by Conn, Claudy
With everything settled, they resumed the movie. Jason stood, stretching his hands above his head. “Abbs, I need to take off. I have to get ready for work. Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Abbie rose and gave Jason a quick hug and peck on the cheek. “Who’s pulling shotgun now that I’m down for the count?”
“Sarg mentioned something about Williams being with me tonight. It should be an interesting night.”
“Ha! I bet. You be careful out there. Emmie, you going to say goodbye to Uncle Jason?”
“I’ll be right back. Don’t move,” Emmie whispered to Dylan.
Once her little feet hit the ground, she ran full speed before pouncing on Jason like a little monkey. He quickly caught her, flipping her upside down in one smooth move, exposing her tummy for a mandatory tickling. Giggles and screams filled the room before she quieted and gave Jason a hug and kiss.
“I’m going to walk your Uncle Jason out to his car. Keep my spot warm for me, will you, kiddo?”
“Okay, Daddy. Don’t be long. You’ll miss the good part.”
“Promise.”
Chapter Twelve
As soon as the door closed, Dylan bounded off the porch and into Jason’s face. Furious, he growled at his former BFF. “So, what, you and Abbie just set up house with my daughter? Without even thinking of telling me?”
“Don’t you dare give me that shit! You fucking left Abbie and never looked back, or did you suddenly forget? She’s done a damn fine job raising Emmie on her own.”
“She couldn’t have called me? Ya know, maybe said something like, ‘Hey Dylan, I’m pregnant’, or ‘Hey Dylan, I just had a baby and she’s yours’, or anything for the next five and half damn years?”
“It’s wasn’t like that, Dylan. The day Abbie found out she was pregnant, you announced you were leaving for the Navy. You dropped a bomb on her and never talked to her again. You never even went to say goodbye. She was scared and alone, so she came to me. She made me swear not to tell you. The last thing she wanted was for you to be stuck in Cedar Lake after you made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t enough for you. That Cedar Lake wasn’t enough for you.”
“Abbie was always enough for me,” Dylan shouted.
“The fuck she was! If she would have been, you would have married her right out of high school and ran Parker’s, like you were supposed to. You would have given her a heads up that you were thinking about enlisting, instead of going behind her back and running away.”
Jason ran his fingers through his hair, pausing before he continued his rant. “All I know is Abbie promised she would tell you about the baby when you called. But ya know what? You never called, Dylan. You never wrote her a letter. You never came home on leave. You just fucking disappeared! Never to be heard from again. Don’t you dare throw the blame at her. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself.”
“When did my parents find out that Abbie was pregnant?” The more Dylan heard, the more pissed off he got. Surely flames were shooting from his ears. Everyone knew Emmie was his and no one ever said a word to him. Not even his mom. His chest constricted with pain as betrayal seeped through his mind, his body.
Jason sighed, “It’s not what you think. No one even knew she was pregnant. For the most part, Abbie kept it a secret, went off the grid for a while. As soon as she started to show, she stayed home, not wanting anyone in town to know she was pregnant. She dropped out of college before she even had a chance to give it a go. She was bound and determined to be the best mom she could be. She didn’t tell your mom until right before she had Emmie. From what I understand, as soon as your mom found out, she told you to call Abbie and find out how she was.” Jason raised his arm for effect. “Here’s a big freaking surprise! You couldn’t be bothered.”
“If I would have known, I—”
“You would have what?” Jason demanded, “You would have what? Stayed in Cedar Lake? Married Abbie? Been perfectly miserable? Save it for someone who doesn’t know the fucking truth, Dylan.”
Jason had pushed too hard. Who was he to presume what Dylan’s response would have been? Who were any of them to assume he would have walked away from a child? His child? Dylan snapped, shoving Jason against the garage by his collar.
“You have no idea what I would have done. No one does because I was never given the choice. I was never told I had a child, that I was a father. You all just assumed what was best for me!” Dylan shouted, once again fed up with small town bullshit.
