27. Lennon
Chapter twenty-seven
Lennon
I jerk awake when I hear a loud yelp coming from downstairs. Hayes moans next to me, as he tries to bury himself under the covers. It would be a fair assessment to say that I forgot about the puppy stage. We are crate training Max-Rosie picked the name, and four days later, it’s not going the greatest. I look at the clock and notice that the alarm is set to go off in thirty minutes. I guess I will get an early start to my day. I roll onto my side and give Hayes a light kiss before getting out of bed. I grab my robe, and head downstairs to the terror that is Max.
When I enter the kitchen, his tail starts wagging back and forth and he lets out a happy yip. I greet him as I open the door to his cage, and he follows me outside. So far, he has stayed by us in the yard and comes back when called, so I’m not too worried about not having a fence. I wave at Travis as he is getting out of his truck, and smile when he waves back. I really think of him as my little brother. I’m startled when the sliding door opens and Hayes comes out holding a cup of coffee, which he hands over to me.
“Good morning, sunshine. We should have waited to get a puppy until after the festival and grand re-opening. We are going to both be zombies this weekend.” I lean back on his chest, his hands immediately wrapping around my middle. “I know. Just a few more days, babe.” We watch Max play while I enjoy my coffee, but a few minutes later, a truck drives down the driveway and stops at the shop. Hayes lets out a big breath before he releases me from his hold. I instantly miss him. “I better get down there and help load up.” Today is the day that all the finished vehicles are going to the new shop, where three of them are going to be for sale. After a kiss, Hayes heads towards the shop, while I call Max in so I can get Rosie up and ready for school.
Once in Rosie’s room, I set Max on her bed, and he wastes no time licking her face. I smile at the two of them before I go to the closet and pull-out clothes for the day. “Mommy?” I turn around to find Rosie sitting up in bed, Max still licking her. “Yes, Ro Ro?” I walk over the bed and sit down on the edge. “Do you think I can stay home today? Max misses me when I’m at school.” She has asked that question every day this week so far. “Not today, Rosie. Remember, this week is a short week at school. You have Friday off because of the festival.” Thankfully, Dale took this weekend off, so he is on Rosie duty when Hayes and I are busy.
Rosie flops back down on the bed and covers herself with the comforter. I laugh at the action, because her father did the same thing less than an hour ago. “C’mon, Ro Ro, time to get up.” I help her get untangled from the blankets and she helps me make the bed. She runs to the bathroom and comes back after she brushes her teeth. Once she is dressed, she requests French braids today, so I get to work on her hair. Her red hair reaches the top of her shoulders, so it only takes me a few minutes to get both sides done.
After I drop Rosie off at school I decide to stop into Linen and Lace to check on Tess. She stopped over the day we brought Max home, but I haven’t heard from her since. The back door is unlocked, so I enter the building and search for my friend. I pause when a hear a man’s voice, debating if I should turn around and leave .
“That is not what I said, Tessa. Just because I don’t want the whole town knowing our business, doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you.” Oh, man…that is Scottie, and Hayes is going to be so pissed.
“No, Scottie! That just lets me know that you are ashamed of me. Why? I own my own business—” He cuts her off, which I don’t like. “Let’s be honest. Your brother had a lot to do with it.” And I’ve heard enough. I round the corner and paste on a smile that I don’t feel like giving him. “Good morning, Tess! Scottie, I think that it is time for you to go.” Scottie’s mouth hangs open at my tone, but he was out of line, and he needs to know it. For a moment, I don’t think he is going to leave, but he takes one more look at Tess and leaves.
Tess closes her eyes, and balls her hands into fists. “Are you okay?” I hate that question. Very rarely when you have to use it, is someone okay, but we ask anyway. She opens her eyes and looks at me. “Yeah. What’s up?” I go with her steering the conversation away from Scottie, knowing what it is like when people only want to talk about your relationship troubles. “I just dropped Rosie off at school and wanted to stop and say hi.”
I walk over to a mannequin, noticing that the fabric we got here at the festival is draped across it. I lightly touch the fabric, worried that I will damage it. “Have you decided what you are going to do with this?” I call out over my shoulder. Tess steps up beside me, a measuring tape in her hand. “Yep. Hold out your arms.” I’m confused but do what she says. “Why exactly are we doing this?” She smirks but doesn’t answer the question. Once she gets my measurements and writes them down, she steers me to the boutique side of the shop. Before I leave, I help her refold some clothes, and restock the bags and tissue paper. After I give her a hug, I go out the back door to the Bronco, where I find another white rose. I stomp over and grab it from under the windshield and throw it in the dumpster.
Where the hell is Connor? How is he doing this?
