Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
King
I almost kissed Sawyer.
I would’ve kissed her had the girls not interrupted us.
Fuck, I wanted to kiss her. I still want to kiss her.
I’ve never met anyone else like her—someone who frustrates me as much as she intrigues me. Who is as kind as she is stubborn and strong-willed. Who cares about my kids like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
I can’t help but feel drawn toward her like I never have with anyone before.
The fact that she’s my employee and she’s twelve years younger than me should be enough reason for me to rid even the idea of her from my head. But as much as I’ve tried to ignore it, I can’t.
I have feelings for Sawyer Davis, and they’re not going away.
I hang back with Ellie for the rest of our time at Benders while Sawyer helps Willow pick the rest of her strawberries. Once they’re done, I pay for everyone’s baskets, and we head home. Sawyer and I barely speak on the drive, although there’s not much to say with the girls in the back seat.
When we get back to my house, she doesn’t come inside, claiming she has to get her friend’s car back, but I can’t tell if it’s a lie or not. She says goodbye to the girls, hugging them both, even a reluctant Ellie, before turning to me.
She watches the girls run inside before her eyes lock on mine, something unspoken passing between the two of us.
“Should we talk about it?” I ask her, breaking the silence.
“Nothing happened,” she says.
“It almost did.” I raise a brow.
“But it didn’t.” She shakes her head. “And it probably shouldn’t,” she says, but it seems like she has to force out the words.
“Probably not.” I hesitate. “But?—”
Her phone rings, cutting me off. She pulls it out of her pocket, and I watch her face fall, the blood draining from it as she stares at the screen, not moving to answer the call.
“Everything okay?” I ask, and she practically jumps at the sound of my voice.
“Yeah.” She shakes herself out of whatever fog she was just in. “I have to go. You should go spend time with your girls, they’ve missed you.” She smiles at me, but it seems forced.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask, still not believing her. “Who called you?”
“I don’t know, it was a blocked caller.” She shrugs. “I’m totally fine, don’t worry,” she says, sounding more believable this time around. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “I’ll see you then.”
She gets into her car without a glance back. I stand in the driveway, watching her drive away before going into the house. She was right that nothing should happen between us, but what I was about to tell her before her phone cut us off was that I want her anyway.
The conversation is unfortunately done for now, but that doesn’t mean it’s over.
I walk back into the house to find Ellie sitting on the couch watching me, the TV playing quietly in the background.
“Where’s Willow?” I ask her.
“She went to shower. Said the field made her feel dirty.” Ellie laughs under her breath, similar to how I always do.
“Of course it did.” I smile, sitting down on the couch next to her.
“Dad?” She turns to face me.
“What’s up, kid?” I scrunch my brows together.
“Do you like Sawyer?” she asks, and I’m not surprised.
Ellie’s intuitive. She watches and listens way more than she lets on.
“Yeah, she’s nice.” I shrug, trying to downplay it as us simply being friends, not wanting to discuss my actual feelings for a woman with my almost fifteen-year-old daughter.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” She raises a brow at me.
“Ells—”
“It’s okay if you do,” she cuts me off. “Actually, I’d be kind of happy about it.” She looks away from me.
“You would?” I ask her, surprised.
Even though Ellie doesn’t ask about her mom much, I know she thinks about her. She was only four, almost five, when she left. She may not remember much, but she still had those years with her. I almost feel like it’s easier for Willow since she was just a baby when Jillian left, so she doesn’t have any memories with her.
I’ve caught Ellie looking through old pictures she found in the garage a few times, but I’ve never said anything. Truthfully, it’s because I don’t know what to say. I can’t justify or defend what her mother did, but I also don’t want to make her out to be a villain. Not in front of Ellie. She’s still her mother, and I know Ellie feels that.
“Yeah, Dad. I would.” She nods. “I like Sawyer. So does Willow.” She hesitates. “And you seem happy around her. You do that corner smile thing a lot when you look at her.” She laughs lightly.
“I’m glad the two of you like her, and yeah, I like her too,” I admit. “But there’s a lot more to it than her making me do that corner smile thing.” I smile down at her.
“I know.” She rolls her eyes dramatically. “I’m just saying that if the two of you figure out whatever the hell is going on between you guys, I’d be cool with it, and I think Willow would be too,” she says.
“Language,” I tell her half-heartedly.
“Hell isn’t even a curse word.” She scoffs, and I shake my head at her.
“When did you get so grown up?” I pull her under my arm, hugging her into me. She hugs me back for a second before pushing me away and standing up from the couch, having had enough.
“Probably sometime over the last almost fifteen years.” She shrugs. “I’ll be in my room; I have an essay to write.”
“I love you, El,” I call after her.
“Love you too, Dad,” she mumbles back.
I know that she’s right about me and Sawyer needing to figure out everything that’s going on between us. Ellie’s a fucking teenager, and even she noticed it.
It’s just… easier said than done, but I know it has to be done.
The rest of the night goes on as normal, and when the next morning comes around, I’m prepared to drop the girls at school, go into work, and talk with Sawyer. Except when I get to work, she isn’t there.
Asher’s sitting at the front desk, twirling a pen in his hand, looking bored out of his mind.
“Where’s Sawyer?” I ask, walking up to the desk.
“Well, good morning to you too, boss.” He smiles wide.
“Morning,” I grumble. “Sawyer?” I ask again.
“What, I’m not pretty enough to be manning the desk?” he asks dramatically. “I’ll have you know that my wife has called me pretty multiple times throughout our relationship. She says it’s why I’ll never survive in jail,” he rambles.
I stay silent, looking at him, waiting.
“You’re no fun.” He huffs. “She called earlier and said she was having car issues and would be in about two hours late.”
