Chapter 25 I’ll Drive
I’ll Drive
“I’m a potato.” With her blood pressure climbing, the doctor confined Harley to her pretty little house. Utterly morose, she lifted her teacup to her signature red-painted lips.
She was not adjusting well, and I didn’t blame her. The swelling in her little feet alone looked uncomfortable, never mind the very pregnant belly on her tiny frame.
Daire called me that morning to ask if I had time to drop in for a visit as he needed to grab a few things to prepare his classroom for the new school year.
As soon as I arrived, he settled Harley in the family room with her feet up then made us both a cup of tea. Eliciting a promise from me that I’d wait here until he got back, he ran out the door.
Normally chill and laid-back, he was sweetly protective of his little wife when necessary. According to Noelle, I didn’t know the half of it.
I chuckled. “You’re beautiful, Harley.” I appraised her tiny, curvy form from my comfy corner of their couch. “Honestly, you’re all earthy and lush. I don’t know how to describe you, but I might be developing a breeding kink.”
Harley’s mug slammed down on the side table as she sputtered and coughed, tea spraying over her lap.
I grinned. “Earthy and lush, sure, but not all that elegant.”
She swiped the drops off her swollen stomach that shook with her laughter. Slowly, her laughter turned to sniffing. “I just feel so ugly and ungainly.”
“Have you told Daire how you feel?”
She rolled her eyes. “He just ties me up and gives me orgasms.” Her brow furrowed. “And one time he did it with a ball gag as punishment for talking badly about myself.”
My eyebrows rose as I leaned toward her. “I mean, as punishments go…”
Grinning at me, she snorted. “I can’t complain. Can I tell you a secret?”
I leaned closer. “I love secrets.”
“The doctor didn’t put me on bed rest. He said, and I quote, we have to keep an eye on your blood pressure or we will have to consider bed rest.’ Daire put me on bed rest.”
I laughed. “Why is that a secret?”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s embarrassing.”
I snorted. “For him or for you?”
A knock followed by her front door opening cut off her reply.
I began to rise. “You want me to check—”
She waved away my concern. “It’s just Aaron dropping off some files from my office.”
“Hey, Harley,” Aaron called as he sauntered into the room with a broad smile.
“Hi, big man,” she called back. “Just drop everything on the coffee table then sit down and give me the gossip.”
His smile faded into a polite facsimile as he took in my presence. “Bridget.”
“Hey, Aaron.” I smiled despite the nerves in my tummy. What would it take for him to give his dad a chance. “How are you doing?”
He drew in a deep breath and hitched his hands on his hips, pointedly avoiding my gaze. “Nadine’s got some of her energy back. The baby is healthy and on track.”
“That’s great, but I asked how you are doing.”
He blinked then shook his head. “Me? I’m fine.”
“I’m glad,” I murmured. “If you ever need a listening ear, I’ve got two of them.”
He pressed his lips together and offered me a tight nod. “Thank you but I’m good.”
“You want to sit for a bit?” Harley offered, eyes soft on his face, her head tilted to the side.
He shook his head and thumbed over his shoulder. “I gotta get back.”
“I won’t tell the boss,” she teased.
“I don’t know,” he teased back. “She’s a bit of a ball-buster.”
She wagged her eyebrows. “A real badass.”
He grinned back at her.
Jerking his chin up at me, his gaze cooling considerably, he said goodbye.
Halfway across the room, he stopped and raked a rough hand through his hair. Whirling around, he pinned me with his gaze and snapped, “What do you even see in him?”
I blinked in surprise. “K-Kian?” I stuttered but quickly gathered my thoughts. I might have only this one opportunity. “He’s kind and caring, hard-working, funny and sweet and wholly devoted to his family. A lot of the same things I see in you.”
“I’m nothing like him,” he snarled.
“He’s a good man, Aaron,” I countered softly. “A man who made a terrible mistake and makes no excuse for it. Sorrow and regret are his constant companions.” I waited a beat, thinking of Gary. “As far as fathers go, you could do a lot worse.”
Aaron crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. “He abandoned us.”
“He came back as soon as he found you,” Harley murmured.
I nodded. “He did. He packed up his whole life to be close to you. I think there’s more to your hostility toward him. What else is bothering you?”
“That’s it,” he asserted, but the flicker of panic in his eyes said otherwise.
Poor kid had grown up far too quickly and now he was going to be a father. “What are you worried about, Aaron?”
