6. Baxter

CHAPTER 6

BAXTER

Tammy's here. Holy shit, Tammy's here!

She's standing in my house—on my turf—needing my help.

Saying no was an impossibility. I didn't even hesitate. She needs me, and shifting back into that role is the easiest thing in the world.

"Do you have any bags or anything?"

She sniffs, her lips trembling into a smile. "Ah, yeah. In the car."

"Okay." I give her arm a light squeeze and head out the front door.

She trails behind me, still carrying Kai, who's clinging to her like a bear cub. And then his little arms practically choke her when a yapping dog comes racing around the side of the house.

"Ah!" he yelps, his legs hooking around her hips even tighter.

"It's okay, sweetie. It's just a little doggy." Tammy rubs his back, her fingers splaying across his shirt.

Her hands are still the same.

Not that they'd change, but… there's just something so familiar about them that I freeze for a second, mesmerized by the shine of her nail polish and the memory of the way they used to hold a pen when she doodled on my homework, or gripped my shirt when we were roughhousing, or drew letters on my back that I had to guess.

Shit. So many memories. I'm struggling to breathe.

Fezzik's excited bark pulls me back to the present, and I blink when I hear Kai whimper into Tammy's neck.

Casey and Caroline's black-and-white ball of fur bounces around Tammy's feet before resting his paws on her knee and desperately trying to say hello. His shaggy tail is going nuts.

"Fezzik," I warn him. "Come here."

The dog lets out another happy yip before trotting over to me while I pull two small suitcases out of the trunk.

"Don't go scaring the kid." I try to put my stern face on, but it's pretty hard to stay mad with the pup. He's freaking adorable. "You need to be polite to our guests." I crouch down, lightly patting the Shih Tzu's head. "I know you're excited." He rests his paws on my knee. "But you need to chill out and… where have you been, anyway?" I swipe my hand across his dirty muzzle. "I hate to know what you've buried. It better not be anything out of Rachel's kitchen."

I glance up, and Tammy is blinking like she's fighting tears again. It kills me to see her this way. I need to get her inside, set her up in one of the guest rooms, and try to distract her from that asshole of a husband. I can't fucking believe he cheated on her. Why? Why would you ever want to cheat on a girl like Tammy? She's always been perfect. How could Hudson not see that?

I give her a gentle smile, gripping the bags and walking back toward the stairs. She turns to follow me, and Fezzik dances around our feet, still letting out the odd bark.

"He's really harmless," I assure her. "The guy just loves meeting new people. If you want me to keep him outside, though…"

"No, that's okay. Kai needs to experience new things, and he's never really been around dogs before. This will be good for him."

Kai makes a little grunt of protest, and Tammy smiles as she rubs his back and rests her cheek against his head. Wow. She's a mama all right. And looks to be a good one too. Of course she was going to be. She's sweet and kind and fun.

I look away from her, my swallow thick as we ascend the stairs. "We're trying to decide what to do once this place opens up to guests, you know? Rachel won't let him in the kitchen, so he's pretty good about that, but he's been roaming the rest of the house like he's the king of the manor, and I'm not sure how guests will feel about that. We might have to start restricting him to certain areas, and it's gonna be pretty hard to train him when he thinks this place is his castle."

Tammy follows me down the hallway, and I open the first door on my right.

"None of these rooms have been used yet, but I'm sure Rachel won't mind." I wink at Tammy, and Kai has finally lifted his head to look around. As soon as we make eye contact, he gasps again and buries his face away.

I wince at Tammy, who smiles and shakes her head, then scrapes her bottom lip with her teeth. "So, Rachel, huh?"

Placing the bags down at the foot of the bed, I glance at Tammy and nod. "Yeah, she's gonna be in charge of looking after guests, as well as the kitchen. We kind of need to find someone else to assist her, but we're doing a soft opening so we can ease into it, you know? I'll be around to help when I have to, but she's way better with people than I am, so I'm really hoping I won't have to do much. I'd rather be peeling potatoes in the kitchen than greeting a bunch of strangers." I scratch the back of my neck, trying to figure out that look on Tammy's face.

"How long have you guys been together?"

The question stumps me, and I frown. "Together?"

"Yeah." She glances around, walking over to the bed and brushing her hand across the soft duvet. "It must have been a while if you're running this business. Are you guys married or…?" She turns to face me, and all I can do is gape at her and then blink like an idiot.

