72. Eli
Eli
“This was not part of the plan.” I cross my arms in my lawyer’s office.
Grady says, “No, it wasn’t. The private investigator found Skylar in Las Vegas. She was working at a club, not even close to any interior design work you said she told you about on—the night.”
“Why is she here?”
“I don’t know yet, Eli. Our guy delivered those papers to her and she read them over.
He told her that she just needed to sign them and he could bring them back, but she refused.
Said she needed to think about it first. He couldn’t just wait around forever, so he had to leave the papers there with her, I’m sorry.
Skylar assured him that she would get them back to me. ” Grady rubs his jaw in thought.
“Once we finally found her, I thought this fucking nightmare would be over, Grady. It took us months! Months to track her down. She already gave Wren to me once, with the letter and everything. How is this any different?” I pace his small downtown office like a caged animal.
“It’s different, Eli, because once she does this it’s truly final. There’s no going back.”
I glare at him. “Like there would be a chance after leaving her and then taking off to Vegas doing God knows what? Fuck that. Wren is mine. Mine and Kendra’s.”
“She has my contact information, not yours, so she can’t just call you. That’s why Skylar had to get in touch with me first. Do you want to meet with her?” Grady leans back in his leather chair, making it squeak.
“We don’t have a choice, do we? How else are we going to get her to sign the goddamn papers, Grady?” I sink into the chair across from him.
“Alright, I will reach out to her again. She hasn’t answered my return calls yet. I’ll let you know what she wants, and I will try and set up a time for us all to meet here.”
“Thanks, man. I have to get back to the station. The guys were all covering so I could run over here to meet with you.” I shake his hand and head out the door, praying that all my plans aren’t about to be ruined by the reappearance of someone I thought I’d never see again.
Warm spring air comes through the open bay doors while we organize the trucks and check inventory. I have to recount everything multiple times because my mind has been so distracted since I got back from Grady’s office.
“I’m gonna make you enchiladas tonight,” Garcia says, slapping me on the back. “You need some comfort food.”
“Thanks, man,” I chuckle. “You know the way to my heart.”
“Have to keep our station daddy happy, we don’t like seeing that frown.” He elbows me and grabs a hose down to unroll it so we can check it over and roll it back up again.
“Honestly, I’m so worried.” Ryder and Rem come up, followed by Chief.
“Grady will figure it out,” Chief tries to reassure me.
“This was one of the biggest steps of my plan . . . the secret step I have been working on for months. Finding Skylar was a pain in the ass and cost me a ton of money for the private investigator.” I look at the men in front of me, my brothers, my family.
“I wish you would have told us,” Rem says.
“Grady said it was better to keep it under wraps, so I was following his lead. But I wish I would have at least told you guys, not saying anything wasn’t easy.”
They all nod in understanding.
“I thought that once we found her it would be over, easy. I would be able to have what I needed and move forward.” I lean my head against the cold fire engine, wishing I would melt into it, let it protect me from the blaze happening in my own life.
“Excuse me,” a low, raspy voice says from behind us at the bottom of our driveway.
I whip around and come face-to-face with the last person I thought would show up at the station . . .
“Skylar,” I say, stepping forward and feeling Rem’s reassuring grip on my arm. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought we could talk?” She flips her long brown hair over her lean shoulder.
“I’m at work, you were supposed to be in contact with my lawyer. Grady’s been trying to get a hold of you.” I cross my arms and brace my feet.
“Right, well, I thought since you were the one that sent me these papers to sign”—she pulls a manila envelope from her oversized bag—“that we could meet up, go out to a nice dinner or something, and talk.” She smiles at me, biting her bottom lip in a way that is meant to be flirtatious but makes me feel sick.
“We are not going on a date, Skylar, there is nothing between us.” I try my best to stay calm, kind, like I would with any other person—but she’s not any other person. She is the one person that has the power to give me or deny me the thing that I want the most.
“We have a daughter between us,” she says, putting a hand on her hip.
“I have a daughter.” I take a few steps forward with each word I say.
