Chapter Eighteen
Sunny spent a long, miserable month at Tag and Piper’s cabin, and she saw no end in sight.
She looked for places in town, but everything was out of her very limited price range.
She found a few places that might have worked, but each time she told Tag about them, he insisted that she just stay with them for the time being.
Aaron picked up Sadie for visits, and each time he showed up, whether at the cabin or bakery, she had Justice or Piper hand the baby off.
She couldn’t find the courage to face him; instead, she hid in her bedroom or the back office.
Sunny knew that she was being a coward, but she also knew that if she saw him, she would betray everything that she fought so hard for and just let him back into her life.
She was going to have to figure something out, though, because he was a part of Sadie’s life and that would never change.
He left her countless texts telling her how sorry he was and that he wanted another chance to prove to her that they were a team and that he’d never leave.
Every morning, he would text her that he had dreamt about her all night and how much he missed her.
Each night, he would text her goodnight by telling her that he loved her and that she was his whole world, and dammit, she wanted to believe him.
But she was too afraid to let herself hope that he meant every word of his sweet promises.
Aaron called both Tag and Piper, checking in on her and asking if she would talk to him.
Every time they asked her to speak to him and she declined, she saw their disappointment, and it hurt.
Aaron usually showed up on Friday and picked up Sadie after his night shift.
Today was no exception, but Piper and Tag left earlier that morning to go to the doctor.
Piper was going to find out the baby’s sex, and Sunny was so excited for her friend.
She didn’t care if Pipe was having a boy or a girl.
She was just happy that her daughter was going to have a best friend to grow up with, just like she had.
Not having Piper or Tag around really put a crimp in her plan to avoid Aaron every time he picked up Sadie.
She couldn’t just set her daughter in a basket on the front porch for him to come to pick up.
The front doorbell rang, and she sighed, knowing that she would just have to put on her big girl pants and be an adult.
She opened the door to find Aaron holding a bouquet.
“What’s this?” She didn’t make a move to take the flowers or invite him into the cabin.
“It’s good to see you, too, Sunny. You look beautiful.” He kissed her cheek and made his way past her into the kitchen, and started going through the cabinets to find a jar for the flowers.
“Sure, Aaron, come on in and rummage through Piper’s stuff, make yourself at home.
” She knew she sounded a bit too snarky because, truthfully, seeing him made her stomach flip and her heart ache.
She felt more alive in the minute that he shared the same space as her than she felt all month.
Sunny missed him to the point of feeling as though she was in physical pain without him.
Seeing Aaron made all that pain disappear, and she knew that she needed to just hand Sadie off and get on with her weekend.
It was her turn to man the bakery while Justice went to the ranch to visit Norma Jeane for a few days.
Aaron taking Sadie would mean that she had more free time, and more free time meant that she would miss them both.
There were weekends when she missed them so much that she would drive to his condo and sit in the garage, arguing with herself whether she should go up or leave.
She was never brave enough to walk up to his front door and knock, each time leaving to head back up to the cabin and cry herself to sleep, only to wake up and repeat the whole scene the next day.
“I brought Piper some flowers, and I don’t want them to die before she gets back from her doctor appointment.” Aaron found a mason jar and filled it with water to put the flowers in. Sunny felt a pang of disappointment that they weren’t for her.
“Oh well, that’s nice of you. They should be back later today.
I’ll leave Pipe a note to let her know that you brought her flowers.
” Sunny disappeared back to her room to wake Sadie and change her diaper.
She already packed everything that Aaron would need for a few days.
She hated waking her daughter, but she needed to get this over with.
Having Aaron around and pretending nothing ever happened between them, as if her heart wasn’t breaking, was tearing her apart.
She knew that it was only a matter of time before she broke down crying, and she would rather he not be here to witness how heartbroken she still was.
Sadie yawned and stretched on the bed while Sunny finished changing her.
“You’re going to go with daddy for a few days and then I’ll pick you up, Pumpkin.