"Married? I…" A laugh punches out of me before I can stop it. Tammy's perfectly shaped eyebrows pucker, and I rub my forehead. "We're not…" I shake my head. "Rachel's not my girlfriend, or wife. I don't…" I'm still shaking my head. "I'm not…"

Tammy's eyebrows rise, her big brown gaze so expectant.

Blowing out a short breath, I manage, "Rachel's with Liam. He lives here too. A bunch of us do. We used to live closer to campus. We all roomed together, but then that house fell through, and we got this place. I decided to stick around after graduation and help get it off the ground. Since Rachel and I are the only two not in college, we're kind of running it."

"Oh." Tammy's head bobs. "Okay. So, how many of you?—"

"Baxter?" Rachel's voice shoots up the stairwell. "There's a car I don't recognize in the driveway."

Fezzik's ears perk up, and he lets out a little bark before racing out the door to say hi to her.

"Yeah, uh… coming!" I call down.

Tammy looks nervous all of a sudden.

"Hey, it's okay." I give her a reassuring smile. "Let me go down and explain the situation."

She winces, and I feel my heart breaking for her. "I don't have to say anything about… Hudson. I'll just… mention that you're visiting."

"Thanks," she whispers, her lips trembling into a smile.

"She won't mind at all." I grin. If anything, Rachel will be stoked. She can test out her hostess skills on Tammy and Kai. She'll love it.

Brushing my hand down Tammy's arm, I slip out of the room and am just closing the door when I hear Kai's voice.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby."

"Are we staying here for long?"

"Not sure yet. But… is that okay?"

"Yeah, I guess." His voice is soft and sweet.

"You know the puppy's not gonna eat you, right? He just wants to sniff your butt, probably."

The boy snorts and starts to giggle. "Mommy!"

"What? That's what dogs do, right?" He laughs some more, and Tammy giggles too. Then her voice gets warm and motherly. "It's gonna be okay. Baxter was my best friend growing up, and he's really nice. He'll take care of us while we're here."

"He looks scary."

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

"Is it the beard?"

"Did he have that when you guys were kids?"

Tammy's laughter is soft and melodic. "No, he didn't. I've never seen him with a beard before."

"It's big."

"And wild and bushy. He looks like a mountain man, don't you think?"

"Or a big, scary bear."

Tammy growls, and Kai squeals, then bursts into fits of laughter. She's probably tickling him by the sounds of things.

I ease away from the door and creep down the corridor, rubbing my beard and figuring I'll be shaving it off tonight. Don't want to go scaring the poor kid.

Rachel meets me halfway up the stairs, holding Fezzik and looking worried as she strokes his head. "Do you know who parked in our driveway?"

"Yes." I nod.

"What's going on?"

"A friend of mine from high school showed up unannounced. She needs a place to stay for a few days, and I said she could. Hope that's okay."

"Of course it is. Where have you put her?"

"In the Juniper suite. She's got a kid with her, so I figure they could use the space."

"Good idea." Rachel looks around me, like she's itching to get up there and make sure they have everything they need. "I'll get some fresh towels for them. Did you check the en suite to make sure there's enough toilet paper and shampoos? Soaps?"

"No." I shake my head. That hadn't even occurred to me.

Rachel tuts and is walking past me before I can stop her.

Two minutes later, she's standing in the room, hugging Tammy and welcoming her to the Ponderosa Countryside Villa. As soon as Rachel hears Tammy's name, she spins to give me a look that makes me want to die of embarrassment—why did I ever mention anything about my past to her?—but thankfully, she doesn't say anything.

She really is the hostess with the mostest. She's treating my little TT like a VIP guest and then crouching down to welcome Kai too. She gets a smile out of him within seconds, and he's soon nodding happily when she asks if he likes to read books and play games.

"We have a bunch I'm sure you're going to love. Let me get you a stack of books, and I'll bring them up here so you can read on the bed while Mommy gets freshened up, okay?"

"Okay." His eyes dart to me as I loiter in the doorway, and his smile is quickly replaced with a cautious frown as he inches closer to his mother and wraps his arm around her leg.

She brushes the top of his black hair while she chats with Rachel, and I ease out of the room, giving them the space they so obviously need.

My chest is swelling and aching at the same time.

It's so damn good to see Tammy again, but it's different now. She's not the mischievous, playful girl I grew up with. Life has toughened us both up. Loss, heartache, and now betrayal teaching us that joy and security can be fleeting.

She's a mama now. All grown up.

A hurting mama who's trying to be strong for her son while her heart breaks over a husband who never deserved her in the first place.