Chapter 8
brIDGET
When I wake up, my room is dark and I hear nothing. My heart catches in my chest as I remember where I am and what’s happened. I’m home in bed. I have a mild concussion after my wild trip down the stairs yesterday.
I shove back the covers and head into the bathroom, noting that Mia’s bedroom door is open and I hear not one, but two happy, giggling girls inside.
“Mia?” I tip my head as I peek inside the room. “Who’s this?”
My daughter practically launches herself at me as she introduces me to a little girl I don’t know.
“Mama,” she practically screams. “You’re up. You slept so long, right through lunch. This is Zoey, she’s my new friend, and…”
Mia’s talking loudly and seems so happy, but my mind is buzzing. Who the hell is this little girl, and what’s she doing in my house? I can’t decide whether I’m okay with this or angry. Zoey walks up to me and holds out her hand.
“Hi, I’m Zoey,” she says. The girl is dressed to the nines in glittery jelly shoes, a sparkly dress, and an adorable hairstyle with lots of colorful bows. She’s also wearing nail polish. Mia must be in absolute heaven.
“Hi, Zoey.” I shake the girl’s hand and debate asking questions, but I think there’s someone else whom I should be talking to right now. This child’s mother and Logan. “Are you two having fun?” I ask.
Zoey runs up to Mia and gives her a hug. “I love Mia,” she says. “I can’t believe she’s an only child like me. Everyone else at school has brothers or sisters but me. We both love Rainbow Rangers and…”
I hold back a laugh despite my discomfort. This Zoey is a talker, and that is perfect for my Mia. I can see how these two would become instant best friends.
“Mia?” I ask.
“Mama, Zoey is totally my new best friend. We want to have a sleepover this weekend, if it’s okay with you and with Zoey’s mom. But we already asked Zoey’s mom and…”
I hold up my hands. “Okay, kiddo. One step at a time. Why don’t you two keep playing while I check on Logan.” What I mean is things downstairs. The work being done. Not the man himself.
Although I wonder for a second if Zoey is Logan’s daughter.
It seems weird that he wouldn’t have mentioned this to me yesterday when he was driving Mia around, but who knows.
The whole day was such a mess of confusion and emotion.
Either way, there’s got to be a reason there’s a little girl in my house.
The girls bounce over to Mia’s bed and go back to playing without even a goodbye.
Mia looks so happy and is having so much fun, some of my instant concern and worry start to melt away.
I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation, and it’s not like I can get mad when I was sound asleep for what feels like the whole day.
When I reach the top of the stairs, I’m stunned at the amount of work that’s been done. I head down the completely clean staircase carefully, out of habit.
Logan is nowhere to be found, but a woman is sitting at my kitchen table, writing some notes in a notepad. She looks up as I approach and leaps from her seat.
“Oh my goodness. You’re up. You must be so confused.” The woman must be Zoey’s mother. They have the same bright eyes and genuine smile. She holds out a hand. “I’m Alice. My daughter Zoey is upstairs with Mia.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say, my voice unintentionally a little strained. “Where is Logan?”
“Logan?” Alice tips her chin and then bursts out laughing. “You mean Crow. My husband Morris and Crow—Logan—they’re in a motorcycle club.”
My face must fall a bit when she says motorcycle club because Alice quickly goes on.
“But don’t think about what you’ve seen on TV or in movies,” she assures me. “This club isn’t into drugs or illegal activities. They don’t run guns or do anything shady. They run legitimate businesses, and most of the guys have wives and kids. Like me and Zoey.”
She smiles at me, definitely not the stereotypical biker babe.
She’s slim, even under the loose T-shirt she’s wearing, and her shoulder-length hair is piled in a messy bun on top of her head.
She’s wearing a beautiful sparkly diamond on one hand, and if I didn’t know better, I’d guess she was a yoga teacher or something trendy and fun.
Seeing how her daughter is dressed and Alice’s kind, open face makes me feel at ease immediately.
“Crow wanted to haul your old carpet away,” she explains.
“Seems like your local trash pickup would have penalized you for throwing construction debris in the regular bins. So, my husband grabbed his truck and came over to help Crow haul the old stuff away. Crow didn’t want us to wake you, so I came by to stay with Mia.
I figured since I’m a stranger to her, she might prefer to play with my daughter than have some lady just sitting in her house. ”
This is all very, very reasonable, but my mind is blown. Who are these people who just show up for one another like it’s no big deal? Alice had nothing better to do on a weekday than bring her husband and kid to a stranger’s house?
