by Piper Rayne
“Where’s Calista?” he asks.
“At the park with Karen and Brian.” I’ve yet to really admit it to anyone, but it’s nice having help with her.
“This fridge is pissing me off, but in better news…” He picks up his phone and slides up to sit on the counter. “I am the father.” He says it like he’s Maury Povich and holds out his phone, showing me an email.
“Did you doubt it?” I raise an eyebrow.
He laughs, wiping off more sweat but thank God he uses his sleeve instead of the bottom of his shirt. “Not once.”
Our eyes lock. “Does it feel different with it in writing?” I lean against the counter and cross my arms. His gaze dips to my chest for a second.
“No. But I did call to make sure everything was sent to your doctor in Seattle. We’ll have to get her medical records transferred to a doctor up here so that everyone is aware of her condition if something happens.”
I nod. With everything going on, I almost forgot how important that is. Especially with other people watching her now.
“We need to brief everyone that if she gets hurt, they need to take her to the emergency room right away.”
“Here.” He picks up his phone and messes with it for a second and an alert vibrates on my own phone in my back pocket. I pull it out to find I’ve been added to a group text titled ‘Bailey Crew.’
Rome: FYI if you watch Calista and she gets cut or anything that involves blood, you need to take her to the ER stat. Call Harley or I second.
Three dotted rows appear, and a string of texts commence after.
I have no idea who is who, but one common theme in all their responses is, what’s wrong? Did something happen? Why?
“Way to make them panic,” I say.
He shrugs. “Believe me, that family text message string is going to save you a lot of headaches. So much easier than sending eight separate texts.” He slides off the counter and the door chime rings a second later.
“Rome!” a man calls out from the front of the restaurant.
“In here,” he says.
The man who gave me the directions to Rome’s restaurant my first night in town comes into the back.
“Hey, Jack. This is Harley. I don’t think you guys have met.”
“Actually, we have. Sort of. Nice to officially meet you though, Jack.”
“Likewise,” he says, placing his toolbox down on the ground. “Harley came into the hardware store looking for directions,” he says to Rome by way of explanation.
“Gotcha.” Rome places his hands on his hips with a frown and looks over at the industrial fridge. “Think I should just send this back?” Rome asks.
While the two of them talk refrigeration, I hammer out a quick text in the group chat to let everyone know that Calista is okay and healthy but explain her condition and what risks it poses.
Another row of messages come in…Thanks Harley, Oh my poor niece, What can we do to help, etc. Eventually they all put their names with their numbers, and I busy myself programming them into my phone. It takes so long that by the time I get to the last one, Bailey looks misspelled because I’ve been staring at the word so long.
“I’ll be at the bar,” I say to Rome and Jack though I’m not sure they even remember I’m in the room.
I glance around the dark wood bar at the bottles lining the glass shelves. Rome spared no expense. His wine selection is exquisite, and he has most of the high-end brands of hard liquor, too. I wonder how much business a restaurant like this can do in a town like this. Not that it’s a poor town, but everyone I’ve met seems more like a diner-type person versus fine dining.
I make note of the positioning of the coolers, the ice bucket, and glassware so that next week on opening night I don’t make it a disaster by not being able to keep up.
“Hey.” Rome comes in. “Everything look cool?” he asks.
“You did a great job. Did you ever bartend?” I inspect a few more bottles.
“No, but I’ve worked in enough restaurants to know what the musts are. If you need anything added, let me know.”
“I think this should be good.”
He slides into the chair on the other side of the bar. “What’s your drink, Rome?” I ask, leaning over the counter. His eyes fall to my cleavage, again, so I stand up straight.
“You don’t remember?”
“Well, that night you took about four shots of Jack as a starter and drank beer the rest of the night.”
He nods. “Sounds like my MO. I’ll just take a water.”
I reach under and grab a water bottle, unscrewing it for him.
“I set up some interviews for you tomorrow. I can watch Calista.”
“Interviews?” I tilt my head.
“You can’t tend bar every night. You have school and then there’s Calista.”
I tilt my head even more, trying to understand what he’s talking about.
“You’re the head bartender, so the decision of who to hire is yours. I did scour through the applicants first and there’s one guy I already hired. Asked him to come in, too, to get your approval. If you don’t like him, I can send him packing.”
“Head bartender? No Rome.” I shake my head.
“Yes. You’re the most qualified person I know. It’s perfect.”
“Perfect? You didn’t even know I was coming here. What was your plan before me?”
He chuckles., tipping the water bottle back, his eyes never leaving mine. “I didn’t have one yet. Hence why your timing was perfect.”
I lean against the edge of the bar. “Are you doing this because I’m Calista’s baby mama?”
He laughs again. “No. I’m doing it because you’re experienced. If you think it’s too much, let me know.”
I decide to take him at his word, which is not easy for me. “No. It’s fine.”
“Good.” He nods, guzzles his water again and finishes off the bottle in record time, crunching the plastic and setting it on the bar. “I’m glad that’s settled.” He stands from his chair. “If I don’t figure out this fridge though, there’s not going to be an opening day.”
“All right. I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to go grab Calista.”
