Chapter Fifty-Seven
Sloane
Ashley didn’t tiptoe into my bedroom last night, and I hated it. I was tempted to try and maneuver the stairs to her apartment and slip into her bed, but visions of me tumbling down the steps in the middle of the night popped into my head.
I wasn’t sure how I’d explain that to the guys.
Besides, there was a reason she’d stayed away. I’d been a dick while making dinner.
Another fucking apology I owed her.
I woke up ready to eat humble pie when I went out for breakfast. I was surprised to find Crash eating cereal while Ashley stood at the pantry pulling a granola bar from the box. She was wearing scrubs rather than the yoga pants and t-shirt she normally wore around the house. Millie, already in her car seat, was in a pink and purple striped onesie with matching pants and socks on her feet.
She also had a pink headband bow on her head and was quite possibly the cutest baby to have ever lived.
But did I tell Ashley how beautiful our daughter was? Or how beautiful she was, for that matter?
No. Because I’m a dipshit.
Instead, I simply said, “We’re not doing therapy today?”
“Jeff—er, Dr. Connolly is coming by this afternoon to see you guys.”
“He hasn’t been here this week. I thought he came twice a week?”
Crash snorted from the table. “That’s when he thought Ash was going to date him.”
She turned to look at the paratrooper with her hand on her hip.
“First of all, that’s not true. I’ve seen his notes; he comes once a week. The only exception was the week when Scotty moved out, and that just happened to coincide with the week I moved in. And he came twice last week because he wanted to meet Sloane. And second, who says I’m not dating him?”
I knew that little dig was for my benefit, and although I didn’t say it out loud, the look I shot her said exactly what I was thinking.
I said so.
“Are you dating him?” Crash asked.
The corner of her mouth turned up.
“Who wants to know?”
Crash only paused briefly before taking another bite of cereal to casually throw out, “Pretty sure Sloane does.”
I looked over at my roommate and asked, “Why would I care?”
“You two aren’t as sneaky as you think.”
Ashley had just taken a bite of her granola bar and started choking, so she quickly gulped some coffee, then finally sputtered out, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I have to get to the hospital, so I’ll see you guys later.”
She picked up the handle of Millie’s car seat and quickly went out the door leading to the garage.
I turned to Crash and asked, “What did you mean by we’re not as sneaky as we think?”
“If you’ll notice, across the patio is Stu’s room. He can see the hydrotherapy tub from his window.”
“Oh.”
“I mean, it makes sense. Millie’s your kid, so obviously you two have a history.”
“I think whatever was going on was short-lived. I need to get my shit figured out before I even consider going down that road with her.”
He stood and took his bowl to the sink to rinse it out.
“I hope you get it figured out soon. Something tells me you’re running out of chances with her.”
Yeah, me too.
~~~~
I wasn’t sure what to expect when Dr. Connolly showed up at the beach house. I mean, I had interrupted his date with Ashley and while doing so, dropped that Millie was my kid, so I couldn’t even blame him if he decided to be a dick.
But he was cool, which pissed me off because I really wanted to have a reason to hate him.
He was as personable and encouraging as he’d been last week when I’d first met and immediately liked him. Before I knew he was interested in Ashley.
As he patiently worked with me, I had to concede, he was a good dude. I probably owed him an apology for crashing his date.
Just then his phone rang, and his brows furrowed when he looked at the screen. Before answering, he stole a glance at me, then clicked “answer”.
“Hey, what’s up?”
Again, he looked at me before he replied, “No, I’m already here. Why?”
Whatever the person said made him bolt upright.
“Well, that’s good. But are you okay? Do you need an ambulance? Does Millie?”
What the fuck?
I moved closer to ask quietly, “Is that Ashley?”
He nodded his head but continued to concentrate on whatever she was telling him.
“No, I don’t blame you. Just stay where you are, I’ll be right there. Let me pack up, and once I’m in the car, I’ll call you back.” He glanced at me again, so it was obvious she was talking about me. I needed to get the doc in a poker game and take all his money.
“Too late,” he told her as he tossed a few things in his satchel before snapping it closed.