He spread his arms wide, his face turning red. “Isn’t it obvious?” He slammed a hand to his chest. His voice shook. “He’s in me.” He shook his head. “And I can’t be like him. I just can’t.”
Holding his gaze, I replied firmly, “You’re not going to leave her, Aaron.”
Wide, hazel eyes, identical to the ones I loved, locked onto mine. Fear and guilt reflected in their depths. “There are moments…”
A soft sound of distress sounded in Harley’s throat as she reached out her hands to him.
She didn’t need this stress right now.
“Aaron,” I assured him softly but firmly.
“There would be something wrong with you if you weren’t at least a little bit scared.
You’re going to be a wonderful partner and a beautiful daddy.
I know we’ve all made a big deal about being here for Nadine, but you have to know we’re all here for you, too. You are not alone.”
He held my gaze, eyes wide and glossy.
I sensed a softening in him but then, following a brisk knock, Harley’s front door opened and Hawkley walked in.
His sharp eyes took in the scene all at once. “What’s going on in here?”
Aaron spun on his heel, his eyes shiny. Grabbing his keys off the counter, he snapped, “I’m going for a drive.”
Raising his palms as Aaron approached, Hawkley said, “Whoa, there buddy. What’s going on, Aaron?”
“Get out of my way,” he snarled.
“He can’t drive,” Harley blurted, her face pale.
“He just needs some space,” I murmured.
“Move,” Aaron snapped, his body rigid as he stared down the much larger man.
Hawkley stepped forward, crowding him, but Aaron pushed past him and headed for the door.
Hawkley barked, “Stop.”
Aaron halted, then turned around and glared.
Hawkley’s hands fisted at his sides. “You want to get away, that’s fine. But I’ll drive.”
Aaron looked away and scoffed. “I’ll drive myself.”
Stepping toward him, Hawkley rested his hand on Aaron’s shoulder.
Tension rolled off them in waves.
Aaron, his rigid body trembling, lifted his chin and curled his lip at Hawkley.
Whatever words he had planned died on his lips.
Whatever he saw on Hawkley’s face softened the raw edges of his anger.
Hawkley dipped his chin. “Please.”
With a short nod, Aaron turned and walked out.
Hawkley jerked his chin up toward me. “Harley needs to be with Daire.”
Turning to his sister, he ordered, “Call him, Harley.”
That intense gaze swung back to me. “Make sure she does.”
“I will.”
After they left, I locked eyes with Harley. “Your big brother is intense.”
She laughed. “He is.”
“Noelle’s so sunny…” My voice trailed off.
She smirked. “She always did like a good monster romance.”
Daire arrived home fifteen minutes later, and I left for home.
Harley called an hour after that to tell me Aaron and Hawkley were back, and things were looking good.
With a sigh of relief, I began to get ready for my date with Kian and Isaiah when there was a knock at my door.
I swung it open to find Aaron standing in the hall with his hands tucked into his front pockets. He shrugged and offered me a small, crooked smile. “What can you tell me about my father?”
I opened my door and smiled widely as I held out my hand. “A lot.”
His chest inflated with a deep breath as he studied me before finally reaching out to take my hand. Then he stepped over the threshold.
We sat down together, and I told him everything I knew and loved about his father.
He listened intently, asking questions now and then, he even smiled at some of the stories I shared.
After a while, he turned away from me. “I—”
When he didn’t continue, I prodded, “I’m listening. There’s nothing you can say that will ever leave this room.”
His head snapped around to face me. “For real?”
I nodded. “For real.”
His face crumpled as a single, swollen tear edged down his cheek. He whispered, “I wanted to leave, the night I told my mom, I wanted to run. I felt so bad for disappointing her.”
“Of course, you did,” I soothed.
“I wasn’t thinking about Nadine or the baby at all. Every time I see him, I remember that moment and I remember he’s part of me.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he raised his glossy eyes to meet mine. “There are still days I want to run.”
“I get it, Aaron. I understand.” I nodded for him to continue.
“I’d never forgive myself.”
Moving closer, I took his hand in both of mine. “Sweetheart, you’ll never have to. The very fact you’re this concerned tells me you couldn’t do it if you tried.”
His Adam’s Apple bobbed in his throat.
I squeezed his hand and confessed, “We owe you an apology.”
His eyebrows shot up. “What for?”
