Chapter 16

Tears filled her eyes, and she wanted to run away, but the woman, Ava seemed to be her name, led her into the house and was washing her hand before Haisley could protest.

"There you go. Now your hand is clean. Here is a warm washcloth, and I have some ginger ale. Mel had issues up until a few weeks ago so I always kept ginger ale on hand." Ava led her over to a chair and had her take a seat. "There you go. Drink a little, and I have some crackers for you to eat."

“Mommy,” one of the girls called out. “Daddy wants to know if Haisley needs some clothes?”

Haisley shook her head. “No, my clothes are fine.”

“Did you hear that?” Ava called out.

“Yeah. I’ll tell them.”

“That’s Lila. The first time I saw her, she called Wild a dick.”

Haisley burst out laughing. “What?”

Ava laughed as she sat next to Haisley. "I'd just moved out here, and I needed a job. My ex was very abusive, and I finally escaped him. Wild's brother had two girls. When his brother was killed, Wild ended up with custody. He didn't really want to be a father, and I was just looking for a job. He gave me a place to live and a job. It was great. Then magic happened between us, and the rest is history. After we got married, we adopted both girls. They are more comfortable calling us Mommy and Daddy, and we're both fine with that."

Haisley didn't know what to say. She had a screwed-up past, but hearing Ava's story made her feel better. Not good enough to reveal what had happened, but she relaxed.

The guys came in, and Peach stood behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you feeling better?"

“Ugh, I’m so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be. You’ve had a big day and I’m sure the bird doing that was the last straw for your stomach.”

A shiver slid through her. “I can’t think of that. It was so gross.”

Wild slapped his hands together. “Well, we have the driveway clean.”

“And I put the air mattress in the back of the car.”

Wild moved to the other side of the table and took a seat. “So Peach told me you’ve never been to the beach. We were planning on doing a picnic this weekend at a park, but we could do a beach day instead.”

“Oh, don’t change your plans because of me.”

Ava flashed a smile. “The plans aren’t in stone. We can go out for a little while and then come back here or one of the other guy’s places for food.”

“Harry would probably love to have everyone.”

“Isn’t that the guy with the pregnant wife?” Haisley asked.

Wild shook his head. "No, that's Andy with Mel. And no, none of us expect you to know our names. There's a lot of us and only one of you."

“Bear is my favorite,” Lila said as she skipped into the room.

The other little girl came in. “I like Jax.”

“That’s Emma,” Ava said.

Haisley glanced around, seeing how happy they all seemed. “Wow, you both have a great family.”

“We like them,” Wild said. “They’ve certainly made life interesting.”

Lila put her hand on her hip and shot Wild a harsh look. “Interesting is coded to mean something negative. Maybe you should change your descriptor.”

Wild hugged his daughter from behind. “See, they don’t let us get away with anything. I love her for that.”

“Well, like you say, I have a smart mouth?—“

“That will get you in trouble one day,” Wild finished for her.

They both laughed like it was a joke. When Haisley’s dad had said she had a smart mouth, she was sure his fist was sure to follow. This man was different. He seemed to really care for his daughters.

Her chest tightened as she thought about the baby inside her. Would she rather have a boy or a girl? She wasn't sure. Either would be fine, she guessed. A girl would allow her to correct things her parents had done wrong. No matter if it was a boy or a girl, she needed to be a better person than what she'd been raised with.

“We should probably get going,” Peach said. “I know those kids have school tomorrow.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Lila said.

Emma twirled. “I love school.”

"It's too slow. I get finished so fast, and everyone else takes an hour. I'm so bored," Lila said as she and her sister ran upstairs.

Wild looked at Ava and frowned. “We really need to address that this year. It’s getting bad.”

Haisley had no clue how they would address it. She had so much to learn about being a parent. This was going to be hard. No doubt, she'd been leaning on the idea that Ellen would be there to help her. Now, she would have to rely on Peach and his friends.

The drive to Peach's place wasn't long, only a few blocks away, and then worry really hit. She'd moved across the country to a strange city with few trees and people she didn't know, and now she was reliant on a stranger. What if this had all been a big mistake? There was no way she could get back to Georgia.

Heat filled her, and her stomach ached. How would she survive this? Surely, she would regret moving here with Peach.