Jackson nods, accepting this offer. He kisses Raelynn on the cheek, hugs her for about a minute longer, and then decides to do the same to me and Bree. Once we reassure him that he’ll also be able to talk to Bree and me, he seems satisfied enough that we can leave.
Raelynn starts crying the moment we pull out of the driveway. “I’m fine,” she insists. “Just need to let it out. God, this is too hard. I think he’ll be able to make it through the night. Henry will be able to calm him down, which is great, but at the same time, this is too much. How is my baby not sleeping in the same house as me tonight?” Raelynn wipes her tears. “I hope he has a blast.” She takes a deep breath. “Okay. My breakdown is over.”
I laugh. “Good.”
She uses the rest of the ride home to actually calm down and get herself together. When I park in the garage, she looks at me. “What are we supposed to do without him today?”
“I have a bit of an idea. Let’s go inside.”
Once we’re inside and Bree is in her pack ʻn play, I grab Raelynn’s hand and we sit on the couch, facing one another. With a deep breath, I begin on the path that will hopefully lead us closer together.
“Raelynn, you’re fired.”
Her hand immediately yanks from mine.
It’s official. My worst nightmare has come true. Elias unexpectedly pulled the rug out from under me without any rhyme or reason. Stupid tears fall once again today before I can stop them. How could it be that he’s just like Henry? It doesn’t make sense. How could I be so stupid as to fall for someone who could destroy me once again? Only this time, it’s so much worse.
“How could you do this to me?” I ask. “Why? I don’t understand. I thought—”
As I stand, Elias grabs my hands and makes me sit back down. He cups my face and places his thumbs over my mouth to shut me up. “Trust me, Raelynn,” he says. “Let me finish. This is a good thing.”
My eyes nearly jump out of their sockets. “Good? You just fired me!” I yell around his thumbs.
“Because I want you to be my family. I want you to be all family, Raelynn.”
“Explain,” I demand because this doesn’t make any sense to me. He’s jumping around all over the place. My heart slams in my chest and feeling it pulse and beat throughout my entire body from the panic attack he’s giving me distracts me from what he’s saying. I can’t think clearly.
“This isn’t going so well, so here.” He pulls a folded piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me. “Read it. It’s a to-do list of sorts. Or maybe it’s a list of goals. Either way, read.”
My hands tremble so much it takes me a minute to unfold the paper and see his handwriting. The first thing is something he’s already done. “Fire Raelynn.” I shake my head, but keep going. “Regain her trust.” Kind of hard to do when he’s fired me! “Make her and Jackson my family. Move her into my room. Get her to fall in love with me. Help her discover her dream and make her go after it. Ask her to be my wife and Bree’s mom.” My voice cracks as I look up at him. “You want me to be a mom to her? And your wife?”
“One day, yes. But I already think you’re a mom to her.” He grabs my knee and squeezes. “I want you in my life and in Bree’s life forever. I want her to call you mom, for Jackson to be her stepbrother, and for us to be a family. And the only relationship I want with you is a romantic one. That’s why I fired you because I didn’t want that to confuse things or get in the way or make you ever feel obligated to stay if you needed space.”
That sounds really nice, but... “What about Bree? If I’m not working for you...” My voice trails off as I glance over at the little girl playing by herself.
“That’s up to you.”
“Me?” I squeak. He’s giving me way too much power here. It’s crazy. Why would he open his soul like this and then leave such an important decision as to what to do with his daughter up to me?
“Yes. You can let me support you and Jackson while you continue to help me raise my daughter. You can figure out what you want to do once you graduate and,” he takes a deep breath, “Bree can go to daycare while you work. I’ll still need you to help me, though, because I travel. Or,” and he hesitates before finishing, “do something about that book you’re writing. Either way, I’ll support you entirely and in every way possible.”
All I can do is stare at him, even when he says, “Well?”
“I don’t know what to say.” This is overwhelming. My mind is effectively blown. I didn’t expect him to sit me down and have this kind of talk right after something as emotional as dropping Jackson off to spend the night somewhere else for the first time.
