Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The near-slam of the door punctuated Jaxon's exit, and she slumped back against the wall as tears poured down her cheeks. A sob welled up in her throat, and she covered her mouth to keep it from escaping.
She swore her heart threatened to stop beating when she saw Jaclyn in his arms. It was the worst possible scenario, and she had run a thousand of them through her mind.
For nearly the past two years, she had wondered how she would tell him about his daughter if she ever saw him again.
She never wanted him to find out like this.
Inwardly, she seethed. She was furious with the entire situation—with Jaxon for never responding to her emails, with Jenn for not following directions and putting them in this predicament.
But the truth was, the only person truly responsible was her.
She knew she should’ve come clean with him before, but she was so worried about his reaction.
Rightfully so, she guessed. While she had played it out over and over in her head, it was worse than she ever imagined—so much worse. She didn’t blame him for being angry with her; she deserved every ounce of his anger.
Forcing herself to calm, she took a deep breath and swiped the tears from her cheeks.
A dozen emotions swirled in her stomach: guilt, sadness, anger, humiliation.
She knew Jaxon hated her for what she had done.
But it had never been intentional—surely he knew that, right? Somehow she would make him understand.
She fanned her face, knowing her cheeks were blotchy and red. Drawing in another breath, she tried to clear her muddled mind and ventured out into the salon. Jenn was still by the front desk speaking with Amy, and she approached quietly, her eyes on Jaclyn.
She took Jaclyn from Jenn’s arms and cuddled her close. Beside them, Jenn shifted awkwardly, wringing her hands in front of her, her gaze pinned to the floor at her feet.
Desperately trying to rein in her anger, she spoke in a low, calm voice. “I need you to please explain to me exactly what happened.”
“I…” Jenn began, then trailed off, biting her lip. Her gaze moved to Adalyn’s, searching imploringly. “I left her in the back for just one second. I wanted to grab her sippy cup from the fridge before we left. I didn’t want to carry her through the salon and risk him seeing her, so…”
Adalyn inhaled sharply through her nose. Well, that hadn’t worked out at all the way Jenn had planned. “It was less than a minute, I swear.”
She briefly closed her eyes, forcing herself not to lash out at Jenn.
Jenn was only a year or so younger than her, but she didn’t have kids of her own.
She had no idea what could happen in the blink of an eye.
Adalyn also couldn’t discount the fact that this was mostly her fault.
She met Jenn’s gaze. “I know she’s barely one, but she’s starting to climb and get more curious.
She can’t be left alone, especially not back there where she can get into something and get hurt. ”
She searched Jenn’s eyes to make sure she understood, and Jenn nodded vigorously. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
Adalyn sighed. “Thank you. And I’m sorry, too, for putting you in this position.”
From behind the counter, Amy spoke up. “You know we don’t mind having her, honey.”
Adalyn shot her a grateful smile. “I know. But she’s my responsibility. Maybe I really need to look into day care.”
She had initially discarded the idea because of the cost as well as some of the horror stories she had heard. When Wendy had offered to stay with Jaclyn, she had jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, it had come back to bite her in the ass—big time.
“What are you going to do?” Amy’s voice was soft, and Adalyn knew she wasn’t referring to day care.
She slid one hand over Jaclyn’s pale locks, and Jaclyn snuggled against her shoulder. Closing her eyes, she pressed a kiss to Jaclyn’s forehead before meeting Amy’s worried gaze. “For right now, I think I need to go home. I’m sorry to keep doing this to you guys, but—”
Amy held up a hand. “We’ve got it covered. You need this. You need to be with her.”
Amy was right; Adalyn did. All she wanted to do was go home and cuddle her baby close, let her sweet laughter push away the worry and fear that hovered over her like a thick, dark cloud.
He had glared at her like she was lower than dirt, and she felt like it. She felt horrible for keeping it from him, for depriving him of all the little moments she had been able to capture over the past year and a half.
Muscles coiled with tension, her body was wound so tightly that the jingling of the bell over the door made her jump.
Dread congealed in her gut, and her heart skipped a beat.
In that moment, she hated the tinkling sound that had once seemed so cheery and welcoming, because this encounter would be far from either of those things.
She didn’t even glance over—she didn’t have to.
