Chapter 12
As Kian and I wrestled Hannah into the house, helped her get changed, and poured her into the bed I’d set up for her, I discovered a newfound appreciation for my parents. Considering the number of times I’d stumbled home drunk from field and garage parties, I decided they deserved a medal.
By the time I closed Hannah’s door and retreated to my own bedroom, I was exhausted. Though as I undressed and climbed into bed, my mind went a million miles an hour. What was that with James in the kitchen? I should’ve kept my mouth shut and let him kiss me.
I tossed and turned, dozing while Hannah slept. When I heard noises from her bedroom, I checked the time and reluctantly decided it was time to get up and start making breakfast. I doubted she’d want it, but I knew she needed it.
I was toasting bread when footsteps padded down the hallway and Kian bashfully poked his head into the kitchen, dark hair wet and eyes hopeful as he scanned the room. “Do I smell food?”
I smiled. “Come sit down. Is she all right?”
“Considering I’d be hugging the toilet if I drank what she did, she’ll be just fine,” Kian said, taking a seat at the table. “She’s showering now.”
“What did she drink last night?”
“They were passing around a bottle of cheap vodka that my friend stole from his brother. I tried to get her to slow down, or at least mix it, but she’s so stubborn.”
I chuckled as I set a plate down in front of him. “I guess she gets that from me. I was always a bit of a show-off—and I paid for it more than once too.”
“I think, um,” Kian swallowed a large bite, looking uncomfortable. “I think all of this…” He trailed off, seemingly unable to find the words he wanted.
“Me stuff?” I suggested.
He laughed. “Yeah. I think all of this ‘you stuff’ is getting to her, as much as she’s not showing it. She was really mad at her mom when she found out.”
I shifted uncomfortably from where I leaned against the counter. “Can’t say I blame her.”
We fell silent as Hannah rounded the corner into the kitchen. “Morning,” she mumbled, rubbing her temples and wincing.
I smiled smugly before yelling, “MORNING!”
She cringed. “Ugh, not so loud.”
I shoved a plate and a glass of water at her as soon as she’d taken a seat next to her boyfriend. “Eat up. Kian, can you give us a minute?”
He finished off his plate, carried his dish to the sink, then disappeared through the kitchen door. I took his seat. Hannah picked up her fork, but only pushed her food around her plate. “Please don’t be mad.”
I sighed. “I’m not mad, Hannah. But you know what we have to do—what I have to do.”
“I hate that you’re so responsible,” she grumbled.
“I have to be. Dinner with your folks proved that. You’re smart, maybe even smarter than me, and you know that I need to play by the rules.”
She fell silent, fork scraping against the plate but never going to her mouth. Something lingered between us, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint it. I was about to excuse myself and go shower when she spoke again.
“Did you set up that bedroom just for me?”
I nodded, but she wasn’t looking at me and missed it. “Yeah,” I said out loud, “I did.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
I shrugged. “I want you to know that you’re welcome here. You don’t ever have to stay here, but I wanted you to have the choice.”
Her lips twitched into a flicker of a grin, then she blew out a breath. “Can I at least finish my breakfast before you make me face the fire?”
“Only if you tell Kian to stop hovering in the hall and go home—unless he plans to grab the vacuum and make himself useful.” I stood with a groan that came out louder than I intended. I was dreading what came next.
“What’s your problem?”
“I need to have a very uncomfortable conversation with your mom, then an even more uncomfortable conversation with my boss.”
“James?”
I made a face. “Does everyone in this town know him?”
“I was drunk off my ass last night and I could still tell something happened between you two.” Do I tell her to watch her language? “Besides, you talk in your sleep—loudly.”
“No I don’t.”
Hannah dropped her fork and put on a sleepy voice. “‘Mm, James, that tickles… more.’”
“Oh God, please stop.”
“Not quite—sleepier. Plus, you were begging him not to stop.”
“Okay, okay. I talk in my sleep.”
She smirked. “What did you want him to keep doing, anyway?”
“Hannah.”
“Was he—”
I cut her off, pointing to her half eaten plate. “Finish that before I shove your face in it.” I could hear her laughing all the way down the hall.
To my surprise, the call with Erin went over better than expected.
At first, she was a little defensive—maybe a lot defensive—but she realized that fighting with me would get us nowhere, and by the end, she admitted that I handled the situation well.
To my surprise, she even thanked me before hanging up, so quickly that I’d have missed it if I weren’t paying such close attention.
I hadn’t had a chance to fully process what happened with James, and God knows I didn’t want to be left alone with my own thoughts.
