Never Let Me Go (12 page)

“Oh, that’s the real kicker,” Hayden groaned. “At Skylar’s first birthday party, she shows up with some tool, telling me that he’s The One, and she’s pregnant. I wanted to rip her apart limb from limb, because, what the Hell? She’d left me and left our daughter because she wasn’t ready to be a parent, and she’s already pregnant by our daughter’s first birthday? It was sickening to me. We argued, and she told me that she wanted to take Sky from me—she was going to fight for custody, and her fiancé, Patrick Baumann, wants to adopt
my
daughter. I told her she wasn’t allowed to take my daughter just because now it was convenient for her, and that however hard she fought, I’d fight ten times harder.” He paused. “Seven months later she gave birth to her daughter Kynlee, and she married the tool. Sky still only sees Samantha twice a week, and she’s never once asked why Kynlee gets to live with Mommy and she doesn’t, but that day is going to come, and it’s going to break my fucking heart.”

I felt tears form in my own eyes then. I knew what it felt like to be abandoned by a parent, and I hated that once Skylar understood everything that happened, she’d know what it felt like too. I had strong feelings toward the little girl I didn’t even know yet, because I knew exactly what her life was like.

“Hey,” I said, running my hand along the bones of his jaw and then smoothing it over his hair. “Skylar’s going to be just fine, because you love her more than anyone ever will. When that day comes, you can just tell her that she’s lucky, because she has
two
families instead of just one—that’s twice the love.”

Hayden grinned, looking down at me. “Yeah, I guess that works. Eventually I’ll have to explain it to her. I just don’t want her to grow up and resent her mother.” He sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, what Sam did to me—and most importantly to Sky—was horrible and nasty and nearly unforgivable. But she’s a great person, and she’s a great mom. I don’t want my daughter to someday resent her mom for not knowing how to be one when she needed to.”

I nodded. I was still emotionally reeling from Hayden’s story. I could feel his heart racing beneath my ear. My arms circled his waist, holding him. The feeling of having him as close to me as possible was overwhelming. “Sounds like Samantha did quite a number on you. And you haven’t even dated anyone since you dated her?”

Hayden sighed. “Yeah, somethin’ like that.” He paused, twirling my hair between his fingers. “It wasn’t like that on purpose, honestly. When Sam first left, I had my daughter to raise. Then I had to work to be
able
to raise my daughter. I made excuses…like I didn’t have time to date because I only had room for one girl in my life.” He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, raising it so that I was forced to look at him. “But the truth is, Michele, I’ve never
wanted
to make
time for another girl besides my daughter…not until you came along.”

Heat rose in my cheeks and I closed my eyes as my heart began to race. His words touched me in such a way that I didn’t really know what to say in response.

“Me?” I was shocked.

He nodded, his smile bringing his face to life. “Yes, you.” He held me in place with a hypnotic gaze from his amber eyes. “You’re special. God, you’re amazing. To have been through all you’ve been through and you’re
still
here, in a new town and taking a chance on a new guy, so soon after having your heart broken…that’s awe-inspiring.”

I shrugged with nonchalance. I didn’t feel special, or amazing, or even aw-inspiring. I felt like Michie…just Michie. I didn’t feel like I was any of the things that he’d mentioned.

“Yeah, okay. I’m absolutely ordinary.” I crossed my legs, extending them a bit over Hayden’s lap.

He shook his head and gave a deep belly laugh, holding his hand at my waist. “Nah, you’re far from ordinary. And I think, if I’m not careful, I could end up falling for you.”

My heart surged at his words. Things were moving faster between us than I’d thought was possible, but I wasn’t afraid.

For the first time I felt like I had a chance to start something new…something better. I had a chance to open up to someone who
wasn’t
Brody. I was looking into the eyes of this man, into the face that represented my new beginning, and I felt hopeful for the first time in what felt like forever.

“You wanna know something funny?” I asked, my voice coming out breathy and low.

“What’s that?” His hand cradled my face then, our foreheads touching.

I gulped, taking a deep breath.

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

Chapter Eight

“Thank you so much for your tip, and I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to Buck and Doe’s,” I said, waving toward a small family that’d just eaten in my section.

I had about twenty minutes left of my shift for the day, and then Hayden and Skylar were stopping by to pick me up for my first date with the both of them.

Hayden and I had been seeing each other every evening after our
second
date. During the evening we talked, and every time one of us was free, he took me out for yet another date. On our
third
date, we’d gone to a small concert on the pier. On our
fourth
, he’d taken me to see the Big Springs Community College’s production of
Wicked.
On our
fifth,
he took me on a hayride through a local vineyard.

A month and a half into my trip to Big Springs and I was getting incredibly close to Hayden. He’d decided, finally, that he was ready to introduce me to Skylar, and I was more than happy to do that.

“You’re doing good, Michie,” Melanie said, grinning as I walked behind the counter, putting my tips in my apron. “If you decide to move here for college, I’m sure Pat will always save a spot for you here.”

Melanie and I had become close friends over the past few weeks—in spite of the fact that my best friend had beat up her little sister—and I was glad to have gotten to know her. I was glad to know that she didn’t care how much disdain her sister held for me and Nickayla. She’d told me that she liked to decide for herself who was worth getting to know, and that Madilyn hated a new person every week, so if Mel had tried to keep up, she’d never make any friends. It was refreshing to know that she’d decided to give me a chance. She’d become like a mentor of sorts to me, showing me the ropes of the small restaurant and even handing over some of her regulars so that I’d have the chance to win them over, but even more than that, she’d become my friend, and I didn’t make friends easily.

I smiled as I walked over to the blender to make myself a smoothie. I put fruit in the blender, and then added coconut water and yogurt. I put the top on it and started blending it, waiting for it to stop.

The bell rang, notifying us that someone had come in.