“Give her a kiss for me.” He heads to the back.
“Hey, Rome,” I say, and he stops and turns back to me. “Congratulations on officially becoming a father.”
A slow, satisfied smile parts his lips. “Thanks.” He winks. “I’m pretty stoked.”
I smile back and watch him disappear through the swinging door to the back.
My hand goes to my stomach in an effort to stop the caterpillars from morphing into butterflies. Butterflies are not allowed where Rome is concerned, there’s too much to lose.
Seventeen
Harley
Founder’s Day is not at all what I expected.
Rome really wanted me on the Bailey float, whatever that means, but I refused. I’m not a Bailey, Calista is.
That said, my nerves are on high alert as I stand on the edge of Main Street waiting for them to go by. In the past few weeks, I’ve found myself trusting not only Rome but his family as well. But there’s something about my daughter being on a float that makes me extra nervous.
“Hey,” Holly interrupts my jumbled thoughts, coming to stand alongside me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I’m not a Bailey yet.” She puts her hand on a woman’s shoulder who is standing behind her. “This is Francie and Jack.”
“Hi, Jack. Nice to meet you, Francie.” I squeeze over to make room for them.
The dark-haired woman smiles warmly and shakes my hand. “Are you enjoying Lake Starlight?”
“I am, thank you.”
“Rome tell you we got the fridge working?” Jack asks.
I nod. “He did. Good work.”
Francie beams over at her husband.
“I didn’t realize you knew Jack,” Holly says.
“Small towns. You know how it i
s.”
Holly nods, but Jack looks over at me and winks, keeping the fact that I was originally looking for Denver to himself.
I smile at him in appreciation for his discretion.
“I heard Calista’s on the float.” Holly knocks me with her elbow.
“Yeah, hopefully nothing happens.”
She swings her arm around my shoulders. “It won’t.”
I slide out from under her touch, but she doesn’t notice because two lines of muscle cars drive down Main Street with “Shake it Up” by The Cars playing over the speakers.
Everyone on either side of the street starts singing along and dancing.
“Did I just enter a movie set?” I ask.
Holly’s dancing next to me like she’s at a sock hop, putting her weight on one foot and then the other. I don’t have the heart to tell her she’s in the wrong era. “I know, right?”
Francie’s head bobs back and forth. No wonder they’re close, they’re both confused about the music. Maybe I should do the twist.
“Liam always picks the best songs.” Jack holds his wife and twirls her out and back into him.
What kind of town did I move us to?
“Did you hear they changed it up this year?” Francie says to Holly.
“I figured I’d find you guys.” Wyatt approaches from behind us with an older woman by his side.
“You’re not on the float either, huh?” Holly continues to dance while talking to him.
“You’re engaged, I’m still just the boyfriend.” Wyatt laughs and the older woman slides her arm through his. “This is my mother, Eva,” he says.
We all wave and say hello to her.
“The Sea of Love is coming right before the Bailey’s float,” Francie says. “It’s my favorite part.” She looks up at Jack and he twists her out again.
Liam winks at me from the lead car and the two rows of cars turn the corner.
A float appears right after them, the soft music of a love ballad taking over.
There’s a man dressed in a suit singing into a microphone and a woman in a bridal gown seated on a chair looking up at him with lovesick eyes.
“I’ll let Francie explain this to you. She’s the romantic.” Holly slides over and Francie loops her arm through mine.
“Okay, so Mr. and Mrs. Bailey, Rome’s parents, had ‘Sea of Love’ by The Honeydrippers as their wedding song. Since they passed, the town has done this tribute to them each year. The high school drama department is in charge of the float.”
I nod and look around. Everyone is now swaying back and forth, singing the lyrics. Francie starts up louder than everyone.
Seriously, I moved to Corneyville, USA.
As the float grows closer, Francie covers her mouth and gasps.
“Yeah, they may have recruited my help this year,” Holly says as we see a huge blown up picture of Mr. and Mrs. Bailey on their wedding day dancing at their wedding.
Rome’s parents.
I saw one picture of them hanging on the wall at Austin and Holly’s, but it was years after this one was taken. They already had their own children and no longer looked like a set of kids with doe eyes and their entire lives stretched out in front of them.
All the boys look more like their dad and the girls their mom, with the exception of Phoenix and Sedona who have dark hair. But the man staring down at his wife could be Rome—their resemblance is that uncanny.
Francie swipes some tears. “I miss them so much.”
Holly takes her by her shoulders and moves her over to Jack, coming back to my side. “Everyone says they were remarkable people, but I guess they had to be to have the children they did, right?” Her own eyes water as we watch the float go by.
It’s not even past the corner before cheers erupt in the crowd.
“Is this the theme from Golden Girls?” I ask once I hear the song blaring from the float.
Holly laughs as they come into view. She nods. “Yep. Rome’s pick. He’s not really the sentimental type.” She must see my confusion. “Every year one of the Bailey kids have to pick a song that they all sing to the crowd. It has to be thanking them or something like that. This year was Rome’s pick.”
“And he chose this one?”
