Trust Me .(6)
“How are things going, honey?” she asks as she hands me another bowl to place in the dishwasher.
“Good,” I respond.
“Have you seen any of your old classmates or school friends lately?”
“Not really. Most of them are still off finishing college or starting their lives somewhere else.” I can already tell where she’s going with this entire line of questioning. She’s beating around the bush about discussing the latest in what I like to call ‘The Drake Saga’. A few weeks back during our Sunday dinner she informed me that she ran into Drake’s mother at the bakery. His mom was ordering cookies for a dinner party she was hosting later in the week to meet Drake’s latest girlfriend, Kelsey. Kelsey is a college junior and a fashion major to boot. It doesn’t surprise me that Drake is dating a college girl. In fact, each time he cheated it was with a younger girl. Drake is three years older than me which makes him twenty-five now. I hope for Kelsey’s sake, she wises up before she finds herself pregnant and alone like I did.
My mom watches me as I finish stacking the plates in the dishwasher. “You know, Mom, I’m over him. It took a while, but I got there. It’s his loss that he’ll never know how wonderful his daughter is, but that was his choice, not mine. And I’ve made peace with that. I don’t need him or his money in our lives. He made his choice to leave me and our unborn child four years ago and it looks like he hasn’t lost any sleep over it.”
I finish loading the dishwasher and turn to look at my mom. She watches me with that motherly look that leaves no question in my mind that she supports me in the difficult decisions I have had to make. “I’m okay with being alone right now, Mom. As bad as it hurt, at least I found out before we got married. That’s the important part. Plus, I got the best out of that relationship the day I had Brooklyn. I don’t need anything else.”
A throat clears and we both look over at Jake and Maddox standing in the doorway.
“Sorry to interrupt but I think Bean is getting sleepy,” Jake says sheepishly after walking into what he would define as an “uncomfortable conversation”. Any time there’s “girl talk”, Jake takes off faster than a race horse heading towards the finish line.
I look over at my daughter curled up on Maddox’s chest doing everything she can to fight closing her eyes. Seeing my daughter curled up against his big, broad chest causes my stomach to flutter and my insides give a little quiver. My heart stops and then speeds up again like I just finished running a half marathon.
“It’s getting close to bedtime. We better head out,” I say glancing down at my wristwatch, hoping no one notices my words were slightly breathless.
“I’ll help you gather her stuff,” Jake says and turns to go collect Bean’s belongings most likely strewn from one end of the house to the other.
“I’ve got your leftovers bagged up for you too, honey.” Mom reaches into the fridge and pulls out a bag of delicious goodies.
Maddox strolls through the front door still holding my baby girl in his arms. Jake already walked through the door a few moments before and has started piling the travel bag and leftovers in the seat of the Wrangler. As I lean forward with my hands extended to take Brooklyn from Maddox, I breathe in an intoxicating whiff of his cologne. It’s a combination of the outdoors and a wild musk that makes me want to wrap myself around his body and run my nose down his neck inhaling his deliciousness. I feel an uncontrollable shiver rake through my body at the intense reaction I have to him, to his scent. “I’ll put her in her car seat,” Maddox’s voice breaks into my naughty little daydream.
“Okay. Thank you,” I say and it comes out a little squeaky.
As Maddox buckles Brooklyn into her seat, the rest of the family starts filing out of the house and approaches my Jeep. I offer a round of hugs to my parents, Will, Nate, Travis, and even Clint.
“See you next week, baby girl,” Dad says giving me another big, all-consuming hug.
“I’ll see you soon, honey,” Mom chimes in as she kisses my cheek. I join her at the bakery during my lunch hour almost every day. I enjoy spending that little bit of time with her without too many customer or family interruptions.
I climb into my Wrangler and give everyone a wave goodbye. The family drifts back into the house as I start up my vehicle and shift into reverse. I glance back up to the front door one more time and see Maddox standing there watching me go. He gives me a small, sexy half smile before he turns to head back into the house.
That smile. “Well damn,” I say out loud with a sigh. I pull out of the driveway and head back towards Rivers Edge, picturing the beautiful smile and chocolate brown eyes that will surely be filling my dreams tonight.