Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
BLAKE
Killing the engine, I pick up my phone to check for any messages, although I knew there weren’t any. After Savannah hadn’t responded to my texts last night, I tried calling her, but she hadn’t picked up her phone. And neither did Daniel. The latter didn’t surprise me, although I did specifically tell him to keep his phone on him at all times.
How was it that teenagers spend all their time glued to their phones, but that one time you call them because you need them, they don’t pick up, I’ll never understand.
I glance toward Savannah’s house but don’t see any movement there.
The need to go over and see her is almost overwhelming, but I have to check in on my kids first.
At least the house is standing, so I guess there is that.
Eerie silence greets me as I step inside. I close the door behind me and listen intently, but nothing.
“Daniel?” I look down the hallway. “Levi?”
They didn’t go out, did they?
I walk toward the back of the house, checking the rooms, but the whole first floor is empty, just like the backyard. An uneasy feeling rises inside of me, but I push it back as I turn around and climb the stairs, taking two steps at a time.
I start to open Daniel’s door when I see that the door to my bedroom is cracked open.
The door I know I left shut.
Weird.
With one final look at Daniel’s bedroom, I go toward the end of the hallway. Even before I push open the door, I can see the bedsheets on the floor in the corner of the room.
What the ? —
I enter the room and stop in my tracks at the scene in front of me. My heart does a little flip inside my chest at the sight of Savannah sleeping in my bed next to my sons.
Levi is curled against her, his fingers gripping Savannah’s as if, even in his sleep, he’s afraid that she’ll leave him if he doesn’t hold onto her. His lips are slightly parted as he breathes soundly. Daniel, on the other hand, is on the other side of the bed, sleeping in an upright position against the headboard, his head is tilted to the side, and my own neck prickles in solidarity with his at the pain he’ll be in once he wakes up.
What the hell happened here?
I move closer, other little details catching my attention—the thermometer sitting on my nightstand next to the bottle of kid’s Tylenol—the new bedsheets. An almost stale smell fills the room—and things finally start to make sense.
Levi must have gotten sick. That’s why she was here taking care of my boys.
Something I should have been doing, but once again, I was away when they needed me.
That familiar guilt spreads through my stomach, making the bile burn my throat.
My jaw clenches, but before I get a chance to go down the road of self-loathing, Savannah groans softly, the covers rustling as she shifts in bed. Those crystal blue eyes open, blurry with sleep, cheeks flushed.
Fuck, she looks gorgeous, all sleepy and ruffled like that. Her hair is sprawled over my pillow, a large shirt swallowing her whole.
My shirt.
Mine.
Savannah might not be ready to admit it just yet, but she was mine.
Ours.
This here, it just further proved it.
A sudden surge of possessiveness slams into me, leaving me breathless in its intensity.
Her eyes fix on me, and she blinks a few times. I can see the exact moment it finally hits her. Her eyes widen, lips parting slightly. “You’re home.” Her voice is groggy, a lock of honey hair falling in her face.
Home.
There it is again.
I suck in a breath, my lungs feeling tight as I just stare at her.
“I’m home.”
Not this house or even this town, but her.
She was my home.
Savannah, my two boys, and our unborn baby.
Unable to resist it, I reach forward and brush it away, my fingers skimming over her soft skin. I trace the underside of her mouth. “I’ll always come back home to you.”
My palm slips to her nape, fingers tangling between those unbound strands.
Savannah sucks in a shaky breath. “Blake, I?—”
“Sav?”
My body goes still, and Savannah’s eyes widen at the sound of Levi’s voice.
Reluctantly, I pull back and shift my attention to my son, who’s rubbing at his eyes.
“Hey, buddy. How are you doing?”
Levi’s hand drops, his mouth falling open when he sees me. “Dad!” He sits upright, and in his haste, he kicks Daniel, who jolts from sleep. “What— Dad?”
“You’re back!” Levi yells, and before I get a chance to react, he jumps out of bed and toward me. I manage to wrap my arms around him at the very last second.
“Somebody’s happy to see me,” I chuckle softly, rubbing at his back.
He squeezes me tightly for a moment before pulling back. His face was still a bit pale, and there were bags under his eyes, but for the most part, he seemed like his usual self. “When did you get home?”
“Just now, and imagine my surprise when I find you all in bed at noon!”
“It’s noon already?” Savannah asks, pushing upright.
Levi looks over his shoulder, a smile lighting up his whole face. “Sav, you’re still here!”
The genuine surprise on Levi’s face makes my throat go tight.
Levi doesn’t notice it because he squirms out of my hold and goes to Savannah, wrapping his arms around her middle. Instead of protesting or being annoyed by him, Savannah smiles at my boy, her hand resting on his back. “I promised I’d be here until your dad came, didn’t I?”
“You did, but I didn’t think you’d stay.”
Savannah’s lips part in surprise at Levi’s words, at the nonchalance with which he said them.