“Like I said, he’s not sentimental.” She starts singing along with Francie and Jack. Even Wyatt and his mom sing right behind us.
The float comes into view and I can’t fight the smile on my face. Calista holds prime real estate right next to Dori one level higher than her dad. My heart drops to my stomach until I see that she’s in a car seat that’s not moving at all. Not sure what he did to secure that, but it looks steady.
“Don’t worry, Harley, I bolted it myself.” Jack reaches across and touches my shoulder.
“She’s not going anywhere,” Francie says.
“Thanks.”
Rome finds me in the crowd and winks. All the Bailey siblings sing the song with what appears to be enthusiasm. Calista is smiling and waving, laughing and playing with her feet, her eyes wide, taking in everything going on around her. I catch Rome looking over his shoulder to make sure she’s okay.
At some point, she sees me, and I wave and blow her a kiss, but her hands reach out, trying to get out of the restraint. Dori tries to tickle her, but she’s having none of it, swatting her hands away. “No Doodoo!” I think she says if my lip-reading skills are on point. “Mama!”
I wave again and clap like she’s doing a great job.
“Uh oh, I think she’s about done now,” Holly whispers next to me.
Dori tries to tickle her again, bending down and kissing her head, but Calista smacks her. The crowd laughs and Dori’s face turns red.
“Tell me that didn’t actually just happen.” I bite my lip.
“Oh, it happened,” Wyatt says with a chuckle.
Rome’s on it. He hands his mic to Denver and reaches up to the next level, unbuckling Calista and picking her up. He holds her to his chest and the crowd cheers louder, clapping their hands.
“I know you have no idea, but this is a big deal in this town. The first Bailey grandchild.” Holly squeezes my hand. “I know you might feel overwhelmed by the attention, I did at first. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”
“Thanks,” I say, still not sure what to think of all this.
Rome doesn’t sing for the rest of the song, but instead holds Calista to his chest, her head falling to his strong shoulder, her tears drying as her eyes close. Her thumb finds its way into her mouth and he sways back and forth like he’s been doing it since she was born.
“Oh, he’s rocking her to sleep,” Wyatt’s mom says from behind me. “How precious.”
The rest of the crowd must agree because cheers turn into ‘ahhs’ and now tears prick my eyes.
My baby girl is with her daddy.
I never thought this day would be possible. I never truly wanted it to come, but now that it’s here, I can’t deny how happy I am.
Everyone in this town sees what a caring and good dad Rome is. I commit this scene to memory. No matter what paths our lives take, I need to remember this moment because it solidifies that they belong together.
My phone dings and I see it’s a message from Holly. I look over at her before I pull up her text.
“Speaking from a girl who doesn’t have a dad in her life, you need to snap these when you get a chance.” She smiles.
I open her message and stare down at the picture on my phone. Calista’s arms wrapped tightly around Rome’s neck, like she’s scared he might leave her.
Don’t worry, baby girl, I vow to never take you away from him. No matter what.
“Thanks,” I croak out, blinking back unshed tears.
She smiles and Rome stares over at me with a cocky expression like he wants to say, “see I got this.”
And he so does.
And it’s so damn sexy.
Eighteen
Rome
The float stops at the end of the parade rou
te and all my siblings hop off. Denver gives me a hand since Calista is stuck to me like a baby koala bear.
“Well, that was interesting,” G’Ma D says.
“Sorry, she was tired, and she saw Harley,” I say.
She kisses Calista’s forehead. “It’s okay. I forgive her, but if this town starts calling me Doodoo…” She shakes her head and swings her arm through Juno’s. “Take me to the library.”
“Colton, we’re taking Grandma to the library,” Juno yells out and since he knows the drill and has been waiting here the entire time, he jogs to catch them.
I’ll never understand that friendship.
“Austin!” Holly screams through the crowd and he steadily walks toward her, swinging her into his arms the minute she’s within arm’s reach. “I told you you should’ve been up there.”
She touches his cheek. “When I’m actually a Bailey.”
“You are,” he argues.
She giggles and raises to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, but he switches gears and captures her lips. A pang of jealousy hits my gut watching my brother so fucking happy he might burst. After he thoroughly kisses her in front of witnesses, he rests his forehead against hers. “Memory lane ride on the Ferris wheel?”
Holly bites her lower lip and nods.
Jesus, these two. Remind me never to go on the Ferris wheel again. God knows what they’re doing. “Thank goodness Calista is sleeping!” I say.
Austin flips me off as they walk away.
“Look Sav, you’re rubbing off on everyone,” Brooklyn says with a chuckle.
Harley walks up with Wyatt and his mom.
Wyatt kisses Brooklyn much more conservatively than Austin did Holly, but his mom is standing right there.
Harley places her hand on Calista’s back and looks at her drool on my shoulder. “I was a tad worried there for a second.” She laughs.
I join her because it was a shit show when she smacked G’Ma D in the face.
“Yeah, she was done. I saw her rubbing her eyes a block before, should’ve clued in.”
I’m still getting this father thing down. I really hope Harley isn’t about to yell at me for having her on the float in the first place and for taking her out of the car seat. It was dangerous, but I’d never let her fall.
