Chapter 8
“Hey, you okay?” Chase asked the next day with a frown. “You’ve been quiet all day.”
“I’m good. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“Come on. Charly’s got lunch. She’s serving it outside.”
“I’m working on this?—”
He waved his hand, cutting me off. “Everyone’s taking their turn. It’s ours now. The office is covered, and the customer isn’t coming to pick up their truck until tomorrow.”
With a sigh, I set down my tools, wiping my hands. I knew when to give up on an argument. I had been so lost in thought, I hadn’t even noticed others leaving to eat.
I followed Chase outside, sitting at the picnic table. Charly had outdone herself, as usual. Burgers and sausages from the grill tempted me. A huge pasta salad looked incredible.
“Special occasion?” I asked as I dug in.
Charly smiled. “Not really. I felt like cooking.”
Beside her, Maxx grunted. “She does this at times. It’s a wonder I don’t look like a whale the way she cooks.” He chuckled. “When she was pregnant, it was constant.”
“It’s called nesting,” I muttered. Roxanne had been that way for about a month. She’d been calm, happy, and we got along. It hadn’t lasted, and I had missed it once she stopped.
Maxx chuckled, wiped his mouth, and pressed a kiss to Charly’s head. “I liked it. But then again, I liked all the stages except the morning sickness.”
I nodded in agreement. It had been brief but violent for Roxanne. She’d been ill twenty-four hours a day for weeks. I did all I could to help her, but I tried to stay out of the way. She’d hated me more than usual during that time. I far preferred the nesting phase.
“Yeah, that isn’t a fun part of pregnancy. For mother or father.”
Dead silence followed my words, and I realized I had spoken out loud.
I looked up, meeting their curious gazes. It was Charly’s gentle question that broke my decision to never talk about Josh.
“You know from experience, don’t you?”
I gave them the CliffsNotes of what I had told Cherry. Shared what I felt comfortable telling them. Maxx and Chase listened, Charly grabbed my hand, helping anchor me. When I mentioned Josh’s birthday yesterday, her grip tightened and tears filled her eyes.
“Oh, Dom,” she whispered.
Maxx moved closer to her, tucking her into his side.
“Don’t cry, Charly,” I begged. “I’m okay. I miss him like crazy, but I hold on to the fact that he seems happy.”
“I can’t imagine not seeing my children,” she said.
“I had no choice.”
“I know.”
Stefano had joined us as I talked, and he shook his head. “You’ve never said a thing.”
“It hurt too much. But Cherry told me I should talk about him.”
Charly perked up. “Cherry? Cherry knows?”
“I was with her last night and told her. She thinks I should be more open and share with people I care about.”
When I’d woken up that morning, I’d been draped across her, one hand fisted in her hair, my feet hanging over the side of her smaller bed. She’d been stroking her fingers through my hair, her touch gentle and soothing. Her voice had been quiet when she spoke.
“You need to tell people about your son. Share him and the memories.”
And looking around at the understanding and compassionate gazes, I realized she had been right.
Charly grinned. “That’s good, Dom. I’m happy for you. And we’re always here for you.”
“Thanks, Charly.”
She squeezed my hand. “That’s what friends are for.”
Later that night, I was restless. Not hungry, I skipped dinner. Paced around the house. Went for a walk. Checked the local listings for places for sale. I even arranged for a couple of viewings. But I was still edgy. Finally, I realized what I wanted.
Cherry.
I wanted the comfort of her closeness. Her soft voice.
I grabbed my keys and threw open my door, stopping in shock.
Standing on my doorstep, her hand raised as if to knock, stood Cherry Gallagher.
“Cherry?” I said, dumbfounded.
“Is this a bad time?” she asked, clearly nervous.
I pulled her to my chest, kissing her like I was a starving man and she was an all-you-can-eat Vegas buffet. She flung her arms around my neck, kissing me back.
I dragged her inside, holding her tight.
“This is the best surprise in the history of surprises,” I murmured. The fact that she’d come to me was incredible. Not a call, not a text.
She was here.
She smiled at me, cupping my face. “Yeah?”
I kissed her again. “Yeah.”
I tugged her to the sofa, sitting beside her. “Did you come to see Hannah too?”
“No. Just you. I-I wanted to see you.”
I bent and brushed my mouth over hers. “Thanks, Cherry G. That means more than I can say.”