Not only that, but Crow…
The tattoos and his tough-as-nails exterior make a little more sense now. I’m not sure what to think about the fact that he left my daughter alone with a strange woman, but since I was home and asleep… God, this is weird.
“You must be starving.” Alice waves me over to the fridge. “I brought Crow lunch when I came by. Plenty of extras. Can I offer you something?”
The room starts to spin. This woman is in my house, offering me food.
The fragile grip I have on my circumstances makes me feel vulnerable enough.
But when it’s just Mia and me, I don’t have to explain or apologize to anyone.
Having people in and out of my house like this, in and out of my business…
I feel so exposed. And I hate how lacking this makes me feel.
“No, no… I’m okay.” I shake my head and squint against a slight spark of pain.
Alice gathers her papers from the table and smiles. “Now that you’re up, why don’t I take Zoey and head home? Give you back your space.”
She’s so nice and seems so thoughtful, I feel like an asshole for wanting this woman to leave. But it’s a lot to absorb in just a few minutes. I’m about ready to ask her to leave when the front door opens.
Two enormous men are talking in hushed voices.
Logan comes through the door first, a huge, relaxed grin on his face.
Seeing him like that, looking light and happy, strikes me.
He’s so serious, so focused, that something loosens in my chest at the family feeling he seems to have with the other guy. Morris, I assume.
“The lady of the house.” The second man is wearing a baby-blue T-shirt that stretches comically over his giant biceps.
He’s got a bandanna around his head, and he tugs it off with one hand and mops sweat from his brow.
In spite of his size and gruff look, he’s got a huge smile and he holds out a hand to me, but then pulls it back.
“I’d shake your hand, ma’am,” he says, “but I worked up quite the sweat out there. Pleased to meet you. Name’s Morris. ”
I look from him to Alice, who is watching him and just beaming. “Honey,” she says, “I think all these people in Bridget’s house is a bit much. We should leave her to rest. I was just going to get Zoey.”
He nods and gives Logan a slap on the shoulder. “Catch up to ya later, brother. You did good work here.”
Logan nods, accepting the praise. “Thanks for the hand, man. Couldn’t have done it without your truck.”
Morris calls up the stairs, “Zoey. We got to go.”
I must have winced at the sound, because Logan tenses and Morris shakes his head.
“Oh shit. I’m an ass. Apologies. I didn’t think.”
I wave a hand. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I should thank you for what you did here. I’m sorry I’m… I’m not at my best today.”
That is true. With the darkness of my deep sleep fading away and the shock of finding strangers in the house with my daughter, I realize my defenses are sky-high.
There is nothing more to this than a contractor calling on a friend to help him haul away my trash. And they were kind enough to bring along someone to make sure my daughter wasn’t essentially home alone with a passed-out mother.
Clearly, Mia is having no problem accepting these people, because neither she nor Zoey seem to listen to Morris’s call.
Alice is at my side, her bag full of papers in her hands. “I think we may have to break up the new best friends in a slightly more direct way.” She grins at me. “Mind if I go up and get my daughter?”
“Of course.”
While Alice heads up the stairs, Morris and Logan talk quietly about supply costs, materials, and permits.
“Only the GC would need a license, so we’ll have Alice look through the specs and build a budget.” Morris is explaining things to Logan, and he’s nodding, but his eyes never leave my face.
Zoey comes down the stairs hand in hand with Mia.
“Mama.” Mia runs up to me and claps her arms around my waist. “Can Zoey come back for a sleepover this weekend? Please.”
Alice shakes her head and says, “Mia, your mama might need a little more time to recover before I let my wild angel loose on your house for a whole sleepover. But I’ll make sure Bridget has my number in case she wants to set up another playdate.”
Alice looks at me and asks, “Is it okay if I get your number from Crow?”
I nod, watching Mia and Zoey hug like they never want to say goodbye. But they do, and Zoey literally jumps from Mia’s arms to Morris’s in one leap.
“Off we go, Zoey,” he says. He waves to me. “Nice meeting you, Bridget.” Then he maneuvers around so Zoey can ride on his back, and he heads off toward a huge pickup truck parked in front of the house.
Alice touches Logan’s cheek as she passes by. “Come for dinner?” she asks.
He nods. “Yeah, soon. Thanks, Alice.”
Alice waves and smiles, and then it’s just me and Logan and my girl.
“Mama.” Mia is wound up, hyper and in a great mood. “Zoey did the funniest thing. I have to tell you everything.”