Jessa has become tolerable now that she’s grasped Sierra isn’t going anywhere. The signed custody agreement and the new boyfriend have helped, too.
“Good riddance,” Sierra mutters. She aims to steer clear of Jessa as often as she can.
We turn around when Molly comes into the kitchen.
“You ready for the festival?” I ask.
“Yes!” Her excitement dies down, her smile replaced with a frown. “I won’t have any friends there to play with me though.” Her attention shoots to Sierra. “Will you play with me?”
“Duh,” Sierra replies. “There will be a lot of kids there. I bet you nine million dollars you’ll meet new friends and then ditch me to hang out with them.”
“No way. I love hanging out with you. You and Aunt Ellie are my best friends in the whole wide world,” Molly argues.
“You and Ellie are my best friends in the whole wide world,” Sierra replies.
“Hey, what about me?” My palm goes to my chest as I fake offense. “Don’t I get a friendship bracelet in this mix?”
Molly shakes her head. “You don’t paint your nails, Dad. You have to do girl stuff to be best friends. You’re my dad who gives me pizza and takes me swimming!”
Dad. It still sounds surreal, being called that.
I’m a dad.
It took Molly a while to call me that—understandable—and the first time she did, swear to fucking God, it was music to my ears. My chest lightened, and I held myself back from jumping in the air with a raised fist.
We get into the car and make the short drive to the benefit festival. Dallas texted me the other day and invited us. His family is throwing it to benefit a local who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
It’ll be my first time at a benefit.
I’ve donated bar gift cards to them but never attended one.
It’s a family thing—full of fried food, face-painting, and children’s games.
Not a pastime for a bachelor.
We park in a lot separated by orange cones, and I help Molly out of the car. She walks at my side, swinging her arms up and down while naming off everything she wants to eat and do and see.
For a small town, there’s a full house—well, full parking lot and clubhouse. The local pizza shop owner is playing DJ, blasting some kid shit I’ve never heard. It might be the music Dallas was talking about—Disney stuff.
Chloe swings her arms in the air to get our attention and waves us over to their crowded table.
Chloe and Kyle.
Willow and Dallas.
Lauren and Gage. Gage is Kyle’s best friend and partner at the station.
The six of them are seated at the table.
I’ve known the guys for as long as I can remember. It’s nice, seeing them all happy.
Maven, Dallas’s his little girl, is sitting next to him. She grins wildly when she sees us.
“Hi!” she chirps, her eyes on Molly as she waves with a caramel apple in her hand. She pats the seat Dallas is occupying next to her with her free hand. “Come sit by me. My daddy got an extra caramel apple, and you can have it.”
Dallas moves down a seat and slides his old one out for Molly to sit. Molly peeks over to me, and I nod. Her eyes are wide as she scurries over to Maven and jumps in the open seat.
“I’m Maven,” she says, scooting the plate with the caramel apple to her. “I like your hair.” She flips her attention to Willow, Dallas’s girlfriend, on the other side of her. “Can you do my hair like that tomorrow?”
Willow smiles. “Sure.”
Sierra and I take a seat. Maven dances in her chair while eating her apple, and after a few minutes, I notice Molly doing the same, caramel on the side of her face. I’m so excited to see Molly so comfortable that I’m close to dancing in my damn chair, too.
If someone had told me this was what my life would be, I would’ve laughed and kicked their wrong ass out of my bar.
Conversation is happening around us, but my focus is on Molly and the glowing smile on her face.
“There’s a jump house,” Maven announces after finishing her apple. “After you’re done eating, we can go play in it! They’re so fun!”
Molly keeps on grinning while chomping on her apple.
The little tykes have sticky hands when Maven asks permission for them to go play.
Dallas and I nod at the same time.
Maven grabs Molly’s hand, and they run toward the bounce house, joining the group of children.
I suck in a concerned breath, my eyes glued to my little girl.
This is the first time I’ve had her and she’s away from me. Even if it is only across a yard, I’m still nervous.
What if she gets bullied?
What if someone kidnaps her?
What if someone accidentally kicks her in the face in that jump house?
“Relax,” Dallas says, as if he were reading my mind. “I promise they’re not as breakable as you think.”
Willow nods. “Just wait until you have a little one. You’ll truly be crazy and uptight. I’m pretty sure I’ll be the epitome of one of those helicopter moms.”