“This is confusing, Skylar, because when you left her in my care, with that letter, you told me, clearly, that you wanted me to have her. That you didn’t want to have children, to be a mother.
You said you were placing her in my care forever.
Why are you here now? Why didn’t you sign those papers and send them back with my guy?
” I stand right in front of her waiting for an answer.
She looks down at the ground with a sniffle, and I slide a finger under her chin forcing her to look up at me.
“Why?” I demand. I hear car doors slam in the distance, but my focus remains locked on Skylar’s green eyes, seeking the truth.
“Eli!” Kendra’s voice snaps me out of the moment, and I drop my hand from Skylar’s face, shaking my head. I look over and see my woman marching toward me; dragon mode activated, fictional steam coming from her ears, fire in her eyes . . . and our daughter on her hip.
“Sweetheart,” I say, hurrying to her and Wren.
“Don’t you sweetheart me,” Kendra snaps out. “I came to warn you, or to see if you knew that she was in town, but obviously you do if she is already here and you have your effing hands on her.”
“I can explain.” I guide her up to the fire trucks and the guys, away from Skylar who is still waiting at the end of the driveway. “Please listen.”
“Fine.” Kendra passes Wren off to Rem and the guys who step into the station, giving us privacy and showing off things to their fire baby. This has become Wren’s home away from home, full of aunts and uncles that love to spoil her.
“Grady and I hired a private investigator to find Skylar, it took months.”
“Why?” Kendra glances at her.
“Because I need her to sign some paperwork. But when my guy found her, she wouldn’t do it. Said she needed to think it over and would send them back to Grady, but then she tried to contact him, left him a message, and showed up here.” I grimace.
“She was at the salon earlier,” she whispers. “That’s how I knew she was in town. The way she was talking . . . it sounded like you were planning on meeting her.” Kendra looks crestfallen.
“I was trying to have Grady set up a meeting, yeah, but she just came here. What you saw was me trying to get a truthful answer from her. Honestly.” I rub Kendra’s arms.
“Okay, let’s go talk to her,” she says, squaring her little shoulders and marching down the driveway, leaving me no choice but to follow her.
Damn, I love this woman.
Kendra sticks her hand out with a huge smile and says, “Hi, Skylar, I’m Kendra.”
Skylar, who’s a good six inches taller than Kendra, timidly takes her hand and shakes it. “H-hi, who are you exactly?”
“The love of Eli’s life. How can we help you today?”
I bark out a laugh.
“I see,” Skylar says, her eyes bouncing between me and Kendra. “Did I actually see you earlier today?”
“Yeah, I work at Dip and Dye.” Kendra lets out a sigh. “I was doing my best friend’s hair when you came in. Yours turned out great, by the way.” Kendra grins at her, giving a sincere compliment and catching Skylar off guard.
“Oh, wow, thanks.” She finger combs her long hair. “I, um, wanted to look . . . nice.” Skylar glances at me.
“Well, it’s important to practice self-care and feel good when you look in the mirror. Hair is the woman’s crown, right? It’s fun that we get to do so much with it.” Kendra gestures to her own stunning golden locks, pink streaks shining in the sun.
“Right.” Skyler bites her lip, holding back a grin. Kendra’s in full-force sunshine mode right now, and nobody can resist her like this. You either want to be her, be her best friend, or wish you could fuck her . . . and only I get to do the last one.
“Okay, enough hair chat. Why, Skylar.” I circle back to my main point. “Las Vegas is a long trip.”
“I guess I just wanted to make sure that before I do this, that I truly made the right decision. She’s the one?” Skylar asks me.
“Yes,” I say.
“I can see why. And I know I did make the right choice. With you, Eli, yes of course. But now even more so.” Her eyes soften glancing to Kendra, posture relaxing, and she lets out a long breath.
My heart rate picks up as I watch her pull the documents from the envelope, then a pen from the depths of her bag. She crouches down right there in the driveway of the Fox Grove Fire Department and signs each tabbed spot on the papers.
Slipping them back in the envelope, Skylar hands them to me and says, “Can I please see her? One last time before I go?”
“Of course,” I whisper.