CHAPTER 15
brIDGER
Even though I know she’s fine, I find myself standing at the threshold to the living room to watch Avery.
Now that we’ve eaten and everything is cleaned up, the ladies have moved back to the living room and are sitting with their heads together.
Kessler is back in Tenley’s arms while Ian is doing something on his phone.
Wyatt comes up next to me with a beer in his hand. After he hands me one, he clinks the neck of his against mine. “Come out on the back porch with me,” his voice is low as to not disturb the tableau in front of us.
Avery giggles and her eyes light up with something Tenley is saying to her. I find myself nodding even though the last thing I want to do is miss a moment of this. Watching this woman, my woman, come alive under the attention of people who care about her is magical to witness.
And I don’t want to miss a moment.
But I also know Wyatt won’t let this go. He’s persistent when he needs to be and I have no doubt he’s worried about me.
The silence settles between us when we step out onto the back porch. The lawn stretches out in front of us. I haven’t done much back here, but only because I could never picture what this space needed to look like.
Now, a picture is starting to form. One with a little playhouse and a playground. One where our little one can grow, play, and be safe.
We settle down on the patio seating I picked out when I first moved in; the only thing I could imagine back here was enjoying a beer or drinking a cup of coffee while looking out over my yard knowing it’s mine and completely under my control.
I still feel the same sense of pride and comfort I did that day.
The silence settles around us and I take a deep breath. I wait for panic and fear to take over, but it doesn’t. I just settle back and soak it all in.
Dinner was great. Watching Avery light up as she got to know Tenley, Wyatt, and Ian was something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
If I weren’t already halfway in love with the woman, if not more, that would have done it.
Not only did she open up her heart to my family, but she did it without fear and without holding back.
That takes courage. It’s also sexy as fuck.
“How are you doing?” Wyatt’s question, spoken softly to keep this conversation between us, pulls me from my thoughts.
I look at my boss, my friend, and see the sincerity in his eyes. He’s not asking from a place of judgement or expectation, just pure curiosity and concern.
Honestly, I figured this was coming. Sure, he brought over dinner with his family to make it easier for us, but he also wanted to check on me.
As much as I want to tell him I’m fine and answer off the cuff, I take a moment and take stock of everything that’s happened. It’s happened fast, but I’m not bothered by that. Not after I spent months thinking about that night, which was over far too quickly.
Waking up the next morning alone, I felt the loss of Avery next to me, and I hated it. I wanted to reach for her and feel her curves mold against my body. But she was gone.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
Now she’s found her way back to me. I’m not going to ruin the chance to have her in my life. The fact that she’s carrying my child makes it better, more terrifying as well.
“I’m processing,” I admit honestly. “I’m good though. I want Avery here. I’m glad she found me when she needed me.”
“Are you pissed because she didn’t come to you sooner?”
I sigh and take a long pull of my beer. “I could be,” I acquiesce. “But I also believe that she was scared and didn’t know what to do.”
“Really?” He challenges me. “If she found you so easily when she was having a crisis, it would have been just as easy when she found out,” he points out.
I look at him sharply, my eyes narrowed as I try to fight back the surge of anger because he’s questioned Avery and the decisions she’s made. “Don’t speak poorly of her. She did the best she could in a scary situation she wasn’t prepared for.”
“It’s not like you were prepared for the situation that dropped into your lap yesterday, but you didn’t hesitate,” he points out in a way which isn’t unkind and is simply factual.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I know what he’s doing. He’s not trying to hurt me or disparage Avery. He’s trying to look out for me.
It’s what family does. Because they care. Because they don’t want to see me get hurt. Because if they don’t, who will?
“I took her over to her parent’s house today to get her stuff,” I tell him, knowing I need to share a little bit in order to put his concerns to rest. I scoff and shake my head, “Her father gave her 48 hours to get her stuff before it was thrown away.”
“That’s shitty,” Wyatt muses.
“Her mom was there, and I could smell the alcohol coming off her from a few feet away. It was barely even 11 am when we arrived.” I shoot him a look, and he grimaces.
“She was a piece of work. She told Avery to marry the douchebag her father wants her to marry. There was no love there, not for Avery and not for her grandchild.” I mutter, “It made me think about how my relationship with my mom wasn’t so bad.
At least my mom was trying, even though she went about everything the wrong way.
My mom was searching for her own stability instead of providing me with some all on her own.
She didn’t realize how her actions would traumatize me.
Avery’s mom didn’t give a shit and was only interested in how her life is being affected by this, not her daughter’s life. ”
“That’s sad,” Wyatt sighs.
“It is.” I shake my head and admit, “My woman’s entire life was reduced down to three suitcases and two duffle bags which included things she had started to collect for our baby. Things she felt the need to hide.”
“Your woman?”
I shrug one shoulder, refusing to be embarrassed by how much I’ve admitted even though I didn’t mean to.
After scrubbing a hand down my face, I let out a sigh.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her and the night we spent together.
That should have been a clue before she showed up at the shop yesterday.