“Say you want to help me cross those things off my list. That you’ll let me help you cross things off your own list. That we can have a list together. My daughter loves you. I love you. Just say that you’ll be happy to keep me.”
“You’re serious?” I ask. I know it sounds like he is, but this can’t be real life.
“The whole point of this is to show you I’m serious.” He takes the paper out of my hands, throws it to the ground, and grabs my hand. “What more to do you need?” he asks desperately, misreading my question. “Do you want me to propose? I’ll do it. We don’t have to wait. Do you want—”
I cover his mouth with my hand. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just...” I remove my hand from his mouth and pinch my arm hard. Ouch! Yep. This is totally real life.
Elias laughs and frames my face with his hands. “Do you forgive me? Are you with me in this?”
The moment I start nodding, he leans forward and kisses me. I wish this kiss could last forever because it fills me with peace and a security I haven’t felt in...well, never. Bree shouts a long, “Gah!” which causes us to separate. With a laugh, we glance over at her. She stands and bangs her hands against the sides, wanting our attention and wanting out of her pack ʻn play.
Elias leaves me to get her. She crawls back and forth between our laps, not sure of where she wants to be, while pulling on my hair whenever she’s close by. Elias smiles at her until I get his attention.
“You really want all of those things?” I ask quietly, still unable to believe it. “With me?”
“I really hate Henry.”
I frown at his response. “Why?”
“And your parents and his parents,” he adds as he grabs me by the hips and pulls me into his lap, causing Bree to giggle with the sudden movement. She loves that we both now sit in his lap too. “They are the reason why you’re still struggling with believing me.”
“I do believe you; I just can’t believe it’s real. That my family just grew by two.”
Elias grins. “It’s bigger than that. There’s the rest of my family and the Rebels.”
“Quit overwhelming me. You’ve done enough of that today.”
His grin widens. “I’m not done, Raelynn.” He grabs his phone and sends a text. “We have a date tonight, but first, do you want to cross something else off my list?”
I swallow hard. “What do you want to do?”
He picks up the discarded paper and scans the list as if he isn’t sure, but when he points it out, I know he knew beforehand which he wanted to do. He wants me to move into his room today. When I don’t immediately agree, he says, “You said so yourself that you like my bed better. You miss sleeping there and you like being there, waiting for me when I get home.” All true. “But we can wait, too.”
I shake my head. This is a big step. Such a big step that I know I’ll have to let Henry know things are more serious with Elias and me, so serious that he might as well know he’ll definitely see Elias as much as he sees me. “We don’t have to wait. I want to.”
He kisses my temple and murmurs, “There’s my Little Grizzly.” He waits a moment. “Let’s get started.”
We walk upstairs and Bree crawls around Elias’s room while he makes room for my things and I move them over. Whenever I thought of a future, even when I hoped Jackson had a sibling, I never saw myself in a relation
ship because I didn’t think it would happen. That it could happen. And yet, here I am.
Once I’m all moved into Elias’s room, we lay on his bed with Bree playing between us.
“Do you have a timeline for those things on your list?” I ask as Bree pats my chest and mumbles something along with Ja-Ja.
“First, tell me what’s on your list.”
“You already know those things.” I told him once that I wanted to graduate, figure out my dream job, and give Jackson a sibling.
“I thought maybe it had changed.”
“Well...” Has it? “I want you,” I add. A big smile lights his face as Bree leaves me for him. “And if you’re serious, which you are,” I hurry to say based on the look he gives me, “you’ve given Jackson a sibling.”
“Don’t you want more?” he says before I can continue.
My eyes pop. “More?”
“More,” he confirms. “One day.” He picks Bree up and holds her up in the air, giggles coming from her as her legs dangle and her fists go to her mouth. “You had Jackson, I sort of had Bree,” he brings her down to blow a raspberry on her stomach before lifting her up again and looking at me. “We need one together.”
That almost means more to me than anything else he’s said. I know what it means for Elias to say something like that. For him to choose me for a journey like that, where he’d want to make a baby with me. That proves he trusts me more than anything else does.