They had opened barely fifteen minutes ago, and they didn’t have an appointment scheduled until 11:30.
She knew exactly who she would find in the doorway.
She focused her eyes on the computer screen in front of her, desperately trying to maintain her composure as he drew near.
She felt him more than saw him, as if his presence was larger than life.
He seemed to fill the entire room, and it sent a tingling sensation through her body.
She swallowed hard, willing her heart to slow where it thudded painfully in her chest. She was sure Jaxon could hear it pounding from where he stood barely three feet away from her.
She briefly closed her eyes as he cleared his throat, the sound both demanding and understated.
Reluctantly, she glanced up into those blue eyes that did funny things to her insides.
She withdrew her fingers from the keyboard and curled them into fists by her sides, steeling herself for the conversation ahead.
After the way he left yesterday, she had a feeling this wasn’t going to be even remotely civil.
Fire filled his eyes, and she had to fight to keep from taking a step backward.
His voice was pitched low. “We need to talk.” She nodded, unable to speak over the lump that had formed in her throat. He stared down at her for a moment then tipped his head toward the back of the salon. “Is she here?”
She shook her head and swallowed before speaking. “No, she’s at home with Wendy.”
He lifted an eyebrow, his inquisitive gaze demanding she explain. “Wendy is a neighbor,” she offered. “She watches Jaclyn during the day.”
“Except yesterday.” Jaxon’s voice was deceptively soft.
Adalyn dipped her head in the barest of nods. “Yesterday was a fluke. Wendy’s husband had a health issue, so Jaclyn stayed here instead.”
He tipped his chin in understanding but remained silent otherwise. They stood there for a long moment in the silent standoff, and she shifted nervously on her feet. “Did you… did you want to talk?” she asked hesitantly.
“I want to see my daughter.” His commanding tone brooked no argument, and it sent a little shiver of unease down her spine.
“I can’t—” she started, but he cut her off.
“She’s my daughter!” He punctuated the statement by jabbing one index finger against the counter. “I won’t let you keep her from me anymore.”
Adalyn raised her hands in supplication, already taking a step backward to put more distance between them.
“That’s not… I didn’t mean...” She drew in a shuddering breath.
“It’s not my intent to keep her from you.
I promise,” she rushed on when he gazed suspiciously down at her.
“Amy will be here in just a few minutes, then I can take you to see her.”
He studied her for a long minute, then, as if gauging her sincerity, he nodded. “Fine.”
She waited for him to leave, but he remained steadfast by the counter.
His presence was unnerving, and she tried to block it out as she went back to work.
Nearly at her breaking point, she almost cried with relief when Amy and Jenn walked through the door barely ten minutes later.
She flicked a glance at Jaxon. “Let me grab my things and then we can go.”
She hurried over to Amy as she started toward the staff lounge. Amy glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of Jaxon. Her brows lifted, and Adalyn shook her head. “I’ll explain in a second.”
Inside the staff lounge, she grabbed her things from her locker, then pulled Amy aside. “I hate to do this, but I need the morning off.”
Amy patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, dear. We’ll take care of everything for today. Just take your time.”
Adalyn shot Amy and Jenn a grateful look. “Thank you, guys. I owe you.”
Making her way back to the front of the store, she stopped in front of Jaxon.
“Do you want to ride together, or do you want to follow me?” The thought of being confined in close quarters was enough to unnerve her, and she prayed that he would turn down her offer to drive.
She shouldn’t have worried about it, because he spoke over her.
“I know where you live.” He said it so impassively, so matter-of-factly, that she didn’t doubt it, and a tiny spark of anger shot through her.
“Fantastic.” She couldn’t conceal the sarcasm in her tone, and the corner of his mouth twitched up into a small smile.
She was momentarily arrested by that tiny smirk, the first sign of humor she had seen from him.
When they first met, he had given his smiles freely.
She felt terrible for taking that away from him.
She felt Jaxon’s eyes on her the entire time as he followed her outside to her car. He stood beside the driver door, watching her like a hawk, as if waiting for her to run. Finally, she could take it no more. “What?” she snapped.
Jaxon gave a little shake of his head. “Nothing. Just making sure you get to your car okay.”
“Oh.” Well, she hadn’t expected that. Caught off guard, she didn’t know what to say. “Thank you.”