Chapter 16 Bailey
BAILEY
She really stuck me in it.
I was so close to getting Liam to behave himself and go to sleep, but after Krista opened her big mouth—after she warned me not to mention a word of it to her brother—there was no way this night was going to end on a happy note.
“Bailey,” Liam said in warning, his tone brooking no arguments.
“Hmm?” I hummed, pretending I had no clue why he was upset.
“Ma wasn’t with you when you got groceries, was she?”
“Groceries? Oh, no. She was busy trying to clean up her kitchen. Why? Does it matter?”
“You were supposed to be with Ma.”
“I was,” I said flippantly, turning on my heel to flee the scene and get away from the bear about to bite off my head.
“If you were with Ma, you would have said she was at the store with you.”
“Well, she was busy, and I didn’t want to add to her list of things to do. So, I went with Krista.”
Krista chuckled as she leaned back on the couch. “Oh-ho…someone’s in trouble,” she said in a sing-song voice.
“Because you ratted me out,” I hissed.
“Me?” She sat up suddenly, the rag flopping to her lap as she gaped at me. “Oh, yeah, I did do that, didn’t I?”
“You still didn’t answer my question,” Liam growled, his footsteps prowling toward me in that way that made me feel like a caged animal about to be gobbled up.
“Well, maybe if you asked a question without making me feel like you were about to eat me for dinner…”
“Why the hell did you leave? You were supposed to stay with Ma.”
“Why does it matter if I left?” I argued. “I’m a big girl, and I’m perfectly capable of going into town by myself.”
“Not when—” Whatever he was about to say was cut off by the sound of Krista wrenching.
“Uh, I don’t feel so good.”
Snatching the trash bin, I rushed over to her just as she hurled into the opening. The stench was too much to take and almost made me vomit, but I was a good friend and held my breath so I didn’t throw up on her.
“This is so horrible,” Krista moaned. “You have no idea what this is like.”
“I’m getting a pretty good idea,” I muttered as my stomach churned from the smell wafting up to my face.
When she was done, she flopped back on the couch, holding her stomach as she moaned pathetically.
“I’ve done my part. You can deal with the rest of this,” I said to Liam.
“I only have one working arm.”
“Well, I guess you’ll figure it out,” I snapped, still pissed that he was treating me like an insolent teenager.
“What’s your problem?”
Carrying the garbage can to the kitchen, I pulled out the bag and tied it up before the stench permeated every corner of the house.
“My problem is that you’re yelling at me for going into town.”
“Well, why the hell did you look so damn guilty?”
“Because Krista told me not to talk to you about Mr. Callahan and what happened—”
In my anger, I didn’t think to hold back the worst of it, but as his face mottled with rage, I realized my grave error.
“Nothing—” I tried, but failed miserably.
“Bailey, tell me right now what happened.”
Spinning on my heel, I headed for the back door, but he caught up to me, blocking the exit before I could escape.
“I’m not gonna ask again.”
He was so damn demanding, and no matter what I said or did, there was no getting out of this. “I went in to get groceries, and Mr. Callahan mentioned how he thought you finally got what was coming to you.”
“That’s it?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Ugh, just the usual,” Krista muttered as she sat up. “The usual you’ll pay for this. And You deserve everything that’s coming to you.”
“It wasn’t quite that dramatic.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“Again, Krista told me not to, which I thought we were sticking to,” I said, tossing a glare at her, though she was hardly coherent enough to even see.
“Tell me everything,” he growled.
“Not until you get out of my way. I have a bag of vomit in my hands and I’m not above tossing it at you.”
His jaw worked hard at the demand, but he finally stepped aside and allowed me to pass. Shoving the door open, I stormed out toward the garbage cans and tossed the bag inside. When I spun around, Liam was waiting for me.
“Tell me the rest.”
Cool air bit at my skin, but the anger boiling inside me kept the chill away. “There’s really nothing more to tell. He was his typical self.”
“Krista said he threatened you.”
“Not really. It was more his tone of voice. He was angry about the accident.”
“Mine?”
I shook my head. “His son’s. It just brought it all up for him again.”
Taking a single step toward me, I could feel the controlled anger swarming around him. “But you were scared.”
“Not really, no. I just…I’ve never seen him quite like that before.”
“Bailey, I need you to stay away from him.”
“Well, seeing as how he runs the general store in town, I hardly think that will be possible.”
“I’m asking—”
“And I’m telling you that nothing happened,” I repeated slowly. “The man is upset. His son is basically a ten-year-old living in a thirty-year-old body. He’s allowed to get pissed from time to time.”
“But not to take it out on you.”
“He didn’t!” I shouted, tossing up my arms. “If anything, he was more pissed at Krista! I don’t see you telling her to stay away!”
“Because—”
Fuming, he spun away from me. Whatever had him so upset was at a tipping point, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to stick around tonight and deal with his anger.
“Look, I get it. Your family doesn’t get along with his, but I’m not going to stay away from people in town that I have to run into just because you don’t like them.”
“Fine,” he bit out, clenching his fists.
“Now, can we go back inside? I have muffins to finish.”
“Come to bed.”
There was no way in hell I was going to sleep now. I was too angry, and the thought of laying down in his arms when he had just thrown a gigantic hissy-fit over absolutely nothing would only make me want to break the other side of his collarbone.
“I think I’ll make those muffins,” I said, sliding past him to head inside.
He grabbed me by the elbow with his good arm, stopping me before I could escape. I sucked in a breath of anger and slowly faced him.
“Yes?”
“I—”
The words were on the tip of his tongue. I’m sorry. I could feel the want radiating off him, but the words never actually came. He just stood there, his eyes still blazing in anger.
