“Thank god,” I whispered, my body sagging. “I thought someone had taken him.” Ford stared at me, his hazel eyes shining with something I hadn’t seen before. His brows lowered, his mouth moving on one side as if he was deep in thought. “Ford?” I asked, stepping closer to him, and he finally snapped out of whatever he was thinking about.
“Huh?” He shook his head and glanced around the room. “What did you say?”
I reached for Leo and held him to my chest as he started to fuss. “I thought someone had taken him.”
“He was crying,” Ford said, standing, and it was only then I realized he was bare-chested. I tried not to look, I really did, but it was hard to do when his muscles moved with each of his movements. “So, I got him and fed him.”
“Oh.” I moved from foot to foot, suddenly aware of the lack of clothes I was also wearing. “What time?”
“Five,” he answered right away. I nodded, not sure what else to do or say. It was awkward, but I wasn’t sure if it was me, him, or both of us.
Neither of us said another word as we stood there opposite each other until Mom asked, “What time is your appointment?” and I was thankful for the interruption.
“Nine thirty,” I answered her, moving Leo. “Are you still okay to take me?”
Mom shook her head. “I need to mark some papers.” She paused, her gaze flicking from me to Ford and then back again. “Ford? Can you take her? I can watch Leo while marking.”
“I…yeah, sure,” Ford said and glanced around the room. Was he nervous? “Can you watch Lottie at the same time?” As if she knew we were talking about her, she crawled out from under the table with a piece of bacon hanging out of her mouth.
I narrowed my eyes on the bacon and then glanced at each of them around the table. Dad’s plate was empty, and Mom’s bowl must have been cereal, so the only person left eating was…
“Asher.” I raised my brows at him, and he halted as he was lifting his breakfast sandwich to his mouth. “Did you give Lottie bacon?”
“Who? Me?” Asher asked, pointing at his chest.
“Yeah, you.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t me, I have sausage. Dad had bacon.”
He pointed across the table to Dad. “What?” Dad asked, standing up. “She was staring at me with those eyes, and I couldn’t say no.” Lottie trotted over to him, and he reached down to stroke her.
“You’re such a pushover,” Mom declared, laughing. “A dog stares at you, so you give it three slices of bacon?”
“Three?” I shouted. “You can’t give her three slices of bacon. She’s a dog. She needs her proper food, not fat and pork.” I puffed out a breath. “I can’t trust you guys with anything. Next thing I know, you’ll be dipping Leo’s pacifier in whiskey to help him sleep.”
“You mean we weren’t meant to do that?” Mom asked innocently.
My eyes widened so much I was sure my eyeballs would fall out of my head. “What?” I ground out.
“Kidding, Belle. Kidding.” Mom held her hands up in surrender. “I’m just joking.”
I shook my head and spun around to head upstairs to feed Leo and get ready. I had a family full of comedians apparently.
“It never hurt you, that’s all I’m saying!” Dad shouted behind me. “You loved whiskey when you were a baby.”
“You’re terrible parents!” I shouted back and turned just before exiting the living room. “You should all be locked up.”
“I don’t have time to get locked up today,” Mom quipped back. “Maybe tomorrow? I could get a little reading done then.”
I opened my mouth, about to reply, but it was no use. They all had grins on their faces as they wound me up, so instead of replying, I stuck my tongue out at them like the mature adult I was and headed upstairs.
It didn’t take me long to feed Leo and for him to fall back to sleep. Asher came in to say goodbye before he left for school, and Dad wasn’t far behind him. They both placed kisses against his little head, trying not to wake him, and once they were gone, and I knew I could have a shower with the door open so I could listen out for Leo, I covered my cast with a plastic bag, switched the water on, and waited for it to warm up.
I couldn’t deny that I felt better today than I had since I came home from the hospital. I’d had a straight six hours' sleep, and I felt like a new woman with a new lease of life. Once my hair and body were washed, I stepped out, wrapped a towel around my body, and brushed my teeth, just in time for Leo to wake back up. I stepped back into my bedroom and saw Ford sitting on the edge of my bed.
