Chapter Fifteen
Elijah
The inside of the pool looked like new with the coat of paint dried and sealed. The water truck beeped as it backed into the yard, nearly taking out the one good section of fence still standing. I waved frantically until he turned the wheel, avoiding narrowly the damage.
The young kid climbed out of the truck and attached the hose to the tank of water he hauled. There was no way I was running the hose for a week to fill the giant pool when one load would do it in thirty minutes.
I worked the pressure washer on the last spot of stained concrete as the pool filled with clear water. The kid handed me the receipt for his services and pulled out, taking patches of grass from my yard with his tires. Fuck.
“Wow, it looks great.” I turned to Kellie standing at the back gate. Just what I need.
“Thanks,” I smiled, trying not to let my irritation ring in my voice.
She was right; it did look great. The concrete was spotless, and the pool sparkling, just like what I dreamed about as a kid.
“Can we talk?” she asked, her eyes narrowing on me.
“Sure,” I said, confused by her nervous demeanor. I had the dirt from the concrete all over me from blasting it with the pressure washer. “I just need to clean up a little,” I excused myself to the side of the house where I hosed off.
Kellie was sitting on one of the lounge chairs by the pool when I returned to the backyard. She was wringing her hands like wet washcloths as she stared up at me. Something was obviously wrong. I just had no idea how it could concern me.
“What’s up?” I asked, taking a seat across from her on another lounger.
Her eyes widened, her lips parted, but only a long deep sigh escaped. This must be serious. Is it about my dad?
I laughed nervously, staring into her dark eyes with anticipation and concern. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. I just… I never thought I’d see you again,” she confessed. Oh hell, was she ready to confess her love? No way, not even if she hadn’t given birth to a life sucker.
“If this is about what happened between us,” I started, only to get interrupted.
“It is, but it’s not us, but what that night created,” she hesitated with a pause. “Bailey, she’s your daughter; our daughter,” she claimed.
What the fuck?
I couldn’t speak. My throat swelled, making me feel as if I was choking, and I was certain the fear was evident in my eyes. Is she serious, or was this some kind of game?
“I don’t want you to be in her life if you’re not ready, or if you’re just going to leave again,” Kellie stated with a mother’s firmness. No, I’m not ready; how could I be?
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I finally gasped.
“Elijah, we both knew that night wasn’t anything more than a quick thrill before you left for the States,” she smirked.
“I didn’t think it was that short,” I teased.
“I’m serious,” she warned.
“I know. I’m just stunned. What do you want me to do, to say?” I questioned.
“I want you to think about whether or not you’re ready to be a father; really think about it,” she insisted.
Kellie’s hand extended towards me with an envelope. “My number’s inside, just call me and let me know what you decide,” she finished, and then got up and walked away.
I held the envelope in my hand; I was trembling as I pulled out the contents. A baby picture of Bailey and one of her now, along with a number: Kellie’s, I assumed. I stared at the little girl’s face, into her eyes. Is this really my daughter? I had a daughter.
The time frame added up, and I was drunk that night with Kellie: probably one of the five times in my life I’d had sex without protection. Fuck, fuck, fuck…
I rolled the pressure washer into the shed and started working on the windows on the side of the house. My mind was reeling over the news of being a father; me, a father.
“You stupid little prick,” I could hear my dad’s voice as plain as day as I tore the old rotten wood from the window of his bedroom. “You’re the biggest mistake I ever made in life. I should’ve pulled out and squirted you on your momma’s ass,” he slurred through sloppy drunk lips. I cringed at the aroma of Jack Daniels wafting under my nose and angry spit blasting onto my cheeks as he screamed at me for something, nothing.
Was Bailey a mistake in my life, did I really want her growing up thinking so? I wasn’t sure I was even capable of being someone’s father. What if I was like him?
“Hey, you’re really working hard.” I turned to see Taylor standing behind me.
I stepped down from the ladder, in shock that she was there after her three-day silent treatment.
“Yeah. There’s a lot more to do than I thought,” I confessed, wiping my hands on my jeans.