Jason pushed Dylan away from him. “You left and never came back. Everyone moved on. What the fuck did you expect? For Abbie to sit around pining for you? For life in Cedar Lake to stay the same while you were gone? Things change, Dylan. Life happens. You’d know that if you would have bothered with any of us! My suggestion is, deal with it. Move on.”
“Oh, I’ll deal with it all right.” Dylan’s fist connected with Jason’s jaw.
“You need to calm the fuck down and get your ass back in there!” Jason shouted before throwing a punch that landed squarely on Dylan’s cheek. “Emmie’s waiting for you, and she’s a kid who doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
The sound of Emmie’s name was enough to rein him in. The scuffle ended quicker than it started. Though Dylan had to admit it felt good to get some of his anger out. Dylan fell back on the steps of the porch, parking his ass for a few minutes, letting the rush of adrenaline drain from his system. Jason joined him.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. It’s pretty clear you and Emmie are close and she loves you. Thank you for being there for her.”
Jason nodded, “She’s a great kid. Get to know her. She comes up with some awesomely unique ideas. And just like her mom, she’s a little ball buster.”
“So, no one pushes her around on the playground?”
“The boys know better than to mess with her like they do the other girls. She leveled a few of them at the park.”
Jason placed his hand on Dylan’s back. “Take a deep breath, man. I know you’ve had a lot of shit thrown at you over the last few days with your dad dying. But Emmie—man, that kid is pure awesomeness and has been waiting her whole life to meet you. Abbie, your mom, your dad, they all gave her your pictures. They told her stories about you every day. I know you feel like everyone threw you under the bus, but I’m telling you, that kid in there knows you. She loves you. She needs you.” Jason took a deep breath, his hand tunneling through his messy hair. “As much as I hate to say it, Abbie needs you, too. I’ve tried everything I can think of to catch her interest, but she just doesn’t see me. Never has, never will. She’s only ever had eyes for one guy in this town.”
Dylan’s eyes flew open. “I thought the two of you were—I mean in the hospital, and just a few minutes ago…”
“We’re partners. Our job requires us to be close, but you know more than anyone, we’ve always been friends. She says I’m the brother she never had and never wanted. From day one, she stuffed me so far in the friend zone, there’s no hope of ever crawling out. Which sucks for me, but it’s life. I’ll get over it.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Dylan was wary of everyone and everything right now. His black and white world had been ripped from under him, replaced with one that was every variant of gray imaginable.
“Believe the fact that if Abbie didn’t have any intention of telling you about Emmie, your daughter would have never known who you were when she answered the door today. Believe that she would have never jumped into your arms on sight if she didn’t know who you were.”
Dylan nodded. He had a lot to think about when it came to his current situation. “I guess I better get in there. Elsa and Olaf await.”
“Thank fuck it’s you and not me. I swear if I hear that damn song one more time—someone’s gonna get hurt.”
“Song?” Dylan asked perplexed. What did he know about Disney movies?
“The good part.” Jason made quote marks around good part. “I’m telling y
a, when I have kids, I’m having boys. All these princess movies are killing me.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“Anytime, man. Anytime.”
Chapter Thirteen
Abbie’s heart raced when Dylan followed Jason outside. What the hell was going on out there? The two of them had been out there forever. She knew Dylan wouldn’t leave…well, she hoped anyway. If he did, she’d have to run him down with her car for breaking Emmie’s heart.
Her energy was wearing thin. Her body not quite back to its usual self after the stupid accidental food poisoning. All she really wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately, with the arrival of Dylan, Emmie was wired. She wondered if he’d secretly fed her twenty pounds of sugar or put her on a caffeine drip. The kid was literally bouncing off the walls.
“Emmie, why don’t you run and use the potty real quick before we start watching the movie again.”
“Mom, I don’t have to go. I just want Daddy to come back in.”
“I know, sweetie, he will. But I still want you to try to use the potty.”
