Chapter 11

Jeremy

I moved around my mother in the kitchen the next morning and her and Nina bickered back and forth on the right temperature to put the oven on for the stuffing. They were getting louder and louder, both of them wrong and yet neither of them would ever admit it.

"Hey!" I stopped at the edge of the kitchen and lifted my hands. "It's 375 degrees. That's what Laila always did. One hour at 375 degrees and then put the broiler on to crisp the top, okay?"

My sister’s brow softened as my mom's eyes filled with tears.

"No. No crying." I let out a sigh and walked across the kitchen to pull Mom in my arms. "It's okay."

"No, it's not. I hate the holidays with you not having someone to love you." My mom cried against my chest.

I gave Nina the death stare. "What about Sis, mom? She needs someone to love her."

"Nope." Nina smiled like the tomcat she was. "I'm unlovable, bossy and stubborn as hell. Just ask Mom." She tossed a dishtowel at me and walked out of the kitchen.

"She is horrible, right?" My mom moved back, bent over and grabbed the towel and wiped at her eyes. "No, she's just a crazy cat lady. It's nothing to be ashamed of. She needs to own it."

"I heard that!" My sister yelled from the living room.

I smiled at my mother. "Why do you let your chef's off during the holidays? You're going to wear yourself out in this damn kitchen. Come sit down and I'll call them back."

"No." She shook her head. "While your father was here, he was very adamant about not letting our staff work on the holidays. I'm not breaking that rule. I like it."

I nodded and moved up beside her to help as someone knocked at the front door.

Nina's voice rang out. "Jer. It's Rhys and Bailey."

"Who?" My mother glanced over at me. "He brought his sister? Why?"

"And some blonde chick that's bouncing on her toes." Nina's tone said that we were all in for a long day.

"That's Bailey's good friend, Ellen." I leaned over and kissed my mother's cheek. "Please be nice. I have one friend in the world, and he's at the door."

"He brings too many memories with him, son. You need to-"

"Leave it alone, Mom." I gave her a wink and walked out of the kitchen. Her bitching was soft, but I could still hear it. She hated me being around anyone that might pull me off the path she wanted me on. Rhys being a perpetual bachelor did not help the cause at all.

"There you guys are." I pulled the door open and smiled at my best friend before moving back. Bailey looked like a dream in the background, but her coloring was a little off.

"We got lost in the hedging, man. I always forgot that you rich people enjoy your bushes." He gave me a funny look.

I rolled my eyes before patting him on the back and turned my attention to his little sister as he walked in.

"Hey. You look like you're still a little under the weather." I nodded at Ellen as she moved into the house and introduced herself to everyone before I could do it for her.

"Just a long night." Bailey shrugged and moved around me with nothing more than a quick glance. Fuck. I knew better. I shouldn't have kissed her in the kitchen the night before, and yet all I could think about was doing it again. Everything about the kiss had been right. I was turned on from the moment it happened until later that night when I fucked myself for a good hour in the shower. For the first time since Laila and I started dating back in school, I moaned someone else's name. I was relieved and ashamed at myself.

Was I allowed to move on? What did that say about the way I loved her? About my devotion to who we were supposed to be?

"You're in your head. Get out." Nina walked past me and popped me in the chest. "And if you can't, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Sis." I took a deep breath and followed everyone into the large kitchen my mother hated, but my father once loved. "Mom. Did you get to meet everyone?"

"I did." She turned back to the stove; her shoulders pulled in tight. She was less than happy that I'd invited anyone over for Thanksgiving seeing that it was supposed to be a family event.

"Awesome. Rhys grab some beers. Let's go into the media room and watch the game. Nina, grab some snacks from the fridge that we picked up?" I nodded and turned to Ellen and Bailey. "Alright, ladies. You need a grand tour?"

Ellen was much more excited than Bailey was. I needed to apologize again or something. I didn't want the dust settling between us and our relationship tanking because I couldn't keep my damn hormones under control.

"Yes!" Ellen moved up and slipped her arm into mine. "Bailey. Get his other arm. Let's check this place out."

"Sure," she said softly and slipped her arm into my other one.

Tingles ran up my arm. I glanced down at her and spoke softly. "You feeling any better?"

"Somewhat." She shrugged and nodded toward the living room. "Tour please."