I glance over at Sierra, and her attention is on Molly, too.
I beam with pride.
I can’t wait to have babies with her.
“I’ll be there, right beside you,” Lauren adds. “I thought being a nurse would make me more easygoing, but nope, I’m paranoid.”
Gage throws his head back. “You have no idea.”
My focus switches to Rex when he plops down in Maven’s abandoned chair.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Sierra asks.
“Carolina,” is all he says while looking exhausted.
Sierra glances around. “Where is she?”
“Volunteering around here somewhere,” he answers, rolling his neck back and forth. “She forced me to come do all the heavy lifting.”
“Speaking of Carolina,” Kyle says, unable to control his grin as we all watch Carolina come our way, a stern face pointed toward Rex.
“Oh shit,” Rex says, rubbing a hand against his brow. “I might be in trouble.”
“Hey, Carolina,” Lauren sings.
Carolina smiles and waves at us before whipping her attention to Rex.
Rex throws his arms up. “Hey! Don’t get mad at a man for taking a break and saying hello to his family!” He taps his thigh. “You can sit and chat if you want.”
She pushes up her glasses before flipping him the bird.
Rex rises from his chair. “I’ll see you guys when my boss lets me clock out.” He throws his arm over her shoulders as they walk away.
“Are they a thing?” Chloe asks, her eyes on them.
Sierra shakes her head. “I wish they were. Rex is too chicken to pull the trigger.”
Our Rex talk is interrupted by Maven and Molly storming in our direction, and I tense up, waiting for Molly to fall, break a leg, scrape a knee—something with how fast she’s moving.
She makes it to us, safe and sound.
“We need ice cream money!” Maven shouts. “Pretty, pretty please!”
“And face-painting money!” Molly adds, sticking out her lower lip. “I want to get a unicorn face!”
“All right,” Dallas groans. “You talked me into it.”
He hands Maven money while I do the same with Molly as she jumps up and down in front of me.
They take off running, hand in hand.
That settles my heart.
Willow bumps Sierra’s shoulder. “Forewarning: that paint is a pain in the ass to get off their face.”
40
Sierra
“Where are we going?” I ask, rolling down the passenger window and sticking my head out like a little Chihuahua when Maliki turns onto a road that doesn’t lead to Down Home.
“I have an idea,” is his explanation as he continues driving.
I pull my head back into the car. “What kind of idea?”
“A good idea.”
&nbs
p; “I have an idea. How about you stop being vague?”
He chuckles and keeps his eyes on the road, not revealing said idea. I’m jabbering on about how I hate when he’s vague and secretive, and I’m not a person who has patience when he pulls in the drive of an old farmhouse. It belonged to our town librarian before she passed a few months ago—in the library, not the house. Otherwise, I would be telling him to cut and run.
I don’t do ghosts.
The home has been vacant since her death, and my mom mentioned it was recently listed for sale.
He shifts the car in park, cutting the engine. “I spoke with a realtor who found a few homes for us to view. If you’re not a fan of this one, we can check out the others, but my vote is here.”
His vote?
I cock my head to the side. “Your vote for what?”
He gestures toward the home. “Come on. Let’s take a look.”
We get out of the car at the same time and walk toward the front porch. It’s a beautiful wraparound, begging for rocking chairs and children running around with lemonade in their hands.
I close my eyes, visualizing the scene.
“Tell me if you hate the house or the idea I’m about to pitch,” he says before raising his hands as if he were staring through a camera lens. “You’re an expert on beautifying older places without removing the authenticity of them. What do you think about buying and renovating it together?”
My heart dances in my chest.
This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.
He’s mentioned moving from the apartment a few times, and as much as the idea thrills me, I’ve never pushed it since finding real estate here is difficult.
I clasp my hand around his forearm. “You have no idea how much I’d love that.” I kiss his arm before catching his hand in mine and moving around the yard. “I could make this a home for us.” I eyeball everything—from the foundation to the windows to the brick—taking mental notes of the makeover I’d give it.
Maliki leads me up to the porch and punches in the code on the padlock when we’re finished looking outside.
I fall in love with it more when we walk into the foyer.
The bones of the home are beautiful, sturdy, and the ideas rushing through my brain ignite me. I continue my babbling—knocking down walls, changing windows, updating cabinets—while he laughs.
