Chapter Twenty-Three
Elijah
“Lance, quick, come look!” Waldo yelled the moment he stepped through the doors of the parlor. I didn’t bother to glance up from the sketch I was drawing for a customer.
A second later, they barreled through the door laughing. “Dude, there are car seats in your truck.”
I had to lift my head. “Don’t start. You already know.” I resumed drawing again.
“Yeah, but why are they still in your truck?” Lance sounded dubious, but I didn’t stop drawing.
“What’s the point of getting them out when she has no car to put them in?” Everyone was so damn nosy around here. “Besides, it’s just easier for us in the morning when she works. There’s no loading and unloading them every time.”
Hadley had tried to take them the first day I drove her and the kids to the apartment, but I told her it was pointless until she got a new car.
Hers couldn’t be repaired, I could tell just by looking at it.
The other day she had her dad take her to get the police report for the insurance company, and it bummed me out.
I wanted to take her, but this wasn’t so bad.
I’d taken her to work three times this week and picked her up.
Sadly, she was off the next few days. Despite telling her I didn’t care, I knew she wouldn’t ask me to take her anywhere when she wasn’t working. She’d likely ask her parents.
A stool scraped the floor as it was scooted across the linoleum. It rolled to a stop on the other side of the counter where I was drawing. From the corner of my eye, I saw Wendy plop down and cross her arms. “We hardly recognize you around here, anymore.”
Humming in my throat, I asked, “What do you mean?”
“You’re not known to be sweet, Elijah. It’s a good look on you.”
Glancing up, I saw her smirking. “Don’t you have a tattoo to do or something?”
“Not for another thirty minutes,” she told me, leaning forward. “Hadley is sweet, lovable, and beautiful. The complete opposite of you.”
I dropped my pencil. “And?”
“We just want to know if you like her. You’re going out of your way to help her, and you’ve left work early three nights this week. You never leave early!”
“Of course, I like her. What’s not to like?” When her eyes sparkled mischievously, I groaned and wiped my hand over my face. “Not like that.”
That was a lie. I really, really liked Hadley more than our friendship deemed appropriate, no matter how much I pretended otherwise.
I agreed with Wendy—I barely recognized myself.
It wasn’t a bad or even a strange feeling.
It was welcoming, so I didn’t question it.
Almost. My getting a boner every time I thought of Hadley was a bit much, but I’d ignore it since I liked my friendship with her.
There was nothing physical about us. I’d never felt as content with someone as I did with Hadley by just being around her.
It was natural.
Fucking perfect if I were honest about it .
Hadley’s features gave away how much younger she was to me, but she was far more mature than most women her age. It was why I didn’t mind her and her little family.
I never questioned what I wanted to do. I just did it and being around them was just gravitational. I was drawn there.
It got me thinking lately that maybe I had it wrong about a life with kids and a family being mundane.
Maybe the hardships were worth it, then I’d see a screaming toddler in the store and the discourage to never procreate came back.
Then I remembered Lucy’s little tantrum with her mom last evening.
I had driven them home. Lucy wanted something, and Hadley wouldn’t let her have it.
Her outburst wasn’t annoying because the kid was normally loud, but she could be worse when trying to get her way.
Strangely, it slightly amused me how the four-year-old terror tried to bend Hadley to her will.
I was ashamed to admit that for some unknown reason Lucy had bent mine in half.
If she yelled for something, I got it. That was why there was a bag of Funyuns sitting in my truck.
Hadley wouldn’t let me get them because Lucy acted out.
My ex would have loved to ask Lucy how she bossed me around. God knew I’d never do for anyone else what I did for Lucy and Hadley.
Discovering how I felt about Hadley and her family didn’t scare me.
In fact, it put a smile on my face. Despite how I misjudged her on that first day, it had always been easy to be around them.
It worried me, though, that I wanted to protect the mom and her kids, especially since I didn’t know them well enough.
I thought maybe it was because Ma was a single mother before Hank. Honestly, that wasn’t it either.
No matter how I tried, I couldn’t control my feelings.
“Are you sure? Or are you lying?” Wendy’s voice grabbed my attention .
I blinked. “We’re friends… If given the chance, I’d take them into my home and keep them there.” I murmured, hunched over the counter, and picked back up the pencil.
