by Taylor Hart
Getting into his car, he felt all keyed up like he was about to go into a big game. He cursed again. He couldn’t believe it, but he was going to do it. He was going to move in with this woman and help her.
Backing out of the driveway, he told his Bluetooth to call his mother, which was worse than facing down a 300-pound linebacker.
Chapter 8
Waking with a start, Addison smelled bacon and something. She tried to sit up, but even with the pillows to help her, she had to roll onto her side a bit then push up. “Hello?” She called out.
Someone was here? Her heart rate sped up. Suddenly, she remembered Jace, the restaurant, the hospital, coming back to her house. It was almost comical how, when she’d seen him, she’d dropped the tray, spilling everything.
Her blood sugar had been low, and it had made everything pretty fuzzy. It was like she was numb, and Jace was doing all the work of talking with the doctor, bringing her home, and settling her into bed.
“Hey.” As if pulled from her vision, Jace appeared in the doorway. His hair was tousled like he’d been sleeping, and he wore a tank top and basketball shorts. She stared at his biceps, and immediately feelings of guilt assaulted her. She shouldn’t be thinking about his biceps. Jerking his thumb toward the kitchen, he said, “I made some breakfast. Are you hungry?”
He was here. Right here. Here in her room. The neighbor she’d watched while his wife cheated on him. The professional football player she’d seen hoisted up on shoulders after he’d caught the winning pass. The broken man who had clutched her plate of cookies like it was a life preserver. It was a crazy intense moment, and courtesy of her pregnancy, she had to pee really badly. Pushing herself off the bed, she shuffled to her bathroom. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
He didn’t have time to answer because she shut the bathroom door and rushed to get settled. She’d slept a long time, and the weight of her belly on her bladder made it feel like it was going to explode.
She finished her business and came out of the bathroom. Even though he wasn’t there, she didn’t bother to change her pajamas. Luckily, she’d taken a shower last night when she’d woken after he’d settled her down for the night. At the hospital, they’d given her an I.V., and she knew it had given her some strength. Now, she walked to the kitchen, grateful she was at least clean this morning. She felt anxious and uncertain.
There he stood, behind the griddle, with fresh pancakes on the grill. He smiled, and she felt her knees weaken a bit.
“Why are you here?” she managed to ask.
“Take a plate. Then we can eat. I’m glad you woke up. I was just starting to wonder if I should take you back to the hospital.”
Unable to do anything else, she took a plate and let him heap on a pile of eggs, two strips of bacon, and two fresh pancakes. “Go sit down, and we’ll talk.”
She sat while he hovered at her shoulder. The table had been set, and there was fresh orange juice. It smelled and looked heavenly.
He sat. “Do you pray?”
She nodded, and he crossed himself then waited as she murmured a prayer. When she finished, she looked at her food and hesitated.
He picked up his fork. “What’s wrong?”
She grabbed a glass and filled it with orange juice, taking a sip. She did have to watch her blood sugar.
“Are you okay?”
Her thoughts tumbled around in her mind. “What are you doing here?”
Taking a bite of eggs, he chewed a couple of times. “I’m moving in. I have a few weeks of vacation right now. I was going to go work on the ranch and hang with my parents, but I think I’ll stay here for a while.” Quick as lightning, he caught her juice before she could drop it. “I have good reflexes, so that’s nice for you.” He winked at her and took another bite. “These are good. You should try them,” he said through the food.
Addison couldn’t believe Jace Harding was sitting here. What would the neighbors think? Well, she reasoned, nobody would care except Mrs. Hensley. “You just, like … you’re in contract negotiations right now?”
“You keep up on me?” He flashed her a grin. “Then, as you know, I have a month until all that gets settled. So I can help you. Eat.” He ordered.
For a few minutes, she focused on the eggs, the bacon, and a couple of bites of pancake until the food had caught up with the part of her brain that told her stomach to chill out. Then she put the silverware down and wiped her face with a napkin. It was wigging her out because she’d found that receipt, thought about him, and gone there. Then he’d pretty much saved her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.” She responded quickly, unable to quiet her pounding heart. “You’re not living here.”
Using the napkin to touch the edges of his mouth, he sighed. “Alright, so cliff notes version. My dad doesn’t really need help. I was just going to hang with the parents for fun. Meanwhile, the doctor said you’re due in a month and you should be on bed rest, remember?” He wagged a finger at her. “Granted, that doesn’t mean you can’t walk around, but you’re not supposed to do anything stressful.”
Frowning, she sucked in a breath. She did remember that, and she didn’t like it.
“I stayed in the guest room last night. Hope that’s okay.” He grinned. “I know you put Mrs. Hensley down for your emergency contact, but you and I both know you’re kind of up a creek. You need my help.”
Defensive, she refused to agree with him. “Hey, I could have put my best friend, Laura.”
He frowned. “You’re not making sense.”
She sighed. “But Laura would insist I move in with her and I’m not going to move in with newly weds.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “So, do you have someone who can stay with you?”