“You could have called me to come and have him while you had a shower,” he murmured, glancing up at me.
I shrugged in answer, not knowing what to say to him. I could have, but…I hadn’t. I didn’t know why I was trying to do it all on my own, and I didn’t have time to think about it. I needed to dry my hair and get dressed and then pump some milk before we left, and I only had twenty minutes to do it all in.
“You can get him dressed,” I told Ford and moved toward my closet. My clothes still didn’t fit me like they used to, but I’d managed to thrift some of Asher’s T-shirts he didn’t want back and make them look less like sacks on me. So right now, leggings and T-shirts were still a staple in my universe, but I was hoping I’d get back into jeans sometime in the next month.
I heard Ford leave my bedroom and shut the door behind him, so I quickly pumped some milk and blow-dried my hair at the same time. Once I was dressed, it was time to leave. I rushed downstairs, placed the milk in the refrigerator, kissed Leo’s cheek as he lay in Mom’s arms, and then walked past Ford, who was waiting at the front door for me.
We walked side by side to his car, which was on the driveway, and once we were alone, I realized it was the first time since before I’d had Leo. He’d so quickly become part of me, and I wondered if Ford felt the same.
“Is it bad that I miss him already?” I whispered, staring at the house as Ford reversed off the drive.
“No,” he said, his voice low. He was silent until he got to the end of the road, and as he pulled to a halt at the stop sign, he turned to face me. “You know you’re not alone in this, right?”
“I know.” I puffed out a breath and stared out of the windshield as he turned left. It was the same way he’d driven when I’d been in labor, and I turned to stare at the back seat. “I can’t believe I had him in your car.”
Ford chuckled, the sound so easy. “I know.” I glanced at him, not able to stop my smile as I stared at his side profile. “I can’t believe it either.”
My stomach flipped as his arm moved to the center console, and I remembered a time we’d been in this car, just him and me, and I’d placed my hand inside his. It felt like so long ago, but also just yesterday. So much had changed since then, and I was finding it hard to comprehend.
Neither of us spoke again until Ford pulled up at the hospital entrance. “I’ll go park and come find you,” he said, and I nodded as I pushed out of the car. I was hoping I wasn’t going to be in here long as I only had to have the cast off.
I made my way to the elevators inside the building, and up to the floor I needed to go to. And I hadn’t been sitting for five minutes when the doctor called me in. I had my cast taken off, and then my arm checked, and finally, I could scratch the itch that had been there for what felt like weeks.
By the time I exited the waiting room, Ford was walking up the hallway toward me. He halted, his brows lowering. “That was quick.”
“Yep.” I grinned and held my arm up. “And I’m finally cast-free.” It was the last sign of what had happened that night at the cabin. Although the memories would always be there, there weren’t physical signs any longer. I’d replayed the events over and over again in my mind, but this felt like the final step. I’d never forget what happened there, but it was time to try and move on. To move past it.
Ford turned around and walked by my side. I didn’t know what was going on with him today, but there was so
mething I couldn’t quite put my finger on. He seemed…distant. Was it because I was trying to do everything on my own with Leo? Was he resenting it?
My mind was spinning by the time we got back to the car, and I opened my mouth, about to confront him about it when he blurted out, “Go on a date with me.”
I blinked, sure I’d heard him wrong, but when he turned his head to look at me, I knew I hadn’t. His eyes swirled with something I couldn’t place. “A date?” I asked, my voice merely a whisper. “You want to go on a date with me?”
He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I know we did things a little backward.” He paused and pulled in a breath. “But…maybe we could start over and go on a date?”
“Like, dinner-and-movies kind of date?” I asked, my lips slowly spreading into a smile.