Had I misread the moment? Was James not about to kiss me?
I’d never spent so much time analyzing a situation.
I’d never misread a chase like that. Lucky for me, Dani saved the day, texting me just as I dropped off Hannah at her house.
Once we agreed on a place to meet for lunch, I drove into town to meet her.
In a rare occurrence, the sun was out. While it was still cold, the added warmth was a welcome sensation, and led to us sitting outside the restaurant at a metal table positioned under a parasol to keep the bright light from blinding us.
Dani smiled and waved as I approached, holding a fruity cocktail in her other hand.
Pink and purple accented waves fell over her shoulders, her face glowing against the pale sweaterdress she wore.
A matching jacket draped over the back of her chair.
“I take it you’re feeling better,” I said, taking the seat across from her.
“Much.” She gestured to her drink. “Want one? I’m buying.”
I hesitated, then shook my head. “I have to work, and after last night, I don’t think—”
“Pause.” She held up a finger. “A: James won’t care if you have a drink with your lunch hours before your shift.” Another finger, followed by leaning forward with an eager expression. “And B: what happened last night?”
I caved, getting a whiskey alongside my burger and fries. After Dani ordered nachos, I dropped my head into my hands, peeking through them at her. She was practically bouncing on the edge of her seat.
I took another deep breath. “You’ve worked with James for a while, right?”
She nodded. “A few years.” I opened my mouth to begin, closed it, then opened it again, no words escaping.
She laughed. “I know you like him, Ryder.” My heart skipped a beat.
Dani waited for our server to set our food down, then continued.
“You’re smitten with the boss—so what? We’ve all been there. ”
I groaned. “I told myself I wouldn’t do it again.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. I pushed the basket between myself and Dani as I saw her eyeing my fries.
We dug in, and I winced as the hot food burned the roof of my mouth.
I relayed the whole Raleigh situation from start to finish, Dani watching like she was glued to some trashy reality TV show.
“I feel like a serial offender here,” I finished. “But last night… I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know?”
I told her everything. When I mentioned Luke walking in, she made a face. But her eyes lit up with every word when I started talking about what happened with James in the kitchen. The more I talked, the more it felt like a bad romcom—and the more invested Dani became.
“I’m mortified here!” I said as I joined her in laughter. “You could look a little less happy about it!”
“I’m sorry! It’s so cute!”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“Pretending you didn’t enjoy every bit of it makes you even more adorable. So what happened to make it weird?”
I took a bite of my burger while I thought about my response. Should I tell Dani the truth? I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of what I saw.
“My daughter showed up drunk.”
Dani’s brows damn near hit her hairline. “Daughter?” I nodded. “Wow, I didn’t see that one coming.”
“Yeah, me neither. I only found out about her a few months ago. Either way, her arrival at the bar put a wrench in… whatever it was we were about to do. I’m worried it’ll be weird between us now.”
“Only if you make it that way.”
I shrugged. “I tried being weird once. It didn’t stick. I’m just too popular.”
She rolled her eyes. “There you go. People feed off each other’s energy; if you go in acting awkward, he’ll be awkward right back.”
“Fair enough.”
“What time are you in tonight?”
“Six.”
“Go home and get some rest. James is a chill guy. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
I nodded, and after some arguing over who was going to cover the bill, I left.
I didn’t have the bandwidth to get involved with anyone, much less my boss.
Hannah was my primary focus, and I was already in over my head with her.
Nothing I’d done in life had prepared me to take care of a kid.
I hadn’t been a bad kid growing up, but I hadn’t been an angel either.
I’d straightened up my act a little in those first few years in Vegas, keeping my nose out of trouble—then in walked Raleigh.
He’d been undergoing a really bad breakup, and we found ourselves in the bar’s bathroom, my back against a stall door, Raleigh on his knees in front of me.
Yes, I could have stopped him—but I hadn’t wanted to.
I got lucky with how things played out with Raleigh, but there was no guarantee it would happen again. Did I really want to take that risk? It wasn’t just my life on the line anymore, and I had to keep that in mind.
I sat in my driveway, dreading leaving the heated car for the length of time it would take to get into the house. I considered staying there and napping; the only thing that changed my mind was imagining how good my bed would feel.
I trudged into the house and up the stairs, barely stopping to undress before falling onto the mattress.
I set my alarm and put my phone face down on the nightstand.
I turned my back to it, not wanting to even think about it before I had to be awake.
The heat blasted down on me from the vent.
Wrapped in the blanket, finally able to relax, it didn’t take me long to drift off, and I quickly fell into a deep sleep.