The Hot Daddy Box Set

by Lexi Wilson

  I wanted to know more about him, but I didn’t want to ask. He would probably tell me, because unlike me, he had nothing to hide. But if he answered my questions then I would have to answer his, and I wasn’t prepared to do that. I hadn’t planned on making any friends in this town. My goal was to make enough money for a small place of my own, and then to move out after a year. The longer I stayed in one place the more chance there was of Bill finding me. If I kept moving, then he wouldn’t have the chance. It wasn’t the most solid plan, but it was the best that I had. I just couldn’t wait to finally move out of Jaxon’s place. I felt so bad that he was putting up with me.

  Jaxon was a good guy. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized that good guys actually existed in this world. I hadn’t thought so. For a while I thought that all the men in the world would end up like Bill, but Jaxon was making me think otherwise. He hadn’t even made a move on me, and he was treating both myself and Allie with the utmost respect. What would I do if he did make a move on me, though? I shook my head at the thought. There was no way that I wanted to get involved with him. That would only complicate matters for me. Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I would ever want to be with a man again. Not after what had happened with Bill.

  I thought of what happened with the mugger today and I shivered. Had it just been a coincidence, or did someone know that I was there? What if it was Bill? A small gasp escaped me before I could stop myself, and Jaxon turned to frown at me.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I…Jaxon, did you by any chance see what that man looked like today?”

  “The one who tried to mug you?”

  “Yeah.”

  He shook his head. “No. I didn’t. It was a bit dark, and I think he was wearing a hoodie. To be honest, I don’t even know if he was a man or not. I’m just guessing here. Why? Do you have an idea of who it might be?”

  “No,” I lied. I didn’t want him to know about Bill. “I just can’t stop thinking about it. That’s all. I mean, what if you weren’t there? What he if tried to take Allie?”

  “I’m sure he wasn’t going to take Allie,” Jaxon said. “I’m sure he was just going to try steal your bag or something. He ran away quickly, so he was obviously unarmed and harmless. Still, I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  I nodded. “It was horrible. Jaxon, I can’t thank you enough for saving me. You were so quick with it too. I hate to think what would’ve happened if you weren’t there. So, thank you. Honestly, Jaxon, it means the world to me. I know I haven’t been very nice to you about this whole thing, but you have saved me on more than one occasion now, and I want you to know that it hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

  Jaxon assessed me, and the kindness in his eyes was hard to miss. I wanted to look away but I found myself staring into them. “Anyone would’ve done the same,” he said.

  I snorted. “Trust me, not everyone thinks the way you do. You save people. But not everyone is inclined that way. I’ve met some horrible people in my lifetime, and they are sadly more common than you realize.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. “Kaylee, can I ask you a question?”

  “You can. I’m not sure I’ll answer you, though,” I said honestly.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I figured that would be the case. I just want to know if you’ll ever tell me why you are here? Will you ever tell me a bit more about yourself and why you ended up in this town and living in your car?”

  I sighed. I figured he was going to ask that. I shook my head. “I don’t know. Maybe. But not now. All I can tell you is what you already know. I’ve run away from something bad. That’s all.”

  “Something or someone?” Jaxon asked.

  “I really don’t want to talk about this, Jaxon. I’m so sorry. I know that you’ve done so much for me and that you deserve the truth, but can we just leave it? I really want to leave it alone for now. Please,” I pleaded.

  He nodded. “Okay. I’ll leave it for now,” he said. He said it in a way that meant that he would bring it up again one day soon, though. I didn’t blame him, but I was hoping to be out of the house before the conversation came up again.

  “Thank you,” I said to him.

  “Do you mind if I switch to something else? I just realized I haven’t been watching this at all.”

  I laughed. “Same here.”

  We switched channels until we found something that we both wanted to watch. Jaxon handed me a blanket even though it wasn’t that cold, and I curled up in the corner of the sofa to watch. He’d given me the big sofa while he settled on one of the smaller ones. We watched the movie and then put on something else. He told me that he wasn’t tired, but I had a feeling he wanted to stay there to make sure I was okay. I was so grateful to have him with me. I didn’t want to go to bed, even though I was tired, and having him there with me made me feel safe. I quickly went to check on Allie, but she was still fast asleep, so I came back to the living room again.

  I woke up with a start and realized it was morning. One of the drapes wasn’t closed properly and light was shining into the living room. I looked around in a panic and then chuckled when I saw Jaxon asleep on the sofa. The TV was still on, which meant that the two of us had fallen asleep during one of the movies. I looked up and saw Allie walking toward me, so I put a finger to my lips and scooped her up.

  “Should we make Jaxon some breakfast?” I whispered to her.

  She grinned with excitement. “Yes!”

  The two of us hurried over to the kitchen and tried to work as quietly as we could. I looked around and saw that we had enough ingredients to make some pancakes, so we set to work and I hoped that Jaxon didn’t hear us. Every now and again one of us would drop something and we’d start giggling, but then we’d peek into the living room and see that he was still sleeping. Jaxon clearly didn’t have many problems in life because he slept as well as Allie did, without a care in the world. After everything that he had done for me I figured that making him breakfast was the least that I could do. I put everything on a tray, including some coffee, and headed over to the living room. I put it all down and told Allie to wake him.

