22. Bailey
CHAPTER 22
Bailey
W hen I wake up in the morning, Caleb isn’t with me. I roll out of bed and make my way downstairs and find Caleb in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee and making breakfast. He sees me and smiles, pouring another cup before bringing it to me and kissing me.
“Morning, Bails. Sleep well?”
I smile. “Yeah, you?”
“Like a baby. Breakfast is almost done. I was just going to go wake you and Charlie up.”
“I’ll go get her.”
I take a sip of my coffee and place it on the counter before going to Charlie’s room. I push open her door and see her curled up in the middle of the bed, cuddling Princess and Finn. I walk up to her slowly, enjoying how peaceful she looks.
Finn stirs first, giving his head a shake as he watches me.
I kiss Charlie’s forehead. “Baby Girl, it’s time to get up. Caleb made breakfast.”
She rolls and stretches, pulling Princess back into her as she curls back into a ball.
“Baby Girl,” I say again, and her eyes flutter open.
She yawns and smiles up at m e, “Morning, Mommy.”
“Morning, Baby Girl. Caleb has breakfast downstairs.”
She does another cat stretch, causing Finn to stand up and jump off the bed. She rolls out of bed and follows me downstairs with Finn hot on her heels. She settles into a chair at the kitchen table, and Caleb sets a plate and a glass of orange juice in front of her. She thanks him and digs in. I grab a scoop of Finn’s food and fill his bowl, placing it right beside Charlie as he doesn’t seem to want to move. I grab my coffee and pull out the chair across from her, and Caleb joins us, giving me a plate.
“So, I was thinking about going and getting a Christmas tree tonight. Do you guys want to come?”
Charlie perks up at the question. “A real tree?” she asks, her voice full of wonder.
“Yup, a real tree.” He smiles at her.
She looks at me. “Mommy, can we?”
We’ve always had a fake tree. It was easier because I couldn’t carry and set up a real tree by myself. Growing up, we always had real trees. My parents and I would go and pick one out, and Dad would carry it in and set it up in the living room. Mom and I would then decorate the tree together. She would let me put my ornaments wherever I wanted and then, when we were done, Dad would lift me and I would put the star on the top. I always wanted to share that tradition with my own family, but Derek wasn’t interested and could never be bothered to help decorate for Christmas.
I smile at her. “Yeah, we can go.”
Caleb smiles at me. “Sounds good. I was thinking we could leave here at 5:30, does that work for you guys?”
“It’s perfect.”
We finish eating, and I take Charlie upstairs to get ready for work and school.
Caleb waits for us downstairs. He helps Charlie into her jacket, helping her zip it up before placing a kiss on her f orehead. “Have a good day at school, Little Bear.”
He stands and passes me a to-go mug of coffee and gives me a quick kiss. “Have a good day at work.”
That’s the first time he’s kissed me with Charlie obviously watching us. I don’t have a problem with it. She needs to know that Caleb and I are seeing each other and seeing me in a healthy relationship will be good for her.
“You too,” I say, and he makes his way out the front door. I make sure Charlie and I have everything, and we make our way to the car. I drop her off at school and make my way to the office.
W hen Charlie and I get home that night, I work on her homework with her as we wait for Caleb to come home. He walks through the front door and straight into the kitchen, kissing me and then Charlie’s forehead before he goes upstairs to change. Charlie and I clean up and meet him in the entryway. Once everyone is bundled up with jackets, scarves, gloves, and boots, we head out to his truck. The winter weather is rolling through now. We’ve had a few days with a little dusting of snow, but nothing major yet. We’ve mainly had to deal with ice.
Charlie asks for Christmas music as we drive to the tree farm, and Caleb agrees. She is so excited when we get there. Caleb unbuckles her, and she jumps in place as she stares at all the trees. Making our way inside, Caleb directs us straight to a little kiosk and buys us each a hot chocolate.
He hands them to Charlie and me. “You can’t shop for a Christmas tree without hot chocolate.”
We wander around a few trees nearby, Charlie using both her hands on her cup. I stick my nose near a few trees, inha ling the scent. I love the smell of Christmas trees. When I pull my nose out of one, I turn and see Caleb watching me with a smile. I blush and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. I know it’s a little weird to just shove my face in the trees, but I missed this. I miss the house smelling like the tree during Christmas. I miss being in a house that truly feels like Christmas during the holidays.
He tosses his cup into a nearby garbage can and comes up to me, whispering in my ear, “You’re fucking adorable.” His lips brush my cheek, and he grabs my hand.