Pause.
“I’ll let them know. Hang tight, I’ll be out the door in less than a minute.”
He ended the call and slid his phone in his pocket.
“Ashley was in a car accident.” He quickly added before any of us could react, “She’s okay. The EMTs checked her and Millie out, but her car isn’t drivable. The tow truck driver offered to bring her home, but she said he kept staring at her chest, so she declined. So now she needs a ride.”
And her first inclination was to call you?
“Millie’s okay?”
“She said the EMTs were very thorough. But I’ll check her over, too. If there’s even an inkling of concern, I’ll go straight to the ER.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll see you guys in a bit.”
After he left, Stu looked over at me brooding on the couch.
“Are you pissed she called him instead of you?”
Yeah, I’m fucking pissed.
I didn’t say that. Instead, I shrugged.
“It makes sense. There’s nothing I would be able to do for them, other than call an Uber. And Ash is perfectly capable of calling for a ride on her own.”
Obviously.
“I’m sure she only called him because she knew he was coming over here today,” Crash offered.
“I’m glad he was here to help.”
He’d be a good bonus dad for Millie. He’d be able to do things with her that I couldn’t. He could show up for her games or at her school and not scare all the kids, and some adults.
Ash and Millie deserved someone they could count on. And that sure as fuck wasn’t me.
I decided I needed to make some phone calls.
****
Ashley
After I hung up with Jeff, I sent Sloane a text. In retrospect, I probably should have done that in the reverse order, especially after finding out Jeff was with Sloane. But my reasoning was if Jeff was driving to the beach house, I didn’t want him to just miss me and have to turn around.
Me: I know you’ve already heard, but I wanted you to hear it from me. We’re okay, just a little shaken up, and I’m probably going to be sore for a while. I wish I could say the same for my Camry.
Sloane: K
Yeah, that wasn’t a good sign.
Part of me felt bad for upsetting him, but another part wanted to tell him to get over himself. I was the one in the accident with Millie. I was the one who no longer had a car; the dude who turned left in front of me didn’t have insurance and after I’d paid off my car loan, I’d changed to liability only insurance to try and save some money.
It looked like that was going to backfire miserably on me.
So sorry I didn’t reach out to you first, knowing perfectly well you wouldn’t be able to immediately help me.
Jeff pulled up in his Porsche like my white knight and immediately examined Millie, who was sound asleep.
“She looks no worse for the wear, although you’ll have to buy her a new car seat—you’re not supposed to reuse a car seat once it’s been in an accident.”
“I know, and I’m getting the same one. She didn’t even wake up until the EMTs unbuckled her.”
“You, on the other hand, I’m a little more worried about.”
“I’m a PTA. I know what I’m going to be dealing with.”
“Just make sure you respect what you went through and don’t push it, okay? There’s a reason for the saying, physician heal thyself.”
As we pulled onto my street, Jeff’s voice became somber.
“I don’t think Sloane was very happy you called me for help, and not him.”
“I gathered that from his one-word, actually one-letter, response to my text.”
He winced on my behalf when he turned into the driveway.
“Sorry. But I’m glad you called me, and I was able to help. Just because we’re not dating doesn’t mean I’m not your friend.”
“I know, and I appreciate it. I’m glad we’re friends.”
“If you need anything, let me know.”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek as he put the car in park.
“Such a good guy.”
He gave me a wink. “Most of the time,” then got out to help me take Millie into the house along with the bags where I’d put the things I’d pulled from my car before it was towed away.
As we walked up the steps, I noticed a big Amazon box, along with a smaller one, sitting next to the front door.
“Wow, that was fast.”
“What’d you order?”
“Some baby bottles with different types of nipples. Millie has refused to take a bottle, so I’m trying to be creative. And a bassinet for Sloane’s room. He’s been a little salty about not being able to help out with her as much as he’d like.”
“Today’s accident probably isn’t going to help.”
“No,” I said wistfully. “Probably not.”
“I know I said to make him work to get you back, but I think he needs to keep working on himself first.”
“I think you’re right.”
And I’d gone and complicated things by sleeping with him again.