Chapter 45 #2
“But I didn’t actually tell him, did I?” River says, his devious smile growing.
Kennedy walks up to us, tossing money to her fiancé. “Damn, I really thought I’d win this one.” She rolls her eyes dramatically. “Malloy just confirmed he was genuinely surprised.”
I laugh, Indy looks amused by the interaction too.
River puffs out his chest. “See, Indiana, they don’t have any faith in me.”
“You suck at keeping secrets.” Kennedy pins him with a stare.
“Oh really?” River starts to walk toward her, and I hear him say, “Say suck again, Skipper.”
I look over at Indy and laugh. “That’s pretty much the norm with River. And the betting thing is really something you should expect. He and Clay have always bet on everything. Now we’re all addicts.”
Malloy and Baylee approach us, and I pull him in for a side hug.
“Happy birthday, old man.” I smile as I pull away from him.
“Thanks for coming tonight. I can’t believe you guys did this for me.” He looks around Kennedy and River’s place with awe.
“Baylee, this is Indiana.”
Baylee is petite compared to most, but next to Malloy, her small stature is even more evident.
She’s barely over five feet, with raven hair, and dark eyes.
Where Malloy is burly with ginger hair, she’s his polar opposite, with a black cat personality to boot.
But they complement each other perfectly.
“It’s so great to meet you.” She smiles. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Thanks for having me.” Indy shakes her hand. “Malloy, happy birthday. I actually brought you something.”
She told me she had something special to gift Malloy for his birthday, but didn’t elaborate. I told her she didn’t have to bring him anything, but she insisted.
Indy opens her oversized purse and pulls out a perfectly wrapped gift. It’s the size of a book, which isn’t surprising because of the industry she works in.
“That’s very kind of you, but you really didn’t have to,” Malloy says as he retrieves the item from her hands.
“It’s just a little something. I thought you’d appreciate it,” she says.
“Should I open it now?” he asks.
“Sure.” She looks over at me, her smile ticked up on one side.
Malloy rips the paper, and it is, in fact, a book. The moment he sees the title, he yells, “NO. FUCKING. WAY!” He looks at Indy, then yells for Abby to join us. “Abs, come here! Kenny, look at this.”
“I thought I told you not to call me that!” Kennedy retorts.
“Just look at this!” he ignores her protest.
He holds the gift above his head as if it’s Simba from The Lion King and both women gasp. I can’t help but laugh because I’m completely lost.
“How the hell did you get this?” they both say in unison. They try to grab it, but Malloy keeps it high above his head so they can’t take it from him.
“I have people in high places.” He has a conceited smile on his face.
Both women look over at Indy and she shrugs. “Ana Clevesky had early copies available so I phoned in a favor. Told her she had a fan celebrating a birthday. It’s signed too.”
He quickly opens the cover to reveal it personalized with his name and her signature. “Holy shit. She knows my name,” he whispers the last part reverently.
“Are you fangirling, Malloy?” I ask, containing a laugh.
“Fuck you, Hunter. You don’t get it. I’m going to devour this book, Indy. Thank you,” he says, closing the cover and running his hand down the ridges of the foiled design of the front.
“Actually, I do get it. Indy used to send me steamy romance novels when I was overseas. They kept me going sometimes. I’ve just been holding out on you with that little tidbit.” He and the girls stare at me, mouths agape. “And that look right there, is exactly why I’ve never told you.”
“You’re very welcome, and you should really try a little harder to get him into your book club. He’s a fangirl at heart too,” Indiana says, her smile growing.
This woman is weaving herself, not only into every portion of my heart, but into my life, and I have never been happier than I am now.
“Saturday was a ton of fun,” I say as we walk into the station that following Monday.
“Thanks again for coming, man. I can’t believe I didn’t catch on they were planning it.” He laughs as we fall into step together. “Kinda bummed we missed the live premiere of Love Struck, though.”
I roll my eyes at him, and know he’s joking. They taped it and watched it together last night.
From what he was told, he was headed to Kennedy’s house to watch the premiere of a new reality show.
He didn’t think much of it, because that’s something they’ve done in the past. They always get all dressed up for the premieres to pretend they are arriving on the show with the contestants. They’re ridiculous.
Malloy is one of the kindest guys I’ve met.
He puts everyone first, and seeing him shown that kind of support and love from those around him is really all he deserves.
He’s still going through a rough patch with his mom’s cancer, but she seems to be feeling a little better these days.
It was a good time for him to take a night off.
His wife Baylee has been busy this semester, and I could tell Saturday was the break she needed from all the studying she’s been enduring.
It was a relief to see Indy mixing so well with all my friends. I was glad they welcomed her with open arms, not that I had any doubts.