She grasped my hand, and I felt a tremor go through her.
“Hey, what’s the matter?”
“I have something to say. If you’re angry, I understand. If you want nothing to do with it, I won’t be upset. But I had to come and ask.”
“Baby, I doubt you could make me angry. Just tell me.”
She drew in a deep breath. “I was thinking about you this morning.”
Teasingly, I dropped a kiss to her knuckles. “I like the sound of that.”
She huffed. “Listen to me, Mr. Salvatore.”
I chuckled. “Okay, I’ll behave.”
“I was working on a client, and she noticed I was distracted. Now, she is more than a client, she’s a friend. I should say that.”
“Okay.”
“We had coffee, and I told her about you.”
“What about me?”
“That we were, ah, seeing each other.” She took another deep breath. “And about Josh.”
“Why would you bring him up?”
“Because her husband—um, I cut his hair too on occasion. He…he’s a big shot lawyer. He specializes in family law. Advocating for the father whenever he can.”
I blinked.
“And I thought maybe you could talk to him. Tell him your story. He might be able to help. Fiona thought so.”
“Fiona?”
“His wife.”
“And his name?”
“Halton. Halton Smithers.”
I had heard that name. Seen it in the papers and on the news. I knew he was a heavy hitter in family law. And way above my budget.
“Fiona spoke with him. He agreed to meet with you—if you want that. A free consultation.”
I blinked. A free consultation. I might not be able to afford his fees, but he might be able to give me some advice. A tip or two on how to proceed.
It was a chance.
“Are you angry with me?” Cherry asked quietly.
I turned to her, taking her hands. “How could I be angry? You wanted to help. A meeting with him could at least point me in the right direction. Maybe he’d have an idea my lawyer didn’t.” I grimaced. “He wasn’t the best, but he was what I could afford. Roxanne wiped me out, for the most part.”
“He’s a wonderful man. I like him a lot. And Fiona is great. She helps him. They offered to get you in on Friday at six if you could.”
“Six?”
She smiled. “I think they are extending their hours for you.”
“Will you come with me?”
“Yes.”
“Then set it up.”
“Okay.”
I sat back, watching as she sent off a text. A few moments later, she looked up. “Fiona said to bring everything you have. Halton wants to look it over. If there is any chance he could get it ahead of time, it would help.”
“I could take it in tomorrow. It’s all in a file box. I keep it up-to-date.”
“I could drop it off to them. Save you a trip. Then when you meet with him, he’ll be ready.”
I stroked her cheek. “Thanks, Cherry G.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“Stay,” I asked.
“What?”
“Stay here with me tonight. Please. I don’t want to be alone. I was on my way to you when you arrived.”
“You were?”
I nodded. “All I could think about was you. Your presence. How much calmer I feel when you’re around.”
She looked pleased. “Then how can I say no?” She looked down. “I don’t have anything?—”
“I’ll give you something to wear. I have extra toothbrushes. None of your fancy girl face stuff, but I have soap.”
She laughed. “I’ll make do.” Then she stood. “Did you eat?”
“No.”
“Me either.” She held out her hand. “How about a burger at Zeke’s?”
I let her pull me from the sofa. “Sounds good.”
We walked to Zeke’s, enjoyed a burger, not talking much, but I felt more relaxed than I had all day. I told her about sharing my story with Charly, Maxx, Chase, and Stefano and their reaction. She’d been pleased I had done so.
“They’re your friends, Dom. Of course they would understand and want to be there for you.”
“I guess I’m not used to that.”
“You must have other friends who care about you.”
“I do. But since Roxanne and Josh, I tend to hold myself back a bit. I have lots of acquaintances. People I’m friendly with. But I don’t let them in.”
“But I see how you give of yourself in a friendship.”
I chewed my burger, thinking. “This crew is different. They’re a family, and they brought me into their fold.” I met her eyes. “And you blew my doors wide open, Cherry G. You make me want to stay. Be part of that family—as long as you’re there with me.”
Her eyes widened, and her smile broke out. It was my favorite of all her smiles. Wide, happy, and a little shy. Pleased. Her eyes crinkled, and a little dimple appeared by the left one. Tiny, hardly noticeable unless you were looking.
And I was always looking.
“I want that.”
“Good.”
We walked home, enjoying the fresh air and empty streets.
