Chapter 44 Bailey
BAILEY
I slipped my feet into my new cowboy boots, then rushed over to the mirror to check them out. With my new dress and boots, I was ready for a fun night out.
“Cheyenne!” I called out, excited to get to The Beaver and Boot for karaoke night.
“Would you hold on? Geez, let a girl get dressed!”
“I don’t want to miss all the good tables!” I called out, rushing to the bathroom to check my appearance one last time. My hair looked fantastic, my makeup was perfect, and I was feeling light as a feather.
It had taken a good three months to push past all the anger running through me, but now I was finally feeling like myself again.
Cheyenne popped her head in the bathroom, a scowl on her face. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”
“You know you like karaoke night.”
“Actually, I hate karaoke. I always do it with you because otherwise you’ll find some way to embarrass me.”
“That’s because you’re such an amazing singer. You just don’t let anyone hear you.”
She rolled her eyes and disappeared into the bedroom. Smiling at myself one last time, I gave myself the tiniest pep talk before shutting off the light and heading for the living room.
Cheyenne was plopped down on the couch, grumbling about hating to sing in public.
“You’re amazing, and you know it. Everyone loves hearing you sing.”
“I’m going to be extra terrible today just to prove you wrong.”
“Ha! Not possible.”
“Oh, it’s totally possible. In fact, I bet you a hundred dollars that coyotes will be howling outside the bar to drown out my singing.”
Grabbing my coat, I quickly buttoned it, but refused to wear a hat. I didn’t want to mess up my hair. “You’re exaggerating. Get the door.”
She followed behind me, locking the door before clomping down the stairs like a Clydesdale.
“I really think the seven stages of grief should have some sort of reprieve for best friends.”
“Isn’t it twelve?”
“Whatever number it is, it’s too many. There should be crying, drinking, and then movie night. That’s it. You know we’re going to freeze, right?”
It was rather chilly outside. “What do you suggest? We drive the four blocks to the bar?”
“We could.”
“It wouldn’t be any warmer in the car.”
“No, but we’d get there a hell of a lot faster,” she grumbled. “Besides, I’m in a dress!”
“Oh my God! Stop complaining! I want to have fun tonight, and that doesn’t include being the designated driver for the four blocks home. We’ll be fine.”
But as soon as the door opened, the blustery cold wind kicked up my dress and sent chills down my spine.
“Really?” Cheyenne shouted. “You might be fine, but I won’t!”
“So, we’ll ask someone to give us a ride home. Stop being a baby!”
“I hate Montana,” she cried as we hustled down the street. “I want to move somewhere warm!”
“Yeah? Like where?”
“Hawaii.”
I barked out a laugh at that. “Have you seen the spiders there? You’d never survive.”
“At least I’d be warm. Seriously, this whole nine-month winter is for the birds.”
“You’ve lived here your whole life. You can’t really be considering moving.”
We turned the corner for the bar, but we were still a block away. My legs felt like icicles.
“If Dwayne Johnson asked me to move with him tomorrow, I’d be on the first plane out of here, and I wouldn’t even look back.”
Gasping, I shoved my dress down when a blast of wind sent my dress flying up. The blare of loud music signaled our arrival and the end of the rather chilly walk here. Yanking the door open, I stepped into the warmth and immediately forgot about the cold air outside.
The bar was already loud and chaotic. Nearly all the tables were taken and there was already a line for singing. This was exactly what I needed. I took off my coat and hung it on a peg on the wall.
Grinning, I wove my way through the crowd, waving at my sister and brother where they sat at the bar. Grabbing Cheyenne’s hand, I wound my way over to them, nearly tripping over my own damn feet when someone ran into me from behind.
“Oh, sorry—” I started, my grin slipping from my lips when I saw Ellie May holding two drinks precariously above her head.
“Sorry about that,” she murmured before taking off through the crowd.
“Come on. Let’s go,” Cheyenne said, tugging me the rest of the way.
But my eyes were glued on Ellie May’s retreating form, wondering who she was with. When she made her way to a table of other women, I breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t Liam.
Not that I thought about Liam much. I had spent most of the last few months focusing on myself and not thinking about the brooding man who once filled my thoughts.
Well, that’s what I told myself. Over the last few months, I had focused on making myself happy again, and I did everything possible to shove Liam from my mind.
Not that it worked. There were many nights I spent thinking about him, and remembering what it was like to be in his arms. It lasted such a short time, but I would never forget what it felt like to be his.