"Yeah, sure." I walked them through the house and stopped at the media room to find Nina and Rhys laughing together. It was almost like old times. The only thing missing was Laila.

Ellen bounded across the room toward the big screen and yelled something that sounded like, ‘Go Team!’

"Where did you find her?" I glanced over at Bailey.

A smile crept across her perfect lips. "She works with me at the restaurant. She's my only friend."

"Well, then I guess we'll keep her." I turned a little toward her and forced myself not to reach out. "Hey. About last night."

"It was nothing." She smiled up at me, and her expression stilled me. She was hurt. I wasn't used to dating or anything of the sort, but I'd seen the look on my wife's face too many times to ignore it. "Seriously. Odd moment. I thought maybe I would feel some spark, but it was just like kissing an old friend, or your grandmother."

I almost swallowed my tongue, but I flipped on my humor like I always did when someone stabbed me in the chest. "You've kissed my grandmother before?"

She laughed and shook her head, causing a few more strands of dark hair to fall from her ponytail. "You're too much."

"So get this," Rhys walked up and put his arm around Bailey's shoulders, "this crazy kid went on a date last night."

"It wasn't really a-" she started, but Rhys cut her off.

"Did you get dolled up for him?" Rhys asked.

"Yeah, but seriously, it wasn't-"

"Like long black dress, heels, and jewelry. It was a champagne affair at the art museum." Rhys snorted.

"Sounds like a great date. I want details." Nina moved up beside us and smiled at Bailey.

"I thought you were sick?" I asked as my mother walked in and cleared her throat. "Jeremy. Someone named Mayhem is on the phone from the station?"

"Oh yeah. Sure." I left the conversation, though I was more than curious to find out what the fuck happened between the time I kissed Bailey and the time she left to spend the night in another man's arms. My stomach soured at the thought as if it were any of my fucking business. It wasn't.

"Here you go." My mother tossed my cell to me.

"Thanks." I put it to my ear and made a beeline for the side door. Bailey dressed up and went on a date? Did she stay at the guy's house? Who was he? What did he look like? What did he do? How old was the fucker?

Great. Now he was a fucker.

"Talk to me." I walked out onto the patio as a cold sweat rolled over me. What was I doing? She didn't belong to me, nor would she ever. She was off-limits, and I'd fucked up by simply kissing her the night before. I needed to watch myself.

"Hey, Cap. I know this is going to sound stupid, but the lady that was going to cook our Thanksgiving meal for tonight kicked the bucket this morning."

I stiffened. "Wait. What? Who died?"

"Jones' Gramma." He cleared his throat. "All these guys are stuck up here, and we got nothing to eat. I was going to leave and grab a few things cause I feel like shit about the old lady kicking the bucket, but that would leave the crew short. You know we're playing skeleton crew up here."

Mayhem was too much, and the bastard knew it.

"Yeah, no worries. I'll be there in thirty minutes with some food."

"You sure?" He sounded relieved.

"Absolutely. Just keep everyone's spirits up. I'll bring some stuff by and then head back home. Our dinner isn't for a couple of hours at least."

"Alright. Thanks, Cap." He dropped the call.

"Damn." I walked back into the house to find my mom and Bailey in the kitchen. Both of them looked a little tense.

"Hey. I gotta run up to the station and get the guys some food. Their plans fell through, and I hate to think they're working on a holiday without getting anything good from it." I glanced over at Bailey who looked like she needed saving. "You wanna ride up there with me? I could use an extra set of hands, and maybe you'll pick some good stuff for them. I'm thinking ham and bread."

She nodded. "Yeah. I can help."

"I can go with you, Jeremy." My mother started to pull her apron off.

Bailey lifted her hands and pressed them together like she was praying. Fuck. What had my mother said to the pretty girl?

"No, Mom. Seriously. I'll be back in an hour tops. You stay here and finish this beautiful meal you're making. Me and Bailey will run up there and be right back." I walked over and kissed my mom on the cheek as she stared me down.

"Fine. Don't be over an hour or our dinner will be ruined."

"No problem." I slipped my hands into my pockets and glanced over at Bailey. "You ready?"

"Sure." She walked past me quickly and made it to the front door before I could turn the corner.

Fuck. Mom had definitely said something to her... and it was probably credited to it being for my own good.