As soon as Charlie finishes her hot chocolate, she asks to hold Caleb’s hand too, and the three of us walk through the trees. After twenty minutes of wandering, I find the perfect tree. I stop in my tracks and stare at it. It’s the perfect height and is uniform all around, with a nice wide base.
Caleb looks at me, a smile lighting his face. “That’s it, huh?”
I nod, and he squeezes my hand. I walk up to it, running my hand lightly over the branches while Charlie and Caleb go find an attendant to get the tree shaken and loaded in the bed of the truck. They return, and Caleb and the attendant chat, figuring out logistics before the guy grabs the tree and we follow him to the shaker.
We wait nearby. Charlie is in Caleb’s arms when a familiar voice calls my name. I freeze. My back stiffens, and my blood runs cold. I see Caleb stiffen too, prepared for whatever may be coming.
I turn and come face to face with Derek. He smiles and takes a step towards me. I retreat backwards. His smile drops and a look of frustration crosses his face.
“You’ve been ignoring my texts,” he says, and the energy in the air changes.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”
“I would like to see you. ” He looks over at Charlie before he adds, “and my daughter.”
I can see he’s holding back his anger. His cheek is twitching the same way it would before he grabbed or hit me.
“I will contact you when I can find an appropriate time and place. Right now, we are out and this is not the place. I would like you to leave us alone.” My words come out stronger than I thought they would, but I think that’s because I can feel Caleb’s presence behind me.
“I work here,” he says before looking back at Caleb.
“Why are you holding my daughter?” he asks, venom lacing his voice.
“Because she asked me to. Now, I believe Bailey just asked you to leave her alone, so why don’t you move somewhere else on the lot while we finish up here.”
Derek stares daggers at Caleb and grips his hands into fists. “I would like to see my daughter.”
I turn and look at Charlie cuddled in Caleb’s arms. She’s hiding herself. She has half her face covered and is only looking at Derek with one eye. Derek takes a step closer to us and holds his arms out for Charlie.
“Hey, Char, why don’t you come see your dad?”
She shakes her head and snuggles deeper into Caleb’s chest. Caleb, being the protective man he is, brings a hand to her back and rubs it while adjusting his position so that Charlie is further away from Derek.
“She said no, I think we’re just going to take her home,” he says as he moves towards the truck where the attendant is securing the tree.
“You can’t keep my daughter from me,” Derek calls.
The anger in his voice is evident, and I’m on high alert. I move to catch up with Caleb as he begins to buckle her into the backseat. I don’t even make it two steps before a painful sting radiates up my arm. I look down and see Derek gripping my forearm. I try to pull my arm away, but his grip is too t ight. He yanks me closer and gets in my face.
“You can’t keep her from me. You can’t replace me with that loser. Soon enough, both of you will be back with me, where you belong.” He steps so close I can feel his breath on my cheek as he says, “And when you’re back with me, I plan to fuck your pussy hard and fast. So, you better be keeping your legs closed because you don’t want to know the consequences if you’ve opened them for someone else.”
I want to puke. Tears gather behind my eyes, and I blink, trying to stop them from falling. I know he means it. He’ll follow through with his threats if he ever gets me alone. I’m scared not just for me, but for Charlie. I feel the world around me closing in. My hand goes up to my throat, and I take deep breaths, trying to centre myself.
Derek is ripped away from me as Caleb shoves him away. “You keep your hands off of her. You don’t contact her until she contacts you.”
Derek’s entire face is dark red as he stares up at Caleb. Their height difference is so noticeable like this; Caleb has a good four inches on Derek.
“You can’t tell me what to do,” he spits.
“I can and I will because I protect what’s mine and I will protect those girls until my last dying breath. So, believe me when I say you don’t want to cross me.” Caleb stares him down for another second before coming over and grabbing my hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
I follow him to the truck. He opens the door, helps me up, and buckles my seat belt before quickly rounding the truck and hopping in. The air in the truck is tense despite the Christmas music playing.
When we get back to the house, he helps Charlie out and carries her inside. “Hey, Little Bear, can you head to your room and play for a bit while Mommy and I talk?”
She nods and runs up the sta irs.
I make my way into the kitchen, the place furthest from the bottom of the stairs in case she decides to come down while we’re still talking. Caleb follows me, crossing his arms over his chest and planting his feet shoulder-width apart in an intimidating pose. He’s probably used this pose in the military and at work, I realize. I know I’m in for an integration and I guess I deserve it. I hid the texts from him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice isn’t filled with accusation, but more pain. It’s like he’s hurt I didn’t tell him.