  “Wakey wakey,” Allie said as she poked poor Jaxon on the arm. I stifled a laugh as I watched him wake up with confusion.

  “What…what…what happened?” he asked.

  “You fell asleep on the sofa,” I said. “Don’t worry, I did too.”

  “I did? Oh, wow. Must’ve been a boring movie.”

  I laughed. “I have no idea. I don’t even remember what we were watching. Allie and I made you breakfast. I hope you like pancakes.”

  Chapter 11

  Jaxon

  I stared at the pancakes in surprise, then smiled at my two new guests. I realized that I quite liked having them in the house. I hadn’t had people staying with me in a long time, and it was nice waking up and having someone to talk to. I didn’t know I felt so lonely up until now. In fact, I thought I liked living by myself. I used to get worried that I would find the transition to living with someone difficult. But maybe Kaylee was just an easy person to live with. Maybe it wouldn’t be so easy with someone else.

  “You made pancakes? This is amazing. Of course I love pancakes. Who wouldn’t? How on earth do you even make these things?” I said as I sat up to tuck in.

  Kaylee chuckled. “You don’t know how to make pancakes?” she asked. I was pleased to see that her and Allie were sitting in the living room to eat with me. Allie looked very excited at the prospect of eating pancakes. I’d noticed a slight change in both the girls since moving here. They looked healthier, and I was sure that it had a lot to do with them getting enough food. Kaylee was still far too skinny though, but I supposed that would take time.

  I turned the cartoon channel on for Allie, then grinned at Kaylee. “I honestly have no idea how to make pancakes. Is it easy?”

  “It’s simple. I’ll teach you.”

  “Okay, I’d like that. Hey, these are great.
Thank you.”

  “My pleasure. It’s the least I could do after everything you’ve done for us. I know I don’t say it enough, but I am honestly so grateful. I promise to pay you back for everything as soon as I can.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’d far rather have pancakes then money any day of the week. This is honestly great, Kaylee. Thank you.”

  After breakfast, we all got ready for work, and then I turned to Kaylee and asked her if she wanted to drive into work with me that day.

  “It just makes more sense for us to take one car,” I said. I was a little bit nervous about the mugging, but I didn’t want to come right out and tell her that. Truth be told, things like that very rarely happened in this town, and it was a bit strange that it had happened to her of all people. I expected her to say no but she surprised me by agreeing with me.

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “That does make a lot more sense. Okay, let’s all go in your car then, thank you. Allie, are you excited? We’re going to be driving with Jaxon today,” she said. Then she looked at me. “Allie loves driving in different cars.”

  “Yes! Can I sit in the front? Please, Mommy?”

  “Of course you can, my darling,” Kaylee said. “But only in your car seat. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I hope you don’t mind,” Kaylee said to me. “I have a car seat for her and I’d prefer her to sit in it. She has a tendency not to sit still otherwise.”

  “That’s fine by me,” I said.

  We secured the seat into my car, put Allie in, and then made our way to the school. Things felt a bit different that day, and I wasn’t sure why. It was as if we had come to some sort of an understanding. She was going to live with me until she figured something out for her and Allie, and I was simply going to do my best to help her. I knew she was running from something, and I still had no idea if she was the one in the right or in the wrong, but I couldn’t help but be on her side. There was something about Kaylee that made me want to protect her, and I wanted her to know that there were good people out in this world, and that not everyone was going to try and hurt her. Also, I liked having her in the house. It took the silence away. I hadn’t felt lonely since she’d arrived.

  We got to the school and spent some time talking to my mother. My mother now knew that Kaylee was staying with me, but I was pleased that she never revealed how much she knew to Kaylee. She seemed just as determined to help Kaylee and Allie as I was.

  “Oh, lunch is on me today, by the way,” my mother said. “I made food last night and didn’t read the recipe correctly. I ended up making enough food to feed an army, so I’m going to need a bit of help with it today.” I knew that my mother wasn’t telling the truth. She had been cooking all her life, and she was a stickler for reading recipes correctly. She just wanted to feed Kaylee and Allie without them feeling bad about it. She winked at me when Kaylee wasn’t looking, and I smiled at her.

  We set up a little play area for Allie, who immediately started playing with her toys. She was a good kid, and definitely unlike any child I had ever met before. Other than getting upset about not having her own dog, I hadn’t really seen her cause much of a scene. During work hours, she just got on with her own thing and let her mother work in peace. Sometimes she was so quiet I was sure that she had run away, but then I’d find her sitting there and playing alone. She seemed a lot more settled than when I had first met her too, so I got the sense she was happy in this town. I wished she were a little older, because then she might actually tell me what was going on. Perhaps I could ask her when Kaylee wasn’t around, but I knew that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. It was tempting, though. It might be the only way I found out what was going on. Although Allie might not be the best person to ask. She was only 3 years old and tended to make things up or exaggerate things. She might tell me something that wasn’t true at all. No, I needed to wait for Kaylee to tell me. I needed the truth.