“No, but I’m fine. I can have an Uber driver bring me food, and you know Mrs. Hensley is a busybody. She does check in on me, especially since Tim’s …” Her voice trailed off, and she blinked, trying to ignore the pain in her heart. “I have Amazon Prime. I can walk to do the door for packages of sustenance. My friend Laura, who I work with at the nonprofit, will check on me. Seriously, I’m fine.”
He shook his head. “So it’s agreed. I’m staying.”
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, and she focused completely on her eggs. She couldn’t believe Jace Harding was here. She couldn’t believe he had made her breakfast, and it appeared his nice biceps weren’t her only problem. “No.” She insisted.
“What happened?” he whispered, pushing his plate forward and leaning over the table, propping his elbows. “Tim?”
It was pointless to not talk about it. “Car wreck, seven months ago.” She blinked rapidly, hating the fact that her emotions felt so out of control, not just because of grief either. “We were on our way to Home Depot.”
“I’m sorry, Addison.”
Turning, she stared into his green eyes and couldn’t believe all of this was happening.
“What?”
Unwilling to tell him the truth, she changed the subject. “What is Mrs. Hensley going to say about that?”
Jace rolled his eyes. “We have bigger fish to fry than Mrs. Hensley. My parents aren’t happy with my change of plans. My mom is insisting I come out to the ranch today and bring you too.”
“Uh, I’ll skip the ‘meet the parents,’ thank you. You don’t need to worry about it either because you’re not staying.” Even as she did her best to sound tough, part of her, a part she wouldn’t fess up to at the moment, was deeply touched by the fact that he was willing to move in and help her. He’d taken her to the hospital and cooked her breakfast today. She didn’t understand him. What she’d seen from across the street and in the press did not add up to a guy who did this. She blinked back tears. No, she would not cry.
It was weird, but since that day at Cubbies, she’d felt some connection to him. She’d thought about him at random moments. It was annoying, especially since Tim had died, and she had mixed feelings about Tim at the m
oment.
Running a hand through his hair, he said, “Listen, I’m due at my parents’. I’d really like you to come and meet them. I think it might make them feel better.”
A laugh sputtered out of her. “I seriously doubt that.”
“It will. They’ve worried about me since …” He trailed off.
“The divorce.” She filled in for him.
He sighed. “Yeah.”
“You haven’t dated much. Except—” She thought of the pics of him with some women at charity events. She stopped herself, hating that she just proved she paid way too much attention to his life. “Never mind.”
He grinned then cleared his throat. “No, I haven’t. My agent set me up for certain parties with those girls, but none of it was real. Just photo ops.”
He looked lost, and part of her felt bad for him. Which was funny, since her situation was far from ideal at the moment.
“Just come meet them.” His tone was just shy of begging.
One more crazy thing to add to her crazy life. “No.” She pushed back her chair and stood. “No. You just need to leave, Jace Harding, professional football player, who clearly has lost his mind. Go to the ranch, bale hay, milk cows, ride horses, or something. Can you imagine the story that will break if the press catches wind of this?” Her eyes widened. “I’m your old neighbor, and I’m pregnant. How does that look?” She really couldn’t allow this. She picked up her plate and moved into the kitchen.
“I’ll tell them I got you pregnant,” he said quickly.
Dropping her plate into the sink, she cringed as it clinked harder than she meant it too. “What?” She turned back incredulous.
He stood, looking serious. “If you don’t let me stay, I’ll tell them it was me.”
With a huff, she shook her head. “News flash: no one cares about me. It would hurt you.”
He put some plates in the sink and nudged her playfully. “Then it looks like you’d better protect me from myself. Hey.” He snapped his fingers. “You help all those refugees. Just think, you could help me too.”
Glaring at him, she couldn’t describe all the emotions filling her. Why would he do this? Now, he was saying he might hurt his image if she didn’t go along with letting him help her? “I think a simple donation to helping refugee families would be sufficient. You don’t have to put an A on your chest.”
“What?” He looked confused then scowled.
“Never mind.” She turned away.
He put a hand on her shoulder and gently tugged her to face him. “Hey, I know you’re referring to The Scarlet Letter. Don’t act like I’m stupid.” Crossing his arms, he shrugged. “Fine. If you agree to let me help you, I’ll donate or raise a million bucks for your nonprofit.”
“What?” She knew he had that kind of money, but that was still a lot.
“Do you want it in writing?”
“No, I believe you.” That amount of money could buy a lot of necessities for people in need.
He grunted. “Good, then we’re agreed.”
“I didn’t say that.”
He waited, his eyes boring into hers. “Well?”
Her pulse raced. “This is crazy.”
“No, it’s probably the sanest thing I’ve ever done—help someone. Or make them accept help when they need it. See, think of it as being my personal refugee.”
“You’re—”
“I know. Ridiculous.”
“Right.” She sighed, hating to admit she needed the help.
He pointed at her. “First, you have to come to my parents’ with me.”
She frowned. “You have the guts to tell the whole world—falsely—that you got your married neighbor pregnant, yet you’re afraid of going to your parents’ house by yourself?” She let out a breath. “Let’s look at it another way, you have the biggest guys in the world chasing you as you run down the field, but you’re afraid of your parents?”