“I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to see him. I still don’t want to see him and I don’t want Charlie to see him. But he does have court-ordered visitation, and I don’t know how to deal with it or how to do it,” I rush out.
“I can help you, Bailey. You’re not alone anymore. I want to know why you didn’t tell me. Why did you think you couldn’t tell me?”
I look up at the ceiling, holding back my tears. The emotions running through my body are a lot right now. When I look at him, they slowly fall down my cheeks. “Because you’ve already done so much for us. I don’t want to just be a burden on you. You’re always saving me.”
His entire body relaxes, and he steps towards me, framing my face with his hands and wiping way my tears.
“Bailey, you’re not a burden. You and Charlie could never be a burden to me. I like being the one saving you because you’re saving me, too. I’ve never opened up to someone the way I have with you. When you sleep next to me, I don’t have nightmares. You’re saving me just like I’m saving you, and that’s okay. Let me save you. Let me support you.”
My tears fall in earnest, and he pulls me into his arms. With him wrapped around me, I completely relax into him, feeling safer than I ever have. He rubs his hand over my back and places kisses across my temple and the top of my head, soothing me as I cry into him. I’ve felt so lost since los ing my parents and ending everything with Derek. While I knew Lily was there for us, I didn’t want to rely on her too heavily. To have him ask to be able to do that for me means everything.
It takes me a few minutes, but I’m eventually able to gather myself and pull out of his embrace. He doesn’t let me get far as his hands come back to my face, brushing the stray tears away.
“Will you let me help you come up with a plan?”
I nod, and he kisses me softly. It’s not sexual; it’s intimate. It’s a kiss shared by partners.
“Okay, why don’t I bring in the tree and we can order dinner? I’ll get the tree set up and we can decorate it tomorrow.”
I smile, and he kisses the tip of my nose before heading out the front door. I make my way upstairs and into Charlie’s room, where she’s happily playing with Barbies and Finn on the floor in the corner. I join her, sitting beside her. She looks at me and then back at her Barbies.
She’s quiet for a minute before she softly asks, “Mommy, are we going back with Daddy?”
“No, Baby Girl, we aren’t. Do you want to?”
She shakes her head but doesn’t look at me. “No, I want Caleb to be my daddy. He doesn’t hurt you like Daddy does. He’s nice, and he plays with me.”
My heart breaks for my little girl. She’s been through more than anyone her age ever should. I pat my lap, and she climbs into it. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. “I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, Baby Girl. Caleb and I are going to talk about what to do with your daddy. I don’t want you to worry. Just know that Mommy loves you loads.”
I rock back and forth with her in my lap, and she lets me hold her. I absorb every second of this time because I know in the future, she won’t let me do this anymore.
A creaking noise has me turning my head to see Caleb leaning against the door frame, smiling at us. I smile back. Charlie notices my movement, lifts her head, and climbs off my lap, running towards Caleb. He picks her up and she nuzzles into him and he rocks her.
“You won’t leave, right, Caleb?”
He kisses her forehead. “No, Little Bear, I’m not going anywhere.”
We all stand in Charlie’s room, the silence and heaviness of the moment wrapped around us.
“What do you girls want for dinner?”
“Nuggets,” Charlie says.
“We can do that,” he says, rubbing his hand over her back.
“Sounds good to me,” I say as we head downstairs.
He settles on the couch with Charlie in his lap and Finn at his feet. Pulling his phone out, he opens a delivery app and hands it to me. I order some nuggets and fries for Charlie and a burger for myself. Caleb finishes the order before we get comfortable and watch a Christmas movie.
Caleb pulls me into his side, and I snuggle in. Right here is where I feel safest. I could spend the rest of my life in this man’s arms with my daughter.
Our food is delivered, and Caleb gets everything settled for us on the coffee table so we can continue the movie. Charlie falls asleep before the movie finishes, and Caleb carries her upstairs, settling her in her bed as Finn joins her. I wait for Caleb in the hallway, and we make our way to his bedroom.
“You okay to talk?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“This is my view of everything. You don’t have to do this. This is all your decision. I want you to know I’m not going to pressure you into anything. Derek has court-ordered visitation. I say the three of us meet him somewhere in public. We let h im see her, but we start the process of getting a restraining order and revoking his visitation. We don’t want to give the court any reason to side with him, so that means going with the order.”
I soak in his words, knowing he’s right.
“Okay, let’s do that.”
“Okay. We should file a police report about tonight so that you have it in writing. I’m your witness.”
I nod and strip out of my clothes and climb into his bed naked. He does the same and pulls me to him. He places soft kisses on my temple and cheek before whispering good night.