Cal holds his phone close to his face and glares at the camera. "Jeremy, if you call me one more time, I will treat it as harassment and have you brought up on charges. For that, and for abandoning your sons. Are we clear?"
Jeremy is still huffing when Cal ends the call and turns to me. "Bailey, I'm so sorry about this." He shakes my hand. "Anytime you need me, just holler."
"No problem. I understand you have to check out a call like that."
Eli extends a hand as well. "I'd like to apologize in advance: I'm the one that's going to be calling Nate for help in the middle of the night now and then. It's lovely to meet you."
"You, too."
The men clap Nate on the shoulder on their way out, and Eli pauses. “Sorry I had to call and get you out of here. Cal needed to see Bailey alone?—”
“To confirm she’s here of her own free will.” Nate smiles. “You were just doing what’s best for my girl. Fine by me.”
The two men leave, and Nate comes over to sit beside me as everyone else goes back to their food. He takes my hand, then whispers, "I'm so sorry, baby. What can I do?"
Before I can answer, Mae sets our lunches in front of us. "A hearty meal will calm you right down after that little fuss.”
“Thanks, Mae," Nate says.
He stays on my side of the table with his arm around me, gently rubbing my back. "Well," he says cautiously, "now half the town knows who you are, and that you're with me. That's…good?"
If I were at home, I'd retreat to my room with a book for several days. Or journal about my feelings.
Maybe that's the answer. "Can we do another brain dump soon?"
His face relaxes. "Of course, baby. Whatever you want. Always."
15
NATE
Bailey and I chat about hiking and adventure TV while enjoying our lunch, but she's almost silent the whole drive home. Part of me wants to ask if everything's all right. A bigger part realizes she probably needs some space.
After we arrive at the house, I take her hand and lead her to the living room, where we sit on the couch. I try not to think about the fact that the last time she was in this spot, she was naked and spread wide for me.
"You want to do that brain dump now?" I ask. "Or would you prefer some alone time?"
Bailey leans back against the cushions. "Definitely brain dump." Her eyes fall shut. "I have no problem leaving those two idiotic so-called parents. I would be fine never seeing them again. I’d miss the boys, though." Her eyes snap open again, and she looks at me. "But I had a thought on the drive back. Tomorrow, I'm going to call my grandmother and tell her everything. She's extremely controlling. Maybe that's why Mom is such a flake, as a sort of reaction to it. Anyway. She'll either take the boys in or get them a nanny. She'll take care of everything."
"Perfect. Great idea." I hold out my palm and she takes it. "And you?"
Her eyes close again, and she sighs. "Jeremy was a moron to try to get me a free trip home. But it did hammer home that the only money I have is my savings for an apartment. It’s not enough to live on."
She nods to herself. "One of the jobs I was thinking about getting was remote. The other two were in offices. The remote one is a lot less money, but more interesting work."
“If you stayed here with me, you could live for free and not need any money at all while you tested out the job. Right?"
Her eyes snap open as she squeezes my hand. "Nate, I appreciate the offer. But I can't sponge off you forever. You've worked hard for your money. It's not right."
"But what if I didn't work hard for my money?"
Bailey peers at me intently. "Explain."
"Okay… What if I won the lottery? What if, at the age of twenty-one, I won ten million bucks, leaving me set for life, by sheer, dumb luck? Could youspongeoff me then?"
A smile begins to blossom across her lips. "I guess so. Somehow that's…different."
I kneel on the floor in front of her, taking both hands. "Well, that’s what happened. Except instead of winning a literal lottery, I was born into the Wolfe family."
