Chapter 22: Hailey

 

My parents still lived in the wooden house on La Garita Street where I grew up. The house looked like a cabin with a porch out front, low ceilings all the way through and an original Aga fireplace in the living room to warm up the house in the winter months.

Mama left my room exactly the way it had been when I’d moved out to study in Denver. Being back with everything still the same, made me want to cry. My mama’s support and kindness felt overwhelming after everything I’d been through.

I’d told her I was pregnant. She was shocked but accepting after she digested it and I didn’t have to worry. Daddy didn’t say much about it, but he never said much about anything.

I quickly fell back into a routine at home. I helped Mama around the house, cooking and cleaning. When I wasn’t busy with that I went for walks through the town where I’d grown up. I missed this place. Nothing had changed since I’d left.

And still, everything felt different.

I didn’t fit in here anymore. The sleepy town with its tiny population of friendly people just didn’t work for me anymore. I had changed. I was different.

My outlook on life was different also.

I came here to get away from Zach, but all the time and space only gave me a chance to think about him that much more.

I was angry with myself for thinking about him. Zach was the reason I left. I had to get away from him, from the knowledge that I was going to have this baby alone. In the two weeks since I’d been back home, I mourned Zach as a lover and as a friend.

Mama and I were cleaning up the kitchen, her washing the dishes and me drying them like old times, when someone knocked on the door. Daddy was at work and Mama frowned at me.

“You expecting anyone?” she asked.

I shook my head. She flapped her hands, trying to get rid of the suds from the dishwashing water. She walked to the front door. I waited, listening for voices. It was probably someone from town dropping by. When there was nothing going on, the best thing to do around here was visit each other and catch up on gossip.

“I’m looking for Hailey,” a familiar voice said and my stomach twisted. I would know that voice anywhere – I heard it so many times before that it had become the soundtrack to my life.

Mama didn’t answer. I put the dish cloth on the kitchen table and walked to the living room. Mama was facing off with Zach, her eyes sliding up and down his body in silent judgment. I cleared my throat and they both looked at me. Mama’s face said it all. Is this the bastard that left you with a baby? Zach’s eyes were evergreen and drowning deep, gripping me from across the room.

“Thank you, Mama, I’ve got this,” I said in a thin voice. Despite my words, I didn’t feel like I had this at all. Mama shrugged.

“I’ll be busy with the dishes if you need me,” she said. She pinned me with a hard stare before leaving the room.

I looked at Zach, not taking a step toward him. I couldn’t risk being close to him. Everything I had blocked out for the past two weeks – all the emotions and the pain and despair – came crashing down like a damn wall had broken.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

Zach shrugged. “This isn’t a very big town to hide in,” he said.

I blinked at him.

“And Jess gave me your address.”

“Well, how nice for you that you had a beacon.” I had managed to recover a little. Of all the emotions I was feeling, anger surfaced first and I was grateful for it. I could handle anger. Anger was safe.

“Don’t be like this, Hailey,” he said.

I shook my head. “Don’t tell me how I should be,” I snapped. “I don’t work for you anymore. You don’t get to call the shots. Not here.”

He held up his hands in defense and nodded. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. I started off wrong.”

I folded my arms over my chest, trying to keep myself from falling apart, and waited.

Zach took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” he said. I frowned at him. The words sounded foreign in his mouth. I don’t think I’d ever heard him apologize for anything. “I did it wrong. Everything. All the way from when I met you, right to the moment you told me you were pregnant. I have always been selfish and it’s usually worked for me. Until now. I can’t stop thinking about you, Hailey.”

He paused, looking at me. I didn’t have anything to say, so I kept quiet.

“I lost you, though. And you are the one thing I want. I’d give anything to make this right with you.”

He took a step closer, his body inches from mine.

I wanted to back away, but my feet were rooted to the ground. I could smell his aftershave. He looked clean shaven and fresh, like he had just stepped out of the shower. I was suddenly aware of myself, in the clothes I’d always worn out here – faded jeans, a checkered collared shirt, black boots. Convenient. Comfortable. Not sexy. I loved him too.

“I freaked out when you told me you were pregnant.”