“I…yeah. Or, you know, whatever you want to do.” He shrugged and tried his hardest to look like this conversation wasn’t bothering him, but his hands clenched around his steering wheel, turning his knuckles white, told a different story.
“Dinner would be nice,” I told him, not looking away from him.
“Yeah?” I nodded, the smile now turning into a full-on grin. “Dinner.” He relaxed back in his seat. “This Saturday?”
“It’s a date,” I confirmed, my stomach flipping.
He turned to face me, his gaze meeting mine. “Our first date.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
FORD
I’d been back at work for a week now, and Leo was already nearly two weeks old. Time seemed to be flying by, and tomorrow I’d finally get to take Belle out on our first date. My nerves had been growing more and more as the week went on, and now they felt almost out of control.
Work was taking its toll, and I was starting to realize the number of hours I’d worked. I’d never thought twice about it, not until Leo got here, but now all I could think about was the amount of time I was missing out on. I’d been assigned a case, and I needed to collect intel, which meant I was watching the house at all hours of the day and night. And when I was off work, all I had time for was a quick visit with Belle and Leo before I went home to get a few hours' sleep, and then I was back to gathering information on the case.
But it also allowed me to finish off the renovations I was doing. I was so close to finishing downstairs but upstairs had been complete for a day. I was excited to show Belle what I’d been doing. I just wasn’t sure how she’d react to it.
I leaned back in my seat and stared out of the windshield. The only light was the stars shining in the sky. No one had come in or out of the house for the last six hours, and I was debating on going home when my cell rang. Belle’s number flashed on the screen, and I frowned at the time on my dash. Why was she calling me at three in the morning? My stomach churned with the possibilities, and I pressed my thumb on the answer call button as I sat straight in my seat. “Belle? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she answered, her voice small. “Sorry, I just… Ugh. I…never mind. I shouldn’t have called you.”
“No. No.” I held my hand up in the air even though she couldn’t see me. “What’s up?” She was silent for so long I pulled my cell away from my ear to check the call hadn’t dropped. “Belle?”
I heard her exhaled breath, and then she whispered, “I miss you.” My stomach dropped at her words, and I wasn’t sure what to say back to her. “I think Leo misses you too.”
I chuckled as I leaned back in my seat. “I miss you both too.” It was the truth. I was so used to being around them both that it felt strange to go back to an empty house. It should have been filled with love, and most importantly, the woman I loved and the son I adored. But I had to bide my time. We couldn’t jump headfirst into everything. We needed to do things right this time, and that started with our first date tomorrow night.
“I heard from Doctor Ponts this morning,” she blurted out, and I knew then what she’d really called me for. I’d been in touch with the people in Five Oaks to find more information about Leopold and his funeral. I’d gotten distracted since Belle had asked me to find out, but I hadn’t forgotten.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I heard some shuffling. “She said the funeral was last week. They hadn’t released his body right away.”
I already knew that. I’d spoken with the department which held his body and pulled some strings to get his body released so he could be buried. The investigation into his death was still ongoing, but they’d gotten all the DNA they’d needed.
The more and more I read the statements about what had happened when the team had turned up, and then the interview with Belle, the angrier I got. She’d been through hell, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I could have put a stop to it by making sure she knew what the plan was. I’d always kept her informed because she had a right to know, and the one time I hadn’t, we’d ended up here.
“I’m sorry you missed it,” I murmured because I was. He was her friend, the person she’d confided in, and she hadn’t been able to say goodbye to him.
“Me too,” she whispered. “I…I want to go and see his grave, though.” She paused, and I had a feeling what she was going to—
“Would you go with me?”
“Of course I will,” I answered right away. “You never have to ask, Baby Belle. You should know that.”
“I know,” she replied, but her words were sad. “I never got to go to Stella's and Justin’s funerals either.” A lump built in my throat because I understood how she must have been feeling. These had been people in her life she loved, and they’d been taken away from her in the most horrendous way. “All these people died because of me, and I wasn’t even there to show my respect.”