“It’s so nice here,” she observed. “So much quieter than Toronto. Even at night, I hear traffic.”
“You ever thought of leaving Toronto?”
“That’s where my job is.”
“People in Lomand and other little towns have hair too.”
She laughed. “It’s harder to find a job at my age. They want younger, less-experienced staff to train. I have thought about it—I even looked into getting a job closer to Hannah. So far, no luck.” She sighed. “And I’ll admit, there are times I wonder if I should do something else. It gets harder to be on my feet all day. And my shoulders and hands ache more than they used to.”
“What would you do?” I asked, curious.
She shrugged. “I ran my own business. I know paperwork, inventory, all sorts of things. I could manage an office, work for a business, do bookkeeping or other things. But again, no one is hiring people my age.” She stopped. “Oh, look at that pretty house!”
I followed her gaze to the two-story house. Large and rambling, it had ivy growing up one side and a large bay window. A fence surrounded the huge yard, and it had a double-car garage.
“Nice,” I agreed, studying the lines.
“It’s the sort of house I used to dream of,” she mused. “Not many like that in Toronto unless you’re a millionaire.”
“You want a house?”
She shrugged. “I can’t afford one. And I wouldn’t want all that space on my own. I would love a garden and a porch to sit on, but I can come and live vicariously through Hannah.”
I smiled and stored that little bit of information away for later. I kept lots of tidbits about Cherry G in my head.
We kept walking, arriving back to my house in a short time. She changed into a T-shirt and shorts I gave her, both too big but looking adorable on her. I turned on the TV, loving how she snuggled beside me on the sofa while we watched the news and caught up on the world. It felt natural to have her with me. After a while, she fell quiet, and her head became heavier on my shoulder. I glanced down, seeing that she had fallen asleep. I wasn’t surprised. She’d worked all day, driven here to see me, and I had kept her up late last night and woken her once in the dark to have her again. She had to be tired.
I shut off the TV and carefully maneuvered her into my arms, carrying her to the bed. I slid her under the blanket and joined her a few moments later. She nestled against me with a sigh, and I relaxed beside her, amazed at how much I liked having her there. Her soft presence was a balm to my soul. I had never experienced such a contented feeling as I did from simply having someone this close.
But then again, I had never met Cherry G before.
I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and closed my eyes, letting sleep find me.
With her there, it came quickly.
I woke in the morning with Cherry curled around me, her head on my chest. I carefully pushed her hair off her face, studying her in the early morning light. Her long lashes rested on her cheeks, and her lips pursed as she slumbered. I loved the freckles on her skin—they were lighter than Hannah’s and mostly scattered across the bridge of her nose and over the tops of her cheeks. I thought they were sexy and alluring. She’d informed me they were a pain in her butt when I had expressed my opinion. At the moment, with her still asleep, they were charming and sweet. Much like she was. Quiet, still, and not telling me off or flipping her gorgeous hair at me—all actions that I actually loved. Her spunk was a turn-on for me.
I glanced at the clock and then regretfully pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Hey, sleepyhead, time to wake up.”
She frowned, stretching her toes and shivering, then burrowing back into me. “No,” she muttered. “Not yet.”
“Baby, it’s seven. I know you have to drive in this morning, and I want to have breakfast with you first.”
She huffed a little sigh of air and opened her beautiful eyes, meeting my gaze. “Breakfast? As in coffee?”
I chuckled. “Coffee and a breakfast sandwich if you let me up.”
She looked around. “How did we get in the bed?”
“You fell asleep, and I carried you.”
“You didn’t wake me up to, ah…” She trailed off.
I stroked her warm cheek. “You were tired. So was I. I wanted to stay close. It’s not all about sex for me, you know.”
“Oh.”
“Sleeping beside you makes me exceedingly happy.”
“Oh,” she repeated.
I gripped the back of her neck. “And horny, but that is beside the point.”
She slid her hand under the blanket, stroking my morning wood. “Maybe we have time for you to make your point.”
I groaned at the feeling of her hand on me. “You might be late.”
“My first appointment is at ten.”
“I’m supposed to be at the garage at eight.”
“Oh well.”
I rolled her over. “I’m about to be late, and you’re about to be very noisy.”
“Is that right?”
I grinned down at her. “Guaranteed.”
“Prove it,” she whispered.
And I did.
Twice.