He brings Bree back down and rolls onto his side. “More tears?” he asks quietly, reaching out to wipe a few away as Bree comes over to rest her head on my stomach.
“I love you,” I whisper.
He kisses me so suddenly, I’m stunned for a moment. I kiss him back with just as much passion and that security and peace I felt earlier is still there, even more present than before. Bree giggles and Elias pulls away, but rests his forehead against mine.
“I love you too.”
“Da!”
Elias laughs and looks at Bree. “You’re slacking, princess. Come say hi to your Ma.”
Oh, goodness. He’s really trying to keep me crying all day. “We’ll have to tell her about Vicky one day.”
He sighs. “I wish I had more to tell her. Or that she had grandparents who could tell her, but over the summer, I hired someone to track down any relatives of Vicky’s. It looked like she was an only child and her parents had passed years ago. He couldn’t find info on anyone else. We’re the only family Bree has.”
“Ah, da,” Bree squeals.
“Ma,” Elias repeats. “No more Rae. Ma. Ma. Ma.”
Bree studies him and then looks at me. She crawls onto my chest and sighs like she’s tired. The only way this day could be more perfect is if Jackson were here.
Later, we’re at Brayden’s house to drop Bree off. They are babysitting while Elias takes me out on a date as promised. Bree wiggles to get down to their dog, Otis, so I set her down. The Rottweiler stands about a foot away next to Deanna, but Bree slams her hands on the floor and shouts, as if demanding he get his butt over here. Otis slowly closes the distance and plops down in front of Bree, his head in front of her feet. That excites her so much, a foot kicks out and hits his nose. Otis breathes heavy, but otherwise, watches her.
Bree crawls closer and tugs on his ear. I smile because Otis simply lies there and lets her tug, pull, and crawl all over him.
“Look, Brayden! How cute!” Deanna says excitedly. “Maybe he won’t be so jealous now.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Whenever I’m around kids, and even Brayden every now and then, he likes to be so close to me or wiggle between us. He’s never shown any real interest in the kids, though.”
“You two going to have kids?” Elias asks, earning a glare from Brayden. “What? Everyone else is popping them out.”
“Do you want me to ask you?” Brayden snaps back.
“We have two already, so you can’t,” Elias replies with a grin.
“Get the fuck out of my house before I change my mind about keeping your kid.” Brayden bends to swoop Bree up, pissing her off since she was having fun with Otis, and her upset makes Otis go on alert. He stands, looks up at her, and then braces his front paws on Brayden, so Bree can touch him as he nudges her with his nose.
I glance at Deanna to see she looks a little uneasy with this conversation. Maybe this is a sore subject for them. Elias opens his mouth to respond, but I grab his hand and squeeze.
“Thanks for watching for her,” I say, stepping forward, next to Otis, to kiss Bree’s cheek goodbye.
Brayden’s voice barely softens as he addresses me. “No problem, Raelynn.”
Once we’re in the car, Elias says, “I must be missing something. Brayden can be an ass, but he was too quick to be defensive and an asshole. Deanna seemed relieved that we were leaving too. Didn’t she?” He glances over at me and I nod. “Damn it,” he mutters.
“What are we doing?” I ask to get his mind off of what happened with his friend.
“I love my movies and you love relaxing, so we’re going to the movies.”
I glance down at my dress. If I’d known we were only going to the movies, I would’ve worn something else. Sure enough, we arrive at a movie theater, buy drinks and snacks, and then head to our assigned room based on the movie Elias bought tickets for prior to us leaving the house. Not a single seat is occupied, and the seats? They are wide, roomy, comfy, and even recline as the the foot comes up like an actual recliner!
“Get over here, Raelynn. There’s enough room, you can sit with me.”
“No. Someone else will come in and see us.”
Elias simply shakes his head and pats his leg. I’m not sitting in his lap through this movie. He can forget it.
“No one is coming in,” he finally says. “I bought every ticket. It’s only us. Now,” he grabs my hand, “get over here.”
“Why would you do that?”