“Is she okay?” I ask immediately, feeling worried.
“What a protective boss you are,” he teases knowingly. “She said she’s fine. You can relax. I don’t have any appointments this morning unless we get a walk-in, so I’ve got the desk, you can get to work.”
“Just let me know when she gets in and if you need any help up front for now, okay?” I tell him.
“Aye-aye, captain.” He salutes me, and I roll my eyes, walking away.
Fifteen minutes later, my first appointment walks in. I force myself to focus on the work, trying not to let my mind run rampant on if everything’s okay with Sawyer. The protective part of me started worrying the second Asher said car problems.
Thankfully, by the time I finish my first appointment, I don’t have to worry because Sawyer walks into the room, having shown up, which Asher conveniently forgot to tell me. She tells me my next appointment is here, giving me no time to talk to her.
The whole day keeps going that way, more packed than ever after taking a few days off, and I barely have a moment to take a break for myself, let alone find time to talk to Sawyer.
Around one p.m., my phone rings while I’m in the middle of my fourth appointment of the day. I pause tattooing the client, a guy named Darius who I’ve tatted a few times now, and glance at my phone.
“Hey, it’s my kids’ school, okay if we take a quick break?” I ask him, already picking up my phone.
“Yeah, of course, man,” he says.
“Thanks,” I say, answering the phone as I walk out of the room. “Hello?”
“Hi there, this is Elaine from Westwind Elementary School. I’m looking for Damien King,” a woman says through the phone.
“This is him,” I respond. “Is everything okay?” I ask. I’ve never gotten a call from one of the girls’ schools except for when Ellie got lice in fourth grade.
“Yes, sir. Willow is fine, but we did have an incident in which she needed to be sent to the principal’s office. We’ll need you to come in to speak with Principal Atkins and pick Willow up.”
“Why did Willow get called to the principal’s office? What happened?” I rapidly fire questions at the woman.
“Principal Atkins will discuss that with you as soon as you get here, sir,” she says cheerily.
“I’m in the middle of work. If she’s perfectly fine, can’t you send her back to class and I come in at the end of the school day?” I ask, unsure what to do.
Of course, my daughter comes first, but she isn’t hurt, and everything’s okay. Frankly, it seems like this is more of the school’s issue than a Willow issue.
“Unfortunately, no, sir. Principal Atkins is very busy and needs to have the discussion now so he can continue his workday.” She pauses for a moment.
Because his workday is so much more important than mine.
“What about Willow’s mother?” she asks.
“Do you see a mother listed on the contact sheet?” I huff, letting my frustration get the best of me.
I hate that they even ask the question. I hate that I can’t tell them that her mother will be right there as an answer. It’s just a reminder that Willow only has me.
“Hey,” Sawyer whispers, and it’s only then I notice her standing at the end of the hallway, listening.
“I can go get her if you need,” she says. “It’s Willow, right? I don’t mind helping, I know you’re in the middle of an appointment.”
“One minute,” I say into the phone before muting it. “I can’t ask you to do that, Sawyer.” I shake my head.
“It’s really no big deal.” She shrugs. “Plus, I’m sure Willow will be happier to see it’s me picking her up from the principal’s and not her big, scary dad. I’m her favorite, remember?” She smiles at me reassuringly.
“Are you sure?” I ask her.
“Absolutely.” She nods just as the woman calls my name into the phone.
“I’m sorry about that,” I say into the phone. “Listen, I’m in the middle of an appointment, and I can’t leave work at the moment, but I have a family friend, Sawyer Davis, coming in to get Willow.”
“Okay, and do you give full permission for us to speak about Willow with Ms. Davis?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say, looking at Sawyer. “You can speak to her about anything.”
“Okay, great. We’ll see Ms. Davis soon, then. Have a great day,” she says.
“Thanks, you too,” I mumble into the phone before hanging up.
“Don’t worry,” Sawyer says before I can speak. “Just get back to your appointment. I’ve got her, I promise. Westwind Elementary, right?” she asks.
“Yes.” I nod. “Will you text me and keep me updated on what’s going on and call me once you have her? You can just bring her back here to hang for the day.”
“Of course, I’ll keep you updated the whole time,” she says. “Oh, wait.” She pauses. “I forgot I don’t have a car. Aria needed hers this morning.”
“That’s fine, take mine.” I reach into my pocket, handing her my keys.
“Thanks.” She grabs them, her fingers brushing mine as she does.
My skin burns as she pulls them away, and I can tell that she’s just as affected as me by the way her eyes linger on my hand as I bring it back to my side.
“Okay, I better get going.” She clears her throat. “Don’t want to keep the busy principal waiting,” she jokes, moving to walk past me toward the back parking lot.
“Hey, Sawyer?” I call out.
“Yeah?” She turns around.
“Thank you,” I say.
She nods slightly, a smile softer than usual on her face, before continuing to walk away. I can’t help but stare at her as she goes. It’s not until she walks out the back door that I finally manage to pull my gaze away. I stand in the hallway, taking a second to compose myself before returning back to my appointment, and that’s when it hits me.
I just sent Sawyer to go pick up my kid from the principal’s office. Nobody except my parents has ever had that big of a role in my daughters’ lives, yet I had no problem letting Sawyer in.
Because I trust her. Fully and completely.
I’ve already admitted to myself that I have feelings for Sawyer, that I want her.
But this is more than that. How I feel is more than wanting her to be a part of my life.
It’s that I can’t help but want her to be a part of my girl’s lives, too.
“Hey man, everything alright?” Darius asks from the open doorway to my room.
“Not in the slightest,” I mumble to myself, taking a deep breath to focus before turning to him. “Let’s get back to work.”