“I’m sorry for the way I acted,” she stammered, her eyes staring at her feet as she spoke. As they lifted, my heart shook with an ache I didn’t find familiar, or comfortable.
“It’s okay. I understand,” I smiled.
She seemed distressed, uncomfortable, and anxious as she shifted her weight from left to right.
“Everything okay?” I questioned.
“Yeah. I’ve just been thinking about my father, and Tommy,” she sighed, the stress in her tone relatable.
“I get it. I just got a shocker that’s made me think of nothing but my father,” I confessed.
“A shocker?” she asked, her voice filled with the compassion I needed at that very moment.
I unloaded everything onto her as if she was at work and I was her patient. She listened, her eyes never breaking contact with mine. “What are you going to do?” she asked. That was the million dollar question.
“I have no idea,” I admitted.
“You can’t believe you’d be like your father. He was a mean drunk, that isn’t your fault,” she caressed my arm gently as she spoke.
I could feel the lump in my throat growing, and tears struggling to escape. Men didn’t cry, not real men. I choked them down, swallowing the lump as well, and freeing my breath into a deep exhale.
“I’m sure you’ll do what’s right,” Taylor smiled.
What was the right thing to do, and right for who: me or Bailey?
“I guess. I’m sorry for dumping all that on you. You came here to say something. I didn’t mean to distract from that,” I apologized, realizing that I’d just bombarded her with an overload of shocking news.
“No. It’s nothing that can’t wait,” she maintained.
I felt bad for not being there for her, for whatever it was she needed from me. I wanted to pull her into my arms, to feel her heart beat with mine, to taste the sweetness of her arousal on my lips again. She was beautiful, stunningly beautiful, even with her hair pulled into a tight bun, and glasses covering her dark eyes.
What would Tommy think of me sleeping with his sister, especially knowing that I was just going to leave in a few weeks? Am I now, leaving? Fuck, my life was turned upside down.
“Do you want to grab dinner later? I just need to clean up,” I offered.
“No. I’ve got a lot to do tonight; maybe tomorrow. I’ll call you,” she promised, and then leaned in for a quick hug.
Her vanilla perfume soothed me as it wafted under my nose, and I didn’t want to let her go as she pulled away quickly. I watched her walk away, wondering if she would really call. Why would she after what I’d just dumped on her?
I picked up the tools and carried them to the shed, placing them neatly on the shelves my dad had built. A large box in the back caught my attention: a solar cover for the pool that we never used. I pulled it out, figuring it would help turn the frigid water to a tolerable temperature quicker so I could at least get to take a dip in the pool before the place was sold.
I slit the box with my pocket knife and pulled the blue cover out onto the concrete. “You need some help?” Clinton called from over the fence as I struggled with the large cover, unsure which end was which.
“Sure,” I agreed, figuring if I didn’t he’d just stand there and watch me fight with the plastic.
He gripped an end, stretching it towards him, “Yeah, this is the shallow end,” he declared.
I’d noticed the pristine pool in his own backyard, so I assumed he knew what he was talking about. I followed his directions, and within just a few minutes, the pool was covered. “Don’t forget to put chemicals in the water,” Clinton mentioned.
“I knew I was forgetting something,” I grumbled, hating the thought of returning to the hardware shop before hitting the hotel mattress face first.
“I’ve got everything you need. Let me take care of it for you tonight. It’s best to wait until the sun goes down anyway,” he offered.
“I appreciate that,” I patted him on the back.
“I’d really like to talk to you about your dad,” he brought up again. It was like a broken fucking record. I didn’t want to talk about my dad, especially now. I had Kellie, Bailey, and Taylor to think about, dad was nowhere on my priority list.
“I’m just really not up to it,” I confessed, hoping that would get him to back off.
“When you are,” he nodded, and then left me to finish cleaning up on my own.
What was so damn important that he wanted to talk to me about? I’d find the time and the energy to talk to him soon, just not now.
I left the house and headed to the hotel, not even stopping for a drink in the bar on my way to my room. All I wanted was a shower and sleep. I had a lot to think about, and a lot to figure out.