Long Road Home

by Kate Stacy

  Through the doorway is a short hallway. To the left is the bathroom. He tells me that the other two doors are bedrooms; one for me and one for Elijah.

  “We can share a room, really. I don’t mind him sleeping with me.”

  “Absolutely not. Neither room gets used for anything else. I want you to feel at home here. You need your own space.”

  I don’t argue.

  He leans against the wall next to the bathroom door, inclining his head toward the bedrooms. “Go have a look.”

  DRAKE

  I watch as she slowly walks to the bedroom on the right. Elijah’s room.

  The door is mostly closed, so she pushes it open, reaching in to feel along the wall for a light switch. As soon as she sees the room she gasps.

  “What...oh my god…” She stops speaking and covers her mouth with her hands.

  She turns to me with wide eyes full of tears.

  I cannot stand to see this girl cry, even if she’s happy.

  “Tell me those are happy tears, darlin’.” I push off the wall, walking towards her.

  She nods quickly without speaking.

  I pull her to me and put my arms around her. I lower my head to speak, my lips brushing across her cheek before stopping near her ear.

  “Will he like it?”

  She pulls back just enough to look up at me. “I can’t believe you did this. He’ll love it.”

  The room is decorated in a Mickey Mouse theme. We painted the bottom half of the walls red and left the top white. I kept it simple, and bought a white bedroom set for a child. Madalyn chose the themed bedding. There are solid black Mickey ears on the walls.

  Hailee looks around in awe. Her eyes dart around. I can tell she’s noticing all the little details of the room.

  Elijah’s name spelled out in black, wooden letters above his bed.

  The Walt Disney quote on the wall above the window that says, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”

  Madalyn changed out the knobs on the dresser to match the colors to the bedding. She also stenciled his name and more black ears onto the wooden toy box that sits in the corner.

  “Most of this was Madalyn. The theme, the little touches here and there...all Mads.”

  “She knew about this?”

  I can’t hold in my laugh. “Baby, everyone knew about this but you.”

  Her eyes widen. “Seriously?”

  “We all helped. Me, Jax and Mads, even your parents.”

  “I don’t know what to say...this is unbelievable.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. Just accept that your family and friends wanted to do something nice for you. You deserve it.”

  She looks like she wants to argue, so I put my finger to her lips.

  “Hush. It’s done.”

  She narrows her eyes before taking a step back.

  I’m not sure I want to know what she’s thinking. I wait, to see if she’s going to fight me on this.

  She turns away without uttering a sound, walking through the room, taking it all in.

  She bends to peek in the toy box—seeing it full— she slowly shakes her head but says nothing.

  She does the same after opening the dresser drawers to find them full of clothes.

  I’m starting to get nervous.

  She hasn’t said a word.

  She’s standing only a few feet from me, but she’s facing away with her arms wrapped around herself.

  Fuck. What is she thinking right now!?

  I hear her sniffle. I’m about to cross the room to her when she turns around.

  “Thank you.” It’s all she says.

  It’s enough.

  “Are you ready to see your room?”

  She wipes her tears, then shakes her head, laughing. “This is too much already.”

  “No sweetheart. It’s not enough. It’s only the beginning.”

  I don’t wait for her to respond before I leave the room hoping she follows.

  I stand at her bedroom door, but she doesn’t keep me waiting long. I open the door and she enters. She does the same thing she did in Elijah’s room, slowly walking around, taking in the details.

  Her room isn’t quite as decorated as Elijah’s. I thought it would be better to let her personalize it herself. The room is big enough for an entire queen-sized bedroom set. The bed, two nightstands, and a long dresser with an attached mirror. I chose white furniture for her room as well.

  She opens a couple of the drawers on the dresser before moving to the closet, opening the door. She looks inside for only a second before closing it. She turns to take in more of the room and notices the gifts I’ve left sitting on the bed.

  A brand-new laptop and e-reader wrapped with red bows.

  She says nothing before she buries her head in her hands and starts crying.

  She’s obviously overwhelmed, but I’ll be damned if I stand here letting her cry by herself. Her tears break my heart. It only takes two long strides to get to her before I wrap her in my arms and drop a kiss to the top of her head.

  “Let it out, darlin’.” I rub her back and try to calm her.

  “I don’t….I...I swear I don’t normally cry this much.” Her words are muffled since her face is buried in my chest. “No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”

  “I get it, baby. You’re overwhelmed. You’ve been through a lot in the last couple weeks.”

  I pull back slightly and wipe the tears from her cheeks

  She looks up, our eyes locking.

  I want to kiss her. Bad.

  She cocks her head to the side just a little bit, but her eyes don’t leave mine.

  Wait. Does she want me to kiss her?

  I’m tempted to find out, but now isn’t the time. She’s upset and vulnerable. I’m not the kind of man to take advantage.

  Before I can pull back any further, we’re interrupted by the sound of little feet down the hall. Elijah darts into the room and wraps himself around Hailee’s leg. “Mama! Hi!”

  I bend down before she gets a chance and scoop him up in my arms. He smiles and turns to look at his mama, but the smile is quick to disappear from his chubby little face.

