by Josie Kerr
“Mr. Thomas, please take a deep breath, okay?” Melissa said, going into administrator mode.
Buddy glowered at her but did as she asked, taking three deep breaths before speaking again. “What did Natalie say?”
Nancy pushed the sign-out sheet toward Buddy. “She just said that Lucy had an appointment but that she’d return before school let out. I didn’t really think anything of it when she didn’t return. Things happen, and depending on the appointment, sometimes a student doesn’t return as expected. Oh, if anything’s happened to Lucy . . .” Nancy’s voice trailed off.
An idea popped into Molly’s head. “Have you tried to track her phone? You can track her phone even if the battery’s dead.”
“Well, shit, er, shoot. It’s worth a try.”
Molly walked around the desk, and Buddy followed her. Everyone, including Maude, gathered around the computer to see the search. Molly held her breath and sent a silent prayer up that the search was successful.
There was a ping, and a small orange dot appeared on the map.
“Yes! Molly, you’re a lifesaver!” Buddy grabbed Molly and planted a kiss on her mouth. “Thank you.”
He ran out of the building, leaving everyone, but especially Molly, stunned.
Chapter Thirty-one
Buddy careened around the corner, tires squealing, and pulled into his driveway, where a very sheepish Natalie and a worried-looking Lucy stood on the porch while a flashy sports car idled in the driveway. He leapt out of his car, his attention laser-focused on the two people on the porch.
“If you will just let me explain before going all Alpha Dad on me,” Natalie began, but Buddy ignored her and swept Lucy up into a tight hug.
“Lucy, oh, I am so glad to see you,” Buddy said, squeezing Lucy so tight she squeaked.
“Daddy, you’re squishing me.” Lucy giggled, and Buddy exhaled all the stress that had been building ever since she didn’t answer her phone. “I’m a little bit hungry. Can I have a snack?”
“Sure, sweet pea. Go on into the kitchen, and I’ll be in, in a moment.” Buddy unlocked the door, and Lucy skipped into the house. He was relieved to see that she didn’t seem to be upset at all.
“Buddy . . . ,” Natalie tried to begin again.
“No. I’m not talking to you right now. I am going inside and making Lucy’s dinner, and then we’re going to relax. After she goes to bed, I’ll call you.”
“But . . . ,” Natalie started again, but Buddy didn’t want to hear a word from the woman he once imagined spending his life with.
“No.” He swallowed down his anger. “Get into your toothy friend’s car, and get out of my sight. I’ll talk to you around nine.” Buddy glared at Natalie and then went inside his home to prepare his daughter’s dinner and, hopefully, gain some insight as to what had happened that afternoon.
*****
Buddy sank down onto the couch with a glass of iced tea and began to process what Lucy had told him, and tried to get to a state where he could listen to Natalie without losing his mind. Lucy told him they’d gone to lunch and then had an afternoon of girly pampering. Of course, in true Natalie form, she’d forgotten to fill the car up with gas and to charge her cell phone, so Natalie’s friend Skip had picked them up and brought them to Buddy’s. The most inappropriate thing that happened was that Lucy didn’t have a booster seat to sit in during the ride in Skip’s car.
“Just a seat belt, Daddy, and it didn’t even go over my shoulder,” Lucy had said. He’d had to hide his smile at her disapproving tone, but that smile turned into a lump in his throat. Thank God nothing had happened to her and that this little stunt was merely Natalie being impulsive and thoughtless.
The living room clock sounded nine times, and Buddy picked up the phone and called Natalie.
“Buddy, I can explain,” Natalie said as soon as she picked up, without waiting for Buddy to say a word.
“What the actual fuck is going on, Natalie?” Any hope of civility disappeared as soon as he opened his mouth. “ ‘Appointment,’ my ass. Why are you pulling Lucy out of school in the middle of the day?”