“Everything okay?” Cheyenne shouted over the music.
“Yeah, of course,” I smiled, turning to my siblings. “I’m surprised to see you out. This isn’t your scene.”
Brody opened his mouth, but Billie beat him to it. “I dragged him out tonight. I swear, I will kill myself if I have to spend one more night with Mom. She’s driving me nuts.”
“About what?”
“She thinks I need to find a husband,” Billie answered, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her beer and chugged it.
“Whatever happened with Clay?”
“Not much. His brother showed up with him. Honestly, he really creeped me out.”
“Clay or Austin?”
“Austin. The whole thing was weird. I got out of there as fast as I could.”
“That’s probably for the best,” I answered, knowing full well that Austin was out to hurt the Parker family, and the whole thing had probably been a setup to get to Liam.
“So, what are you singing tonight?” Bille called over the loud music.
I winced as one of the younger groups of girls sang a terrible rendition of Man, I Feel Like A Woman.
I signaled to the bartender for my usual. “I’m not singing anything. I’m just here to dance.”
My brother snorted. “Karaoke night should be outlawed. Seriously, who let those people on stage?”
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to find a dance partner,” Cheyenne grinned before weaving through the crowd of people.
“So, I’m on my own again,” I sighed.
“I’m sure there’s someone out there for you, piglet.”
“Aww, you’re so sweet.” Wrapping my arms around my brother, I almost fell for his crap until I felt his hand sneaking up my back. I jerked out of his grasp, but I was too late as his fist grabbed a clump of hair and tugged hard.
“Ow! You jerk!”
I shoved him back a step, making him trip over the stool behind him and fall on his ass. The bartender chuckled, sliding my drink across the bar to me. Tipping him, I took a long drink, enjoying the night out.
This was just what I needed.
“Alright! Let’s give it up for Liam Parker, with a special message to a very special lady.”
My face flushed as I spun on the spot. My eyes scanned the bar over the heads bobbing higher than I could see. Liam was here? I hadn’t seen him when I came in.
“Excuse me!” I snapped, trying to make my way through, but no one would make space for me.
A shove from behind sent my drink flying, spilling all down the front of my dress. “Shit!” Brushing the liquid off my dress, I paused when I heard the familiar strains of the very first song I ever danced to with Liam.
Heat flashed over my skin as I heard the first few notes of his rich voice hushing the crowd. For a moment, I stood there, eyes closed as I let his words penetrate the armor I had built around my heart.
The heartbreak that cracked every word dug barbs into my skin, reminding me that I was alive, that I had a man who very much loved me and wanted me.
A sob tore its way up my throat as I felt every single truth in the song. We weren’t right for each other. We had hurt each other so much.
Him with his lies, but me…I had hurt him by refusing to allow even an ounce of forgiveness when I knew his intentions were honest.
And yet…he loved me so very deeply, and I knew in my heart that I would never love anyone the way I loved him. He was part of me, down to the very marrow of my bones. If he walked out of my life now, if this was really goodbye, I wouldn’t survive.
“I will always love you,” I murmured along with him as he poured his heart out for everyone in the bar to hear.
I could no longer hold back the tears as his song came to a close. Clutching my hands over my heart, the traitorous organ broke as the idiocy of my decisions rushed to the surface.
“Bailey? Are you okay?” Cheyenne asked, gripping my hand.
I shook my head as the tears fell hard. After all this time, my heart had finally decided to mend, but it was screaming at me to give Liam another chance. To let him back in and forgive what I had once deemed unforgivable.
“I need to see him!”
I shoved my way through, knocking people aside in my haste to find Liam and tell him I still loved him—that I couldn’t live without him.
But as I got closer to the stage, someone else was already taking their turn at the microphone. He was gone.
“No,” I whispered, my eyes scanning the room for him. “He’s gone.”
“There!” Cheyenne shouted, pointing to the door.
My eyes darted there, catching just a glimpse of his hat as the door swung shut.
“Excuse me!” I shouted, pushing my way through the throng of people. “Move! I need to get to Liam!”
“Hey! Watch it!” someone shouted when a drink crashed to the ground.
But I didn’t care. If I didn’t catch him now, it might be too late. He was saying goodbye. He was telling me he was giving up, and I just couldn’t live with that. Not when my heart had finally healed. Not when I knew that I would never be happy if Liam Parker wasn’t in my life.
“Coming through!” Cheyenne shouted. “Lady with a baby!”
