Chapter 6 Everly
Chapter Six
EVERLY
As it turned out the world was changed the following morning. Just not in the way I expected it. My best friend, Cassie, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Brie and I had stayed with her at the hospital.
Jake Salinger, her husband, had gone to get us each a coffee, leaving Brielle and I alone with his wife.
Cassie looked up from the tiny bundle she was nursing. “So, they found Noah.” Her smirk darted between me and Brie. “I didn’t even know they were looking.”
Brie retied her wavy brown hair into a messy bun but glared at Cassie.
“I told you I was going to ask Mason.” Mason was her fiance, another Salinger sibling working at the same company.
“I asked a few weeks before they went on that rescue mission. I’m not sure what all happened.
But things went south after that, remember. ”
I did remember. Two of the wives had been kidnapped.
Brie was taken too, but she was taken to her father’s place.
Cassie had been run off the road that same day.
It was all part of some big master plan that involved revenge against the Salingers.
Fortunately, it all worked out okay and apparently, Noah and his team had helped.
I was off dealing with a family emergency and completely oblivious to what had happened.
“So, you told Cass you were going to ask your man to look for Skylar’s dad, but you couldn’t offer me the same courtesy.” I was a little irritated. More than a little, actually.
Brie let out a breath, regret written all over your face. “I didn’t want to get your hopes up. What if they couldn’t find him? Or worse.”
I stifled the shudder that threatened. The idea of what or worse meant scared me more than I was willing to admit.
It never occurred to me that he might not have made it home.
“What exactly was I going to do to get my hopes up for?” My voice rose and I lowered it to a harsh whisper.
“That I’d dream about finding my baby-daddy and wish for a happily ever after? “
Brie’s brow rose. “Well, yeah.” She stood from the chair at Cassie’s bedside. “You never spoke about your weekend with him. We guessed that was because he was more special than you anticipated.”
“He was special, Brie.” That was an understatement. “He made me feel things… It was different with him. I won’t deny that. But that was thirteen years ago. I am a thirty-five-year-old woman now, for crying out loud. My days of wishing for happily ever afters are long gone.”
“What?” Brie looked outraged.
Cassie was not much better. “You cannot possibly believe that.”
“Why not?” Did I want a happily ever after? Of course, I did. Did I picture that with Noah? Certainly. But I was also a realist. “If it was meant to be, we would’ve found our way to each other a long time ago.”
Brie frowned and I knew I wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “I found the love of my life at thirty-three. Cassie was thirty-four. I don’t see what our age has to do with it.”
“Oh, please.” Found the love of their lives was over simplifying things. “Both of you resisted love for as long as you could.”
Cassie lifted her daughter off her breast and righted her dressing gown. “I outranked Jake, it was against regulation. That wasn’t resistance, it was preservation.”
I took the tiny pink bundle from her arms and held her close to me. “Look, I have so much going on. I don’t have time for more. I have an obligation to introduce Noah to Skylar. I also have a few other things I need to sort through. Noah, cannot factor into any of those.”
Brie faced me and crossed her arms. “What things? How did things go with your manager, yesterday? And your parents? Are they still wanting to send Sky to private school?”
“They bought the fucking uniform.” The same royal blue and gray affair that I was forced to wear for four years.”
“Hey watch your mouth.” Cassie scolded as if her baby girl could understand what I was saying. “Besides, that is more than a year away. There’s no need to worry about it yet. What did Phil say?”
Phil Shaw was my manager. He had been with me when I first signed thirteen years ago and stayed with me when I pivoted to songwriting once Skylar came along.
“Five Hearts are having a reunion tour.” They were the it band for a few years a decade ago. “They want to do a flashback tour. I’m one of the acts they want to include.”
Brie hopped on the spot, her arms flapping. “Ev, that’s great. Sky’s older now and we will all pitch in. This is your time.”
Her reaction was exactly what I expected. My friends would help in a way my family never would. When I refused to have an abortion or get a proper job, my mother warned me never to come crawling back when I needed help. Not for money or for babysitting. So I never did.
“He also wants me to release an album.” Recently, I had written the theme songs for two teen TV dramas.
One of them I had already recorded, and the show was released on a streaming service a few weeks back.
The other I would record with an upcoming teen country star who Phil was dying to represent.
He’d booked studio time for us already. “I mean I have some music I’ve written and not sold over the years, but I don’t have a…
I need a lead single. And I am not sure if I have it in me. ”
“Of course, you have it in you.” Brie was the one with no musical talent but that never stopped her from supporting me. “You forget that you wrote Tempt Me, the biggest hit off that debut album. And you’ve written a number of hits over the years.”
She was right, of course. I used a pen name to maintain my anonymity in the writing credits, but my songs had launched a few careers over the years. Except for the TV themes, those were credited to my legal name.
“None of those songs would work for me now. I want something fresh, something that is for me and me alone.”
While I didn’t agree to anything yet, my mind was pretty much made up that I would do both the album and the reunion tour.