He gave her a look of chagrin. “You haven’t met my mother.”
Chapter 9
Jace pulled up in front of his parents’ ranch home and cut the engine in his Jeep. Now that Addison was here with him, nervousness tightened his throat, and he wanted to take back all the vehement arguments he’d made for her to come. He knew his mother, and he knew she wouldn’t like this. But she was going to have to deal.
A smile played at her lips. “You’re regretting bringing me, aren’t you?”
She looked lovely. She’d showered and done her hair in long curls around her shoulders. Sure, she was pudgy in the cheeks. A lot pudgier than he’d remembered her. At least, she wasn’t as hollow looking today. He noticed she’d put on makeup, and she smelled like something fruity.
He’d been attracted to her since that day at Cubbies even though she was married. He’d felt guilty about it, and it had made him feel better when he’d moved.
Now …
Maybe he was crazy.
Addison clasped her hands on top of her belly. “Why don’t I drive your Jeep into town and get some things I need. When you’re done, you can text me.”
Was it stupid that he jumped at this chance? “Okay, I’ll warm them up. Then you can meet them.”
“Or I can just pick you up.”
He got out of the Jeep and went around to her side to help her out, hesitating. “No, if I’m going to live with you, we have to deal with my mother.”
She shook her head. “How come I feel guilty?”
He grunted. “Welcome to my Catholic upbringing.”
Waving a hand, she got out and started around the Jeep. “This is insane, you know. I don’t need your help.”
He followed her, opening the door for her and holding out a hand to assist her, which she refused. “Remember, you’re the one who passed out last night.”
Settling in, she adjusted the seat forward and held out her hand. “The keys, please.”
He put them in her hand.
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve put me in an impossible situation.”
He nodded. “That’s right. I will out myself to the press if you don’t let me help you.”
She sighed, looking more resigned than she had been earlier this morning. “I’ll be back in a little bit, and you can decide if the parents want to meet me or not.”
“Okay.” He wondered if he would be fine after getting reamed by his very strict mother.
Once he had helped her into the driver’s seat, she let out a breath. “Man, I don’t know how it’s going to be when this baby comes, but I’m ready. I mean, I know the baby’s not ready, but she’s heavy.”
“She?” he said, surprised and oddly happy.
She grinned. “I’m going to name her Lila. Lila Addison.”
He liked the name and nodded. Man, this was something to get used to. He felt like he was playing house, but playing house could get real. She would be fine after the baby was born. Then he would move out. At least, that’s what he told himself.
“Have fun.” She started the engine. “I’ll try not to scratch the paint on this beauty.” She winked at him and pulled away.
He watched her go and marveled at the situation he’d gotten himself into.
It got much weirder when he looked up and saw his mother standing with the door flung back and a hand on her hip, looking the very same way she’d looked when he was little and in trouble. “Jace Henry Harding, get your butt in here.”
After thirty minutes of trying to explain the situation in its entirety to his parents, who kept asking for details about Addison and the baby that he had no idea about, he finally sat back on his parents’ couch in their family room, glancing out the window into the forest where he’d spent hours roaming as a child. “It’s going to be fine,” he said for the hundredth time.
His mother, ever the poised one, sat halfway on the couch, her feet on the ground, a teacup in one hand while her other held the little plate beneath it. Her back was straight as a rod—just the way she’d always told them to sit. “How on earth is this situati
on going to be fine?” she asked and then slurped some tea. If she had any faults, it was that she slurped when she sipped.
His father, who had mostly remained silent in his Wrangler jeans and boots, shook his head. “Son, I think our biggest concern is that this girl might think you’re going to stay longer than you can. It sounds like she’s vulnerable, understandably so. Her husband recently passed away.” He frowned. “Is she blackmailing you? Is that it, son?”
He chuckled. “Ah, no.” If anything, the exact opposite was true.
“God bless his soul,” his mother said and crossed herself.
“Now she’s about to have a baby,” his father said. “But you have to be careful in these situations not to get too close.”
Jace let out a snort. He’d come and stayed for a few days after the divorce before his apartment had been ready. He’d been a bit broken, and he knew his parents worried about him and his divorce more than they let on. “Look, I know, okay? To be truthful, I don’t know why I’m doing this. It’s just last night, when she said her emergency contact was Mrs. Hensley, I just felt like I should do it. Mom, you know I’m not the kind of guy to just do things like this, right? I’m not an overly generous crazy, spontaneous person. That’s not me. But this is the right thing to do.” He felt the truth of it settle over him like a warm blanket. “This is different. I had that feeling. The one …” He hesitated, taking in a deep breath. “The one that told me I should run when I was twelve.”
Both of his parents went completely still.
It’d been a big deal to all of them. His mother still brought it up sometimes and expressed her gratitude he’d been protected.
He sighed. “That’s all I know. This is the right thing to do.” It was, and he would do it.
Cocking her head to the side, his mother appeared to be thinking. “Okay.” She pointed at him. “But I don’t like it.”
