Long Road Home

by Kate Stacy

  Hailee won’t tell me about her costume for the party.

  “Come on, baby. You know you wanna tell me what it is.”

  She laughs. “You’re not getting it out of me. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “Have it your way. I’m gonna do my best to get there. This load has been one problem after another, so I can’t make any promises.”

  I hear her sigh. “I know you’ll be here if you can. Elijah is excited for trick-or-treating and asked if you’d be going with him. I told him we would see if you’re home.”

  “That’s the perfect thing to tell him. I don’t want to get his hopes up just in case. I really want to go with y’all. This is the exact kinda thing I meant when I was talking about missing out on things. I don’t want to miss out, and I don’t want to disappoint either of you if I don’t make it home in time.”

  “Don’t worry, honey. I understand. It’ll suck, but we’ll be okay. Don’t stress about it. Just do what you need to do, and hopefully it all works out.”

  “I love you so much, baby. I don’t know what I did right in life to deserve you, but I’m so damn grateful for you.”

  “I love you, too. Elijah and I are the lucky ones.”

  “We’re all pretty blessed, darlin’.” I grab a drink from the small fridge in my truck and relax on my bunk. “So what else did you and Madalyn get up to today?”

  “Just shopping, really. We had lunch and dropped Elijah off with my mom because he was getting grumpy and we still had a ton of places to go.”

  “I don’t blame you for that. At least he got to sleep peacefully, and you didn’t have to drag him around all afternoon.”

  “Exactly. Oh! So, I told Mads about lot lizards today.”

  I groan. “Really, baby? You just had to go there again, didn’t you?”

  Her laughter is music to my ears. “Yes! I’m still amused that you got propositioned while I was on the phone with you. She really didn’t want to take no for an answer.”

  “You’re right about that. All the years I’ve been on the road, and it’s never happened until I’m talking to my girl.”

  “Was she at least pretty?” She teases.

  I choke out a laugh. “God, no. She looked like a dude.”

  This makes her laugh harder. Truth be told, I was worried when all this went down. I didn’t want lot lizards, or any other female on the road, to be a concern for Hailee. I’m happy that she’s amused by it rather than worried about me being unfaithful. I’ll gladly take whatever jokes and teasing she dishes out if it means that she’s not questioning my loyalty to her. I haven’t so much as looked at another woman since we got together. I don’t want to.

  Hailee is all I need. Her and that adorable little boy of hers.

  “You should have taken a picture of her. Now I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to see what she looked like.”

  “She probably would have charged me for it.”

  “Oh god. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard.”

  “I’m so thrilled that my discomfort at being solicited by a lot lizard amuses you.”

  “Did you tell Jaxson about it?”

  “No, and you better not. I actually haven’t talked to him in a few days. I’ll probably give him a call tomorrow.”

  “No promises. It’s too funny not to share.”

  I glance at the time. “I hate to say it baby, but you should go. It’s late, and I know you’ve gotta open the bakery in the morning.”

  “You’re right, but I don’t want to say goodnight.

  “I know, love. I’ll be home soon, and then you can tease me relentlessly in person.”

  “Sounds like a good time.” She yawns. “Okay, so I am tired.”

  “It’s been a long day for you. Go get some sleep, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Okay, honey. I love you.”

  “I love you too, baby. Sleep sweet.”

  I plug my phone in to charge, and strip down to my boxer briefs, so I can sleep, too. I want to get going early so I can get rid of the load from hell. As long as the next load is smooth sailing, I should be home in time to take the little one trick-or-treating. I don’t want to miss all the little things. They’re too important.

  HAILEE

  The week is going by pretty quickly.

  It’s Thursday already, and since it was our early day to close, I decided to hold off on picking Elijah up from my parents. I have a big paper due for my class that I haven’t had time to finish. I know the next few days will be really busy, so I want to take a couple hours to get it done while I can.

  I’m working at a steady pace, finally making some progress, when there’s a knock at the door.

  Always an interruption. Ugh.

  I save my progress and head for the door, trying to ignore the feeling of dread rolling through me. The last time someone randomly knocked on the door was unpleasant. I’m not eager to repeat the experience.

  I look through the peephole and drop my head back, releasing a deep sigh.

  What does this girl want?

  I debate on even answering the door, but she knocks again, making it obvious that she’s not going away.

  I swing the door open, not even bothering to be polite because I know Drake told her not to come here again.

  “What do you want, Angie?”

  She looks taken aback that I know who she is, or maybe it’s my attitude. I don’t care either way.

  “I need to see Drake.”

  “He’s not here. He told you not to come here. Try calling him.”

  I start to shut the door in her face, but her hand shoots out to stop it from closing.

  “Wait, please.” She looks down at her feet before looking back up at me with tears in her eyes. “I really need to talk to him. He won’t answer my calls.”

  I look at her with furrowed brows. “What are you playing at? Why can’t you leave us alone?”

  “I...I’m pregnant.”

  My heart stops. She has to be lying.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  She sniffles and nods.

