Chapter Twenty
JAKE
It’s been three days since Abbie and I went to the police station and they found the cameras in her room.
I’m still so furious about that. I want to hunt down the fucker who’s doing this to her and beat him to a pulp.
When I go to sleep at night, thinking about what he did, I can practically taste blood.
The security guys came and installed a camera on the apartment’s front door, and thankfully, Abbie hasn’t received any more notes or texts from the asshole.
Still, I’m uneasy. This is just the calm before the storm, I’m certain of it. The bastard will be back. He didn’t follow her from Harrisburg to Ivy Glen to give up this easily.
I’ve never felt so much rage before. Rage that I haven’t been around to protect her. Rage that she left Ivy Glen for Harrisburg in the first place.
Rage that she’s so scared and hurt because she doesn’t feel like she can have Lilah with her in their home at night and is forced to shuffle her back and forth between the apartment and her dad’s house.
She’s been falling asleep in my arms every night, crying and confessing to just how much she misses Lilah and wants this all to be over.
We haven’t had sex again, but we sleep together every night and avoid acknowledging that fact during the day.
The more time we spend together, the more I want.
Everything about this woman breaks my rules and I’m starting not to fucking care.
I just want her.
I gaze down at her as she sleeps next to me, her face relaxed and peaceful-looking.
Fuck, she’s beautiful. The morning sunlight sneaking in around the edge of the curtains over the windows bathes the room in a warm glow that softens everything, including her.
My heart twists in my chest and I carefully brush a strand of hair from her forehead.
She stirs and blinks open her eyes, looking up at me with a sleepy smile.
“Good morning,” she murmurs.
“Morning,” I softly reply. “How’d you sleep?”
“All right, I guess.” She sits up and reaches for her phone to check her messages. Her eyes go wide and her expression turns distressed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ohhh, my aunt is sick and can’t watch Lilah,” she groans. “Shit, what am I going to do? Dad will be here soon to drop her off before he goes to work, and Vivianne is out of town at a retreat with her support group. Who am I going to get to watch her?”
She’d pulled Lilah from daycare for the time being, afraid that her stalker might go after her to get to Abbie. She’s been relying on her family to help with Lilah, which they’ve been more than happy to do.
I hesitate a moment before saying, “Um… I could watch her.”
Abbie blinks at me, surprised. “You?”
“Yeah, me. I don’t have to be at the rink until four for my game tonight. I can watch Lilah until I need to leave.”
Her eyes go wide and she stares at me for a moment, seemingly weighing my offer in her head.
Is she worried about leaving Lilah alone with me?
Is she wondering if she can trust me to handle things?
I mean, I can understand any hesitation she might feel.
I haven’t made my aversion to kids a secret, but the idea of spending time with Lilah fills me with excitement, not dread.
“Okay, yes! That would be great. Could you drop her off at the clinic when you head out? I’m not off until three thirty.”
“Sure,” I shrug. “You can take my car to work so we don’t have to switch out the car seat, and we’ll just swap when I drop her off.”
The look of relief that washes over her face fills me with a distinct satisfaction, like I’ve done something right.
“That’s perfect.” She cups my face and pulls me in for a kiss. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Damn, it feels good to be useful to her.
She gives me one more kiss before hopping out of bed to get ready for the day.
I get up as well and dress before heading out to the kitchen to make breakfast. Just as I’m opening the fridge to dig for some eggs, a knock sounds on the apartment’s door.
I go to answer it and come face-to-face with Michael, who’s holding Lilah’s hand and carrying her small backpack.
“Yake!” Lilah lets go of her grandpa and rushes toward me, holding her hands up in the air. “Up! Up!”
“Hey, Princess.” I pick her up and hug her before looking back at Michael.
He arches his brow at me. “Jake. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Mr. Wixx.”
He looks at Lilah and smiles, his expression growing immediately warm and tender.
“I’ll see you later, okay, sweetheart?”
Lilah grins up at him. “Okay!”
When Michael glances back at me, his expression isn’t so warm.
“I have to get going, but can you tell Abbie I’ll talk to her later?”
“No problem, I can do that.”
“Thanks.” He looks back down to Lilah, his smile returning. “Bye bye, sweetie.”
“Bye bye!”
Michael gives me a final, suspicious look before handing me Lilah’s bag and turning to make his way down the hall.
I let out a breath and shake my head. Pretty sure he can’t stop remembering the punk I used to be and doesn’t like me being around his daughter.
Can’t say I blame him, but his constant scrutiny is exhausting.