Pulling him into my arms, I held him close. God! Did we ever owe him an apology! After a moment, he circled his arms around my back.
“Because we were so busy looking after Nadine, we failed to check in with you. It won’t happen again. I promise, we’ll be there for you. No matter where I am, I’ll be there for you.”
His body shuddered, once, and then he drew back.
Taking a deep breath, he offered me a shaky smile exactly like his dad’s. “You think I should give him a chance?”
“I think you’ll miss out if you don’t.”
By the time he left, I had only fifteen minutes to get ready. On the tightrope of emotional stability, I was hanging by a fingernail.
When my cell rang, I let out a frustrated moan and picked it up to see Kian’s name. “Hey! Everything okay?”
“I have to cancel tonight, sweetheart.”
I held my breath, a fragile hope blossoming in my chest. “Why?”
“Aaron called. He wants to talk to me.” He blew out a shaky breath then laughed. “I’m nervous.”
I laughed as happiness bubbled up inside me. “It’ll be okay, Kian. He’s ready now. Just offer him your self. That’s all you can do.”
“I’ll call you, okay, baby? As soon as he leaves, I’ll call you.”
“Do you want me to pick up Isaiah?”
“I kind of want to just keep everybody close right now but thank you.”
His words sliced through my delusions like a sharp knife.
I swallowed hard.
Despite his declarations of love, this was a good reminder.
I smiled through the pain. “Good luck, baby.”
I waited impatiently for his call while the minutes turned into hours.
When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I grabbed my sweater and stepped out into the night. My steps led me down to the beach. Taking off my sandals, I left a trail of footprints along the shore. Even at this time of night, the beach was never entirely deserted in the summer.
When my cell finally rang, I had just taken a seat on a bench to put my sandals back on.
As soon as I picked up, Kian said, “Aaron just left. We talked for more than two hours after Isaiah went to bed.”
“Really?” I squeaked. “It was a good talk?”
He sucked in a breath. “I think, for the first time, everything is going to be okay.”
“That’s so good, Kian! I’m so happy for you!”
“Thank you,” he stressed. “I mean it. He told me he spoke to you today. Whatever you said, it made the difference.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for.”
“There is,” he interrupted. “I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done for me, for Isaiah, and for Aaron. I’m, I just don’t know how to thank you.”
“There’s no thanks necessary,” I replied softly.
He blew out a breath. “Okay, so listen, it gets better. I’m going home to my family for a few days with Isaiah.
Aaron and Nadine are coming too.” He laughed in disbelief.
“I have to wrap up a few things at work before I leave, and there are a couple of legal issues I need to work out when I get home to Mapleville. I need a few days to focus on Aaron and get my business in order. Are you okay with that? I don’t want you to feel like you’re not important. ”
My stomach turned to ice, but I shook the feeling away.
Kian is not Gary.
His voice softened. “I’ll call you as soon as we get back, okay?”
I blinked, then exclaimed, “Sure. No problem. Everything is going to be great!”
No matter how I tried to rationalize my exclusion from his plans, they made one thing very clear, and that was the divide between my place in his life and his family.
We were not the same.
“Bridget,” he said softly. “You are the most amazing woman, I’m the luckiest man on the planet, and I’m going to make sure you know how special you are to me when I get back.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “You deserve every good thing, Kian. Don’t forget that.”
“It’s, I can’t believe it,” he said. “Things were so bad and now, now I have hope.”
“He needs you, don’t forget that.”
“I’ll get over to see you before we leave, but Hawkley called all the guys and we’re all meeting at The Beaver Dam with Aaron tomorrow night. They’re--” His voice broke.
“You’re doing for Aaron what we did for Nadine,” I murmured, my heart breaking that he didn’t have an opportunity to gather that same kind of support around himself once upon a long time ago.
He released a shuddering breath, swallowing audibly. Voice tight, he continued, “Can you believe it? I’m getting a second chance with my son.” He paused and huffed out a laugh. “My mother is going crazy getting rooms ready.”
Picturing it, I laughed. “I bet. Do you need help with Isaiah?”
“Nadine is staying with him,” he responded. “I’ll miss you, Bridge.” His voice dropped. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you. I’ll call you soon, sweetheart, and I’ll get over to see you before we leave.”
“Bye, darling. Enjoy.”
I closed the phone.
Emotions swelling, I sat and watched the waves roll in.
When I could stand, I returned home.
Alone.