  “I didn’t think you would, or him for that matter.” She reaches into her purse, pulling out some small papers and a plastic baggie. “That’s why I brought these.”

  She holds the items out, but I hesitate before taking them.

  I look down at the things in my hand and gasp.

  Sonogram pictures and a positive pregnancy test.

  Thank God she had the decency to put that in a baggie.

  “No.” My head shakes and I cover my mouth with my other hand. “It’s not possible.”

  “It is. I tested positive, so I went to the doctor to get confirmation. Drake is going to be a daddy.”

  I shake myself out of my shock. “But you cheated on him! The other guy is probably the father.”

  She purses her lips. “The dates don’t line up. I was only with him that one time and I got pregnant before that.”

  Drake is having a baby.

  With someone else.

  I don’t want to believe it’s possible, but how can I argue when she’s got proof? Of course, she could be lying about the father. Drake believes she cheated on him for awhile, but what would she gain by coming here if she didn’t truly believe him to be the father of her baby?

  Damn it. I don’t know what to do. I know that Drake isn’t the type of man to ignore his responsibilities. If this baby is his, he’s going to want to be involved as much as possible. Angie is calm right now and seems to be sincere, but my experiences with her don’t allow me to believe that she’ll make this easy on Drake.

  Fuck.

  “Um, I...I’ll let him know.”

  “That’s all?” She takes the pictures and test back from me.

  “I don’t really know what else you want me to do. He’s not here, so the best I can do is call him and tell him you came by and give him the news. It’ll be up to him what he does with that information.”

  Somehow, I’m calm. Insi
de, I’m seriously losing my shit, but I can’t let her see that no matter what. She’s the type to feed off of it, and I won’t let that happen. I have to be stronger than that.

  “You’ll make sure he calls me?”

  “I’ll do what I can. You know Drake won’t dismiss this. He’s not the type to walk away.”

  “Thank you. I guess I’ll wait until I hear from him. I really want him to go to my next appointment with me.”

  “I can’t make those decisions for him. I’ll tell him, though.”

  She doesn’t say anything else. She just turns around and gets back into her car. She looks up at me one more time before turning back down the drive. I could swear I see a smirk on her face, but I blink, and it’s gone. Maybe I’m imagining things.

  I close the door, barely making it to the couch before I collapse into a heap of tears. I don’t know if I can handle this.

  The thoughts rolling through my mind are conflicted. My heart and head are battling about how to deal with this news.

  No matter what, I have to tell Drake. Aside from that, I’m lost.

  Children deserve a family. When I found out I was pregnant, I would have given anything to give Elijah a family. His sperm donor had other ideas, obviously, but I really wanted to make it work even with how unhappy I was. Now, I’m happy that things worked out the way they did. Do I wish that his father wanted to be a part of his life? Of course, but he wouldn’t have been a good influence. I know that Elijah and I are better off without him in our lives.

  Part of me feels bad for Angie. She’s alone in this right now. I’ve been in her shoes. It’s not easy, by any means. I know that Drake will do the right thing and be there for support, but shouldn’t I step back and give them a chance to be a family?

  Maybe they can work things out.

  Ugh. I feel nauseous just thinking that.

  Families come in all shapes and sizes, I know that. Drake has been an amazing father figure to Elijah, so far, and I love seeing the bond between the two of them. I’m just not sure how he will react to this news and honestly, I hate that I’m the one that has to tell him.

  He’s said multiple times that he won’t give up on me, but what if this is the thing that takes him away from me? If I’m selfish, and don’t take a step back...will he even still want me? I know that despite how his parents raised him, his grandfather taught him to do the right thing. What’s the right thing in this situation? Maybe my choice will be taken away from me, and he’ll break up with me, so they can be together.

  That thought makes me cry even harder. I can barely breathe now.

  Even if we stay together, this means that Angie will be in our lives forever now. Despite her decency today, she’s wretched. I hate thinking about her always being around. She’s already tried to come between us once, what’s stopping her from doing it again? Especially now that she’s having his baby.

  I wanted to calm down before I call Drake, but I can’t wait. I’m driving myself insane with all of these what ifs. I have to talk to him and see how he reacts.

  I’m not sure I’m strong enough to deal with this at all.

  DRAKE

  I just stopped and fueled up, so I can run the rest of my miles for the day. I’m about to leave the fuel island when my phone rings. It’s Hailee.

  I grab it quickly, before I miss the call.

  “Hey darlin’. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you this early.”

  “Drake.” She manages to get my name out before she starts crying.

  “Baby, what’s wrong? What happened? Are you okay? Is it Elijah?” The questions come rapid-fire, not even giving her a chance to respond.

  She cries harder, not able to speak.

  “You gotta calm down, baby, so you can tell me what’s wrong. I’m really worried right now.”

  I hear her take a deep breath. “Angie came by again today.” She manages to get the words out, but I can tell she’s still crying.

  “What did that bitch say to you now?”

  I’m livid. I knew we hadn’t seen the last of her. Whatever she said to Hailee must be really bad to have her crying like this.

  “She’s...she’s…” She hiccups and sniffles. “She’s pregnant.”