To say this has been a seamless transition is an understatement. I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak, and I’m finally letting that unsettled feeling wane. A little…sort of.
I think after losing Georgie, I pushed away everything and everyone I cared about because I didn’t know how to handle that type of emotion in my life.
I’d never had to deal with love and loss.
I was constantly anxious and feeling like my life wouldn’t feel right ever again.
I never let myself believe it could feel whole despite the pain I endured.
Growing up with parents that showed me little compassion ill-prepared me for a life surrounded by people that want to love me back.
Being loved by Jerry and Scarlet even after Georgie was gone, showed me that unconditional love really does exist. Now that I finally have Indy and Noah in my life to love with my whole heart, I’ve been waiting to see how life can wreak havoc on me again.
But I have to let that go. There isn’t going to be something bad or negative lurking behind every closed door.
And we can get through hard things together, I don’t need to push people away as soon as life gets hard.
We can have our happily ever after.
“So, since you have this side-gig posting videos online, does Indy get annoyed with the comments the women make about you and your body when you post workouts without your shirt?” Malloy looks over at me.
I think about it. “She hasn’t mentioned it.
I know Kalli has shown her the Fire Hunters page, but she doesn’t seem too bothered by it.
She knows that social media group is out of my control and not something I put much weight on.
I really love doing the workouts, but no matter what, I only have eyes for her. ”
“Who’s becoming the softie now?” He smiles.
“I’ll never be as big a softie as you, Malloy. You’re a teddy bear deep down, man. Actually, not deep down, you’re a teddy bear on the surface too. You’re what “Booktok” would call a golden retriever.”
We make our way inside where we’re greeted by the previous crew.
Once we get report from them, we begin our shift—dividing our tasks and inspecting our equipment. I’ve been tasked with Malloy, River, Clay and a few others to check one of our three trucks. Being housed at a larger station in the city, our crew is a decent size.
For spring, it’s especially humid yet again. The more we work, the hotter it’s getting.
“What the hell is up with the weather today?” River complains.
“Stop whining.” Clay laughs as he checks the lights on the truck.
“I can whine all I want, Clay. It’s not even ten in the morning and I need a shower.” River wipes at his brow. “Hey, Hunter. When are you going to film again at the station?”
“Why? You craving some attention?” I laugh.
“I think my fans crave me.” He winks.
“So humble,” Malloy says under his breath as he checks the hoses. I can’t help the snort that comes out. No matter how many times I work with River, he always finds a way to entertain us.
“Not sure. For now, I’m set to film away from the station. But when I plan to do another one here, I’ll let you know.”
“Perfect. I think Lola needs her closeup next time.” His smile grows and it’s hard not to smile right along with him.
“You really are obsessed with that dog,” Clay says.
“Your niece is well-loved by all, Clay.” He points at his brother. “You should have more respect.” His glare is nothing but serious.
Clay puts his hands up in surrender. “You’re right. Sorry.”
I look over at Malloy, giving him a look of curiosity if this will get heated or not.
We go about our checklist, making sure the equipment is in working order.
“You know what? Now that I think about it, maybe I should be on Hunter’s next live. Captivating Clay has a nice ring to it.”
“Hey, maybe I’ll have you both on my next video,” I cut in.
“Really?” They both look over at me, dumbfounded.
“Yeah. I think I’ll give you two a nickname together.” I look over at them, “Terrible Twos sounds appropriate, wouldn’t you say?”
Malloy snorts as I hop out of the truck and begin inspecting the tires as I hear the brothers begin bickering once again.
The next morning, I grab my stuff, and get ready to leave, but tired is the last thing I am. When I look down at my phone, I see a message from Indy:
Indy
Good morning! What do you say to me skipping work and coming over?
I can’t help the smile that forms at the thought of seeing her.
I think my morning just got a lot brighter.
I race home and I take a quick shower. I know I have a few extra minutes as she’s going to drop Noah off at school.
I decide to walk outside, the warmth continuing on today. I’m sliding my shirt on, noticing Indiana’s car parked on the street. She’s talking to someone on the phone, her face turned down in a serious expression.
I keep moving toward her, excited to get her into my arms. You’d think I haven’t seen her in weeks.
The minute she steps out of the car, I see the ashen look on her face. It’s then I know something is irrevocably wrong.
I start to take my steps at a hurried pace. “Indy, baby, what’s wrong? Is it Noah?”
She shakes her head, still unable to form words.
I reach her and grab her face in my hands. “Indiana, tell me what happened.” She’s worrying me.
“I, um…” Her voice cuts off and her eyes well up with tears. She grabs on to my forearms for support. I’m about to press her for answers when she opens her mouth again and when she speaks, I’m thrown by what she says next.
“I found my biological parents.”