If there was one thing I couldn’t stand, it was a person who couldn’t own up to his mistakes, and yelling at me for doing such a simple thing as grocery shopping, all because he didn’t like the owner of the store, was definitely not something I deserved to be berated for.
Jerking my arm out of his hand, I went back inside and finished up the muffins.
At some point, he came back inside and headed for the bedroom, only stopping to check on Krista on his way.
I slid the muffin batter into the oven just as the bedroom door closed. Wiping off my hands, I tossed the towel on the counter and sighed. That was not how I planned on spending my night.
There was no way I was getting any sleep, and with the gigantic mess in front of me, I had numerous reasons not to join him in bed.
The complex aroma of smoky nuts and earthy warmth filled my nostrils, jerking me upright.
Black and white lettering flitted in front of my eyeball as the page of the newspaper stuck to my face slowly peeled away. “Hmm?”
“Coffee?”
Liam’s rich voice sent shivers down my spine, though I couldn’t see him yet.
Tearing the paper from my cheek, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, finally getting my first glimpse at daylight. The sun was low in the sky and the haze of early morning fog settled low on the grass.
“It’s too early,” I mumbled, knowing I had only fallen asleep an hour ago.
“Well, I figured you either needed coffee or bed.”
“Bed,” I mumbled. “Definitely bed.”
Though he was standing beside me, I avoided his gaze like a champion. I wasn’t too proud to admit that I may have been a little too angry last night over something so stupid. But I was also holding out for that apology that deep down I knew was never coming.
“Why did you sleep out here?”
Snatching his coffee, I took my first sip, grimacing at the bitter taste. “I fell asleep reading the paper.”
“You mean, avoiding me. Cream?”
“And sugar,” I muttered, needing the good stuff if I was going to make it through the day.
Instead of me taking care of him, he quickly grabbed creamer from the fridge and poured a decent amount into my coffee, turning it a delicious tan color instead of the muddy brown he liked so much. I waited patiently for the sugar, raising my eyebrow when he only put in one teaspoon.
“Another?”
“Does it look like it’s a one-teaspoon morning?”
“You know, you’re usually much perkier than this, and I’m usually the grouchy one,” he said as he added another spoonful.
I snatched the coffee and took a sip, then set it back down and motioned for another.
Chuckling, he added another teaspoon of sugar, but didn’t dare say a word about my sugar fix.
“You know, at this point, it’s not really coffee.”
Ignoring him, I sat there sipping my coffee until I felt like I could deal with another human.
“Where’s Krista?”
“Still sleeping on the couch. Can’t you hear the snoring?”
Not really. I felt like I was hungover. I didn’t do well on so little sleep. But as I really listened for something other than the sound of my own thoughts, I finally heard the long snarl that seemed to come from his sister.
“I’m not sure that’s snoring.”
He grinned at me before turning to snatch his own cup. I took the opportunity to quickly scan his body, telling myself I was looking for any signs he was in pain.
Honestly, I just wanted to stare at him, but after he was such an ass last night, I wasn’t about to admit that I liked the look of his biceps bulging in his t-shirt, or the way his jeans fit him so nicely, showcasing his tight ass.
That would only make him think I was over my anger from yesterday.
But I couldn’t stay here and be mad all day. That would accomplish absolutely nothing. And honestly, I hated being mad. I was a happy person—when I actually got sleep—and being a grouch all day just wasn’t in the cards for me.
“So, what’s on the agenda for the day?”
“Work,” he said simply.
Struck dumb by his statement, I stared at him in confusion. “You were just in an accident.”
“Two days ago. Now it’s time to get back to work.”
“But…How will you do anything? You have one working arm. You should be resting.”
“I’ll rest when I’m dead.”
His words struck something deep in my chest, eliciting a gasp I hadn’t meant to let slip out.
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath when he saw the tears in my eyes.
I quickly swiped them away, embarrassed by my reaction. But the accident was all too fresh in my mind. The terror of walking into that hospital, thinking he could be dead.
When someone says the words hit by a semi, your mind automatically goes to the worst possible scenario.
“Bailey, you know that’s not what I meant.”
“No, I know,” I brushed it off. “It’s fine. Just…don’t overdo it today.”
Getting to my feet, I started gathering my things, ready to get the hell out of there and back to my apartment.
“Where are you going?” he asked, immediately chasing after me.
“Home.”
“But…I thought you were staying here.”
“Well, if you’re not going to be here, there’s not much point in staying, is there?”
“I want you here,” he confessed.
As I turned back to him, I saw the sincerity shining in his eyes, and while the sentiment was nice, waiting around for a man was something I never did.
Well, except for waiting all these years for him to finally admit he wanted me.
“I have things to do at home. Mostly sleep, but then I’ll probably swing by work.”
“Wyatt gave you the rest of the week off.”
“Yes, he did, but I’m sure he’s busy, and if you insist on going to work, then there’s really no reason for me to hang around your house all day. Frankly, it would be a little weird.”
“And why’s that?”
A whole host of reasons. “Mainly because my things aren’t here.”
“But what if they were?”
My jaw dropped a scant inch as I repeated his words in my head. He had to be shitting me.
“I mean, temporarily,” he quickly corrected. “You know, if you were to pack a bag and stay for a few days…”
Disappointment shot through me, but I hid it with a smile. It’s not that I wanted to move in with him right now, but the idea of moving things forward after all these years was appealing.
Deep down, I knew it would be the wrong move.
“You just want sex, Liam. And I’m not going to sit around your house waiting for you to come home so you can have your way with me.”
“You could,” he grumbled.
“And I would be bored out of my mind the whole day.”
Pressing my lips to his, I pushed past the awkwardness of the situation and smiled at him. “I’ll call you later.”
But as I walked out to my car, I couldn’t help but feel that something had changed. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.