“That’s not your fault,” I ground out, wanting to drive the point home. “You didn’t have a choice.”
“But…” She heaved out a breath, and there was nothing more that I wished than for me to be there to hold her. My fingers tingled at the prospect, and I was ready to leave my post and drive over to her place right then. “I suppose it doesn’t matter now. It’s in the past.”
“It is,” I told her, narrowing my eyes at the house as a light came on. “All that matters is what you do now. I’ll take you to each of their graves, and we’ll pay our respects. You can tell them everything that happened and explain why you weren’t there.” I pushed forward in my seat.
“Do you think they’ll be able to hear me?” she asked, her voice low.
“I have no doubt,” I told her, meaning every word of it.
She was silent again, but this time I was concentrating on the house and the front door that was opening. The target was on the move, and I had to follow him.
“Thanks, Ford.”
“For what?” I asked, lowering in my seat as the car peeled out of the driveway. I waited until he was at the end of his street, and then turned my ignition on.
“For knowing exactly what to say.”
She yawned, and I clicked my belt in place. “You’re welcome, Baby Belle.” I rolled down the street with my lights off, and as soon as I was at the end, I switched them on and sped right, knowing that was the way he went.
“I’m gonna go to sleep now,” she whispered, her voice sounding tired. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“See you tomorrow,” I murmured, not wanting to end the call, but knowing I had to because I needed to pay full attention to the target. “Sleep tight,” I finished, and then ended the call.
Tonight, I’d do my job and get all the intel I could on my target, but tomorrow…tomorrow would be all about Belle and me, and I could finally tell her exactly how I felt.
BELLE
“I have nothing to wear,” I groaned, throwing things out of my closet and onto the floor. I’d gone through each item twice, and there was only one viable option, and I couldn’t even do the zipper up on it. “I should call and cancel.”
I turned around and went to grab my cell off my bed, but Aria yanked it away before I could get to it. “Oh no, you don’t.�
�� She tutted and shook her head at me. “You’ve been waiting for this for years, and you are not going to pull out just because you can’t find anything to wear.” She raised her brows at me and then glanced down at Leo, where he lay on the bed between her legs. His little arms were moving, and as soon as she ran her finger down his chubby cheek, his legs joined in on the action. “We’re not letting her, are we, Leo? Nope, Auntie Aria is putting her foot down because Mommy and Daddy need to go out on this date so we get our alone time, isn’t that right?”
I rolled my eyes at her and planted my hands on my hips. “What do you propose I do, then, Aria? I have nothing that fits me.” I screwed my nose up. “My hips aren’t mine anymore.”
“That’s what happens when you have a baby,” Mom’s voice interjected, and I turned to stare at her in the doorway to my room. “You did that to me too.” She shrugged. “It’s your fault my jeans didn’t fit afterward.”
I growled. They were being no help. Ford would be here in a couple of hours, and I had no idea what I was going to wear. Not only that, but I didn’t have time to even go to the mall to try and get something new. I saw leggings in my very near future. They’d accept that as the appropriate dress wear at the fancy restaurant in town, right?
“So, what should I do?” I asked.
“Well…” Mom stepped forward. “I have this dress that I got last month for one of your dad’s events he gets invited to, but it’s too small for me. I think it’d fit you perfectly.”
I tilted my head, skeptical of what she was saying. “What’s it look like?”
“It’s hanging in the bathroom. Why don’t you go try it on and see?”
“Fine.” I was aware I was acting like a sulky teenager, but this night had to be perfect. We were already in the middle of December—nearly a year since our first kiss—and finally, we were going on our first date.
I closed the bathroom door behind me and stared at the clothing bag hanging on the side of the shower. Its white material covered whatever was inside, and I hesitated. This was my last option, and if it didn’t fit, then I wouldn’t be able to go.
Bonded Duet: Ford & Belle: Torn Bond & Tied Bond (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 3) Page 35