“You ran away from me,” I said.

He nodded. “I did. You have to admit the timing was a little off. But I tried to call, baby. You wouldn’t answer me.” I nodded. “I could’ve have done it better.”

“I didn’t need whatever shit you were slinging,” I barked as I fought back tears. I opened my mouth to say something, but Zach lifted his hand and pressed his fingers against my lips, silencing me. His fingers were warm and gentle despite the aggressive gesture.

“Sorry,” he said, removing them. “Just let me finish.”

He took another deep breath as if breathing was hard.

“I love you. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted, who I wanted to be, but I know now. I was fighting so hard against the person everyone was trying to make me be, but I’ve realized that it’s what I want too. I want the life I’ve been given and I want to share it with you.”

He glanced down at my stomach and added, “You and the baby.”

I suddenly wanted to cry. I swallowed hard, trying to bite back my tears. I didn’t want this. I wanted to be angry so I could tell him off. I wanted to be uncaring, distant, and cold. I hadn’t answered his calls for a fucking reason. I was scared. Terrified.

“What about the girl at the bar?” I reached up and brushed my tears away, hating how sensitive I was.

“I told you about that, baby. It was a set up.”

The memory of our first press conference rolled over me. It was a set up. I’d known it was coming too. Why didn’t I remember that shit? Why hadn’t I warned him? Anger burned through me. I wanted to attack someone or something, but watching him watch me was too much. The love in his eyes burned for me and I couldn’t push us in any other way but toward each other.

My guard dropped and the anger dissipated while tears streamed down my face. A soft sob left me and I reached for him.

Zach’s face softened when he saw me crying and he closed the distance between us. He moved slowly, lifting his arms and wrapping them around me. He pulled me against him. He was wearing the same suit he’d worn for our dinner in Aspen, I realized. I could see the shimmer in the material now that my cheek was pressed against it.

“Please, try again with me, Hailey. We’ll figure it out, baby. I just want to be with you.”

I could still say no. I could still live my life away from Zach and the publicity and the bad runs he’s had in the past. I could still tell him off.

But I no longer wanted to. I missed his arms around me. I missed being able to touch him, feeling like everything would be okay. And the truth was…

“I love you too,” I whispered. Zach’s arms tightened around me and for the first time since I’d found out I was pregnant, I felt like I could do this. When Zach finally let go of me, I looked up and noticed my mom standing in the doorway. Her hands were pressed against her mouth and her eyes were smiling.

I cleared my throat.

“Mama,” I said. “This is Zach Nettles. Zach, this is Corrine.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Woods,” Zach said, walking over to her. He held out a hand for her to shake and when she took it, he held it in both his hands.

“Is everything okay?” My mother looked over at me and I nodded.

“Yeah. We both messed up, but it’s going to work out.” I glanced over at Zach. “It’s going to be fine.”

“Better than fine, Hailey.” He reached for my hand and pulled me close to him. “You make me a better a man. One I’m proud to be.”

My momma spoke up. “Well, that’s lovely, but if you hurt her or this baby, your ass is mine.”

Zach’s eyes widened, and I laughed. A big guy like him couldn’t possibly be intimidated by my mother and yet the evidence was there.

Not only was he impossibly handsome, but obviously smart too.

****

The Creede Hotel & Restaurant didn’t seem like the kind of place Zach was used to. It was a four-room inn in the historic part of Creede and it did not shout romance.

It didn’t matter though. The white-washed room with a white bed with white covers and white curtains didn’t matter. The small space didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the fact that we were alone, together, and that Zach had come for me when I’d given up hope.

My mom offered for him to stay at the house with us, but we wanted to be alone. We would go back to the house in the morning, but tonight I wanted it to be us. I didn’t want to wonder if my parents were listening in.

Zach didn’t seem to mind about the room either. He only had eyes for me. It was the final proof that I meant more to him than his money or his career or his image or anything else. He was willing to be with me, no matter what. He was willing to be with me even though I was pregnant, even though I came from a small town in Colorado that was barely on a map.