When I looked up from the blender, Hayden was walking into Buck and Doe’s with a tiny, blonde, three year old girl with one side of her hair pulled back by a pink butterfly clip. My heart raced at the sight of them and suddenly I was nervous.

“There’s your boy,” Mel said, nudging me. The bell rang again, and her head turned. “And old man Jenkins just sat in your section. Looks like it’s your lucky day today.”

I nodded, removing my hand from atop the blender, motioning her to come over. “Finish blending this for me, yeah?”

She nodded, taking over as I grabbed my order pad and stuffed it into the pocket of my apron just as Hayden made his way over to the counter.

“Hey,” I grinned, walking over to where he stood, kissing him on the cheek. He squeezed my hand over the counter and I walked around so that I could introduce myself to his little girl. I squatted down in front of her, tucking my skirt between my knees so that none of the old guys in the restaurant caught sight of my panties. “And who is this little cutie?”

She grinned lightly, revealing a beautiful smile that perfectly matched her dad’s.

“I’m Sky-lar,” she said, breaking her name into two syllables.

I smiled at her, extending my hand so that she could shake mine. “Skylar? That’s such a beautiful name!” I exclaimed, my heart skipping a beat as she took my hand and shook it. “I’m Michele. I’m a friend of your daddy’s.” I tucked my hair behind my ear, looking up at Hayden. “I get off in twenty minutes, then we can leave.”

I picked Skylar up and sat her on a stool in front of the counter, twirling her seat around so that she was facing me. Her blonde hair curled at the bottom, and she played with it as she looked up at me.

“So, Skylar, are you ready for the beach?” I asked.

She nodded frantically, her smile widening.

“Yeah!” she yelled. “My mommy gave me toys to make a sandcastle.” She paused, her eyebrows crinkling together. “Will you make a sandcastle with me?”

I nodded. “Oh, yeah,” I said. “I make the best sandcastles.” I motioned for Melanie to come over with her order pad. I gestured toward the blonde-haired cutie in my section and gave Mel my best smile. “Mel, this is Skylar Jax. She’s a
really
good friend of mine. Get her whatever she wants, on me—as long as her daddy approves—while I take care of old man Jenkins.”

Skylar smiled at me then turned to look at Hayden, her brows furrowing in the middle of her forehead. She tugged on her dad’s shirt, forcing him to give her his full attention.

“Daddy, can we get cookies?” Her eyes lit up as soon as the word “cookies” left her mouth.

Melanie looked to Hayden for approval, and he nodded with a laugh. “White chocolate macadamia for me, and chocolate chip for the munchkin, please.” He reached in his pocket for a five dollar bill. “Here’s your tip, and thanks for helping my girl out with this job.”

I walked away, my order pad in my hand as I heard Sky announce, “I want milk too, Miss Mel! Please!”

She was so adorable. I was in awe of her and how well-spoken she was. Even more, though, my mind couldn’t and wouldn’t let go of the fact that Hayden had just called me
his
girl. We’d been on an extensive number of dates and we hadn’t exactly made anything official yet, but it still made my heart flutter when he’d staked a claim to me.

I walked over to Mr. Jenkins’ table, smiling at him as I pulled out a pen.

“Hey, Mr. Jenkins!” I exclaimed. “What can I get you today? Your usual?”

He shook his head. “No, I think I want to try that new buffalo ranch chicken sandwich I saw on the window outside. And unsweetened iced tea?”

I nodded. “Sounds great. I’ve actually tried that sandwich, and it’s amazing. What would you like as your sides?”

I looked over at Skylar and Hayden while old man Jenkins pondered his side choices. They were laughing, and Skylar was feeding her dad a piece of her cookie. She was the spitting image of her father, except for her hair. The blonde clearly came from her mother. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched them.

“I’ll have the sweet potato fries and a side of fresh fruit, doll.”

I wrote down his order and then smiled at him. “I’ll see you again in a few days, Mr. Jenkins. I’m out in about ten minutes and I’ve got the next two days off of work. You have a great weekend, okay?”

I walked away, ripping off his order ticket and sticking it on the corkboard behind the counter. I went to the back room to grab my stuff. I changed into my bikini and a pair of shorts, wearing a dolman top over my swimsuit. I slipped out of my Keds and slid my feet into a pair of sandals. Pulling my hair out of its ponytail, I stopped at the counter for my smoothie and gave Melanie a hug goodbye.

“Have fun with the boy,” she said, grinning.

“I will. I’ll text you later, ‘kay?” When she nodded, I took that opportunity to walk back over to Hayden and Skylar. “Okay, time to go to the beach!”

Hayden stood up and Skylar leapt off of her stool and into her father’s arms. “Yay! Daddy, will you and Michele take me in the water?” Her eyes were wide and searching.

Hayden took my hand and led me out the door with him as he grinned down at his daughter. “Yeah, princess. Whatever you want.”

We walked to his car, and I climbed in the front seat as he buckled Skylar into her car seat. He got in the car after me, fastening his seat belt and starting the car.

I sat straight, crossing my legs as we drove off toward the beach. Hayden’s hand grabbed mine over the console between us, squeezing it. I squeezed back, giving him my most genuine smile.

“Daddy!” Skylar exclaimed from the backseat.

He looked at me, shaking his head as he laughed. “Yes?”

“Next time we go to the beach can Kynlee come?”

He tensed a little bit, and his hand held onto mine tightly. We exchanged glances and then his eyes focused on the road.

“I don’t know, Sky. We have to ask Mommy and Patrick.” His reply was clipped. “Remember last time you asked me why Kynlee doesn’t come stay with me? I’m your daddy and she has another daddy. I can’t make plans for her because I’m not her daddy.”

Sky seemed to accept his answer, and she remained quiet for the rest of our short trip.

…