“I’m not sure I want that for my girls. They don’t need to live with that kind of pressure in their lives.”
“No offense, Mom, but that’s my decision.” Dani walks into the room, hands on her hips.
“It may be, but that’s my grandbaby in there.”
“Yes, my daughter. I’m the one who decides things when it comes to her.” Her mom jumps up from the couch and stalks toward her. Oh shit. Here we go.
“I will not allow you to put my grandbaby in danger. Look what could have happened today! It’s all because of him.” She points back towards me, stabbing at the air.
“Jesus Christ, Mom!”
“Don’t you dare take the Lord’s name in vain, young lady.”
“I wasn’t. I was praying for patience to deal with you right now.” Dani throws her hands up in exasperation. “Mom, I think you need to leave before we both say something we’ll regret later.”
“Really? You’re asking me to leave?” she huffs. “This is ridiculous, Danielle. He’s the one that needs to leave.” Her head turns towards me and I swear I’m looking at something out of an exorcist movie.
“Dani…,” I say I’ll leave but she shoots me a look that freezes me in my tracks.
“Stay out of it, Zach!” she orders. “Mom.”
“Fine, I’m going,” she throws up her hands. “Can’t believe you’d treat your mother this way,” she mutters as she shuts the door behind her.
“Dani, I don’t want to cause any tension between you and your mom.”
“Don’t worry about it. I need a drink,” she mutters heading toward the kitchen. “She’s just venting.” A soft knock sounds on the front door. Through the peephole, I see the top of Jessa’s dark red hair.
“Jessa?” Dani asks while rummaging through the cabinet.
“Yeah.”
“Let her in. She’s not going anywhere.” Dani makes a triumphant cry snagging a bottle with amber liquid inside.
Shaking my head, I swing open the door. I’m not ready for the icy glare she gives me as she marches past me.
“How’s Pumpkin?”
“No worse for wear considering.” Dani shrugs before taking a healthy swig of tequila.
“I waited for your mom to leave before I came in, but I overheard that you’re not sure what brought those damn toad sucking, slime licking, twatwaffles after you.” She chunks some papers at my head, the pages flutter as they fall short of her desired target. I pick them up off the floor as she stares at me, arms crossed across her ample chest, foot tapping. Oh shit. I’ve seen that look before. The last guy who got it was singing soprano for a week.
“Motherfucker,” escapes my lips as I read the headline of the most popular gossip magazine on the planet.
Country Star Knocks Up One-Night Stand
Now he’s hooking up with a mysterious hot blonde
Below is a picture of Connie Bertrand looking sad and pitiful, cradling her stomach, next to a picture of me and Dani at our date at the mini golf place. One of those fuckers who was in the group in front of us must have taken it and sold it. That mother fucker. My feelings are written all over my face as I’m looking down at the top of Dani’s head in the picture. Our hands are clasped together. The scene is innocent, but the wealth of my feeling pours through. Anyone with half a brain can tell she’s not just a hookup.
“Dude, if you weren’t who you are, I’d kick your ass!” Jessa seethes.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, Jessa.”
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?” Dani asks as she comes into the room.
First instinct? Hide the damn paper and pretend it’s not happening. But it’s time to man up. Reluctantly I hand her the paper.
Her eyes scan over the cover, widening the further down the page she goes. My lips open and the close. What the hell do I say?
Her eyes lift to mine, the shock and betrayal there a knife to my heart.
“Is it true?” she whispers.
I sit on the edge of the couch. “This is the first I’ve heard about this.”
“But it could be?”
Fuck. My. Life. When did shit get so complicated?
“I guess there could be a very tiny chance. I had sex with her. But it was only once, and I used protection.” My voice raises defensively.
“Is this why you had to go to Seattle?” Her voice cracks, eyes dropping to the paper again.
“No. It was about her and her husband, but nothing was ever said about there being a damn baby.”
“What was it then?”
“Damn it, Dani. I told you my lawyer said not to say anything about it.”
“I think you need to leave.” She turns away from me, shoulders slumped.
“Dani, please.”
“I need some time to process this.”
“Dani…” When she looks at me, her eyes are dull. She’s hanging on by a thread and there’s nothing I can do or say that will fix this right now. “I’ll be back in the morning. Is that okay?”
“Zach…”
“Please. We’ll talk about this. Please don’t shut me out.” Desperation bleeds into my voice.
“Fine. Tomorrow but after work.”
“Thank you.” I reach for her hand. She doesn’t pull away, but she’s not reaching for me either. A little tug has her stepping closer. Gathering her in my arms, the stiffness in her body lets go, and she sags against me. “Give the princess a kiss for me. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” With one last kiss on her forehead, I walk out the door. It shuts with a resounding click. Stomping down the stairs I pull my phone out of my pocket. Vinny’s number is at the top of missed calls. I hit the call but and he picks up after the first ring.
“Zach.”
“What the fuck is going on Vinny?”
