Page 30 of Nothing to This (Nothing to… #8)

Five years old. Her babies were five years old.

How did that happen? It felt like just yesterday she’d learned of their pending arrival.

Now, running around the funfair located in the park just for them, they were fully fledged human beings.

It was real. She didn’t want it to be. Okay, so she loved to see them so happy, but did they have to keep getting bigger?

Crop tops and jalopies got closer every day.

In absolute awe, she couldn’t fault any detail of the event. Everything was catered for, every whim satisfied. Every five-year-old’s whim anyway. The delight of her babies was enough to skyrocket her own. This was what they wanted and they got it.

A Ferris wheel, a teacup ride, a carousel, on and on, the attractions were in full swing.

Various stalls with games like hook-the-duck and a coconut shy kept the adults trying for prizes.

The petting zoo, of course, Sky wouldn’t surrender the chance to be close to animals.

Food trucks were set up for grilling and hotdogs and all kinds of candy.

Her children were spoiled. And why shouldn’t they be spoiled on their birthday?

All paid for by the sire himself. There hadn’t been time to thank him, the day had been manic. The kids got their presents in the morning, followed by a special brunch for close family only. A kind of brunch anyway, one with cake and a chance to blow out their candles.

Afterwards, the fair awaited, along with their daycare friends and extended family.

Going from one adult to another, from one group of friends to the next, the twins loved every minute of the attention.

Mommy wasn’t as exciting, obviously, she’d hardly seen them.

They’d get family time at home later, so for now, she’d take a backseat.

JD had said there would be another surprise at the apartment, for just the four of them; she was in the dark along with the twins. Speculating, she wandered to the perimeter of festivities, admiring the vision of happiness created for her children.

That happiness vanished in a heartbeat. A figure broke from the crowd with her in its sights. Was this real? He couldn’t be here. Why would he be here? Snapping to, she hurried to meet him.

“Baxter,” she gasped. “What the hell…? What are you doing here?”

“I came to get you back,” he said, determined, his wide eyes wild. “I can’t walk away or live without you.”

“You can… you have to,” she said, grabbing his wrist to march him away from the party. At the end of the hot dog cart, he yanked his arm from her grip. “Baxter—”

“I love you, Rylee,” Baxter declared. “I love you.”

Panic surged through her and she grabbed him again. “What has gotten into you? What the hell, Baxter!”

Sinking down onto the grass, he dug in his pocket. “I bought you a ring, Ry. I want to do it. To marry you.”

“No, you don’t,” she said and tossed her head back to growl at the sky before glaring at him.

“I will not let you ruin my children’s birthday, not for them and not for me.

I don’t know what is going on here, but we were never in love.

You never said you loved me until Jamison came into my life and now you’re determined to beat him?

Is that what this is?” He gave up rifling in his pocket. “Get up off the ground.”

“Rylee—”

“You never met my kids, never wanted to, until their dad moved into town. We didn’t talk about being exclusive let alone living together or merging lives.

And marriage?” Too astounding for words.

“You used to joke with me, tell me you were competitive, but this… I don’t know what you expect to happen here.

I did nothing to make you believe I wanted us to be forever.

We dated, we had fun, and I’m sorry if you’re hurt that it’s over, but my kids are my priority.

They will always be my priority and I’m sorry, I don’t believe that you would be a positive influence in their lives. ”

Staggering back a step, he opened his mouth. “You think I’m not father material? That he’s better than me?”

“Baxter, I—”

“You can walk away from four months together? You can give up on us? Just like that?” Hurting him wasn’t her goal. She could understand his anger, but there was no way to make it better for him without being dishonest and she couldn’t do that. “Are you in love with him?”

“Baxter! This isn’t about—”

“Tell me,” he snapped, grabbing her arm, tightening his grip to jerk her closer. “We were fine until he showed up. He broke us up. He did this to us… Are you sleeping with him?”

She gasped. “That is not your business,” she said, filled with her own anger. “If you don’t let go of my arm right now, I’ll scream. Believe me, you don’t want JD’s security to come over here.”

“I want an answer; I deserve an answer. I’m not afraid of his monkeys.”