I shift my focus back to Lilah, who’s still in my arms. “Let’s go inside. Your mom is getting ready for work.”
“Okay!”
I put her down and she hurries into the apartment and as I lock the door. At that moment, Abbie appears from the hall and beams when she spots Lilah.
“Hi, baby!”
She squats and opens her arms, Lilah instantly running into them and returning the hug.
“Hi, Mommy!”
“Did you have a good time with Grandpa and Vivi last night?”
Lilah grins up at her and nods. “Yeah! We watched Elsa!”
“Oh, you watched Frozen ? That’s so fun!” Abbie peeks up at me before swallowing and giving Lilah her full attention again. “Guess what?”
“What?”
“While Mommy’s at work today, you’re going to hang out with Jake. Does that sound fun?”
Lilah looks at me, tilting her head as she’s studying me intently. I freeze and stare back at her, feeling weirdly like she’s seeing right through me before she smiles and nods up to Abbie.
“Yeah! Fun!”
Abbie sighs in relief, as if she was worried how Lilah would respond to the news she’d be spending the day with me. I’m not going to lie, I was worried there for a minute myself.
“Okay, so a few things you need to know,” she tells me, going into serious mom mode.
“She’s newly potty trained, but she’ll need help getting on the toilet.
When she asks for bread grapes, she really means red grapes.
She usually naps at one, right after she has lunch, and when she goes down, she has to have her stuffed elephant with her, or she won’t even pretend to sleep. ”
Chuckling, I reply, “Don’t worry. I’ve been around for a little bit now, remember? I know the basics. We’ll be fine. I promise.”
She gives me a nervous smile. “If you need anything, just call.”
“Will do. Do you want breakfast?”
She shakes her head. “I’m running late as it is.”
Abbie gives Lilah another hug and kisses her forehead before she manages to pull herself away. I walk her to the door.
“We’ll see you later,” I tell her.
She gives me a nervous smile. “Have fun.”
She hurries out the door, glancing over her shoulder, and I give her a small wave and reassuring grin before closing and locking the door once more.
“All right, Princess, have you had breakfa…” I turn around and lose my breath.
Lilah’s not there.
What the hell?
Panic seizes me immediately. Fuck! How could I lose her already?
“Lilah?” I call out, rushing toward the hall and down to her room. “Lilah, where are you?”
My heart is pounding. Fuck, fuck fuck. Where is she? I come to a sudden stop, nearly tripping over my own feet when she walks out of her room with paper in one hand and crayons in the other. Smiling, she holds them up to me.
“Color?” she asks.
I let out a long, shuddering breath. Oh, thank God! I don’t remember the last time I was so fucking scared.
Is this what parenthood would feel like? Terrifying moments popping out of nowhere, all the damn time, because you love a helpless little being so damn much? It’s a big difference from having siblings, if so.
“Yeah,” I answer breathlessly. “Yeah, we can color.”
When my phone rings a few hours later, I quickly move to answer it. Lilah is sitting in the living room, playing with a collection of dolls she’s dragged out from her room. I’ve been sitting with her, pretending to be a prince who needs to rescue her princess doll.
I look to see who’s calling and see Carter’s name flashing across the screen.
“Hey, man,” I say, answering the call. “What’s up?”
“Not much,” he replies. “What’s up with you?”
I glance over to Lilah and chuckle. “Well, I’m babysitting today. Lilah and I have had a busy morning of coloring and dolls.”
“Oh, yeah?” His tone is cautious. “How do you feel about looking after her?”
He’s digging for something, I can tell, but I don’t want to go too deep into things when Lilah is right here with me.
“Abbie needed help, and I offered. It’s not a big deal.”
“Uh huh,” Carter mutters. “Anyway, I was calling to see if you wanted to get lunch?”
“I’m game to go to Sal’s if you don’t mind Lilah tagging along.”
“Not at all.” His tone brightens. “The more, the merrier.”
“All right, we’ll meet you there.”
I hang up with Carter and turn back to Lilah.
“Hey, kiddo. You want to go get something to eat?”
She looks up at me with that big grin of hers I love.
“Yeah!”
I smile back at her. “Let’s get ready to go. Find your shoes.”
She hops up, and I help her get her shoes and coat on and we head out of the apartment. Making our way down to Abbie’s car, I get Lilah in her car seat. It takes me a few seconds to remember how the straps work, but when she’s buckled in and secure, I get in behind the wheel and drive us to Sal’s.
Carter is already there when Lilah and I walk in. The restaurant is a little crowded today, and most of the booths are filled, but he’s managed to snag one and waves us over.