He, too, was used to people leaving. His mother sure didn’t think twice before packing her shit and fleeing without a backward glance.
Just like Savannah’s.
Daniel shifts, drawing my attention. He’s quietly observing the duo, an unreadable expression on his face.
“I’d never do that.”
No, she wouldn’t. Because she knew exactly what it felt like to be left behind.
Savannah leans down, her lips pressing against Levi’s forehead. The gesture is instinctual and maternal, and Levi is drinking in every second of her attention. “No fever.” She ruffles his hair. “How is your tummy?”
Levi tilts his head, “Better, I think.”
Just at that moment, Levi’s stomach growls loudly, and he giggles.
The corner of my mouth tips upward. “Hungry?”
He lets go of Savannah and turns to me. “I’m starving!”
“How about I go and make us that soup you like?”
“Can we have pancakes?”
This kid. I shake my head. “How about soup first, and then we’ll see how you feel?”
“Fine, I guess. Can we at least watch movies?”
“Sure, we can watch movies.”
Savannah slides from the bed, and I slowly take her in. The bright red toes, her long creamy legs, my shirt falling to mid-thigh and hiding her bump, her teeth nibbling at her lower lip, the flushed cheeks…
“Umm…” She shifts slightly. “Can I just use your bathroom, and I’ll leave you guys to it?”
She wants to leave?
Before I get to say anything, Levi’s already at her side, his fingers wrapped around her wrists, shaking his head. “You can’t leave.” He glances at me, a determined expression on his face. “Sav can stay with us and watch a movie, right, Dad?”
“Of course, she can stay if she wants to,” I say slowly, weighing my words. Did I want her to stay? Hell, yes. But on the other hand, she has her own life, and she just spent the night taking care of my kids; it wouldn’t be fair to ask her for more. “Maybe she’s busy, buddy.”
Levi presses his lips together, not one to take no easily. “Are you busy?”
Savannah looks between us and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, no.”
“Stay.” Levi purses his lips. “Pretty please? I don’t want you to leave.”
“Might as well give up now,” Daniel says. “He’ll become more annoying than ever if you don’t agree.”
Those crystal blue eyes glance from one person to the other until they finally land on me. I want to be a good guy and tell her she can go, and we’ll be fine, but I don’t want to be a good guy. Not when it comes to her.
“What do you say, Blondie? Wanna hang out with us?”
She grazes her teeth over her lower lip, letting it pop. “Okay,” she whispers, her words barely audible. “I’ll stay.”
“Yes!” Levi throws himself at her, making her sway on her feet. “We’ll have so much fun. I’ll pick out the movie, and?—”
“Why don’t you go and do that?” I let my hands land on Levi’s shoulders. “Savannah will come down in a little bit.”
Savannah shoots me a grateful smile, and I push Levi toward the door, Daniel at our heels.
We descend the stairs, and Levi goes to the living room. He grabs the remote and jumps on the couch, coughing slightly.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I press my palm against his forehead, but no fever, just like Savannah said. “Want me to get you some tea?”
He shakes his head, his attention on the TV. “I’m good.”
“Okay, then. I’ll go and heat that soup up.”
Slipping into the kitchen, I pull open the fridge and grab the pot with some soup Mrs. M. made for the boys before she left. When I close the fridge, I find Daniel standing in the doorway.
“Did you want something different to eat?” I ask as I turn on the stove.
“No, this is fine.” From the corner of my eyes, I can see him shift his weight from one foot to the other. “You won’t ask me what happened? Why didn’t I call?”
My brows quirked up as I lean against the counter. “Do you want to tell me?”
Daniel’s throat bobs as he swallows. “Levi told me he didn’t feel good a little after Mrs. M. left, but I didn’t believe him.” His head drops down, and he rubs at the back of his neck. “Some guys from school came by. We were playing video games, and I thought he was making things up, so I told him to go and play. He did, and I forgot about it until I went to grab a drink and heard him vomiting. I tried to give him some medicine, but he kept throwing up. I was thinking of calling you, but you were in Austin, and he wasn’t feeling well, so I went to Savannah’s.”
Pushing from the counter, I cross the distance between us and place my palms on his shoulders. “You did good. I wouldn’t be able to get here in time anyway, so you did what you had to in order to help your brother.”
Daniel nods slowly. “She came. She didn’t even blink when I asked her, she just… came.”
I wasn’t surprised. Not in the slightest. That was the kind of woman she was. I didn’t know what I did to deserve her in my life, but I was one lucky bastard to have her.
“She’s a good woman.”
I glance up when I see a flash of blonde on the staircase, my lungs suddenly feeling tight.
Savannah.
Lifting my hand, I rub at my chest as I watch her go to the living room and smile at Levi as she sits next to him, letting him scoot into her side. That pressure grows sharper, more intense, leaving me breathless as the realization sets in.
I might have lied to her after all.
I wasn’t falling for her.
No, it was too late for that.
I was in love with her.
Now, I just had to convince her to give me a chance.