16. Harley

SIXTEEN

HARLEY

Even after all that happened the day before, I didn't let it bring me down as I helped the girls get ready for school. It was Jordyn's first day of high school. Nothing could stop me from being there for her on a day that stressful and exciting.

To their credit, the girls were up before me. When I came down the stairs in my robe, Mariah was already pouring a bowl of cereal for both her and her sister. I stopped on the stairs and watched them––Mariah working on breakfast, Jordyn running a brush through her hair. They looked so grown up. Soon, they would be adults. Women. Tears started to burn in my eyes, but I took a breath and kept it under control.

"Good morning," I said as I descended the rest of the stairs.

The girls turned and looked at me. Mariah smiled. "Morning, Mom. Did you sleep well?"

I nodded and took a seat next to Jordyn. "I did. Are you guys excited?"

Jordyn said, "Yes. I can't wait."

Mariah set their bowls down, and they ate while we discussed the day. The strangeness of the day before hadn't made things weird between us. It was as if nothing had happened. Still, it was difficult for me not to cast an eye toward the security panel by the door or the cameras.

After breakfast, I helped the girls pick outfits and shoes. While I braided Jordyn's hair the way she liked it, I started having reservations about sending them to school. I didn't let that show or tell them, but the fear was there. Almost as though he read my thoughts, my phone buzzed with a text from Tate.

Good morning. Wanted you to know not to worry about the girls at school. I've got guys on it.

On it? That was comforting but also a little heart breaking. Why did I have to have guys ? Why did they have to be on it ? Though I couldn't ignore the fact that having Tate watching out for us made me feel much better about everything.

I texted back: Thanks. That means a lot. You read my mind.

Tate responded seconds later: It's what I'm here for.

We walked out the door to stand on the curb and wait for the bus. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement across the street. Tate stood on his porch, leaning against the rail, sipping on a cup of coffee. He was shirtless, enjoying the warm late-summer weather. I couldn't help but remember him kissing me the night before. My cheeks flushed as I took in the ripple of his muscles as he raised a hand to wave at us.

Jordyn waved ecstatically. "Tate. I'm going to high school. Can you believe it?"

He chuckled and nodded. "I can believe it. Have fun."

It was crazy how quickly the girls had taken to him. Even with the way the two of us had acted around each other at the beginning, the girls seemed to really enjoy his company. As the bus pulled up, I smiled. It was good that they had someone they could trust right across the street. Mariah and Jordyn waved to me through the window of the bus as it rolled away. Once it pulled away, I saw that Tate had gone back inside. Had he come outside just to see the girls off? Then, before I could go back inside, and before the bus was out of sight, a black sedan drove out from a side street farther down the neighborhood. A moment of fear took hold, but as it passed, Tate's friend Blayne nodded and waved at me from the driver's seat as he followed the bus toward the school. On it ? I guess so.

Ten minutes later, while I drank my coffee at the kitchen table, my phone chimed, notifying me that someone was at the front door. After a few seconds of fumbling with the new app, I was able to find the feed for the porch camera. Tate stood there, waiting. It took a few more seconds for me to get the security system deactivated, and the door opened.

Tate smiled at me. "Hey."

"Hey. Why didn't you knock or ring the bell?"

He shrugged. "Wanted to test the system and make sure the notifications were working right. Looks like we're good. Can I come in?"

Realizing I was blocking the door, I blushed. "Sorry, yeah, come in."

We went to the kitchen table. After we sat, Tate said, "Okay, just an update. The cops did get some photos of your car, and they towed it off yesterday. Miles got the name of the garage. They were going to hold it until the owner claimed it. We went ahead and got that taken care of. The repairs on it are starting today. Steff and I gave the cops everything we have on Luis, and we let them know we are pretty much one-hundred percent sure he's the perpetrator."

It was a very funny feeling, having someone look out for me. It had been so long since anyone had done something like this for me. It was nice. Comforting. Warm. But it also made me feel like I was taking advantage of him. I wasn't even sure how to respond.

"Thank you, Tate. I really appreciate all this."

He just stared at me. It wasn't an angry or irritated stare, it was more like he was searching for something. Looking deep inside me, literally trying to read what was going on in my head. Heat rose in my cheeks when he finally leaned back, breaking the moment.

"Okay, I'm taking you out for breakfast. Go ahead and get dressed," he said, startling me.

I shook my head. "I'm not really in the mood for all that. I'd rather stay in today. I'm sorry."

He smiled. "No problem, I get it."

