“Wait! I need to put some things in the fridge and grab pie to bring to your mother’s.”
Obviously certain she wasn’t going to hide out in her room, he released his grip and she headed for the kitchen.
“My mom doesn’t need pie. She just loves company,” he called out.
“I met her once before, remember? I just want to be polite. Besides, why let a good pecan pie go to waste?”
When they were together, he’d wanted her to spend more time with his family. As usual, she’d kept her distance. Maybe that was why he’d had little trouble leaving her. She hadn’t given him everything he needed in the relationship or a reason to stay. The thought stunned her. She hadn’t considered her own responsibilities in them falling apart.
She bit down on her lower lip, put everything away, and grabbed the pie.
Then they were on their way.
* * *
Only when Braden had Willow in the passenger seat of his car did he breathe a sigh of relief. She’d joined him without an argument, caring only about Aurora and the situation the young woman found herself in. Willow, despite her hang-ups about getting close to people, had a huge heart. He saw it daily in the way she treated her patients, the players who relied on her talent and ability to get them back on the field.
He’d seen it when they were together the first time and she’d tell him stories about the players she encouraged and helped to believe they would play again after an injury. She was caring and worked overtime to make sure the guys had what they needed. She just didn’t know how to accept the same thing for herself that she so easily gave to others.
He’d already put the diner’s address into Waze and followed the directions, pulling up in front of Merry’s, a restaurant off the beaten path, and parking the car.
The neighborhood wasn’t the best, homeless people sitting against buildings and young men congregating in groups wearing similar colors. He knew what that signaled. Aurora wasn’t living in a good area, and that concerned him. He didn’t know why he felt such a strong need to help this one girl, but he had a hunch it was because she reminded him of who Willow used to be. Not pregnant but a foster care child, too.
She’d been quiet on the way here, and he left her to her thoughts except for the brief conversation on how he wanted to handle their visit.
“We’re here,” he said, leaning an arm on the steering wheel.
Concern etched her pretty face. She hadn’t been expecting him and had only added a little makeup when she’d gone to her bedroom to change. As far as he was concerned, she didn’t need it. Fresh face worked for her as much as lightly made up. In fact, he preferred the hint of freckles on her nose.
“Then let’s go inside.” She exited the vehicle, and he met up with her to walk along the sidewalk, keeping an eye out as they reached the door.
“It’s closed,” she said, pointing to the sign in the window. She put her hand on her forehead to block out the glare and peeked through the glass.
He frowned and knocked on the door, waited, and knocked again.
“Someone’s coming,” Willow said.
He heard the rattling of the door being unlocked and suddenly he was face-to-face with Aurora. She wore the same clothes he’d seen her in over two weeks ago, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Clearly she wasn’t sleeping well, and waiting tables at the diner wasn’t helping. Many pregnant women could work until the end of their pregnancy, but that was if all their other circumstances in life cooperated.
“Dr. Prescott!” Aurora said, obviously surprised to see him. “What are you doing here? I mean, I know you said you’d stop by but it’s a holiday. We’re closed for business.”
“I’m not here to eat. I wanted to check on you.”
“Oh.” Her fingers curled around the door, her knuckles white.
“Aurora, this is my friend Willow James. We work together at my other job. I’m a team physician for the Miami Thunder. Willow is an athletic trainer.”
The young woman’s eyes opened wide at that revelation.
“Hi,” Willow said with a warm smile.
“Can we come in?” Braden asked. “I’d like to talk to you and see how you’re feeling.”
Aurora hesitated and then finally nodded, stepping back so they could enter before closing and locking the door behind them. “We can sit at one of the tables.” She gestured to a square table with four chairs.
Once they were all sitting, he spoke. “I was hoping you’d come in so I could check you out. How have you been feeling?”
“Better especially since I understand what the cramping pain is.” She placed a hand over her belly.
“She was having Braxton Hicks contractions,” he said to Willow.
“Aah. I hear they’re uncomfortable.” Willow rested her elbows on the table, leaned forward, and met Aurora’s gaze.
“Yeah.” Aurora shook her head. “They’re scary, too. I thought I was having real contractions.”
They talked for a little while longer about her pregnancy and how she was feeling before Braden said, “If you ladies will excuse me, I’m going to make a quick call.”
He shot Willow a pointed glance and headed for the back of the diner, planning to snoop around and see where Aurora was living.
Willow had her own instructions.
* * *
Willow studied the young girl who appeared tired and beaten down by life. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and decided to dive in just as Braden had recommended.
“So I take it you’re alone here for the holiday?” Willow asked.
Aurora nodded.
“Well, Dr. Prescott and I are going to a family dinner at his mom’s house for Thanksgiving. Did you know he has four siblings?”
Aurora shook her head. “He’s just a doctor I met once.”
“But he’s someone who takes an interest in his patients, and he’s worried about you. We’d like you to join us for dinner, and before you say no, I want you to know that I’m not all that comfortable going myself. Braden – Dr. Prescott – and I used to date, and it’s awkward for me to show up there.”