” She pulled her daughter into her arms and snuggled her close.
Saying goodbye to her was always so hard, but she knew that Sadie needed time with her father, too.
She didn’t want her failed relationship with Aaron to affect his and Sadie’s time together.
“I’m going to miss you so much, baby.” She kissed Sadie’s little bald head and put her into her car seat.
“You know, you could just come home with us,” Aaron offered.
Sunny jumped, not expecting to find Aaron standing in her doorway.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to see if you needed any help getting her things together,” he whispered.
She finished buckling the baby into the car seat and turned to face Aaron, who now stood right behind her.
“We both know that would be a mistake, Aaron. If I come home with you, I would never leave, but I would always worry that you might.” Aaron groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end.
“Sunny, what do I have to do to prove that I’m not going anywhere? I’ve given you time. I’ve checked on you every day, and I have never given up on us. How much longer are you going to punish me?” he asked.
“Punish you?” she breathed. “How is this punishing you? I’m the one who has to cry myself to sleep during my endless nights alone. I’m the one who’s had to navigate being a single mother while longing to run back into your arms,” she sobbed.
Aaron held his arms open wide as if making a point.
“Here I am, honey. Run back, please.” She didn’t make a move towards him, and he dropped his arms. “I didn’t think so.
” He started to gather Sadie’s things and lifted the car seat, turning to leave.
“If you change your mind, Honey, you know where to find us. It’s your home too, you know.
I’m not going anywhere, Sunny. We’re a family now, and I’ll do whatever I need to do and wait as long as it takes to prove that to you.
” A sob escaped her chest as she turned away.
She heard the front door softly shut and Aaron’s truck pull out of the driveway before she fell to the floor and cried.
She just let the two best things to ever happen to her walk out the door.
Sunny woke up to the sound of a truck pulling up to Piper and Tag’s cabin, and her heart skipped a beat.
Did Aaron come back to take her back home with him?
She stood and stretched, feeling achy from having fallen asleep on the hardwood floor.
She walked out to the main room to find Torren helping himself to Tag’s beer and making himself a sandwich.
“Let me guess. You ran out of food and beer at your place?” Torren turned with a half a piece of ham sticking out of his mouth and smiled. She couldn’t help but smile back. He looked like a grizzly bear who had just been caught going through a camper’s picnic basket.
“Well,” he said with his mouth full, “as a matter of fact, yeah. I also wanted to see why you never opened the bakery today.” He rubbed his stomach, causing her another giggle.
“I just didn’t have it in me today, you know?
I’m assuming that Justice closed the place and left for her grandmother’s ranch?
” Torren nodded, and she felt bad that she couldn’t seem to get her shit together.
The bakery was closed more days than it had been open this past month, and her regulars were getting fed up.
“I’m sorry, I’ll be in first thing in the morning.” She made her way into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. Torren wrapped his big arms around her and pulled her in for a hug.
“How are you doing, Sunny?” She didn’t answer at first, not trusting that she wouldn’t burst into tears again. Torren didn’t do well with crying women.
“I’m—horrible.” She decided to go for honesty, knowing that her friend could usually tell when she was lying. “Aaron came to get the baby, and I had to see him for the first time in a month.” Torren whistled above her head, still holding her against his chest.
“You’ve managed to go the whole month without seeing him? That’s a pretty good run, considering that you two have a kid in the mix. I usually see my exes all over town.” Sunny pulled free and finished making her coffee.
“Well, that’s because you have dated just about everyone from town, including yours truly. You’d have to become a hermit to avoid seeing someone you dated. Hell, you probably go to your mailbox and pass at least five ex-girlfriends.” She chuckled to herself, but Torren didn’t find her as funny.
“Yeah, fair point. But I’m looking to change all that. I’ve decided to give up dating for a bit.” Sunny doubled over, holding her stomach, laughing. She didn’t sober up until she looked up to see that Torren wasn’t laughing. Heck, he wasn’t even smiling.