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CHAPTER THREE

Paxton

We spent this last week designing and building Piper’s signing table, with the stand for her books. Today is her signing day. Felicity planned it so that this will be a weekly signing that Piper will do.

“So what do you think?” I ask her.

“I love it. Thank you so much. Are you staying for my signing? I thought I remember you saying that you had a job today?”

“I’ll be here. I have to support my girl. And the job is on Monday.” I wink at her.

Piper walks over and hugs me. One week. That’s all the time I needed to know that she’s mine. I haven’t told her, but I’ve even started reading her books.

“BESTIE!” we hear Emiko yell as she’s running over to Piper. “Your personal assistant is here. Let’s get you set up.”

I chuckle as I let Piper go and watch them set up her table.

I love to see that smile on her face. This week we also got her moved into Emiko’s old place.

It made me a little sad that she wasn’t going to be staying at the house with us.

But it also gave me ideas about finding things I need to fix on the rental. I mean, I am a carpenter.

It takes them about thirty minutes to set the table up.

Felicity keeps running back and forth, throwing things at them to put on the table.

It’s actually pretty funny. The last thing she launched at them was some fairy lights.

And they hit Emiko right on the side of her head.

How do I know what fairy lights are? Well I know what they are because when my sister threw it at them, she yelled out ‘fairy lights!’.

“I’ll be back to check on you two.” I laugh.

As I walk away, I can hear them laughing.

I love how happy they are. When Rhett met Emiko, she was dealing with the loss of her fiancé.

He was a state trooper, and he got shot while on a call.

We all make sure that Seth’s memory lives on for Emiko and the twins, Rhett wanted it that way.

We plan to celebrate his birthday and even their anniversaries. My brother’s a good man.

I go over to my workshop and start working on the dollhouse again.

As much as I’d rather hover over Piper, I’m trying my best to give her a little breathing room.

I can still hear them talking and laughing from where I am.

I’ve started making the little people that will live in the dollhouse.

So far, I’ve made my parents and grandparents.

Next I’ll be working on myself, my siblings and the families that we’re creating.

Piper

Watching Paxton walk away makes me sad. I feel safe when he’s around. Surprisingly, there’s a line forming at my table. It’s an amazing feeling to know that all these people are here to find out about my books.

“I’m so glad to see you again!” I hear a voice say.

A voice that gives me chills. A voice I hoped to never hear again. I take a deep breath and try not to panic, I don’t want to scare Emiko. But the man I see in front of me scares the shit out of me. And I don’t know how he found me.

“Hi Marc,” I say, trying to keep a smile on my face.

“I’m so glad I found you. I was worried when you didn’t show up at our coffee shop last week. Everyone I asked said they didn’t know where you were. I overheard some customers saying that you were doing a signing last week. I wasn’t able to get to it, but I’m here now.”

I’m speechless as I listen to Marc talk.

I’ve had a restraining order on him for the last year.

And for the most part, he’s followed it.

Now here he is, talking about how he missed me at ‘our’ coffee shop?

What the fuck? There’s a coffee shop I used to go to daily back home.

But I never saw him there and I was relieved.

I thought my life was finally normal again.

Rhett comes over and tells Marc that he needs to keep moving.

“You’re holding up the line that’s waiting to meet Piper,” Rhett says to him.

“I just want to give Piper a hug. I’ve missed her and I know she’s missed me.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” a voice behind me says.

I feel Paxton’s hand on my shoulder. Marc gets a dark look on his face that disappears as fast as it appeared.

“I’ll come and see you later, Piper,” Marc says as he steps to the side.

“Hey everyone, we’re going to give Piper a few minutes to grab a bite to eat. Please don’t go anywhere. We’ll be back in fifteen minutes,” Emiko says to the people in the line.

Paxton takes my hand and leads me to the back area. He wraps his arms around me.

“Are you okay?” he asks me.

I shake my head no. “He’s not supposed to be anywhere near me.”

“Who is he?” Emiko asks.

“A couple of years ago, I started going to a coffee shop in my town. It was after I found out about Harris cheating on me. Marc worked at the coffee shop. I thought he was a nice guy and we talked a little when I was there. But I mostly just did my writing there. Then one day I realized he was acting weird. He was talking to me like he was my boyfriend. And he definitely wasn’t.

When I asked him about the way he was acting, he said that he always knew we were meant to be together.

I told him I was sorry if I gave him any indication that I wanted to be in a relationship. But I didn’t want that.”

Paxton holds me tighter.

“He said he was sorry he misunderstood. It was all a little weird, but I think I wanted to believe that he would go back to just being a casual friend. And it felt like that for a few months. But then I started seeing him everywhere I went. Grocery store, gas station, bookstore. Everywhere. I decided to go to the police station and ask them what I could do. The sergeant I spoke to said that I could take a restraining order out on him. And if I did, I needed to find a new coffee shop, because that’s where Marc worked.

So I did. I filed the restraining order, and he’s supposed to stay more than one hundred feet away from me.

I still saw him following me sometimes. But he kept his distance.

And then for the last year, I haven’t noticed him anywhere I went. I was so relieved.”

“So what he said today was a lie?” Emiko asks.

“Yes. I haven’t been to that coffee shop in over a year. And I haven’t talked to Marc since the restraining order.”

“Well now that we know, he won’t be coming near you again. I promise you that,” Paxton says to me.

I don’t know how he does it, but Paxton makes me feel safe. Somehow in this short time, he’s become my safe place. My person that I know I can count on no matter what.

“Thank you,” I say. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you.”

Emiko hugs me. “Don’t you worry. We got you.”

I love my new family.