  “Sad again? No cwy.” He reaches toward her face like he wants to wipe her tears.

  She takes his hand, kissing his fingers before a beautiful smile appears on her face.

  “No baby, mama’s not sad. I’m crying because I’m happy.”

  The look on his face tells me he’s unsure, so when he looks to me, I reassure him with a smile. He looks back at Hailee and reaches for her.

  Still smiling, she pulls him into her arms and tells him, “Drake has a surprise for you. Do you wanna see it?”

  His eyes go wide, and he nods rapidly. “Su-pwise!”

  We turn to leave the room, finally realizing that everyone has been standing at the door watching us together. Both Jaxson and Patrick are smiling. Madalyn and Marie are both watching in awe with tears in their eyes.

  Hailee stops and says, “Thank you all. This is incredible. I love you so much.”

  Shock crosses everyone’s face.

  No one was expecting that reaction.

  Everyone gives her a hug as she passes to show Elijah his bedroom.

  No matter how stubborn and independent she may be—she didn’t fight me on any of this. Not really.

  Maybe that means she won’t fight me when I tell her she’s mine.

  HAILEE

  I’m not surprised to see Madalyn waiting at the door to the bakery the next morning. She’s not known for being patient. I knew she’d be waiting to ask questions.

  She pounces as soon as I’m out of my car.

  “Soooo...how’s home life with the hottie?!” She bounces on her toes, smirking like I’m going to tell her a dirty secret. She’ll be disappointed because there’s nothing to tell her.

  “Seriously, Mads? It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.” I laugh as I walk past her to unlock the door. />
  We both go inside, and I re-lock the door before heading to the back.

  “Oh, come on! You’re telling me that you’re not absolutely loving it already?” She raises a brow, cocking her head to the side. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Of course, I love it. His house is freaking incredible.”

  “I’m not talking about the house and you know it.”

  I start pulling out ingredients, deciding to make donuts today.

  “I know babe, but that’s all I can think about. I cannot believe you all did so much for me and Elijah, all while managing to hide it from me for a week!”

  “It was all Drake’s idea. I was ready to move y’all into our house, but he was having none of that. That boy is crazy about you.”

  “We’re just friends. That’s all.”

  “Keep telling yourself that. You’re so oblivious to what the rest of us see between you two.” She starts handing me the ingredients to put in the mixer.

  “I’m not, actually. I see the way he looks at me, but he knows that I don’t want a relationship right now. I’m supposed to be trying to get over Grayson.”

  Shit, Grayson. I haven’t even told him what’s been going on.

  My expression must show my thoughts because she gives me a knowing look. “You haven’t talked to him, have you?”

  I shake my head. “Not since he told me about the wedding. He was supposed to call about coming to visit, but I haven’t heard from him.”

  “He’s probably just busy planning, but I can’t believe that you haven’t called him.”

  Like I haven’t been busy dealing with my own shit.

  “I’ll call him when I have a few minutes to breathe.” I finish prepping the first batch of cake donuts and start heating the shortening to deep-fry them.

  “Tell him I say hey when you do.” She turns to start stacking some cake layers for the birthday cake she’s working on. “Two weeks,” she mumbles, shaking her head.

  “What’s in two weeks?”

  “Nothing. It’s been two weeks since you’ve talked to him. Hails, when have you ever gone two weeks without talking to him?” She raises an eyebrow to make her point.

  I say nothing.

  I don’t want to answer her. I know the answer, but I’m not sure what it means. I don’t like the implications.

  “Well?” She’s not going to let it go.

  Damn it.

  “Never. I’ve never gone that long without talking to him. We usually talk at least twice a week.” I’m hesitant to ask what I’m thinking, but I do anyway. “Do you think that means we’re drifting apart? I can’t lose him. He’s too important to me.”

  “Not at all. The two of you will always be friends. It just means that you both found other people to take up your time, so you don’t rely on each other as much.”

  I think about what she’s saying, and I know she’s right. At least partially. With the exception of the last two weeks, we still talk all the time. I hadn’t realized until now that it hasn’t been as much since he started dating Tara. His trips to see us haven’t been as often either.

  I’m supposed to be upset about this because I love him, right? But—I’m not upset at all. Here I am, realizing that things are changing. I’m not the main girl in his life anymore. It doesn’t hurt. I’m not sad. Not frustrated. No tears. Nothing.

  “Maybe I’m actually over him,” I mutter to myself.

  “Or maybe you were never actually in love with him.”

  I look up at her, surprised. “What?”

  “You heard me.” She puts the piping bag down and walks back over to me. “Look, I’m gonna give it to you straight.”

  My eyes roll out of habit. “You always do.”

  “Exactly. I know you love Grayson—as a friend. Romantically, I think you were only ever in love with the idea of him. You want a man that’s going to treat you like he does and really put you first.” She watches for my reaction but keeps talking, “The only serious relationships you’ve had were with douchebags that treated you like shit. It’s only natural that you latched on to him.”

  I consider what she said. Was I just in love with the idea of him? Maybe. Possibly. The more I think about it—probably.