He stood and walked to the kitchen, then started pulling out some pans. He grabbed eggs and a pack of bacon from the fridge. It took a few seconds before I could process what I was seeing. I finally broke the paralysis that had taken hold once he stood.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

Without looking up from the stove, he said, "I'm making us breakfast. I'm starving. Plus, we need to talk." He glanced at me. "There's a lot to go over, and we need to go ahead and get it all out in the open. I don't really want to drag all this out until the baby is born. No reason not to do it over a plate of eggs, toast, and bacon. Crispy or floppy?"

"Huh?" I asked dumbly.

He raised his eyebrows. "Your bacon? Crispy or floppy?"

"Oh. Uh… crispy. Maybe a step or two away from being burnt," I said with a smile.

He pointed at me with a spatula. "I knew there was a reason I liked you. Consider it done."

Twenty minutes later, he put a plate in front of me with perfectly cooked bacon, scrambled eggs, and buttered toast. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until the food was in front of me. I took a bite of bacon and eggs and had just stuffed a piece of toast into my mouth when Tate started talking.

"When is your next doctor's appointment?"

My eyes jolted up to meet him. My mouth was stuffed with food, in the most embarrassing, least ladylike way I could have imagined. Already, this little breakfast meeting was going poorly on my end. "What?" I mumbled through a full mouth.

"Your next appointment. I want to be involved with everything from here on out. I want to go with you to the next one. Plus, since I'm going to be around a lot more, we should get to know each other a little better. Right?"

Finally getting the mouthful of food swallowed, I shot him a surprised look. This was not how I'd thought this would go.

Before I could answer, he said, "I mean, we're going to be raising a kid together. Shouldn't we know each other a little better?"

"Well, sure. Can we maybe start with the background stuff? You know, the things people usually find out before having hot, sweaty sex."

He actually blushed a little at that, which helped me feel a tiny bit better about the whole conversation. I could keep him off kilter, too, it seemed.

"Okay, okay," he said. "What do you want to know?"

I shrugged. "What was your childhood like?"

He glanced down at his plate and ate an entire piece of bacon before answering. "Well, I guess my childhood was pretty normal. Things didn't get weird until I was older. My family pretty much disowned me and kicked me out when I was eighteen."

That should have been one of the craziest things I'd ever heard, but my own life was similar. When Sam and I got pregnant with Mariah, my parents demanded I have an abortion or put her up for adoption. They'd absolutely refused to even entertain the thought that I would marry him. When I did, and I kept the baby, they'd cut me off. I hadn't seen or spoken to either of them since I was pregnant with Mariah. I couldn't imagine anything my girls could do that would make me want to cut them out of my life. To send them into the world without someone to lean on or confide in sounded heartless and brutal. It was heartless and brutal. It was even worse when it was done by someone you loved and trusted. Tate and I had more in common than I thought.

"What made them do that?"

Tate shrugged and stirred his eggs around his plate. "I… I didn't want to follow the path they'd laid out for me. I'd met a girl that they thought I should marry. I didn't love her, though. I was just with her because everyone wanted me to be with her. When I broke up with her, my family tried to force me to get back with her. When that didn't work…" Tate made a slicing gesture with his fork, "…cut off. Never to return."

"I'm so sorry." I proceeded to tell him my story. His eyes widened with surprise when he realized we had very similar experiences.

We talked for hours, long after our food was done. We talked as we did the dishes, as I brewed coffee, while we sat on the couch. It was companionable, easy, and enjoyable. It had been a long time since I'd been able to converse this easily with a man. Luis had talked, but the conversations had always been very one-sided and narcissistic. This was a give and take, and it was fun. I hadn't had this sort of connection with someone since Sam.

After a while, Tate sighed. "You know, I'd decided a long time ago that I would never have kids. I'd never even considered it. Still, as soon as I realized you were pregnant with my kid, I couldn't walk away. There was no way I could abandon my child the way my family abandoned me. So, how do you want to do this?"

It wasn't an easy question, especially since I didn't really know how this was going to work.

"I'm in the same boat. I never dreamed I'd be pregnant again, much less with a—no offense—complete stranger's baby."

Tate nodded in agreement. "No offense taken. How about this? We take the next few months to, sort of, hang out. See if we're compatible? I don't really like the idea of my kid growing up in separate homes, getting shuffled around on weekends and holidays, but if things between us aren't what we want, that could work. I'd really like things to work out, though, or at least try to see if they could work out."

His proposal hit me hard and fast, and I leaned back, stunned and shocked. Tate had basically just said he wanted to spend the next few months seeing if we could be an item. Like, a live-together, raise-a-kid-together, have-a-home-together couple. There was nothing wrong with that idea. He was gorgeous, kind, smart, and really seemed to want what was best for my girls and me. The only problem was that if things didn't work out, there was a chance my heart might get shattered into a thousand pieces.

"I guess we can see how things go," I said after a moment's hesitation.