“I wanted to spend some time with her be—”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have canceled on her this weekend. You don’t get that it’s really hard on her to have to constantly adjust her schedule.” Buddy jumped up and paced around the living room, trying to get his emotions under control. “ ‘Wanted to spend some time with her.’ That is friggin’ rich, Natalie. Where have you been for the past five years, huh?” All the bile and frustration he had toward the woman came bubbling out. “You know, my mother is a fucking addict, but she managed to get her act together for birthdays and important events. You’ve been with her once for her birthday, Natalie, once. Pathetic.”
Natalie was so quiet that Buddy thought she’d hung up on him, until she said in a quiet voice, “Well, you’re probably not going to like what I’m going to tell you, then.”
“You’re leaving, aren’t you? Just when Lucy’s getting used to being around you, you’re leaving.”
Buddy heard her suck in a breath, and then she told him that she’d gotten her own series, highlighting the adventures of an up-and-coming American actress while she filmed a movie in London.
“I’ll only be gone for three months or so. After that, I’ll be back.” She paused. “Be happy for me, Buddy. This will be good for all of us.”
Buddy sighed. “When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow morning. That’s why I pulled her out of school this afternoon.”
“Did you tell her?”
“Um, kind of.”
“So you didn’t.” Buddy’s anger returned, but it was tempered with disappointment. “Dammit, Natalie. You’re her mother—”
“Maybe in name.” Natalie laughed, but it was the saddest sound Buddy had ever heard. “I have to get to the airport at five, and I haven’t packed a thing. I’ll call you when I get settled, give you the address and whatnot of where I’ll be staying. We can do video chat or something.”
“Okay.” What else was there to say?
“Well then, that settles it. I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Sure,” he murmured. “Good luck with your endeavors. And I mean that, Nat. I truly do.”
“I know you do, Buddy. You’re a nice guy, but I was never good enough for you, and I’m certainly not good enough for Lucy.” He listened to her breathe on the other end of the line. “Don’t waste your life, Buddy. I know Lucy’s your first priority, but you need to take care of yourself, too.”
Buddy chuckled. “Someone else told me that same thing not too long ago.”
“That someone’s smart. Have a nice life, Buddy Thomas. I’ll talk to you and Lucy later in the week.”
“Sure. Talk to you soon.”
She hung up, and Buddy wondered if she’d ever actually call. He spent the rest of the evening formulating how to break it to Lucy that her mother was off on another continent for who knew how long, and pondering both Colin’s and Natalie’s words. They’d essentially told him the same thing, and if two such different people had the same message for him, well, he thought should pay attention and listen to them.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Molly spent the school day keeping an eye on Lucy, who seemed to be her usual sunny, if somewhat quirky, self. Nevertheless, Molly was thrilled to see Lucy and Maude in the back seat of Sheila’s car. Sheila rolled down the passenger window, and Molly stuck her head inside.
“Love, Buddy wants you to stop by his office before your class if you’ve got time.” Someone honked, and Sheila frowned while looking in the rearview mirror. “Oi! Leave it off! I might be stopped, but I’m ahead of you! Pushy cuntelope.”
Molly stifled a laugh. “I’ll be sure to get there a bit early. Thank you.”
“My pleasure, love. Oi, I’m going. Shite.” She shot another annoyed look behind her but waved cheerily to Molly as she pulled out of the school’s circular drive.
During the rem
aining time of her car-ride-line duty, Molly obsessed about what Buddy could possibly want to talk to her about. She assumed it was about the craziness of the day before, but a small part of her hoped he wanted to talk about more personal things. She needed to discuss things with him—that kiss and their . . . encounter on the couch. Her face heated just thinking about that afternoon, and right then she decided that she and Buddy were going to have a talk whether he wanted to or not. So after her duty ended, she ran back to her classroom and headed to DS Fight Club, ready to confront Buddy and their future.
*****
After Molly stowed her gym bag in the ladies’ locker room, she went in search of Buddy. Not seeing him on the gym floor, she headed to his office, determined to make Buddy have a discussion. She stood outside the closed door of his office for at least a minute, long enough for Nanda, who was going back and forth to the linen closet, to arch an eyebrow at her. Molly took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Come on in,” she heard Buddy say, so she took another deep breath and opened the door.