Aurora’s eyes had opened wide. “Why does he care if I’m there or not? Why would he invite me?”
“Because he doesn’t want you to be alone on a holiday any more than he wanted me to be by myself. He just showed up on my doorstep and announced I was coming with him today.” Willow shrugged as if it were normal behavior for him, not wanting to freak the girl out any more than she already was. “Will you come? At least I’ll have backup.”
Aurora shook her head, her blonde hair swinging across her face. “I can’t.”
Not won’t. Interesting. Leaning forward in her seat, Willow asked, “Why not?”
A long hesitation followed, then Aurora whispered, “I don’t have anything to wear.” She glanced down at her obviously old shirt and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Willow didn’t want to make her feel like a charity case, so she carefully phrased what she said next. “What if I told you I had that covered? I brought an extra shirt that’s pretty big and should fit and a pair of leggings?”
Aurora lifted her head and met Willow’s gaze, tears in her eyes. “Why would you do that? You don’t know me.”
Because she so easily could have been in Aurora’s shoes, Willow thought. If not for the Jonases she would have aged out and been on her own. But she couldn’t tell Aurora she knew about her past without violating the confidence between Braden and his patient.
So she drew a deep breath and decided she had no choice but to tell Aurora her own story. “I grew up in foster care. Between the age of seven and eighteen, I was in five different homes. I didn’t have much until my last home, when I was sixteen and was placed with a wonderful family. I know what it’s like to be alone, and when Braden told me about you, I just wanted to help.”
Aurora sniffed and rubbed her eyes with a napkin on the table. “What happened to your parents? My mom left me with her mom, m
y grandma, and never came back. Grandma died of breast cancer when I was five. There were no other relatives and I ended up in foster care. I had asthma and was sick a lot. Nobody wanted to adopt a sick kid,” Aurora said.
Willow reached across the table and grasped the girl’s hand. “I’m sorry about your parents and your grandma.”
“Thanks,” Aurora said, her gaze on Willow’s, waiting for an answer to her question, what happened to her parents?
Willow never talked about her past. Ever. But for this girl, she would. “I have no idea who my father was. My mother said she didn’t know. And she … she never picked me up from school one day.” She curled her hands into fists in her lap, her nails digging into her skin. “After the police went to check where I lived, they said the apartment had been emptied out.” Willow shrugged. “My mother left without a trace.”
Aurora wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m sorry, too.”
“Now, will you take the clothes and come keep me company at this big celebration where we’ll both feel a little out of place?” She forced a smile past the revelations she’d just made, and to her relief, Aurora grinned back.
“Yeah. I will. Thank you,” she said, her tone serious.
“You’re welcome.” Willow reached into her big purse and pulled out the clothes she’d folded and put inside. “Hopefully they’ll fit well enough.”
Aurora grabbed the items, a flicker of excitement in her eyes. “I’ll go try them on.”
Willow turned to watch her go and saw Braden standing behind her. Her face flamed at the realization that he’d heard everything. All the details she’d never told him. That neither her father nor her mother had loved her enough to stick around. She hadn’t been enough.
“I didn’t want to interrupt.” He leaned against one of the pillars in the room, his gaze steady on hers.
She swallowed hard. “So you heard.”
He inclined his head. “You never told me any of that,” he said in a gruff voice. “And I really wish you had.”
“I don’t like to talk about my childhood.” She rose from her chair, feeling like she needed to be on equal footing with him.
“Yet you just did. For Aurora’s sake. That was sweet and she needs it. I went snooping and saw that back room she’s living in.” He shook his head. “It barely holds a twin bed. It’s more like a closet than a room.”
She closed her eyes and sighed, her heart breaking for the young pregnant girl who was barely a woman.
Braden’s warm gaze caressed her face, making her tremble, the emotions he evoked hard for her to process. “Aurora needed to hear she isn’t alone,” she told him.
“I think you need to hear that, too. You aren’t alone. I’m here.” Reaching out, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her body leaned into him and she caught herself. She’d always felt safe in his arms until he’d ripped the rug out from beneath her feet. Then again, she hadn’t been much of an anchor for him, either.
“You’re here for now. What happens when the next big adventure or opportunity comes calling?” She couldn’t help but ask the question that lay on her mind.
He winced. “That’s a fair question and one I deserve. Somehow I’m going to prove to you that I’ve changed and this is where I want to be. I learned a lot being away from the people I care about.”
“It fits!”
Willow stepped away from Braden and turned to Aurora. The too-large shirt had come from a mistaken purchase online at a no-return store, and she’d kept it. It hugged the girl’s belly but didn’t look too small.
“I’m using my own leggings because these didn’t fit at all. But thank you.” She held the black stretch pants out, and Willow folded them and put them back in her bag.
“You look great!” Willow noticed she’d brushed her hair and had color in her cheeks due to the excitement of going out.
Willow was grateful Braden had come up with this plan. She already liked Aurora and hated the idea of her living in a closet-sized room while mentally preparing to have a baby.
