Chapter 7
seven
Lachlan
“ Y ou’re going to the hospital.”
Ainsley attempts to cross her arms over her chest, and it’s funny to see her try, since she has on my fire coat to cover the fact she was in her fucking bra.
She started shivering uncontrollably and I bundled her up and put her in the back of my truck.
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. You have possible smoke inhalation.”
“That is not what they said!” she argues. “They said I might have inhaled a little smoke.”
I raise one brow. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
She groans. “I swear to God, you’re maddening. When I told them that you went in there, they said you might have done the same. So are you going to the hospital?” Ainsley turns, smacking me in the face with her ponytail. “Of course you’re not, because you’re hardheaded.”
Boy, that’s hilarious coming from her.
I spit out some of the hair on my lips.
“No, I’m not going to the hospital,” I inform her.
“Then neither am I. What I am going to do is find somewhere to stay while I work on my story. If you’ll excuse me. ”
She shrugs out of my coat, but I throw it back around her shoulders. “Put a damn shirt on.”
My guys do not need to see her like this. They’re already falling over themselves to be near her.
“The rest of my clothes are in the cabin.”
“Wear the jacket, Ainsley.”
She glares at me, but pulls it taut.
There was no real damage to the cabin, just some smoke, and we’ve deemed it unsafe for occupancy, which means Ainsley will not be spending another night in this shithole. Not that the motel in the area is an option, either, which means she’s going to stay with me and Rose.
Not an ideal situation when you’re trying to pretend you’re not in love with someone.
I’ll deal with it for the short time she’s here if it means she’s safe and not dealing with generators and God only knows what else.
“I don’t know when you became so damn bossy.” Her head whips around and I avoid getting hit with her ponytail. Triumph. Only then she turns again and I get whipped in the face. “What does it matter to you anyway?”
“For one it’s chilly. And the second thing is you’re barely wearing anything.” She pulls the jacket around her and flips her hair, giving me another slap in the face. “I’m going to cut your hair off if you keep doing that.”
Her glare would melt a lesser man. Thankfully I’m not intimidated. “Try it and I’ll cut something off you.” Her eyes move to my groin, letting me know exactly what she’d like to remove from me. “I need to get my things and regroup.”
“You’re not going in there.”
“Why?”
I don’t have an answer to that other than I’m pissed off at her. “Because it’s unsafe.”
“Umm, I heard your men say it was perfectly safe. So which is it? Are they incompetent, or are you?”
“Are you trying to piss me off?”
She doesn’t reply. She just heads into the cabin, and I follow like a stupid puppy dog. When she gets to the door, she stops, and I almost plow into her. She whips her head around, and I duck, avoiding her damn hair.
She sighs. “I’m not trying to do that. I’m just trying to get a grip because today was a little freaking traumatizing, you know? Like, I have to be here, and I don’t know where to go now.”
I open my mouth to tell her how there is no story here and she should head back to New York, but instead I say something else. “You’ll stay at my house.”
Her lips part, and she blinks a few times. “I’m not staying with you.”
“Well, you’re not staying here or at the motel in town. Do you have another option?”
“No, but ... Lachlan, we haven’t even spoken for the last four years. Rose doesn’t know me, and it’s just a bad idea.”
I don’t disagree with her, but there aren’t any other options I can live with. As for Rose, she knows all about Uncle Caspian’s sister. She’s seen photos from when we were little, and he tells her all about the things I did to torment her when she was young.
She’ll be more than ecstatic to have a girl in the house.
Plus, Rose is a great buffer and cockblock, if it comes to needing that.
“It’ll be fine. Rose will love having you around, and I swear to God, if you fight me on this, I’ll call your father and tell him you almost died in a house fire.”
Ainsley gasps. “You wouldn’t.”
“I dare you to try me.”
I have zero issues calling the Admiral, and she knows it. I’d much rather call her father and deal with his anger than have to call him if something actually happened to her.
“You are so going to regret this, Lachlan West.”
I already do. Just not for the reasons she thinks. I step closer. “You can follow me over, and we’ll talk about the rules when we get there. ”
Ainsley tosses my coat at me and saunters off in her bra and leggings in the cold morning air.