Molly poked her head into the room, where she found Buddy leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk, frowning at a large whiteboard. “Hey there, Buddy. Sheila said you wanted me to drop by.”
“Molly.” Buddy treated her to a big smile as he scrambled up and out of the chair. “Um, I wanted to thank you for yesterday, for everything. You kept your cool when I was losing my mind. So, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but I was just doing my job,” Molly replied.
“Uh, no. I hardly think helping to track down an errant baby mama is part of your duties as a teacher.” He crossed the small office and stood very close to Molly, so close she could smell his pine-and-leather scent. “Seriously, if you hadn’t thought about that tracking app, I—sorry. Sorry.”
All thoughts of confronting Buddy evaporated when Molly saw his obvious distress. She went to him and put her arms around him. She could feel his heart pounding where her cheek lay against his chest. She was just about to step away when he pulled her tighter against him. She looked up to find him staring intently at her.
“Buddy?”
He answered her by sealing his mouth over hers. She was hesitant at first, resisting his enquiring tongue as it pressed against the seam of her lips. But then she succumbed to him, melting against his chest, losing herself in his kiss for a moment. But her mind raced, remembering that afternoon when he’d broken her apart with his kisses and touched her like they’d been lovers for years. She pulled away.
“Buddy,” Molly said again, placing her hands against his chest, forcing herself to resist him. “Buddy, we need to talk.”
“What if I don’t want to talk? What . . . what if I know the time for that has passed? That I’m afraid I’ve missed my chance?” Buddy stroked her cheek with his thumb. “That maybe I’ve been using Lucy as an excuse for avoiding a lot of things?”
“What are you saying?” Molly held her breath as she awaited his answer.
“I’m saying that I would like you to be in my life, in our lives, if I haven’t blown it. Will you take a chance on me?”
Molly threw herself back into his arms and attacked his mouth with hers. He kicked the door shut, backed her up against it, and boxed her in. He pulled back, and they looked into each other’s eyes, both of them breathless.
“Should I take that as a yes?” Buddy whispered in her ear.
“Completely,” Molly confirmed and kissed him again, this time practically climbing him. She hitched one leg around his thick thigh, and he ground into her. She squeaked when he grabbed her ass with both hands and lifted her off her feet. Molly sighed into his mouth, her lips curving up into a smile as she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck. Buddy thrust into her, pinning her to the door, and he moved his hands to her waist. His rough hands on her bare skin sent shivers zinging along her spine, and then suddenly, Molly couldn’t get enough, couldn’t feel enough. She balled his shirt in one fist, wrenching it up so she could get to his skin.
“Too many clothes,” she breathed in his ear, and Buddy obliged her by pulling off his shirt. “Oh God, thank you,” Molly said with a laugh as she ran her hands over his bare chest.
“Your turn.” Buddy tugged at her shirt, and she gave a little nod, giving him permission. Buddy whipped the shirt over her head so that they were skin to skin except for the thin material of her sports bra. Buddy gave her another hard kiss and then took a few steps and fell onto the couch. Molly exhaled a little gasp as her back hit the leather of the couch and Buddy’s hard body pinned her down.
Buddy stroked Molly’s face before slowly and softly kissing her. She groaned into his mouth as he danced his fingers across her shoulder and down the length of her arm to rest on her waistband. Molly slid her hands around Buddy’s firm buttocks and gave them a little squeeze. He chuckled and kissed her, then caught her lower lip between his teeth. He kissed her mouth again and then peppered small kisses along her jawline as Molly tugged on his warm-up pants, working them over his hips.
“I want you now, Buddy,” she whispered in his ear.
He rested his forehead on hers. “I, uh, don’t have a condom.” He kissed her again. “Of course, if you . . .”
“I’m on the pill,” she murmured between kisses. Molly caught the waistband of his pants with her toes and pulled on the material, edging the trousers down around his ankles. He helped her by kicking his pants off.
“Holy shit, you’re limber,” Buddy said with a laugh, grabbing Molly’s waistband and making quick work of removing her leggings and panties. “Oh, damn.” His hard cock nestled against her bare mound, and he groaned again.