“You’re going to want to sit down for this.”
Famous last or should I say first words.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Danielle
The door shuts behind him and I stand there in a stupor. What the hell is going on with my life?! First, the media are shoving cameras in our faces, Lila gets lost and now Zach may be a surprise daddy.
I need a drink.
“Right there with ya, sister. How about margaritas?” Jessa walks by me and grabs the blender from the cabinet.
“What?”
“You said you need a drink and I concur. Maybe quite a few. It’s been a rough day.”
“I can’t drink. I have to open in the morning and the last thing I need is to be hungover.”
“Taken care of. I already called Claudia, and she’s working tomorrow. She knows what needs to be made and delivered.”
“What? How?”
“What are friends for?” She pours stuff into the blender before turning it on. After she blends the concoction, she pours it into two glasses and hands me one.
“You can spend all day with Lila tomorrow and just revel in the fact she’s home safe and sound.”
“What am I going to do, Jessa? This is too much.”
“Is it?” she nudges me with her shoulder. “Come on, you’ve survived bigger hits than this.”
“I think Zach having a baby is a damn big deal.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. The woman is married and they only had sex one time.”
“That’s funny coming from you. You threatened to kick ass.”
“Hey, now I didn’t say he did it, just that the story was the reason the press showed up.”
“I can’t imagine living a life like that day to day. Just waiting for them to pop up out of nowhere.”
“Now you know that if you two are together, the press will be a part of your life. It may not be like today but you’re going to get photographed and put out there for the world to see.”
“How can he live with no privacy?”
“It’s probably second nature to him by now. It’s part of being famous that he has to deal with, good and bad.”
“How can I live li
ke that? Put Lila through it? Look what happened today when they showed up.”
“Next time you’ll be more prepared.”
“What if I don’t want to be prepared? What if I want to go back to my normal life and not worry about who is taking my picture?”
“Then you need to make a choice.”
“Damn it, when did this get so freaking complicated.”
A knock sounds at the door, startling the both of us.
“I got it,” Jessa throws down the pillow she had in her lap on the couch and downs her drink.
“Well hello there, handsome,” she says cocking her hip out once she’s opened the door.
“Hey, Jessa,” Wesley’s deep voice travels across the room. “Just came by to check on Lila.”
“Come on in, Wes,” I say. “Lila’s already crashed for the night.”
“She’s okay though. Right?”
“No worse for wear. She thinks it was an adventure.”
“Margaritas, huh?” he asks spying the glasses. “Don’t say that I blame you. Just make sure you’re not driving. Where’s Zach?”
“Not here,” I murmur before draining my glass.
“What do you mean he’s not here?”
“I needed some time to think.”
“Think about what?” I nudged the paper on the coffee table with my foot. He swipes it off the table and reads the front page.
“What the fuck? Fudge, sorry,” he says sheepishly.
“Trust me, I’ve said worse tonight.” I hold up the glass and Jessa hurries over, grabbing hers off the table for a refill too.
“What did Zach say about this?”
“It was the first he had heard about it and he didn’t know if it was true or not.”
“But there’s a possibility?”
“He said he had sex with her once. She was the one the bar fight was about.” His eyes widen before looking down at the paper again.
“Well damn. I don’t know what to say. Just don’t shut him out with hearing his side, please, Dani.” He folds the paper and places it back on the table.
“I’m not. He’s coming back over tomorrow. I need to let the chaos of today settle.”
“Good.” He comes over and kisses me on the cheek. “Love you, Dani. Give the Munchkin a kiss for me. And if you need to talk, I’m always here.”
“You’d just take his side.”
“Maybe,” he smirks, “or we could both just talk shit about him.”
“Get outta here and get back to work.” I throw a pillow at him, laughing.
“Yes, ma’am. If you were wondering, all the media has left. I don’t think they liked the hostile cold shoulder they received in town.”
“Thanks, Wesley.” He nods at me before picking up Jessa in a bear hug.
“Jeez, Wes let me go,” she squeals as he just laughs before he puts her down.
“Night, ladies.”
The next morning, I wake up to a small foot in my face. During the night, Lila climbed into bed with me and per the norm, made my queen-size bed all about her. The blinds filter out the sunlight allowing me to doze back off. An extra morning to sleep in? Yes, please.
Nope, no such luck.
My cell phone buzzes across my nightstand. I pick it up expecting to see Zach’s number or my mom’s but it’s Nathan’s instead.
“Hello,” I whisper into the phone, climbing out from under the covers.
“Dani, is Lila okay? Mom just told me what happened. She couldn’t reach me last night.”
“She’s fine.” I walk into the kitchen and start a pot of coffee.
“What the hell happened?” he demands.
“She got separated from us when the press showed up outside the bakery. I should have picked her up and held her instead of just her hand. It’s my fault.” The dam inside breaks as I cry into the phone.
“Dani, damn it, listen. It’s not your fault. Where’s Zach? Let me talk to him.”