Rule number one—she has to be dressed from head to toe at all times.
We each pull up to my house, and for the first time I feel self-conscious. My home isn’t a shithole, but it’s not anything to write home about either. It’s a three-bedroom modest farmhouse painted a terrible green with white shutters. I have more projects than time and more issues than money to fix them. However, it’s a roof over our heads, and in this town, material things aren’t what matter.
“This is your home?” Ainsley asks after we both exit our vehicles.
“It is.”
She turns to me with a warm smile. “It’s beautiful. It looks so cozy, and I imagine Rose running around the yard. We would’ve loved this space as kids.”
Her voice is wistful, and there’s not a hint of disapproval. I feel myself start to relax a little. “She loves it, that’s for sure.”
“Is that a rope swing?”
I nod. “I put it in last year.”
“All you need is a pond.”
“I have one and something better.”
Her eyes widen. “You do not.”
“I do.”
“Where?”
“I’ll show you another day. Providing you don’t try to burn my house down.”
She scoffs. “I didn’t try to burn that disgusting cabin down. Hopefully you have power that’s not run off a generator.”
I tamp down my growing anger as I think about her out in that fucking cabin. “I have all the modern amenities. Plus, we have an activities coordinator in the form of a six-year-old. ”
“Oh, fancy.”
I sigh. “Come on, let’s go inside so you can meet her and she can inform you of the daily schedule.”
We walk in and the neighbor is in the living room with Rose.
“Daddy!” She jumps up, like she always does when I come home after a fire call.
However, she stops dead in her tracks when she sees Ainsley behind me.
“Rose, this is Uncle Caspian’s sister, Ainsley. She’s going to stay with us for a bit because she tried to burn her house down.”
Her eyes widen and she looks to Ainsley. “You did?”
Ainsley huffs and slaps my chest. “I didn’t. It just started because I was trying to blow dry my hair.” She squats in front of Rose. “It’s so nice to meet you again. I knew you when you were a baby. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
Rose grins. “Daddy says I’m a menace.”
She purses her lips. “Truth be told, he was the worst menace when he was a kid.”
My daughter’s hazel eyes stare at me. “You were?”
“Only with annoying little girls like Ainsley.”
Ainsley shakes her head. “Don’t let him fool you, Rose. He was always in trouble.”
“All the time?”
“All the time,” Ainsley echoes in agreement.
The sitter, Delaney, stands, grabs her bag, and walks over. “I’ll need a note for school.”
She is a sophomore in high school, and while I think her attitude could use an adjustment, Rose loves her. No matter what Delaney tells her, she does it. Her father took off a few years ago, and babysitting Rose has kept her out of a lot of trouble. The two of them are more friends than anything.
“Not a problem. I’ll email Miles now.”
She extends her hand. “That’ll be twenty bucks for today too.”
I hand her a twenty, and she stuffs it in her pocket. Her dour attitude shifts when she turns to Rose. “I’ll see you Monday, okay, kid?”
Rose nods. “Monday. Don’t get in trouble, Delaney!”
“Fine, just because you asked.”
Rose is her mother’s bargaining chip. If she skips school or does anything stupid, she’s not allowed to babysit. Instead, Rose has to go to Mrs. Kimball, who watches her after school when I’m on shift.
Delaney heads out, and I shoot an email over to Miles, letting him know Delaney was babysitting for a town fire emergency.
I clap my hands. “Who wants breakfast?”
Rose jumps up. “I do, I do! Can I have pancakes, Daddy?”
“We don’t have time. I need to get you fed and on the bus.”
She groans and looks to Ainsley. “I hate school.”
“You do?”
“There’s a mean boy, and yesterday I got in trouble because I told him I was going to punch him in the eye if he kept taking my crayons.”
Ainsley looks to me, clearly assuming that advice came from me. Which it did.
“I merely gave the girl some life skills,” I say, not feeling the slightest bit bad about this.
She sighs heavily and turns to Rose. “I’m sorry a boy is being mean to you, but school was my favorite place in the world. You get to read, and learn, and make friends. Don’t ever let anyone take that fun away. He’ll stop, I promise.”