  I think about my interactions with Grayson over the years. I’ve always loved how he treated me. Always putting me first. Taking care of me. Loving Elijah. Picking up the pieces after my breakups. I love the way he loves me.

  What I can’t recall, are any times where I’ve felt nervous around him. No tingles. No heat when he touches me. No racing heart. No blushing. No butterflies. Not like...fuck.

  Nope. I refuse to think about him right now.

  Madalyn hasn’t said anything else, so she must be giving me time to process what she said. I look over at her to see she’s just watching me with a curious expression on her face.

  “You figured it out, didn’t you?” The corner of her mouth curves up in a smirk.

  “You’re right. I’ve spent years pining over him and suddenly it doesn’t matter. What the hell?!” I put both hands on the table in front of me, hanging my head. “How the hell do I go from loving him to feeling like nothing more than friends in a matter of two weeks?”

  “I think Drake has a little somethin’ to do with that.” She’s full-on smiling now.

  I lift my head a tiny bit, just so she can see the glare I’m giving her. Of course, she finds it hilarious.

  Sassy bitch.

  “I’m glad my frustration amuses you.” I’m still giving her the stink-eye.

  “Wrong! Your denial amuses me. Just admit it. C’mon,” she teases.

  “Fine! YES! I think Drake is sexy as hell. I’d have to be blind not to!” I don’t even care that I’m loud. It’s only us here. “That doesn’t mean that anything is going to happen. We’re just friends.”

  She’s bent forward, laughing so hard she’s in tears. “For now, girl. For now.”

  I start toward her to retaliate for her teasing, but before I get too far, I hear my phone chime a notification. I grab my phone to check my texts.

  Of course. His ears must have been burning.

  Grayson: Hey sweetheart. Know you’re working, but I haven’t heard from you, so I wanted to check in.

  Me: Hey Gray! Things have been really insane around here. I’ll have to call you later to explain.

  Grayson: Give me a quick rundown. Not sure what Tara might need me for later.

  Me: Bonfire for the Fourth. Apartment building burned down. Moved in with a friend of Jaxson’s.

  I don’t have to wait for a response. I shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t have time for this conversation. My phone rings like ten seconds after I sent that last text.

  “Hey, Gray.”

  Wait for it…

  “What the fuck do you mean your apartment building burned down? Who are you living with? Why didn’t you call me?”

  ...and there it is.

  “It’s a long story, Gray. I’m working.”

  “No, fuck that. You can take a few minutes to explain why I’m just now hearing about this, Hails.”

  I groan. “When I got home after the bonfire, my entire apartment building was up in flames. Nothing left. Drake drove me to my parents’ house, so I could be with Elijah. We lost everything, Gray. It’s all gone.”

  “Jesus, Hails. I’m so sorry.” There’s a pause before he asks, “Who the hell is Drake, and why were you with him?”

  “I’m getting there. Anyways, there’s not really room at my parents’ place, and you know Mads offered, but Drake has a huge house with plenty of extra room, so he offered for me and Elijah to live there. We just moved in yesterday actually.”

  “That doesn’t really answer my question.” So impatient.

  He’s lucky I’m good at multitasking. I finish up the donuts and get the muffins started while I explain Drake.

  “Drake is one of Jaxson’s friends. He’s a truck driver and only home every so often, which before you ask, is w
hy we hadn’t met him yet. I met him at the bonfire and he drove me home because I had too much to drink.”

  “So, you’re telling me that you moved you and my godson into a house with a guy that you just met?” I can hear the anger and frustration lacing his voice.

  “Yes, Gray. That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” He’s starting to piss me off by talking to me like a child. “Jaxson has known him pretty much his entire life. You know damn well that Jax is just as protective of me as you are. He was there when the offer was made and told me that I should do it.”

  “I don’t like it, Hailee. It doesn’t sound like a good idea. I want to meet him.” He’s still got an edge to his voice that’s really rubbing me the wrong way. Grayson and I never argue, but this conversation is headed that way quickly.

  A few years ago, hell, even a year ago, I would have backed down and said nothing. I would have let his words eat at me while I remained silent, but not today. I must have found my backbone because I light into him.

  “Gray, listen to me. You’ve known me for a long fucking time. You know that I’m not an impulsive person. I’m honestly a little hurt that you would think I’d intentionally put myself or Elijah in a situation that was bad or harmful to either of us.”

  I take a deep breath to calm myself before I continue, “I know that you’re just looking out for me right now, but I’m a grown woman and I don’t need your permission or approval. You don’t have to like it. It’s pretty much the only choice I had at the time. Drake was really generous to offer his home to us when he barely knows me. That alone should tell you what kind of person he is. If you want to meet him, that’s fine. I can make that happen whenever you decide you have time for us.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t want to argue with you, please. I’m just really thrown off by the fact that I’m just now hearing about all of this. Why didn’t you call me? I would have been there for you.”

  Of course, he has to say something sweet right after being a jackass.

  “I know you would have, but I had my parents, Jax and Mads, and Drake all here taking care of the problem. I was so devastated, Gray. I—I barely functioned for a few days after the fire. Phone calls never even crossed my mind. I’m sorry.”