“You ever need to take her to the doctor’s, you won’t be so pissed off at me,” I call out as I walk away.
Shaking my head, I bring myself back to the present and realize I need to put some distance between us, so I go to talk to Momma. Then I go to the bar, where I drink too much.
I get offers, lots of them, and I can’t even think about accepting. All I can think about is her. By the end of the night, I can’t drive, so I wait for the cab that Sally, the bartender, calls for me and then head home, where I stumble down the hallway to her door.
I stand in the doorway, watching them sleep. She looks stunning with the little frown gone, the worry seeming to have been erased. I have platinum right here in front of me, and I can’t even touch it.
I don’t know how long I’ve been staring at her when her eyes open. She sees me, then glares.
I merely shake my head and walk away.
I hear the door shut and look back as she walks toward me, wrapping her robe around her.
“What the hell are you doing? Do you watch me every night?”
“Yep.” I want to lean forward and touch her. I won’t, though.
“Well, don’t. It’s creepy and wrong. It’s fucked up, Morrison.”
I nod. “Your fault.”
“Mine?”
“I have walked around here for days, looking at you smile, laugh, and let down that wall with everyone around here.” I lean forward a little. “You have no idea how sexy that is to me.”
“Don’t,” her voice quivers.
I shake my head. “I want you all the damn time. I get hard when you walk by. I could have fucked five different women tonight—God knows I need a release—but I didn’t, because all I wanted was to come back here and look at the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The you here, Hailey—the Hailey lying with her daughter, sleeping without a frown or any visible worry—is the one I would prefer. But that Hailey wants nothing to do with me. So forgive me if I like to watch you sleep. I promise you I won’t do it again.”
She says nothing, but her lower lip sticks out, and I have to stop myself from biting it or simply touching her, because I know what that does to her, to both of us.
So instead, I walk away.
Chapter 12
Hailey
“Morrison,” I call out. I shouldn’t speak. I should let him walk off. I need to push him away and truly let him go, not call him back to me.
He doesn’t speak. He keeps his body with his back to me and looks over his shoulder, watching me intently.
The tears build, and I feel like the dam is about to break.
“I don’t know how to handle all of this,” I whisper.
“You handle it by letting me help you,” he replies as if it’s the easiest thing in the world.
“We aren’t your problem, Morrison.”
His face contorts as if he’s in pain. Turning to face me, he doesn’t come closer, only stands with his hands on his hips, waiting for me to continue.
“I appreciate the safe place to stay, the job placement, and helping with Marisa to get settled. The long term, though, I gotta fix that for myself. I got myself into this situation, and I gotta get Marisa and myself out of it.”
“Little momma, you gotta know your front is hot. ’Cause, baby, a strong woman is sexy as hell. But you also gotta know there is nothing—and I mean nothing—that makes the man I am fall harder than watching the beauty you share with that little girl right in there.” He points to the door behind which Marisa is sleeping soundly. “Hailey, you gotta know, too, that it’s okay to let people in. It’s okay to have help. And, dammit, it’s okay to have something for yourself.”
“I have something for myself. She’s in that room, right there.”
With three strides, he’s standing in front of me, tipping my chin to make me look at him.
“I’ve seen firsthand how it works out for a mom who only lives for her kids. She’s number one. I get that, Hailey. She’ll be my number one, too. Same for Jagger, Hendrix, and Livi; we got both your backs. We know just what it’s like for a mom to sacrifice everything for the sake of her kids and leave herself with nothing else.”
I know he’s talking about his mom. We haven’t gotten this deep before, but I feel it.
My gut twists as he continues, his eyes never leaving mine. “I got one regret in this life: that we didn’t make Momma walk away. We didn’t pay enough attention until it was too late to give her something for herself. She had us boys and the bar, but she deserved better. And you deserve better.”
“Morrison,” I whisper as the tears fall.
“Nah, Hailey, there’s nothing you can say. Just listen. With or without me, you gotta remember to take care of Hailey, too. Marisa needs her momma whole. She needs her momma to have people who have her back. And what I’m telling you is that you’ve got that, no matter what.”