“Ready, ladies?” Braden asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“Are you sure your family won’t mind the extra person?” Aurora twirled a strand of hair nervously around one finger.
“Positive. The more the merrier,” he reassured her.
Willow wished someone would reassure her as she joined him and his huge family for dinner.
* * *
Braden thought he’d have two women to worry about at his mom’s house, but as it turned out, Aurora fit right in. Bri took an immediate liking to her, as if his twin sensed the young girl needed a friend. Given the wink Bri gave him, he figured she was also giving Braden time with Willow.
His mom always loaded them up on appetizers before a huge dinner, and Lord knew Aurora could use fattening up. Her and her baby, and after introductions, Bri hooked her arm in Aurora’s and led her to the food table. It didn’t escape his notice that Hudson joined them.
Willow was talking to Macy by the sliding glass doors leading to the patio, and it gave him time to study her. Listening to her tell Aurora about her past had been like a punch in the gut. Not only because he’d never been able to get her to confide in him that way but because of all she’d been through as a child.
Growing up, Braden had held a wealth of anger against his father for how he’d treated him, belittling his intelligence, mocking him for his inability to play sports as well as his siblings. But at the core of everything, Braden had a family who loved him. A mother who doted on each of her children and tried her best to cushion him from Jesse’s emotional abuse, as did his uncle Paul. His biological dad, as he now knew.
Braden had had a roof over his head, people who loved him, and food to eat. He had a hunch there was much more to Willow’s various foster homes than he knew. And he wanted to be the one she confided in, because he wanted to regain her trust. Since that wasn’t going well, he needed to step up his pursuit in other ways and get her to remember what had been good between them.
He decided it was time to make his move and walked up to the two women who were deep in conversation. “Hi, ladies.” He gave them his warmest smile.
“Hi there!” Macy said.
“Braden,” Willow murmured, meeting his gaze.
“You two having a nice talk?” He knew Willow had been concerned about coming here today, but Braden’s family would never leave her to fend for herself, and though he’d wanted to be with her, the women in his brothers’ lives had stolen her away to get acquainted.
“We are,” Willow said. “Macy was telling me about her sister and the custody fight she almost had with her half sister’s mom.”
“Who, by the way, has disappeared again,” Macy muttered.
Braden placed a hand on her shoulder. “Jaxon told me how hard that was on you. I’m sorry Hannah won’t know her mother well, but maybe it’s for the best that you have nothing to do with a dysfunctional parent.”
Willow shot him a surprised glance, her expression quickly turning understanding. She’d known his issues with Jesse. They hadn’t discussed his biological father reveal because he’d been away when that had occurred, and when he’d come home for Paul’s kidney transplant, courtesy of Austin, Willow had no longer been part of his life.
Realizing he’d fallen into silence, he turned to Macy. “How’s married life treating you?”
The pretty blonde his brother had fallen head over heels for while pretending to be in a real marriage smiled at him. “It’s amazing. I honestly didn’t think I could ever be this happy.” She reached out and grasped his hand. “Marriage is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“I thought that was me.” Jaxon appeared by her side, slipping an arm around his wife’s waist and pressing a kiss to her cheek.
Braden wanted the right to kiss Willow any time or place, he thought, turning his stare her way. She was watching the happy couple, her face flushed at their open display of affection, naked need on her fa
ce.
He touched her hip, letting her know he was here. Aware of her feelings, that he was experiencing the same longing.
“I’m going to steal Willow,” he said, grasping her elbow and pulling her away, heading to the side of the house with the guest bedrooms his mother had for her kids should they want or need to come home.
“Where are we going?” she asked, trying to slow him down.
“I want a few minutes alone with you.” He slowed so she could more easily keep up.
He led her into his favorite guest room and shut the door behind them. Before she could argue or turn cold, he backed her against the nearest wall, braced his hands on her hips, and met her gaze. “How much longer are you going to keep me at a distance?”
Because he was finished giving her time when all it seemed to do was make her pull further away. That said, he’d take her on whatever terms she was willing to give, and he’d work his way back into her heart … because there was no place he’d rather be.
Chapter Six
Willow stared into the gorgeous eyes of the most compelling man she’d ever met. For the last few hours, she’d been asking herself the same question he’d just posed, and the answer was obvious. She couldn’t keep him at arm’s length much longer. Not after seeing him at his kindest and warmest, caring for someone he’d met once. Looking out for a young pregnant girl and bringing her into his family. Pushing Willow past her own barriers and refusing to let her spend the holiday alone.
She couldn’t resist him, but she couldn’t trust him long term. Revealing her past to Aurora had reinforced Willow’s fear of being left, and this man had done just that to her, the same way her mother, her father, and the homes she’d passed through had. But that didn’t mean she was ready to turn her back on him right now. There was too much chemistry between them for her to ignore.
“I can’t pretend I don’t want you, Braden, but that doesn’t mean I can have a relationship with you again.”
Reaching up, he brushed her hair off her face, his calloused fingertips causing goose bumps to ripple along her skin. “Yet.”
Dare To Stay Page 7