  “No. No fucking way. She said it’s mine?”

  “Yes!” She’s still crying, but even through the phone I can tell her tears have slowed. She’s no less upset. I can’t blame her.

  “She’s lying. She’s probably not even pregnant.”

  “That’s what I thought, too, until she showed me the pregnancy test and sonogram pictures from the doctor.”

  “It’s not mine, then. There’s no way. Probably that fucker she cheated on me with.”

  “Also what I said. She swears she only slept with him once and the dates don’t match up.”

  “Jesus Christ.” I’ve got her on speaker phone, so I can move my truck. “Give me just a second baby, please. I gotta park the truck, and this parking lot is busy. We’ll figure this out.”

  “Okay.”

  I get over to an empty spot and back the truck in. I climb back to my bunk and close the curtain, giving me some semblance of privacy.

  “Alright. Sorry, darlin’.”

  “I don’t know what to do, Drake. I don’t know how to feel.”

  “You know I didn’t cheat on you, right? Please tell me you know that.”

  “No...I know. I’m not worried about that. I just...I don’t even know.”

  “Listen. I don’t care what she says. I don’t believe any of it, and you shouldn’t either.”

  “I-I don’t think I can handle this.”

  “Yes, you can, baby. We’ll deal with this shit together.”

  She doesn’t say anything. I only know she’s still there because I can hear her breathing.

  Fuck!

  I’ve never hated being on the road as much as I do at this very moment.

  Hailee is pulling away from me. She knows I didn’t cheat, but that doesn’t mean this doesn’t hurt her. I can hear it in her voice when she speaks—it’s killing her.

  I hear her start crying again, and I can’t stand it. I never wanted her to shed tears because of me. There’s over a thousand miles between us right now, and I can do fuck all about this situation.

  “I can’t do this, Drake. You have to be there for her. That baby deserves a father.”

  “You’re right, baby. Every baby deserves a father, including yours.” I take a deep breath and try to gather my thoughts before I continue. “I won’t believe that the baby is mine until I see proof. I’ll ask for a paternity test. You know me well enough to know that I won’t walk away. If the baby is mine, he or she will be taken care of. I don’t have to be with Angie for that to happen. I refuse to be with Angie, pregnant or not. She broke my trust, and that’s not something I take lightly. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t believe her now.”

  “But you should try…” Her tears choke her up. “Try to be a family.”

  “Hailee, baby, please don’t do this.”

  “I...” She doesn’t finish.

  “Listen, I’m dropping this load and coming straight home. I’ll get there as fast as I possibly can, and we’ll deal with this shit together. There’s no way this shit is true, I swear. Please, baby, just wait for me.”

  “I think I might stay with Madalyn for a few days. I need time to think.”

  “I understand this is hard for you baby, I do. I don’t want you to leave me. Please, don’t let Angie come between us right now.”

  “I can’t, Drake. I’m sorry. We’ll talk, but...I need time.”

  Before I can respond, she hangs up.

  Son of a bitch!

  What kind of fucking game is Angie playing?!

  HAILEE

  Drake’s been calling and texting almost nonstop since I ended our call yesterday.

  I can’t bring myself to answer the phone. I haven’t read his texts, or listened to any of his voicemails. I just need some time to think and c
lear my head.

  After I hung up last night, I packed a bag for me and Elijah and drove straight to my parents’ apartment to get my son. My mom knew something was wrong, but I told her that I didn’t want to discuss it. I promised her that everything would be okay, because I didn’t want her to worry that anyone was hurt or anything. She also made me promise that I would talk to her later.

  I called Madalyn to let her know that I was coming over and needed to crash in their spare room. She tried to ask a million questions, but I told her that I didn’t want to cry again while driving, so I would explain everything when I got there.

  She was waiting out front for me when I pulled up to their house. Jaxson was standing inside the front door, just watching. I got out of the car and fell into my best friend’s arms, all composure lost. Jaxson immediately came outside to get Elijah from the car. Through my tears, I heard him tell Madalyn that he would keep an eye on him while we talked.

  She pulled me through the house to the bar out back. After a couple shots of tequila, I had calmed enough to explain the situation to her. I told her everything. I told her about Angie stopping by, my phone call with Drake and his insistence that Angie is lying, all of my conflicted thoughts about how I should handle the situation...everything.

  She listened without interruption, though I knew she had a lot to say. When I finally finished, she gave me another shot and told me that it was her turn to talk.

  She, like Drake, doesn’t believe that Angie is being honest. She stood firm on the belief that Angie is lying, if not about the entire pregnancy, then at least about Drake being the father.

  She also expressed her unhappiness at how I handled the entire thing. Basically, she was mad that I hung up on Drake and left him hanging, when this whole thing is about him, not me. That made me feel like shit, because she was absolutely right.

  After lecturing me for over an hour, going back and forth with me trying to settle my thoughts and worries, she finally agreed to pick up the conversation later. I was exhausted. She put me in their guest room and offered to watch Elijah for the night, so he didn’t see me so upset more than he already had. I agreed and locked myself in the room for the rest of the night.