” A bark of laughter breaks free from my chest. “Fuck, was it only yesterday? It feels like everything has been moving so damn fast. It’s not a bad thing, but still. ”
“I’m sure things will slow down now. Now she’s no longer under the threat of her parents and doesn’t have a clock ticking in the back of her mind to get her stuff. She’s free of them and she’s safe. That’s what matters,” he tries to placate me.
My hand clenches into a fist and the anger I felt earlier at her parents rises up again.
“I called Duncan,” I grit out through my teeth.
“I’m having him look into her parents and that Eric asshole she was told that she was going to marry.
” My words are bitter, “They didn’t even give her a choice in that, like she’s property. What fucking year do they think it is?”
“You think Duncan can use his computer skills to get some dirt on them?”
“Yeah,” I nod slowly and try to calm the fury which is begging to be unleashed. “He let me know that he’d fill Blake in just in case I need Higgins Security to back me up.”
Duncan is their tech wizard, something that came in handy when he met his woman, Savannah.
She was pregnant at the time with her ex-husband’s baby.
The night they met was the night her divorce went through, and her friends had dragged her very pregnant self out to a bar, which is kind of a wild place to take a pregnant woman, freshly divorced or not.
We’ve all heard stories about how Duncan used his tech expertise to keep an eye on her. He can say it was all to keep her safe, which I’m sure was a huge part of it, but the man is also obsessed with his woman.
Now, with Avery in my life, I understand his reasoning a lot better.
I’m tempted to put a tracker on my woman just so I know where she is. Maybe he can help me with that.
“What do you think he’s going to find?”
“No clue, man, but he’s the kind of man to have skeletons in his closet. I want to know about them. As long as he leaves Avery and our baby alone, I don’t need to expose him. If he doesn’t, then I already warned him. If he doesn’t think I’ll follow through, then that’s on him.”
Wyatt lets out a soft chuckle and shakes his head. When I look at him and narrow my eyes, he holds his beer up like it’ll shield him. “I think this is the most words I’ve heard you say at one time, like ever.”
As much as I try to hold it in, I crack a smile, even though it’s small. He’s sure as fuck not wrong either. I guess I didn’t have much to say before, but if talking keeps Avery safe then I’ll do it. I’ll do anything for her.
He lets out a low whistle, “And you’re smiling.” His face turns serious, and he nods toward the house. “She’s good for you. Don’t let her go.”
“I don’t plan on it.”
“Finding your woman, having a family,” Wyatt muses, something in his voice making me pay attention, as he looks out at my backyard, “it’s special.
It’s also scary as fuck. If you need anything, even if it’s just to talk when things feel too heavy or you’re freaking out, know that I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
“I know.”
And I do. Because Wyatt has had my back since I met him and started working at Vibrant Ink.
They’ve all had my back. While I thought I didn’t need it before, I’m man enough to admit I need it now.
This is a huge change in my life and there will be times when I need to change my schedule or even cut back on my appointments once our baby arrives.
They’ll make changes for me; all I’ll have to do is ask.
“Good,” he grunts. “I’m sure Tenley is telling Avery something similar.”
I huff out a laugh. “I bet they’re planning their first girl’s day out or spa outing.”
Wyatt laughs, the sound ringing across my back yard.
“Knowing my wife? Probably.” He eyes me for a moment before adding, “We’re going to be coming over more often now.
Not only to check on Avery, but to check on you.
This is a big deal, and it was dropped in your lap.
” I bristle, about to tell him where to shove his concern, but he holds his hand up and keeps talking, “You’re handling it well, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need support. ”
The reminder that their concern comes from love, even if he doesn’t say it outright, has my annoyance waning.
“I appreciate it,” I force the words past my lips.
My eyes drift toward the house and if I listen really closely, I can hear Avery’s laughter coming from inside.
“We’re going to take things slowly and see what happens. ”
“What do you want to have happen?”
“Honestly?” When he gives me a single nod, I blow out a long breath. “I want it all. It scares the hell out of me, but I want her and our baby. I want a family which is something I never thought I would want.”
He wipes an imaginary tear from his cheek and sniffles dramatically. “You’re all grown up now.”
“Fuck off,” I deadpan while flipping him off.
One side of his mouth quirks up in a smirk and some of the heaviness of the conversation evaporates to join the stars twinkling in the sky above us. He cut the tension, but he’s not wrong.
My need to not get too close, even to the family I could never avoid, was the reaction of someone who was stuck in the past. I kept my trauma wrapped around me as if it could protect me from future hurts. Now, with Avery in my life, I don’t want to keep doing that.
I need to let her in, and I need to let my family in. No, we’re not bound by blood, but we wake up each day and choose each other. That doesn’t just count for something; it’s everything.
By the time Wyatt and Tenley leave, my woman has a huge smile on her face, and I feel lighter after my talk with Wyatt. As I lead Avery up to bed and watch as she goes through her nighttime routine, I’m not sure what the next few months will bring. But I’m looking forward to them.
I can’t remember the last time I was looking forward to anything. But this life with her? I want it and I’m going to fight for it.