is tricky. I don’t want to step on Hayes’ toes, and I am surprised she asked me when she could have had Tessa go. I am shocked when I look over at him, and all I see is sadness in his eyes. But he doesn’t look mad by her question.
Since Rosie and I are sitting on the same side of the booth, I pick her up and set her on my lap. “Oh, sweet girl. Let me talk to your daddy, but I don’t—” Before I finish that statement, I quickly look over and find Hayes giving me a nod of his head. “I would love to come do crafts with you at school.”
The squeal that comes from Rosie has a few heads turning in our direction. “Really?! Thank you, Lennon, I love you!” Now I am the one blinking away tears, because the little girl sitting in my lap has officially just stolen my heart. I see our server headed in our direction with a tray full of breakfast, but I need to tell her that I feel the same way before I set her back in her spot. “I love you too, sweet Rosie.” After kissing the top of her head, I set her back in her spot next to me, while the server passes out our food.
Once that crisis is taken care of, the rest of breakfast goes smoothly. Hayes does seem like he is in his head more than when they picked me up, but I can imagine where his head is at with the bombshell Rosie laid on us. After French toast, bacon, hashbrowns, and three cups of coffee, I am fully feeling human again.
Before leaving the diner, Rosie grabs my hand and then reaches for Hayes with her other hand. I look over at the two of them and all I can do is smile. Being with them makes me truly happy. Hayes calls me sunshine, but the sunshine is Rosie. It’s Hayes. They have made my clouds part and show me how life can be .
Rosie convinces us to stop at the park before bringing me back home, and since I’m not ready to say goodbye to them, I’m looking forward to the additional stop. Rosie wastes no time running over to the swings, leaving Hayes and I watching from a bench.
“Is everything okay, Hayes? Did I say something wrong at breakfast?” It’s now so ingrained in me that everything I say is wrong, so I’m replaying every word spoken over breakfast to figure out where I went wrong. He nodded when I looked at him for confirmation on going to her school, so I hope that isn’t it.
Before responding, Hayes takes my hand and interlaces our fingers. The roughness of his hands sends a tingle down my spine. This man is too perfect. “Everything is perfect, sunshine.” He shakes his head, finding Rosie before he continues, “That little girl is everything to me. From the moment I found out about her, she was the only thing that mattered. And to hear that I am failing her, broke a little part of me.”
“Oh, Hayes. You aren’t failing her. You give everything to that little girl…except a puppy, which we will talk about later. I had the best dad, the kind that showed up and made the little things seem like the biggest things. He celebrated every milestone with us like it was the greatest life achievement. When I see you with Rosie, I see the same type of dad. You are a good man, Hayes. And an amazing father.”
I don’t realize that I started to cry until he swipes his hands over my cheeks. He pulls me closer, while I lean my head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Lennon. You have no idea what that means to me.” We sit in silence while we watch Rosie play for another thirty minutes.
On the drive back to my house, I can’t help but think how good it is to be home. While I will always think of Pine Creek as home, I’m starting to think that being with Hayes and Rosie also feels like home.