“To ensure alone time with you.”
“We could’ve watched a movie at home for that.”
Elias shakes his head as if it wouldn’t be the same. I settle on his lap as he presses a button so the foot rises and he reclines in the seat. His hand sneaks up underneath my dress and high up my thigh. When I tense, he chuckles and whispers in my ear, “Relax, Raelynn. Just want to touch you. I’ll keep it PG.”
“I think your hand under my dress automatically disqualifies you,” I quip, but I relax at his words. We may be here and may be alone, but we’re still in a public space. I grab the popcorn from the seat I vacated and begin munching on it while the ads run. “We need to keep an eye on the time. Jackson is supposed to call before he goes to bed.”
Elias pulls his phone out, texts Henry to call his phone instead of mine when it’s time, and sets it on the armrest. We’ll see it light up when Jackson calls.
“Thank you.”
“Whatever makes you happy, Raelynn.”
“You know,” I begin on our drive to Brayden’s to pick up Bree, “my birthday is coming up.”
Raelynn looks over at me. “When?”
“Friday.”
She angles in her seat to face me more. “What do you want?”
“Babysitters,” I answer immediately. We need more alone time. “Just not on Friday. I have a game.” After a moment, I add, “Or Saturday. Same issue.” I park in Brayden’s driveway and look at her. “I just want to spend lots of time with you in my bed.”
Raelynn’s cheeks turn pink as she shakes her head at me. “I’ll think about it.”
I laugh, loving that’s her answer. “Let’s get our girl.”
She looks away, but not before I see her grin. We get out of my car and walk up to Brayden’s door. He answers pretty quickly, but without my princess.
“How was she?” Raelynn asks as we step inside.
“She’s a tyrant,” Brayden replies easily.
Raelynn smiles, but I don’t. That’s just mean to call my princess a tyrant. We step into his liv
ing room and there she is. Deanna lies asleep on the couch, Bree asleep on her chest, and Otis lies on her lower body with his head resting next to Bree’s body. Her hand has a good grip on his ear, it looks like.
“She wore herself out playing with Otis. She was a pain anytime Otis had to go out and we separated them for those few minutes. Pretty sure you have to get her a dog, EJ,” Brayden says.
I shake my head. I have enough on my plate, so unless Raelynn wants to conquer a dog, no way.
“Figured.” He leaves the room and a moment later returns with a stuffed animal. It’s a fake miniature Otis. “Deanna sent me shopping, just in case.” He shoves the dog at my chest with a smile and walks over to Deanna. “Darlin’,” he whispers. “The baby’s going home,” he says as he lifts Bree up. Raelynn walks over to help disengage Bree’s fist from Otis’s ear, the dog grumbling, and Deanna wakes up.
Brayden hands my baby off to Raelynn and Deanna looks a bit sheepish from having been asleep.
“Thanks,” I tell them. “You’re Bree’s favorite babysitters.”
Brayden laughs because he doesn’t believe me, but Deanna smiles. “Any time, EJ,” she says, earning a glare from her boyfriend. “Don’t give me that look, Brayden. You have more fun than I do, and I have a lot of fun.”
Brayden simply shakes his head. “Let me get her diaper bag for you.”
A few minutes later, we’re driving home. Raelynn holds my hand in her lap and stares out the window.
“I wonder if Jackson went on to sleep soon after we talked,” she says quietly. Jackson called her right after our movie ended and he seemed uncertain once more, but admitted he had been having fun with Henry.
“Text Henry and ask,” I suggest.
“Wouldn’t that show I don’t trust him?”
“No, it shows you want to check on your son. I mean, look at how often we’ve talked when I’m on my trips. Ease your mind and text him, Raelynn.”
She releases my hand to grab her phone and do just that. By the time we’re home, she sighs. “He was a little scared, but Henry says he calmed him down and he was asleep within twenty minutes. Instead of sleeping in the room Henry has for him, he decided Jackson might feel more comfortable sleeping in the living room with him under a blanket fort. I feel so much better now.”
Worth the Risk Page 22