“He’s not here.”
“What?! That low life son of a bitch! Did he leave you to deal with this? I’ll kill him!”
“What? No,” I’m shocked at the venom in his voice. “I asked him to leave last night. I needed some time to come to grips with some stuff.”
“Does this have to do with the chick he knocked up?” he asks gruffly.
“We don’t know if it’s true or not,” I answer defensively
“But it could be?” he pushes.
“Yes, there is a small chance the baby could be his.”
“And you don’t want to deal with him having a child?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m not sure if I can deal with his lifestyle.”
“Is there something I need to know? Is he bi or something?”
“Huh? Where the hell did you come up with that?”
“You said his lifestyle.”
“You’re a dumbass, Nathan. That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“I know, I was just messing with you. So, what did you mean?”
“The press, the media. People taking pictures all the time.”
“First off, it’s not like they trail him twenty-four seven. He’s been in town how long and this is the first sighting, right?”
“Yeah, but he said his manager has been keeping his whereabouts out of the press.”
“It only took one photo from a stranger to out that location, Danielle.” He tsks. “She’s making this claim, and they had a picture. That made him front page news. Once it’s proved or disproven that the child is his, this should be swept under the rug. In the end, it’s just another day.”
“I guess I really didn’t think about it that way.”
“You’re out in the middle of nowhere and unless something major is going on you’re not going to be seeing a lot of media just hovering around the time. It’s not worth it to them.”
“But what if he wants me to move to Nashville?” I lean back against the counter.
“You need to talk to him about what’s scaring you. Both of you need to be on the same page. Right now, it sounds like you’re not even in the same book.”
“That makes little sense, Nathan.”
“Pages. Book. Never mind, you get what I’m saying. You need to talk this out.”
“You’re right we do. He’s coming over later today and I’ll lay it out for him.”
“Good girl. Give Lila a kiss from me. And, Dani? Call me anytime if you need to get something off your chest?”
“You got it.” I smile and hang up the phone.
“Momma, I’m hungry. What’s for brefast?” Lila walks in a hand rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“What would you like, love?”
“Pancakes?” she asks hopefully.
“How about we head to the café for pancakes?”
“Yay!” She jumps around clapping her hands.
“Let's get dressed and go get some then.”
“Can Zach come too?”
“You like Zach, huh?”
“He my favorist person ever!” she exclaims. “Pwease can he come?”
“I’ll call him and see. Now go get dressed and then we’ll brush your teeth.” She takes off in a whirl of blonde hair down the hall.
Picking up the phone, I mull over calling him. In the end, I keep my word.
“Hey, Dani.”
“Hey, Zach.” The relief I hear at his voice makes me weak in the knees. What did I think? He would not answer my call? “Lila and I are going to have pancakes this morning at the café and were wondering if you would like to join us?”
“When?”
“Half an hour?”
“I’ll meet you there.” There’s a smile in his voice that makes me smile in turn.
“I’m ready,” Lila sing songs as she prances into the room.
“I still need to get ready. Want to watch cartoons while I get dressed?”
“Peppa?”
“We have some reco
rded. Let me pull it up.”
I rush through a quick shower before braiding my hair and throwing on a white peasant blouse and a pair of dark denim capris.
“Lila, come brush your teeth. We need to leave.”
“Yes, Momma.”
The walk to the café is only about three minutes and after checking in with Claudia that everything is okay, which she enthusiastically said it was as she rang up a customer, we leave the bakery to head to the café.
Lila skips down the sidewalk, waving to every person who crosses our path. The bell on the door jingles as we enter the café. Lucy, the owner's daughter directs us to the booth where Zach is already sitting, nursing a cup of coffee.
“Zach!” Lila calls out before running toward him and launching herself into his arms.
“Hey, Princess.”
She puts her hands on the side of his face and squishes them together. “Where were you? I misses you this mornin’. You coulda watched Peppa with me.” She pouts.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I’ll watch Peppa with you next time, okay?”
“’K”, she scoots off his lap onto the seat beside him. He looks up at me, his eyes sad. Their normal sparkle is absent and it hurts to know that I’m the cause.
“Mornin’, Dani,” he gives me a small smile.
“Hey Zach. Thanks for eating with us. I’m starving.” I’m not but I don’t know what to say.
“Good morning,” Sharon says as she walks up, refilling Zach’s cup. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Coffee for me and milk for Lila please.”
“You got it, sugar.” She writes it down on her little pad before she walks off.
I clench my hands together, not knowing where to begin. “Look about last night.”
“I’m sorry, Dani. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
“Zach this isn’t your fault. I’m sorry for how I acted last night. I never should have asked you to leave like that. I was just overwhelmed and exhausted.”
“You had every right to ask me. I put you and your daughter in danger.” He looks down at the table dejectedly. I see Lila look at his face before reaching over and laying her hand on top of his.
Pieces of a Broken Heart: Whiskey Bend Series Book One Page 18