Once I get back home…yes, I’ve started to think of Hayes’ place as my own in many ways. I managed to get the laundry done and spent some time training Max. Now I have an hour before Hayes should be here with Rosie, so I am triple checking that I have everything ready for my release on Friday. It may be crazy that I picked such a busy day to have my first novel be released. But it seemed like fate. I never thought that I would write, but when I sat down at my laptop, the words just kept flowing out of me and before I knew it, I had a finished draft. When I was looking at a calendar trying to pick a date, something about both Hayes and I fulfilling a dream on the same day, made sense.
My phone vibrates next to my laptop, so I close my laptop and pick up my phone.
Shelby
What the hell crawled up Scottie’s ass?
I saw him earlier…
Shelby
And??
He was being rude to Tess, so I told him it was time for him to go.
He was saying that she only had her business because her brother helped her.
Shelby
WHAT?
Shelby
I have NEVER heard him talk like that.
I know, that’s what I thought.
When did you see him?
Shelby
He came into the diner and was really short and slightly rude to the server, which he never is.
Maybe something is going on with his brother that we don’t know about?
Shelby
Yeah, I’m going to talk to Cash tonight. See if he can talk to him.
That’s a good idea. I can’t really say too much to Hayes, which doesn’t sit right with me.
Shelby
I know, I’ll see what I can do on my end.
I hear the garage door open, so I get up from the island and pull the plates that Hayes got me down and start plating dinner. Hayes decided to have a daddy-daughter day after he picked Rosie up from school. They walk in and Max runs straight over to Rosie. She sits on the floor to give her puppy some attention, before coming over to give me a hug. “Hi, Mommy! Daddy took me for ice cream and to the park!” I raise an eyebrow in his direction for the ice cream, but I made her favorite tonight, so she should still eat. “Hi, Ro Ro. It’s time to feed Max, can you do that for me?” She runs off to do her chore, she has so far been really good about taking care of the puppy. I have sent up multiple silent thank you for this, so Hayes doesn’t regret his decision.
“Hi, sunshine. How was your day?” Hayes leans down and gives me a kiss before helping bring the plates to the table. “Good. I stopped by to see Tess after I dropped Rosie off, and then I came back home and got some stuff done.” He nods his head and calls Rosie to come eat. “That makes me happy. Hearing you call this your home. Because it is.”
I smile because I know without a doubt, he means that. He may not accept any money from me, and he did already have this house before he and I were together, but it’s still my home. We all start to eat the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and homemade bread, while Rosie tells me about her day at school. I give Hayes a look when she says that Denny had weird bruises on his arms and change the subject. Rosie is much smarter than her five years, I’m sure if she had looked closer, she would have been able to figure out what caused the markings.
Once we are done with dinner and Hayes picks up the kitchen, he takes Rosie and Max outside, while I tell them I will join them in a minute. I grab my phone off the island and head upstairs to our bathroom. I don’t want Rosie to overhear my conversation, so I turn on the water to the sink. The phone rings once before Shelby picks up.
“Len? Everything okay?” I hate that her first thought to why I would be calling is that something is wrong. I guess something is wrong…just not with me. “Hey. I’m fine, but Rosie had something interesting to say while we were eating dinner.” I tell her what Rosie said and my concern. “Shit. Hold on, I have Cash here.” She repeats to him what I told her. “Hey, sis. I’m going to call Scottie once we have the kids down. But just a heads up, he will probably call you.” We all talk for a few more minutes before hanging up.
I find Hayes sitting on the back deck watching Rosie play. Max is chasing after her, while Rosie lets out laughter that makes my heart happy. I sit down on his lap, and he circles his arms around me instantly. “Did you call Shelby?” I love that he just knows, without me having to say anything. When I think about my parents and their relationship, I remember that they were the same way. With just one look, the other knew what the other was thinking. The thought brings tears to my eyes. “Hey. Lennon, what’s wrong?” I wipe my face and shift my body into his side. “These are happy tears. I was just thinking about my parents. How we are together reminds me of them, and it made me really happy. And yes, I called Shelby. Cash was there, he said he is calling Scottie after the kids are in bed.”
Hayes stays quiet for a few minutes, and I begin to wonder if he might be upset about my comparison of our relationship with my parents’ relationship. But that can’t be it. He doesn’t leave me to my thoughts for long. He clears his throat before putting me out of my misery. “Sunshine. You have no idea how much that means to me. Your parents…I always wished I had that at home growing up. And now we are giving that to Rosie.” We sit there, content in the silence, until Rosie calls for me. “Mommy! Come play!” I’m laughing as I kiss Hayes on the cheek, and stand.
Once I reach a smiling Rosie, I plop down in the grass next to her. Max climbs into my lap, thankful for a break from playing with his young owner. I soak up the happiness coming from Rosie.
This is what I dreamed for.