“Fine.” Emmie made her way to the bathroom.
Abbie leaned her head back on the couch, rubbing her temples, trying to clear her thoughts. She heard the front door open and quickly close, followed by the sound of Dylan kicking his boots off. She didn’t look up when he entered the room. Feeling his gaze upon her, she tried with all her might to ignore him.
“Where’s Emmie?” Dylan took his place on the opposite end of the couch. Abbie’s feet inches away from him.
“She went to use the bathroom. She’ll be back in a minute.”
“Abbie, we need to talk.”
A deep sigh escaped Abbie. She knew this day would eventually come. “I know and we will. As soon as Emmie goes to bed.”
“But I don’t wanna go to bed yet, Mommy.”
Abbie chuckled, “It’s not bedtime yet. You can finish watching Frozen and have a snack. We also need to read your storybook for school.”
“Can we have some popcorn with the movie? That can be my snack tonight.”
“Sure.” Abbie tried to get up, but the pain in her stomach proved to be too much.
Dylan rose from the couch, offering Abbie a helping hand.
“I’m good,” Abbie grunted.
“Why don’t you rest while I help Emmie make the popcorn? She can show me where everything is.”
“That would be great. Thank you.” Settling back on the couch, Abbie watched as Emmie led Dylan to the kitchen, smiling as they chatted away. Emmie had never been happier and it brought tears to her eyes.
Within minutes, the duo had returned with popcorn and fresh drinks. They were nice enough to bring her a fresh, cold glass of water. Worried at first that it may make her nausea return, Abbie was thankful she handled the smell of the popcorn, with no issues.
The trio watched the remainder of the movie, with Emmie serenading her parents in all the right spots. After the movie, she insisted on reading with her daddy. Emmie also commanded Dylan to watch her as she brushed her teeth, then he was to tuck her into bed.
Abbie hadn’t felt so useless since Emmie’s birth. Although she should be thankful. After all, her doctor did order her to rest. The whole situation was weird at best, and she should have handled it differently, but she couldn’t change the past. She could only make sure Emmie wasn’t crushed when Dylan left again.
Knowing the talk was coming, Abbie closed her eyes for a few moments, needing to rest. Letting her mind drift away for just an instant, she began to relax. It would be okay if she fell asleep for a few minutes, right? Surely Dylan would wake her up when he got Emmie to bed.
The sound of her cellphone buzzing next to her head woke Abbie from a deep sleep. She grabbed her phone to check the message. How did it go last night? What did Dylan have to say?
“Last night?” Abbie whispered to herself. “What the hell is Jason talking about?” Abbie looked around the room and panicked when she realized she was in her bed, not on the couch where she remembered falling asleep. Jumping out of bed, she ran for Emmie’s room. I never oversleep. What the hell is wrong with me? She is gonna be so late for school!
Abbie found Emmie’s bed empty and went in search of her. The smell of fresh coffee led her straight to the kitchen where she found Dylan making eggs. Didn’t take him long to make himself at home.
“Where’s Emmie?” Still panicked, her voice was a little more forceful than necessary.
“She’s at school. I got her up this morning and got her on the bus. With her help, we even packed her lunch. Though it may not be as nutritious as you would normally make, she swore that you gave her a big bag of Cheetos every day.”
“That little monkey. She knows I never let her take Cheetos to school.” Abbie grabbed a coffee cup from the cupboard, filling it to the brim. Wrapping both hands around the cup, she inhaled the steamy aroma rising from the cup. “This is the best thing about the morning.”
“Although I like my coffee, I can think of a few things I’d rather do first thing in the morning.”
OMG, is he flirting with me? Abbie didn’t know how to respond. Dylan flirting with her was the last thing she expected. Time to change the subject. If he really turned on the charm, would she be able to deny him? He was her one true love. As much as she hated it, he was the man who still held her heart. Not to mention the father of her child.
“Why didn’t you wake me up last night?”