“So?” Molly shifted, wrapped her legs around his waist, and tilted her hips up into him.
He chuckled and began to slide into her, excruciatingly slowly.
“Oh, holy hell.” He moaned in pleasure and began to move. They rocked together, slowly at first, but quickly upping the pace. Molly closed her eyes as Buddy adjusted her body so he could go deeper, harder. She reveled in his rhythm, and as he began to pound into her, pleasure coiled in her belly. And when Buddy slid his hand between their bodies and began to stroke that bundle of nerves between her legs, the sensation was almost too much for her.
“Are you ready?” he asked her, and she nodded, wordless with lust. She opened herself up to him completely and let herself succumb to the pleasure of his rhythm. At the height of her climax, Buddy ground out a yelp of pleasure. She felt his cock twitch, and then they began to spiral down together.
Afterward, they lay together on the couch, their bodies slick with sweat.
Molly kissed the side of Buddy’s face. “Well, I guess I got my cardio in for the day,” she deadpanned, but she couldn’t keep a straight face and started to snicker. Buddy began to chuckle, and soon the two of them were practically rolling around on the couch with laughter.
Finally they calmed down, and Buddy pressed his lips against her temple. “So, serious question.” Molly arched an eyebrow at him. “Would you like to go on a date?”
Molly hid her face in her hands and laughed so hard that she snorted, but then she grew serious. “Yes, I would love to go out on a date.”
Someone banged on the door. Nanda’s voice came through the door, warning, “Small-child arrival in approximately five minutes.” Buddy and Molly looked at each and began frantically pulling on their clothes while giggling and snickering. Buddy pulled Molly into his arms and gave her a long, hot kiss. When she pulled away, she gave him a wink and plopped down onto the couch while Buddy sat down behind his desk. And that was how Colin found them after he rapped on Buddy’s office door and opened it. He looked at the two of them and just shook his head, and Buddy spluttered in laughter again.
Epilogue
Six months later
“Daddy! We’re over here!” Lucy and Molly waved to Buddy from the corner of a large table that stretched the entire length of Foley’s enclosed porch. “We saved you a seat.�
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“Perfect spot—right between my two girls.” Buddy sat down in the offered chair and gave both Molly and Lucy a peck on the cheek. “How was your day? You two ready for spring break?”
“Yes!” Lucy squealed, while Molly’s “yes” sounded exhausted.
“Oh, we talked to Nat today,” Lucy babbled on as she worked on a half-colored page.
Buddy picked up a colored pencil but before he put the pencil to the paper, Lucy stopped him.
“Daddy, this is warm-toned picture, that means it’s only yellow, orange, and red.”
“Oh, sorry.” He selected a different pencil, and after Lucy gave her affirmation that the color was appropriate, he began coloring. “Oh, what is Nat up to?”
Lucy recapped the adventures of her mother the movie star, and once again considered himself blessed that Nat seemed to be thriving in her new life, and more importantly, readily accepted Molly’s place in Lucy’s life. They–Lucy, Molly, and Buddy–joined Nat in London of all places for the New Year Holiday, and in addition to having a lot of fun, they’d strengthened their family ties.
“Oh, god,” Molly groaned.
“Sweetheart, do you want me to get you something to drink?” Buddy clucked his tongue and stroked her hair. Molly’s morning sickness was more like an all-day barf-fest, and right now, she was looking rather peaked.
Molly pressed her lips together and nodded her head, just Meghan slid a glass of fizzy drink in front of her. “Ginger limeade for you, Molly, courtesy of our new bartender.” Molly took a cautious sip of the drink, and when the ginger ale didn’t come back up, she slumped back in her chair and grinned at Meghan.
“And for Miss Lucy, Cal’s prepared a very special galaxy slushie for you to try.” Buddy laughed in delight at Lucy’s shocked face after Meghan set a glass of swirling liquid in front of the girl. Meghan seemed pleased with both of their reactions. “Is there anything I can get you? Buddy?”