The crowd went silent and parted for me, their eyes wide as they stared at my flat stomach.
“Great. Way to start the rumor mill,” I snapped as I bolted for the door.
“Hey, I cleared the way for you. Go get your man!” she cheered as I flung the door open and stepped out into the pouring rain.
Looking left, I couldn’t see a damn thing aside from the rain falling in sheets. The cold drops chilled my skin as I stepped further into the downpour and scanned the sidewalk until I finally caught a glimpse of someone in the distance under a streetlight.
“Liam!” I shouted, running after him.
I splashed through puddles, water sloshed into my boots, and a permanent chill settled into my bones in just the few seconds I was outside. But none of that mattered when the man I loved was walking away from me.
“Liam! Wait!”
I wasn’t even sure he could hear me over the sound of the rain hitting the metal roofs and the cars driving past, splashing water gathering on the side of the road as it fought to drain at the curb.
“Liam Parker! Stop right now!” I shouted as I ran down the sidewalk, my clothes soaked, my body chilled.
He paused, his large body turning ever so slightly. Time slowed as his hat tipped forward, the rain spilling off the rim. Then his dark eyes peeked out and landed on me with an intensity I hadn’t felt in months.
I hadn’t even realized I was missing that brooding gaze until right this minute when it hit me like a thousand thorns piercing my skin and splaying me open, forcing me to admit what I had been denying since I thought he betrayed me.
Without Liam, I was just bouncing through life, not really living at all. But as his eyes connected with mine, I just knew that no matter what happened between us, I wouldn’t really be alive unless I was in his arms.
“You’re leaving me?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” he asked, his voice muted by the rain.
“I thought that’s what I needed.”
Shaking his head, he glanced away. “The problem is, you don’t know what you want. You want love and happiness, and you want it all wrapped in a neat little bow. But Bailey, love isn’t pretty. It’s messy and it hurts!” he shouted. “The way I love you would rip you to shreds.”
“Then do it!” I shouted, the rain washing away all doubt and fear. It took months for me to finally release the pain, but now that I had, I was seeing clearly again. And I knew I couldn’t live without this man.
“You say you love me. You say you don’t want anyone else. Well, neither do I. It’s been you since the third grade, and it doesn’t matter what happens. That will never change.”
“You threw me away when I was trying to protect you.”
“I was scared and stupid,” I cried, taking a step toward him. “I was so afraid that you would hurt me again. I just…I needed time for my head to catch up with my heart.”
Shaking his head, he shouted, “And what about next time? Are you gonna run from me again when things get tough? My heart can’t take another beating from you.”
“Liam…I don’t know about the future. All I know is that it’s been you since the third grade. You haven’t left my heart once—not really. I tried to push you away. I tried to tell myself I was better off without you. But the truth is…I’ll never be happy unless I’m with you.”
“You’d better mean that, Bailey Bennett. Because once you’re in my arms again, I’m never letting you go.”
I was running hard at him, a smile beaming through me. His arms opened just a split second before I threw myself at him, wrapping my legs around his waist as my lips crashed into his.
I didn’t feel the cold or the rain as he held me to him, kissing me hard and unyielding. Every agonizing minute of the last few months washed away with the rain.
As he tore his lips from mine, those dark eyes bore into mine, promising a night I would never forget. “Come home to me. Say you’ll never leave.”
I shook my head. “Never. You’re stuck with me now.”
“Baby, you’ve been stuck with me since the third grade.”
Smiling, I finally decided to let him know the truth. “Do you want to know a secret?”
“Tell me,” he grinned.
“I got stuck up on those monkey bars on purpose. I knew you would come rescue me.”
Chuckling, he pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “Bailey Bennett, I knew exactly what you were doing that day.”
Setting me down, he shoved his hand in his pocket and got down on one knee right in the middle of a huge puddle. As he held out his hand, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Bailey Bennett, I think it’s time we stop dancing around this flirtation and I make you mine. Tell me you’ll say yes.”
I barely saw the ring. I didn’t even care about it. The sincerity in his eyes was the only thing that mattered.
“Twenty-one years is a really damn long time to wait, Liam Parker.”
“Don’t make me wait another twenty-one. I don’t think I could take it.”
A watery laugh slipped through my lips as I nodded excitedly. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
He was on his feet seconds later and his lips were sealed over mine as he picked me up and spun me around in the rain. I was soaked and freezing, but in his arms, I didn’t feel a thing.