  Styles popped around for a visit during one of my breaks. I told the class to practice their songs while I headed out to talk to him. I didn’t want to talk to him in front of everyone, so we decided to take a walk around the block.

  “I was hoping to see this woman that’s working for you,” he said.

  “Oh, she’s there, but she’s working. I don’t really like to disturb her, to be honest. She’s new and I don’t want her to think I’m checking in on her.”

  “Yeah, I understand. So how has it been with her?” he asked.

  I generally didn’t keep secrets from Styles, but something was holding me back. Perhaps it was simply the idea that Kaylee really wanted to keep her problems on the down-low. Or, maybe I was just trying to protect her from the outside world. For whatever reason, I decided not to say anything just yet. If she continued to stay at my house for much longer I’d have to tell him, but for now it didn’t really need to be said. “Yeah, it’s been fine,” I said to him. “She gets on with her work and I get on with mine. The students seem to love her. She has a different teaching style than me. I keep hearing them laugh. I think she’s going to do great here.”

  “Oh yeah, and you still don’t know what she’s running away from or why she’s driving around with stolen plates?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Nah, I have no idea. I figured it’s not my place to ask.”

  He chuckled. “Really? That’s a change. Not so long ago you were trying to find out as much information as possible about her, and now, suddenly you act like you don’t want to know a thing. What changed?”

  I shrugged. “I guess I just feel bad about the snooping. I mean, it’s not my life. If she works hard, that is really all that matters.”

  “Sounds like you like the girl,” he said.

  I laughed. “Not in that way. But yeah, she’s okay. I think she’s been through some rough stuff, so I don’t want to make things worse for her.”

  “I’d like to meet her, though,” he said.

  “You will. Maybe not today, though. How about we do a lunch or something one of these days. That okay?”

  “Yeah, that’s good,” he said.

  “Oh, but there is one thing I wanted to talk to you about,” I said.

  “Yeah? Everything okay?”

  “Actually, we were coming out of work a bit late the other night, and some guy tried to mug her,” I said.

  “What? Is she okay?” he asked.

  “She’s fine. I saw this guy walking toward her, and I couldn’t figure out if he was trying to take Allie, that’s her daughter, or trying to mug her. I shouted and the ran away.”

  “So, you didn’t catch the guy?”

  I shook my head. “Sadly not.”

  “And you didn’t get to see what he looked like?”

  “No, he was out of sight before I had a chance to see him.”

  “Hmm, that’s odd. Things like that don’t usually happen around here,” Styles said.

  “I know. That’s why I wanted to bring it up with you. I was wondering if you’ve heard of more things like this going on at the moment. Maybe she’s not the first person he’s targeted.”

  “I’ve heard nothing like that lately. Are you sure this is just some random mugging, or do you think he was going after her specifically?”

  “You think so? You think this has something to do with her? Like someone is after her?” I asked.

  “Well, that certainly seems to make sense. Like I said, things like this just don’t happen in this town. Now, suddenly there’s this strange woman with stolen plates and a guy trying to mug her. The whole thing just seems like too much of a coincidence to me.”

  “You might be right, but you could also be wrong. It could just be some crazy person. This town isn’t as safe as it used to be. It’s not as bad as other places, but it has its moments.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince. I just didn’t like the idea of someone after Kaylee. If that was the case, then we were going to have to be a lot more vigilant than we were now. Which meant I should probably get back to the school.
r />   “Look, I think you should just be careful,” Styles said. “I’ll be on the lookout too in case this guy comes back, but your girl might be trouble. It’s a possibility that you really shouldn’t rule out,” he said.

  I sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Well, hopefully the guy doesn’t come back. I’ll keep you posted. I better head back to the school. I don’t like giving the students too long a break, otherwise they start slacking off.”

  He chuckled. “No wonder the students don’t laugh in your class. You’re tough on them.”

  I laughed. “I try to be. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll let you know when I organize that lunch. And let me know if you hear anything, okay?”

  “Will do, Jaxon.”

  I spent the rest of the day worried about Kaylee, and worried about this man who I was now convinced was after her specifically. The more I thought about it, the more that seemed to be the case. I wouldn’t say anything to her, though. I didn’t want to alarm her, and I didn’t want her running away again. I was sure that she would bolt at any sign of danger, and there was no way I was going to be able to protect her from afar. I needed to keep her in my sights. Although I had no idea why I was protecting this woman that I didn’t know.

  Chapter 12

  Kaylee

  Another week went by and I was slowly getting into a routine with Jaxon. We didn’t discuss anything or plan anything, but we just naturally fell in step with each other. He was very easy to live with, and he hadn’t made any attempt to ask me to leave. I kept expecting him to tell me that I was overstaying my welcome, but he never did. The night before, I’d mentioned it in passing, and he’d told me to save my money and to move out only when I was sure I could afford it. He told me it was pointless right now considering he had so much space.