Dylan scooped a small pile of scrambled eggs onto a plate, then handed it to Abbie. “You needed to rest. I figured our talk could wait until today.” He filled another plate for himself and headed towards the table. “Care to join me?”
“Uh, sure. Where did you sleep last night?” Abbie pushed the eggs around the plate with her fork. Please don’t say my bed.
“The recliner in Emmie’s room. I don’t know that I slept all that much. Just kind of watched her for a while, had a lot to think about.”
“Dylan, I—”
“It’s okay, Abbie. You don’t have to explain. I know you never tried to hide Emmie from me. It’s just that—I’ve missed so much.”
The pain in his eyes crushed her. She didn’t keep Emmie from him to make him feel bad or guilty. She honestly thought, at the time, she was doing him a favor by letting him live the life he wanted.
“I’m sorry, Dylan. I should have made your mom tell you about Emmie. I just didn’t want you to rush home thinking you owed me anything. I knew you didn’t want to be here, and I didn’t want you to feel trapped here at eighteen with a baby on the way.”
Dylan took a deep breath, “I wish I would have been given the choice. I honestly don’t know what would have happened. I do know we would have found a way to raise our daughter together.”
“As much as I’d like to believe that, and as many times as your mom told me you were gone on deployment, I find it hard to believe we could have made anything work. I can’t change the past. If I could, I would. I would have done everything differently.”
Dylan nodded, “I would have, too. Thank you for making sure she knew me, even though I wasn’t here.”
“I have to admit, you handled yourself like a pro last night when she bum-rushed you at the door.” Abbie pushed the plate of eggs away. “I don’t think these will sit very well on my stomach. I think I better stick with toast this morning.”
“I figured out who she was by the pictures at my mom’s house. I felt bad that I didn’t give her a chance to explain, but I called her and apologized after I carried you to bed.”
“Thanks for that. I missed my bed. I suppose you need to head back to your mom’s soon. You should probably spend some time with her, after all, the funeral is in a couple of days.”
Abbie needed to get Dylan out of her house, like an hour ago. Fighting with him would have been easier. What was she supposed to do with the flirty, understanding Dylan? And sweet Jesus, the way his jeans hugged his tight ass. The way his T-shirt stretched over his muscled arms and che
st. She didn’t think it was possible to be jealous of clothing until now. It was all too much for her. She needed time to think.
Chapter Fourteen
Dylan watched for Abbie’s reaction as he told her that he had nowhere to be today. He smiled when her eyes went wide. It was the same panicked look she had in high school. He wanted to keep her on her toes, shake things up a little for her. Keeping her off balance was his plan for the day. Judging from the early morning calls and texts from his mom and Jason, it sounded like Abbie’s world was due for a good shaking up. Luckily, he was just the one to do it.
“My mom’s good. Aunt Helen flew in this morning and Aunt Millie will be in later this afternoon. The old crows are reminiscing, and I’d like to keep my cheeks attached to my face. I thought we could spend the day together and you could catch me up on all that I’ve missed.”
Dylan really wasn’t going to give her a choice in the matter. He had questions and she had the answers. It was as simple as that. Well, not entirely, but he wasn’t ready to admit to anything else at the moment.
Abbie shook her head. “I—I can’t do this.”
“You can, and you will. You owe me this.” Dylan’s demand was laced with a tad bit of force. “I want to know what I’ve missed. I want to know everything about Emmie. I have a lot of catching up to do by the time she gets off the bus. So you better get started. I also would like pictures to go with the time periods.”
“Dylan!”
“Better get cracking, time’s a wasting.”
“Can I at least brush my teeth and change first? I haven’t even had my second cup of coffee yet.”
“Yes to the teeth. No to the changing. You look fine.”
“I look like a hobo on a meth trip.”
“Nonsense. Go brush your teeth.” Dylan did not want her changing out of the yoga pants or the tight tank top that showed off all of her curves that happened to be in all the right places. That would actually be a deal breaker. He liked her just the way she was.