Oh, the naivety. “Don’t be afraid of his monkeys, be afraid of him.

Threatening me on any given day wouldn’t be a smart move, but doing it on our children’s birthday?

At their party no less? You’re lucky I’m giving you this chance to leave.

” She leaned in to snarl. “Walk away, Baxter. We’re through. Walk. Away.”

He glared for another minute. No problem, she had plenty of practice staring out men’s failed attempts at intimidation.

Tossing her arm away with a force that sent her stumbling backward, Baxter swore and stalked off.

As long as he was walking away, she’d let him go. Keep going. Yep, right around there. Walk away and never come back. He disappeared through the trees at the other side of the field. It took another minute for her heart rate to slow to normal.

If that was their whole dose of drama to be had today, she’d take it and be happy it stayed away from her babies. Returning to her previous spot, she scanned the fairground, assuring herself that all was okay.

The hot dog cart didn’t appeal; the cotton candy stand next to it was a different story. How many years had it been since she’d enjoyed cotton candy? A treat would help get her back to the spirit of the day.

The vendor gave her a stick and a cloud of fluffy pink cotton candy. A smile spread on her face, this was exactly what she needed.

“Thank you,” she said. “What do I owe you?”

“Your husband covered all costs,” the vendor said. “He’s some guy.”

“Oh, he is,” she said, taking a bite. “Thanks.”

Wandering, she ate some more and soaked up the nostalgia. JD had paid for the rides and the games to be there, that much she’d known. It didn’t occur to her he’d cover food costs too.

And there he was, heading her way. JD was welcome. Very welcome. JD. Going to meet him, she swept a puff of cotton candy from her stick and offered it to his lips the moment they reached each other.

Opening his mouth, he accepted.

She caught some for herself when he rubbed her arms. “Can we talk?”

Nodding, she ate more of the sweet indulgence. “I love this stuff,” she said and didn’t object when he laced their fingers together to guide her across the park, past the first row of trees, into a quieter space. “Have some more.”

Backing her against a tree in the central row, he let her slip some more of the sugary treat between his lips. This time, her finger touched his tongue and trailed free.

He’d been frowning and on some kind of mission it seemed, but when she sucked her damp finger clean, his head tilted. A feral kind of heat tinged his gaze. That was what she needed. Not another manic man with a grievance, this man with one thing on his mind.

“Does cotton candy turn you on?”

“This turns me on,” she said, meaning the party, still looking at him. “I’d never have been able to throw an event like this if it weren’t for you, JD. Thank you. Did you see their little faces?”

“I did,” he said, rubbing her arms. “And it’s your birthday next. You’ll have to get to work on your wish list.”

“How do you know when my birthday is?” she asked, eating more cotton candy. “My employee file?”

“No, you told me your birthday on the night we met.”

Had she?

“Wow,” she said, the cotton candy falling to her side. “I can’t believe you remember that.”

“I remember a lot about that night,” he said. “More than I let myself admit for a long time.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway,” she said, picking up her snack for another bite.

“What doesn’t?”

Stepping forward, she should really check on her children with their aunt and grandmother. “My wish list,” she said. “I can’t have what I want this year.”

JD had other ideas and caught her shoulders to push her back against the tree. “You can,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to talk. I’ve been thinking and I need to tell you, you can have what you want.”

Dread bled into her tone in an elongating drawl. “J…”

He smiled and sank both hands into her hair. “It makes sense. It makes so much sense. Brenna said something and I’ve been thinking about it since. In the interests of fairness, I want you to know that I’ve come to a decision.”

“A decision? What decision?” she asked, then gasped.

“Are you leaving us?” It would be her own fault.

She’d told him to be honest if he wanted to split, so if he did, it was on her head.

“Are you? Because you have to tell me. A business trip to California for a couple of weeks, I can handle, if you’re leaving us permanently—”

“No,” he said, holding her cheeks, bowing to kiss the end of her nose. “My decision is that I want us to be together. I’ve decided to find a way to make this work, no matter what.”

First Baxter and now JD, something about her kids’ birthday fired everyone’s aspirations.

“We talked about this, JD. I value you too much to—”