Then my parents had to rain on my parade all over again and remind me that I was not providing for my daughter the same kind of life that they had provided for me.
Like riding lessons and private school were the only ways to raise a child.
My daughter wanted to be a dancer. She was pretty damn good at it, and she worked hard getting up early for recital rehearsals and practicing extra hard for competitions. Dancing was not a highly paid career, but Sky had both the talent and the work ethic to get to the top of her game.
Then there was the Noah factor. I doubted he would approve of me raising my daughter in the spotlight. His disapproval could really throw a cat among the proverbial pigeons.
Cassie smiled. “I’m sure it will come to you. Now, about Noah.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing I had delayed the topic for as long as possible. “Yeah, I’m introducing him to Skylar later on. Tess dropped her off at ballet this morning, he’ll come with me to fetch her. We’ll all go back to the cottage together and talk there.”
Brie frowned and looked at her watch. “Doesn’t Sky finish in fifteen minutes.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked the time. “Ugh. Fuck it.”
“Language.”
“Language.”
Both my friends scolded at the same time.
“I texted that he should meet me outside the hospital five minutes ago.” I had no car, and he was still using Nick’s so he offered to pick me up.
I handed Little Girl Salinger — seriously that was what her tiny bracelet said — over to Brie.
Before I reached the door, it opened and another nurse in maroon scrubs walked in smiling.
“Avery.” Cassie smiled and opened her arms. “I didn’t know you worked shifts here as well.”
The woman embraced my friend and nodded at each of us. “I don’t normally.” By the scrunch of her nose I’d guess she was up to no good. “But the navy nurse who normally took shifts in the maternity ward is currently on maternity leave. Rumor has it, she had her baby overnight.”
Cassie’s smile was infectious. “Guilty.” She introduced each of us to the newcomer then turned back to Avery. “Thanks for covering for me.”
“No problem. We need to stick together. You know, because we don’t always follow regulations.”
Cassie explained that like her, Avery was an officer, and her husband was enlisted. But while they had met through a rescue operation, they were never part of the same team. Something Cassie was still sensitive about.
“Cole’s on his way to pick me up. I just wanted to see this little bundle.” She held her arms out and Cassie handed over the baby girl. “What are you naming her.”
My friend’s eyes glossed over for a moment. “Daisy Darla Salinger.”
“That’s beautiful.” Avey got a whimsical look. “Here and I graduated together. Did you know? Both of us swore we’d never marry men in the military.”
Cassie rolled her lips and shook her head. “Then she married an army sniper and you married a Navy SEAL.”
“You can’t help who you love” Avery shrugged a shoulder and winked at me and Brie. Then she squinted at me. “You’re Eve Halle.”
I let out a sigh, not wanting to talk about my past when it was waiting for me outside. “I was a long time ago.”
“Accoring to The Hot One Hundred Blog, you’re in negotiations to tour with five hearts.” She smiled at me in that way I knew she was a fan. “You should do it. I mean make them pay, but do it.”
Cassie burst out laughing. “You read that gossip site.”
“Of course. Don’t you?”
Before Cassie could answer, Jake walked in holding a tray with four to-go coffee cups. The smell of coffee and sugar had me inhaling before Noah’s broad frame filled my vision, and then breathing became difficult.
My heart did that funny thing, and I stifled a gasp. Even after all that time he was still the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. Crows' feet and the odd gray whisker or two in his five o'clock scruff aside. Still, he was even sexier than the night I met him.
Jake darted his eyes between us. He smiled when he spotted Avery. “Nelson.”
“Na-ah” She wiggled her left hand showing off her ring. “It’s Kingston now.”
She handed the baby back to Cassie who pouted. “You’re leaving.”
“I’ll back later.” She waved at all of us and exited.
Jake stepped further into the room. “Noah was outside and figured it would be easier if I just brought him to you.”
I took the cup labeled vanilla latte from the tray and gave Jake a fake smile. “Aren’t you ever so helpful.”
“Always.” Jake’s voice dropped as he whispered in my ear. “He’s a good guy, Ev. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t.”
Yeah, that was true. Nick and Mason had used their contacts to look for Noah. They would’ve done their research including a pretty in-depth background check. While I appreciated the effort, I couldn’t see that kind of tenacity going down well when Skylar started dating.
Jake stepped away from me and turned to Noah. “Take care of them or you and I will be having another conversation.”
Wait. What?
“What do you mean, another conversation?” I looked from Jake to Noah. “What did he say to you?”
It wasn’t that I wanted to protect Noah. I just didn’t want to give him any reason to leave. Or at least, any more reason to leave. For Skylar’s sake, of course.
“Nothing bad, babe.” His eyes sparkled and once again I forgot to tell him to stop calling me babe. “Wanna get out of here?”
That was the question the last time he wanted me to follow him. Or him follow me. Whatever.
I dropped the subject knowing Jake wouldn’t do or say anything that would hurt me. Instead, I let out a long breath. “Let’s go and get our daughter.”