Wendy gasped. “You really like them, don’t you? Even her kids?”
Drawing in a deep breath, I glanced up and said, “I do.”
“I never thought I’d live to see the day that you cared more about someone else than yourself. You’re so sincere when you speak about them that it’s frightening. Look! I’ve got goose bumps. I can’t wait to tell Cheryl about this.”
“Don’t,” I uttered and pinched the bridge of my nose before sighing.
“I told her I was her friend. A while back she asked me if I was being nice just to get into her pants. I told her no, but every time I saw her in the parking lot, I grew a little more attracted to her. So when she asked that, I was afraid to admit the truth—that I was really fucking into her. Hadley was finally letting me talk to them without running away. I didn’t want to screw it up.
Don’t get me wrong, being her friend is really fucking easy, but I am into the mom.
” I paused and took another deep breath.
“Fuck. That makes me an asshole, doesn’t it?
I don’t act on my emotions, but I like the way she makes me feel without having to touch her at all…
” But to touch her… My body shuddered from the thought alone.
Wendy gawked at me with her wide eyes and mouth agape. “Wow… How long have you been holding that in? I swear you’re fighting it. One second you’re denying you like her and in the next you do a one-eighty. It sounds like you’re still coming to grips with your feelings.”
“Dude, we heard all that,” Waldo stared over at me.
Rubbing my forehead, I ignored everything that just happened. “That was a lapse in my sanity.”
“No point in denying it now,” Jim hollered across the room.
“Agreed,” Lance murmured .
“You know what? I’m going back to ignoring the fact that I have the hots for the mom. Did you hear me say anything, Waldo?”
He turned away. “Nope. Notta thing.”
“Wendy?” I asked.
“Don’t be an idiot. Let her know.” Instead of responding, I glared at her. Wendy held up her hands and stood. “I didn’t hear a thing.”
_______
It had been three long, torturous days since I’d last seen Hadley and the kids.
That was how many days Hadley had been off, with no reason to aggravate me when I wished she would.
I didn’t even hear from Lucy, who I thought for sure would have asked me to come and watch a movie.
To do something. Anything . But nothing.
Not even a text. I sent Hadley one asking if she needed anything, and the answer was always no, but thanks.
Slowly, I realized that Hadley didn’t like to ask for help.
When she did, she preferred sticking with those closest to her.
Problem was, I wanted to be closer to them. They could use me as much as they wanted. I didn’t care to be the chauffeur or anything as long as I got to be around them. It was after work Friday evening when I finally saw them.
I nearly exited my truck without shutting off the motor. The three of them were in the small, apartment playground. I was glad to see the young boys that normally hovered were gone, but I was even happier with the chance to see Hadley and the kids.
I strode over toward them slowly, reeling myself in. Didn’t want to give away how thrilled I was to see them. “Elijah!” Lucy screamed, and I smiled. That’s right, Lucy. I’m your Elijah. Even the way she said my name was adorable. “I missed you!”
She ran, so I held my arms out for her as she jumped. I was a tall person yet she almost reached my hips with that leap. She was a great jumper. “If you missed me, then why haven’t you called me over?” I asked as she wrapped her arms around my neck and giggled.
She shrugged, peeking back at Hadley who watched us. “I wanted to, but Mommy said we shouldn’t aggravate you so much.”
I knew it. I pinned Hadley with a scowl and spoke loud enough for her to hear me.
“You’re never a bother to me, Lucy. You or your mom.
Call me whenever you want. If you need me, I’ll be there.
No matter what.” I knew words like this could potentially be very important to a four-year-old, but I wouldn’t have said them if they weren’t true.
But this made Lucy sad. Her usual smile turned into a pout. “Promise?”
I tugged at her ponytail and smiled. “Never doubt me.”
Her smile returned as she laid her head across my shoulder and hugged me softly. My chest squeezed tight until I almost felt like I was choking. She wasn’t choking me, but her hug made me feel all closed up inside. “Do you want to watch a movie tonight?” she whispered.
“Yeah. I’d love that, actually.”
“Mom?” She turned her head and spoke to Hadley. “Elijah wants to watch a movie with us.”
She frowned. “Lucy, you know we’re out here waiting on your dad.”