Zach cupped my cheeks and stared into my eyes. His eyes were a brilliant green and full of emotion. I hadn’t seen them like this before, not as gentle and full of love as they were now.

“I can’t believe you found me,” I said. Even with the address, Creede was the kind of place I assumed Zach would run away from, which was exactly why I never told him where home was.

“I would find you anywhere,” he said. “I would never stop looking.”

His words made butterflies erupt in my stomach. Something about him made me blush and my legs turned to jelly every time. Zach had enough of talking and he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his body and gave myself over to the sensation. The atmosphere was charged around us and I was aware of his body pressed against mine.

He was so big and strong. I wanted to melt against him, to let him hold me and remind me that if nothing else, we were going to figure this messy shit out together.

I let go of his waist and peeled his blazer from his shoulders. He let go of my face to shrug out of it and I broke the kiss to hang it on the closet handle.

He glanced back and gave me a cocky grin. “What? It’s an expensive suit and we don’t know what’s happened on this floor.”

I laughed. “Since when do you care about suits?”

“Since my woman likes them on me.” He unbuttoned his shirt and got rid of it. I put my hands on his chest and ran my fingers up and over the smooth skin of his shoulders. Zach’s fingers found the buttons on my shirt and he undid them one by one, slowly. His mouth moved from my lips and kissed a trail of fire along my jaw to below my earlobe. He nibbled on my ear and I shivered, goosebumps running down my left arm.

“I want to be your woman.” I looked up into his eyes. “I’m just scared.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of here, Hailey. I’m all in, Angel. You don’t have to want to be anything to me. You already are everything.”

I reached down and fiddled with his pants, undoing the button and unzipping them before working them over his hips. He stepped out of his shoes and kicked off the pants when they fell around his ankles.

He strained against his briefs, his erection thick and pulsing. My body responded, heat licking between my legs as my pussy grew wet. I gasped when Zach put his hands on my hips and pulled me against him. His erection pressed into my lower abdomen and he ground himself against me.

“God, I love you,” he said into my hair. We worked on my shirt and bra together, stripping me quickly, urgently. We finished getting undressed, taking turns pulling off various articles of clothing until I stood bare before him.

Zach looked at me, his eyes roaming over my body in pure awe, as if he hadn’t seen a woman’s body before. It made me blush.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I said, feeling self-conscious.

Zach’s eyes found mine again. “Why not? You’re the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen.” He reached out and brushed his hand over my stomach. “You’re so brave. I’m so in awe of you right now, baby.”

“Really?” I moved closer and pressed myself against him. “I feel so small. This is scary.”

“Don’t let it be.” He slid his hands into my hair and leaned in, kissing me slow and deep. He broke the kiss and brushed his nose against mine. “I’m right here and I’ll protect you and our baby through anything, Hailey. Through everything. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.” I pulled him down for another long kiss, letting him explore my mouth until the air grew thick around us.

I wrapped my arms around him, my hands on his back and traced the muscles on either side of his spine. His hand slid down my chest onto my breast and he massaged it, rubbing circles with his thumb around my nipples.

He urged me on the bed and crawled up above me, resting between my legs. He glanced down toward my stomach. “I can’t hurt the baby, can I?”

I smiled. “No. It’s still really small.”

“Good. Then let me love you in the way I know best.”

“Please?” I whimpered.

Zach spent time worshipping my mouth, neck and chest until I was squirming for more. When I was more than ready, malleable under his hands, hot and bothered and relaxed, his ran his hand down my ribs, over my hips and to the V that led to the apex of my thighs. With that move, he woke my body up, reminding me of how much I’d missed his touch.

Zach positioned himself at my entrance and I shivered when his tip pressed against me. I anticipated him entering me, but when it happened I still cried out, the connection traveling like a jolt through me.

Every part of me was sensitive and tight – maybe it was because of the pregnancy – and I felt him inch slowly into me until he was buried deep inside.

I gasped. He held still as if he knew I needed time to adjust to this new feeling of fullness.

It didn’t matter that we’d made love before, it was still so much better than I remembered.