I lose his hold when we hit the fourth bedroom and whip around. “This can be Molly’s bedroom. She can help me design it. I’ll turn her into a little designer, just like me.”
His lips smack into mine. “Does this mean it’s a yes?”
I jump into his arms. “It’s definitely a yes.”
41
Sierra
6 Months Later
“Have you seen my tutu? I can’t find my tutu?” Molly yells from her bedroom.
“I’ll check the laundry!” I shout.
I glance around the house in awe of my work as I walk through the kitchen and living room—as I’ve done so many times.
I love our new home.
We spent so many hours creating it into a place perfect for us … for our family.
Our home renovation gave me remodel jobs. As people saw it, they wanted to do the same in their homes. I’m remodeling two homes now, and I have a six-month waiting list.
I sift through the folded laundry. “Found it!” I hold it up and rush to her bedroom.
It’s pink and ballerina-themed with a sparkling chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
“Do you have your bag?” I ask.
She nods and shoves the tutu into it when I hand it to her.
Jessa is picking her up for dance class. Our co-parenting has improved. We attend Molly’s recitals and school functions without a glare sent in my direction. The new boyfriend is nice and definitely tames her.
Maliki and I kiss her good-bye, and she runs out to Jessa’s waiting car.
I flop down on the couch and yawn. “Have I mentioned how comfy this thing is?”
One thing I was adamant on was a comfy couch. Growing up, we always had stiff, expensive furniture that felt like cardboard. Our sectional is pillow-topped, making you never want to get up.
Maliki chuckles and falls next to me. “You pick the best, babe.”
I turn to rest my head on his lap and look up at him with a smirk. “Yes, I know this. Care to send any more compliments my way? I’ll take them all.”
He runs his hand through my hair—one of my favorite things he does—and I shut my eyes. “I’m so happy we’re out of the pub apartment. I would’ve settled for a hard couch to have this peace with you. Plus, this home provides us with plenty of room for little ones.”
My eyes fly open. “Little ones? Really? More than just Molly?”
He continues massaging my head. “If that’s what you want. I know I do.”
“Uh, I would have your baby right now.”
His hand stops, moving to my face, and he cups my chin. “I’d make a baby with you right now.”
He leans back when I rise to straddle him.
“Look at me, taming the wild bartender,” I say, winding my arms around his neck.
He strokes my cheek. “Look at me, claiming the sexiest, smartest, most amazing woman in the world.”
I place my hand over the one resting on my face. “I love you.”
He kisses the tip of my nose. “I fucking love you.”
“Now that the sweet stuff is out of the way, can we jump into the baby-making? I’m all for that, please and thank you.”
He picks me up under my elbows and tosses me back onto the couch but stops, his lips tilting into a grin. “I forgot to show you what I found. You’re going to love this.”
I raise a brow. “Probably not as much as us having sex right now.”
He tugs something out of his back pocket. “I was going through the rest of my office boxes and look at what I found.”
He holds it up, and I see my young face.
“Oh my God, shut up!” It’s my driver’s license he confiscated when I snuck into his bar at eighteen.
“Damn, look at that sexy woman.” He holds it out to inspect it. “I think we should frame it. We’ll say it’s the day Daddy met Mommy.”
I grin. “I like that. Now, let’s start trying.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you to everyone in the book community. I’m an introvert, but as I’ve started to open up and meet you, you’ve made me so comfortable and happy. I’m so thankful for the friendships and support you’ve given me.
Jill, you play so many roles in my life. Friend, assistant, and the person who deals with my indecisiveness. I’m so thankful we found each other.
Jovana, you’re an editing genius and are always there to answer any questions I have.
Mark, the other half, the person who deals with me, my dog baby daddy.
Zoe and Paris, my four-legged kids that can make any day brighter.
Lindee Robinson, your photo was perfect for the cover, and thank you for working with me.
AC Parker, you were the perfect Maliki.
Also by Charity Ferrell
BLUE BEECH SERIES
(Each novel can be read as as standalone)
Just Her Bodyguard
Just One Night
Just Exes
Just Neighbors
STANDALONES
Pop Rock
Bad For You
Beneath Our Faults
Pretty and Reckless
RISKY SERIES
Risky
Worth The Risk
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Just Roommates Page 25