Rose nods once. “I like my teacher.”
“That’s great! Do you like anything else?” Ainsley asks.
“Food. You need breakfast, and the bus will be here in fifteen minutes,” I remind Rose.
Rose takes her hand and pulls Ainsley into the kitchen, chattering on about all the things she loves about school, her friends, and anything else she can come up with, because Ainsley is instantly lovable.
I put the bowl of cereal in front of her, which doesn’t even get me an acknowledgment, and head back into my room to change. This day has absolutely not gone as planned. I was awoken to the tones, which usually aren’t anything serious, but as soon as I heard “possible house fire” and Ainsley’s location, I almost fucking lost it.
My neighbor came running over when I called. From the panic in my voice, it must’ve been clear that I wasn’t dicking around, and then I was out the door.
I flew faster than I’ve ever driven to get to her. The entire time my mind played the worst scenarios I could come up with. When I arrived, the relief of seeing her standing there was so intense I wanted to fall to my knees.
Her being here, though, brings a whole new set of challenges.
Once I’m changed, I head back into the kitchen, where the girls are still sitting at the table. “All right, Rose, it’s time.”
She gives me a pouty look. “Do I have to, Daddy?”
“Yup. You do.”
Rose huffs but gets off her chair, bringing the empty cereal bowl to the sink. “Will you be here when I get home?” she asks Ainsley.
“I think so.”
“She will. She’s going to stay here until she’s done with her work.” Which I’m praying is going to go fast. Our game is in two weeks, so at least that long.
Rose’s smile grows. “Yay!”
Ainsley laughs. “Have the best day and I’ll see you later.”
I reach out and take Rose’s hand, and we walk out to the bus stop. “Daddy, I like Ainsley.”
“You like everyone.”
She scrunches her nose. “Not Briggs.”
“I stand corrected,” I say with a laugh.
“She is pretty,” Rose notes.
“She is.”
“And smart.”
I nod. “That too.”
“You should marry her. ”
I choke and stop walking. “What? Where did that come from?”
Rose shrugs. “She’s pretty and smart, Daddy. You should marry her.”
“That’s not happening,” I tell her, hoping to squash this thought immediately. “You just met her. You have no idea how annoying she can be too.”
My daughter doesn’t look the least bit concerned. “I like her.”
“Then enjoy the time you’ll have with her when she visits.”
Marry her. Seriously, where the hell did that come from? A few months ago, I kind of sort of was dating this girl from a few towns over. Rose met her when we were in a store and immediately disliked her. I don’t know why. Valorie was perfectly nice, a little shallow, but not in a mean way. However, Rose told me when we got in my truck that she didn’t want to be her friend. I didn’t understand it but figured it was jealousy and she didn’t want to share her dad.
Apparently I was wrong on that motive.
She has no problem with that regarding Ainsley. Of all fucking people.
“I still think you should marry her,” Rose says as we come to the stop sign.
“I think that’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
I do not know what has gotten into my daughter, but I’m not having this conversation with her. “Because I said so.”
Rose kicks a rock. “I want a mom. All the other kids have one. Well, not Gigi, but her dad has a new girlfriend already. My dad doesn’t have any girlfriends.”
I let out a slow breath and squat down. “Rose, you’ve never mentioned any of this.”
“I know.”
Here I thought she didn’t care or want me to date. “Are you sad you don’t have a mom in your life?”
She shrugs, but there’s a layer of sadness in her eyes. “Sometimes. ”
My fucking heart shatters in my chest. “I’m sorry you’re sad. You know I love you more than anything in the world, right?”
Rose nods. “I love you too, Daddy.”
The bus comes, and I’m equally happy and worried with this conversation ending where it does. The driver stops and opens the door. I force a smile and kiss the top of her head. “We’ll do something fun when you get home today.”
“Can we get ice cream too?”
I laugh. “Sure. We’ll get ice cream.”
Hell, I’d buy all the ice cream in the world if it meant she wouldn’t be sad. Rose turns, heads up the steps to the bus, and turns again and waves, like we do every day. Then the door closes, and I stand here feeling a myriad of emotions.