Zach moved, sliding slowly out again. I moaned. He slid in again and slowly built up a rhythm. My body rocked with his and I focused on the sensations rippling through my body. Zach’s eyes were glued to mine all the time. “Feels good, baby?” He licked at my lips as he rocked his hips against mine. The warmth of my orgasm roared to life inside of me.

“Yes. That’s so good right there.” I closed my eyes and lifted my hips.

“This?” He pumped his hips and I cried out as my body rolled in the deepest end of pleasure.

“Zach,” I cried out and clung to him as I convulsed below him.

“That’s it, baby. Do what you need.” He kissed me, stifling my moans as he worked me through the orgasm. It wasn’t just sex. It was making love. Connecting at the highest level.

He alternated his speed and strokes, going slowly with languid strokes before picking up pace and pumping into me. I cried out, my voice mimicking his rhythm as ecstasy danced between my pleasure points.

After a while, Zach’s face changed. He looked like he was concentrating harder and he changed from pressing on his hands on either side of my head to leaning on his elbows. His body was pressed along the length of mine and our skin was slick with sweat everywhere we touched.

My breathing changed, coming harder and faster. I became light-headed and my legs went numb. When my second orgasm hit, I cried out. Zach was right there with me, his lips on my neck, and he rode out my orgasm with me. It rocked through my body and I shuddered beneath him, opening my mouth in a silent cry, my eyes squeezed shut. My legs curled around his thighs and he growled in my ear.

He kept up his pace, still moving inside me as I orgasmed, keeping it going for longer than I thought my body would have allowed.

I felt my uterus tighten, intensifying the orgasm that much more. I thought for a fleeting moment about the baby, if this was a good idea.

Another wave of orgasm hit me and all my worries were forgotten. I was lost in the ecstasy that washed over my body.

When I gasped for breath, breathing harder to make up for the lack of oxygen, Zach lifted his head and his eyes found mine again. He smiled at me but it wasn’t a satisfied, smug grin. He wasn’t smiling because he was proud of the orgasm he’d given me. He was smiling because he looked content. Happy.

He picked up his pace again the way he had before. His hips moved against mine and I felt him acutely. I was hyperaware of his movement inside of me, his breath close to my ear, the rhythm of his body on top of mine where I lay pinned to the bed beneath him.

“God, baby. I’m so close. You want me to pull out?”

I took a deep breath and shook my head. “No. I want you inside of me. Besides… there’s no harm now.” I laughed and he smiled.

“There’s no harm at all. Everything is going to be incredible. I promise.”

And I believed him. We were due for a turn for the better.

Zach kissed me. His lips were unsteady on mine as he rocked back and forth. The skin around his lips was wet with sweat, wetting me as well. I didn’t mind in the slightest. The slick press of his body against mine was so fucking hot. I could tell when he was heading for his own orgasm. In the times we’d done it before, I’d learned how to read him. His speed picked up again, something primal taking over, and his strokes shortened. He looked down, tearing his eyes away for the first time, concentrating on his own body. I felt him grow bigger and harder inside me.

The constant friction brought back an echo of my orgasm and built another. I moaned in his ear, breathing hard, whimpering when I felt like I was hanging onto the edge, my fingers slipping.

When Zach orgasmed, I felt him release within me. He jerked, pushing in as deep as he could and he spasmed, emptying himself inside me.

His orgasm set mine off again and I fell apart beneath him. I cried out and let the waves of pure pleasure rock through my body. I had never let go with this kind of abandon before. But Zach was right there with me, my body matching his pulse so that we were together in this, riding a wave that belonged only to us and no one else.

When my orgasm finally faded and Zach stopped twitching inside me, we lay like that, glued together, for what felt like forever. I was disoriented and trembling. Zach breathed hard, but he was right there with me, holding onto me. I had unraveled, but this time Zach was here to help me pick up the pieces. I had tipped over the edge and I was free-falling into the unknown, but I knew that Zach was there to catch me.

No matter how hard I fell.

I hadn’t come to Denver looking for love, but somehow, despite the bumps along the way, I ended up having my very own fairytale.

This bad-boy Prince was all mine.

My heart was brimming with love and, even though it was scary, I was full of excitement for this new chapter in our lives. Together.