Tate grinned. "Sounds great. I've got to go. There's some work stuff I need to take care of. Call me if you need anything."

"I don't think I'll need anything. I wouldn't want to burden you or anything."

He rolled his eyes. "Harley, you'll have to get used to the idea that I'm going to be around more often if we want this to actually work."

"Right." I closed my eyes, embarrassed as hell. "Sorry, you're right. It's just a ton of stuff to get used to and deal with."

"I get it. It is a lot. I'll go at your pace, but I warn you, I've never been a patient man," he said with a wink.

Tate stood to leave, then leaned down to kiss me goodbye. Warmth shot down my neck to my chest and stomach when his lips touched mine. I didn't pull away, instead I opened my lips and flicked my tongue out, exploring his lips. The kiss deepened, becoming more urgent and passionate. For a second, I thought I heard Tate growl.

When he finally pulled away, his eyes seemed to burn with hunger. The warmth I felt as he kissed me changed. That look was like nothing I'd ever seen in anyone's eyes before, and the warmth seeped down from my stomach to between my legs.

"I'll see you later," Tate whispered, then turned and left without looking back.

My body felt scorched once he was gone, seared by that look he'd given me. It sounded bad, but it wasn't. It was pleasurable. Something I thought I might like to experience again. I blushed thinking about it and talked myself out of taking a cold shower.

When the girls got home later on, I was inundated by Jordyn's stories about all her new teachers, the new friends she'd made, the way the school was laid out, even the options for sides they had at lunch. It was a lot, even for Jordyn. Her excitement was palpable. Mariah looked at me at one point and rolled her eyes, which told me she'd probably already heard all this on the bus.

Finally, Jordyn smiled mischievously and glanced at Mariah. "Mariah needs to tell you about the boy."

Frowning, I glanced at Mariah, who was turning red. I looked back at Jordyn. "What boy?"

"There was a cute guy waiting out at the bus stop for her."

Mariah sighed. "Stop making a big deal out of it, Jordyn. Kayden just wanted to give me back the binder I forgot in fourth period. He was just being nice."

"He's super cute, like a full-on heartthrob." Jordyn batted her eyelashes at Mariah. "Oh, Kayden, thank you so much for my binder. Maybe I can say thank you with a big wet kiss."

Mariah pulled a chunk off the banana she was eating and threw it at Jordyn. The white flesh of the fruit struck her right above the eye and splattered across her face. All three of us burst out laughing, Jordyn was nearly crying by the time she was able to stop laughing and catch her breath.

"Okay, that's it, watch your back. I'll get you for that one," Jordyn said, grabbing a paper towel to wipe her face.

I wiped the tears of laughter away from my eyes as my mind went back to the idea of boys. Of the two girls, I knew Jordyn was the one who would end up being the most boy crazy. It showed. Mariah and Jordyn were both gorgeous, and I'd be crazy to think they hadn't already caught the eyes of boys at school.

After wiping off her face, Jordyn said, "Okay, I'm going to go add a bunch of my new friends on social media. Bye."

She ran upstairs, and I glanced at Mariah. She was finishing what was left of her banana. "So, Kayden?"

"Oh my gosh, Mom," she said with a laugh.

"I'm just asking. Sounds like he's got his eye on you."

"Good Lord. Okay, sure, he's cute… well, really cute, I guess. He really was only returning my binder, though."

"Okay, I'll leave it alone," I said with a smile.

Mariah's face changed. It was like she'd instantly thought of something. Her brow furrowed, and she chewed at her lower lip. She glanced at the stairs, almost like she was looking to see if Jordyn was coming back. It was a strange shift.

Before I could ask what was wrong, she said, "Um, is Tate the father of the baby?"

It was like I'd been standing on the beach, enjoying the warm sun, relaxing and happy, and then a massive freezing wave had slammed into me. Tumbling under the water, barely able to breathe, cold and shocked. My eyes widened in surprise.

After a few seconds, trying to collect myself, I stammered, "What… what are you talking about, Mariah?"

"Mom, I heard it last night. When they were putting the security system in, he asked if you were carrying his baby." She sighed and shrugged. "I heard it. I just wanted to know if it was true."

"Mariah, it's a really long story. Complicated and weird, and… well, I promise I'll tell you about it soon."

Mariah shook her head and smiled. "It's fine. Take your time. I really like having Tate around. It's nice, you know? Anyway, I'm going to go read for a bit."

I watched Mariah walk up the stairs, still shocked by what she'd asked. She knew. What's more, she seemed fine with it. The girls had really taken to Tate, had embraced him even. Once again, I wondered if I was making the right decision by bringing him into our lives. It was a huge risk. Not just because my heart was at stake here, but theirs as well.