As I walk back to my house, I do my best not to let the events of the day already feel crushing. It’s not even nine in the morning, so God only knows what else is going to happen. When I walk in, Ainsley is sitting on the couch with her glasses perched on her perfect little nose and face buried in her laptop.
God, she’s so fucking cute. Why couldn’t she be an ogre or something? Instead, she has to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
She’s always been, though. Her dark coffee-colored eyes, long brown hair, and light olive skin have always appealed to me, even when I did everything I could to convince myself it didn’t.
Ainsley is so much more than just gorgeous, though. She’s smart, funny, and has a huge heart that is impossible to resist.
God knows I’ve been trying for years to do exactly that.
She looks up and smiles. “Everything okay?”
“Yup,” I lie.
“Good. Listen, I know this situation isn’t ideal, but I was thinking, if we can get the interview done quickly, I can spend more of the time with the other guys.”
I don’t want her spending any time with the other guys. I also don’t want her to write this stupid story. “There’s no story here.”
Ainsley pulls her glasses off. “I disagree.”
“I’m sure you do, but what the hell is the point? I graduated from college. I won the Heisman. I didn’t get drafted. So what?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” she says and then leans back. “I think there’s a story here, Lach. You were supposed to be playing pro ball right now. You were destined for the pro-thingy, I mean league, it was all anyone could talk about.”
I huff and pinch my temples. “I’m aware.”
My entire life, it was all anyone fucking talked about. I was good, I get that. I went on to play in a national championship. Sure, we lost, but I played my heart out. I was ready for the future with the NFL, but then ... I had Rose.
She became my world. I was not going to give her a life even remotely close to what I had.
And I saw it.
Right there.
A mother who wasn’t there. A father who traveled for work and was never around. A kid desperate for a different life.
I would never do that to Rose.
“So don’t you think people want to know why? Especially now that people know you’re amazing?”
I let out a long sigh, smile, and shake my head. “Nope, I was amazing then, too, and it got me nowhere. Third door on the right is the guest room. You can stay there. I have to go to work now.”
“Lachlan!” Ainsley is on her feet, following me into the kitchen. “I need this story.”
“So get the story without me.”
She groans. “You are the story!”
I’m not. No one really gives a shit about a washed-up college football player. “Sorry I can’t help you.”
“You are so maddening! You’re not leaving without telling me why.”
I grab my keys and start to move to the right, but she blocks me.
“Move,” I say, leaving no room for argument .
But this is Ainsley, and she isn’t the slightest bit scared of me. “Not until you tell me why you’re being such an ass about this.”
“No.”
“Yes!”
The tension in my jaw is so tight I could shatter my teeth. “Move, Ainsley.”
She shifts to the left when I do. “Just let me interview you.”
“If you don’t move, I’m going to pick you up and move you myself,” I warn.
Ainsley crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not moving.”
“Suit yourself.” I take the two steps to her and lift her, but when I grab her, she wraps her arms and legs around me, plastering herself to me.
I try to adjust, but instead I now have her pinned against the wall. Her scent is everywhere, that jasmine and vanilla that she’s worn forever. Her brown eyes are locked on mine, and there’s a hitch in her breathing.
My hand is under her ass, holding her body to mine, and suddenly the antagonism between us is lost, and in its place is desire.
So much fucking desire.
The events of the morning, the fear, the need to save her, have morphed into this—a want that is bone deep.
I start to release her, but she grips me tighter.
“Don’t,” I say to both her and myself.
We stare into each other’s eyes, and I see the same emotions mirrored in hers. For years I’ve thought about that night, when I was drunk and alone in that garden. When she was against me, just like this, kissing me.
Then pushing her against that stone wall, driving into her mouth, taking everything that she offered and drowning in her, until I realized what I was doing and had to stop it, forcing her to leave me, but I didn’t know she’d never come back.
She leans her forehead to mine and loosens her grip. The loss of her body around mine causes an ache in my chest that makes me want to scream out .
“One day we’re going to have to figure this out and stop dancing around what we feel,” she says as she lifts her head from mine. “Just not today, it seems.”
I take a step back and shake my head. “No, because our dance ended before it began.”
With that, I throw the door open and head to my truck, where I can berate myself on the way to work.