Ten
Emery
It’s the last day on this house, and I’m more than ready to get it over with. With Ron sick, most of the wiring had been left to me, and between meeting Xander and dealing with Randy, I just don’t want to be here anymore.
Xander hasn’t been back to work since his ex-wife had dropped the baby off. I’ve thought about calling to check on them a few times, but I don’t. I know Xander hadn’t been in his right mind when he’d sent me away, even if he had been a total asshole about it. I’m not sure what I’d do if someone dropped a baby off on my doorstep either.
But it’s been over a week, and he still hasn’t called. There’s been plenty of time for him to make things right between us, but he hasn’t. For that reason, I refuse to give him any more of my time. Starting now.
I roll my eyes and collect the last of my things from the basement. Who am I kidding? Xander and the baby are all I’ve been able to think about all week. I can’t just stop that with a snap of my fingers.
“All done?” Nutsy asks, taking one of the wire spools from the pile I’m carrying.
“Yep,” I tell him, forcing a smile. “All wired up and ready for the rest of the walls to go up.”
He follows me out to the truck and helps me load my things. He never did tell me what he did with Randy that night. He’d showed up with another man he’d called Pounder, and together the two of them had taken Randy’s unconscious body from my home and neither of us had ever mentioned it again.
“Gonna be weird finishing up this house without you around to stare at,” he says with a lopsided grin.
I smack him on the arm and he bursts into laughter. “Pervert.”
I walk around and open the door to the truck, but before I get in, I turn and face Nutsy. “Thank you. For everything.”
Nutsy just nods and closes the door behind me as I climb inside. He places his hands on the edge of the open window and leans inside. “He’s doin’ good, ya know. Xander. He’s gettin’ this daddy shit down to a science.”
I force a smile and ignore the pain in my heart just hearing his name gives me. “Good for him. For both of them.”
Nutsy stares at me a moment and then nods. He pats the inside of the door and pushes away. “See ya ‘round, Emery.”
I drive away from the work site, wondering how just a couple of weeks on the job with one man can leave me feeling so broken.
∞ ∞ ∞
Xander
I sit on the edge of the stairs to Emery’s apartment, Benjamin’s brand new car seat nestled between my feet. I stare down at my sleeping son, unable to believe how quickly someone can fall in love with a child. In just seven short days, he’s deprived me of sleep, alone time and hundreds of dollars, and I’ve never loved anybody more in my whole life.
With Gran’s help, we’ve gotten into quite a routine at my house, and the spare bedroom is now a nursery fit for a Harley loving little king. The only thing missing for us is Emery.
She pulls up to the curb and climbs off her motorcycle, her eyes never straying from me. I watch as she slips her helmet off, places it on her seat and moves in our direction.
“Hi,” she says quietly.
“Hi.” Silence stretches between us, and I forget everything I’d intended to say when I next saw her.
“He’s gotten so big,” she whispers, leaning over the car seat and peering down at my son. She looks up at me and grins. “What did you name him?”
“Benjamin,” I tell her, staring at the back of her head as she watches my boy sleep. “I’m sorry,” I blurt out. I’d had this perfect speech all planned out, full of apologies and promises, and if necessary, a little begging. But seeing her again, I can’t bring myself but to be anything but totally sincere and in the moment.
Emery stands and faces me. “I was a mess the other night,” I tell her. “I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do, and all I could think about was how I finally had this amazing woman that I’d just shared an incredible night with and I couldn’t force her to jump into things with me any further while I was trying to handle living with a newborn.”
Emery’s eyes fill with tears. “I can’t imagine what you were going through, Xander. I can’t. And I’m glad you have things worked out better with the baby.”
I nod and step forward to take her hand. “Me too, but something’s missing.” Raising a hand to the side of her cheek, I lean in and whisper, “You.”
Emery’s lip trembles as she searches my eyes and then looks down to my son.
“I’m not asking for your forgiveness,” I tell her. “Just that you’ll give me …” I look down at Benjamin. “Us, a chance.”
In typical Emery fashion, she’s the one to make the first move. She leans forward, places her lips on mine and gifts me with the sweetest kiss I’ve ever had. When she pulls away, her smile lights up her whole face. “Xander, there’s nothing to forgive.”