Page 14 of The Last Thing (Baker Girls #4)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

HALLIE

“Then Daddy told me we could pick one night a week to go out to eat,” Sophia says, bouncing in her booster seat in the back of my Wrangler. “Maybe you could come with us.”

In the rearview mirror, I give her a little smile. “Maybe. But I think you should enjoy time that’s just you and your dad too.”

I love that Deck took my advice and told her he secretly loves McDonald’s chicken nuggets.

Seeing him this morning was the ultimate test of my willpower.

They usually spend all day Sunday with his mom, so today was the first time I saw him after what happened Saturday night.

When he took care of me, even though I tried to push him away.

I hate pushing him away.

I hate fighting my feelings for him.

The night we met, I felt a hum of awareness. A buzz of electricity. Like something was drawing me to him.

It should’ve made me panic, but I told myself it was just one night, and if it was the best night of my life, I’d have it to look back on.

But it’s so much more than one night now.

And while I enjoy the playful side of him, the caretaking vulnerable side is enough to undo me. I almost burst into tears when he offered—insisted—to get me the food I needed.

My parents or friends would get me whatever I needed if I asked them to.

Frannie and Kennedy would’ve gone out without me asking back when we were living together.

But since then, this is the first time someone was so insistent on caring for me. He wants to be my person. The one I can rely on. He wants me, but I don’t know how to give him that.

Because I could never give him a part of me. He’d want it all. And giving him all of me would mean handing over my heart. That’s dangerous, and it’s sure to come with heartache.

But with the way he looks at me sometimes—the way he makes me feel—my resolve is wearing thin.

At this point, giving in to him might be inevitable.

I help Sophia out when we get to the parking lot across the street from the apartment building.

As she puts her backpack on, I notice her scratching at her wrist, and it looks a little red.

“Okay?” I ask.

She looks up at me, eyes a little wide. Then she smiles. “I’m good.”

“All right. Let’s head inside.”

I take her hand to cross the street. I’ll be keeping an extra close eye on her this afternoon because there’s something about her answer that I don’t trust.

We head across the street and into the building, though Sophia is a little quieter than normal.

“Why don’t you go wash up, then we can come up with a good snack, okay?”

Sophia hangs her backpack on the hook near the door, then nods.

“Okay. Could we listen to music too?”

“Of course.”

She hurries off to the bathroom, and I head for the fridge. My mind wanders to my own kitchen and the two containers of ice cream sitting in my freezer.

Deck left me a note yesterday morning, telling me to check the freezer. I texted him right away and thanked him. He didn’t have to do that. He went to McDonald’s to get me a shake and fries. He didn’t have to go to the grocery store too.

He’s making it a point of caring for me in every way he can. I wasn’t expecting him to be so happy to do it. And it makes it even harder not to let my guard down and let him all the way in.

He cares incredibly deeply, but where does that get me in the long run?

Heartbroken, one way or another, probably.

I rest my hand on my stomach. He’s going to be in my life no matter what .

“Miss Hallie?”

I close the refrigerator door and spin around at the sound of Sophia’s panicked voice.

My eyes flare as I take her in. Where her wrist was red, her hand, wrist and lower arm are now red, puffy, and splotchy. Same with her other side. And around her mouth and her lips are swollen too.

I squat down in front of her, stomach churning. “Hey, sweetheart. Can you take a deep breath for me?”

She nods and does it.

“Did that feel okay?”

“Yes.”

“Not hard to breathe at all?”

“No.”

“Okay. Open your mouth really wide.” She does it. “Now stick your tongue out, but don’t touch your lips.” I relax a little at seeing her tongue looks normal. Not swollen or splotchy.

Deck said she doesn’t have any food allergies, but she has sensitive skin. Since it’s mostly her hands, she probably got into something that irritated her skin, then touched her mouth—because kids can’t keep their hands away from their mouths.

“Did you try any different soaps today? Did the ones in the bathroom at school smell different?”

Her eyes get a little wide, but then she looks to the side, avoiding eye contact.

I tug on her shirt. “Hey, you’re not in trouble, but I need to know what happened. Just tell me, okay?”

She turns back to me with tear-filled eyes. “My friend Maria… while we were waiting to be picked up, she shared her lotion with me. And I know I shouldn’t have taken it, but it smelled so good, and I want to be her friend and?—”

I wrap my arms around her. “It’s okay.” She’s nearly blubbering, and I need her to calm down. We don’t want anymore swelling. “Keep taking deep breaths for me. Everything’s going to be okay, but we’re going to go to the hospital.”

She steps back, eyes huge. “The hospital?”

“Your lips are swollen, and we need to be safe.”

“So we have to tell Daddy?”

I cup her cheek and give her a reassuring smile. “Yes. But he’s only going to care that you’re okay. I’m going to grab my purse and a couple of things. Can you get your shoes on?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, do that. And do your best not to lick your lips.”

“Okay.”

Her voice is uncharacteristically small, but I get it.

She’s embarrassed and scared. I think she’ll be okay, but with that much swelling and especially with it being around her mouth, going to the hospital is a better idea.

I don’t want to give her anything here and have them say that’s not the right treatment.

I grab the insurance card and the paperwork Deck had done listing me as someone who can take her to the hospital or doctor and give and receive medical information, then pull my phone out and call Deck.

He answers exactly how I’d expect him to since I never call him.

“Hallie, what’s wrong?”

“Breathe. Everything’s okay. Sophia’s friend gave her some hand lotion today that made her hands and wrists break out and swell up. She touched her lips so they’re swollen too, but her tongue is fine and she’s breathing like normal. To be safe, I’m taking her to the ER.”

“Fuck. Okay. I’ll meet you there. Thank you. Is she—you’re sure she’s okay?”

“Yes. She’s breathing and talking fine, but I’m taking the liquid Benadryl with me, just in case.”

“Okay. Go. I’ll meet you there.”

“Hey. Take a deep breath. Don’t rush. You’re close, so you’ll probably beat us there. But I need you to be careful. Sophia needs her dad. Don’t drive stupid because you’re worried, okay?”

He lets out a long breath. “Okay. I’ll meet you there. Be safe.”

“We will.”

I hang up, grab the Benadryl from the bathroom, then aim for the door.

Sophia is waiting there, and is still doing okay, but she looks miserable.

I slip my feet in my shoes, grab her hand, and head out the door.

“Breathe,” I whisper to Deck as a nurse takes Sophia’s vitals.

She’s still doing good, but her upper cheek and eye are swollen and splotchy on one side too since she rubbed there.

Deck is bent over in his chair, elbows resting on his bouncing knees as he hangs his head.

“She’s okay.” I gently rub my fingers over his upper back, lightly massaging the tense muscles in his shoulders.

This is who Deck is. A good man, who loves hard. He’s a great dad. Sophia is lucky. So is our baby. So am I.

Deck slowly sits up, eyes on me the entire time. His large palm comes to rest on my thigh, sending shockwaves up my leg.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m already wrapped around her finger. I’d do anything for her.”

He slowly shakes his head. “Not just for that. For staying. Being here for me.”

Our eyes meet, and something stirs deep in the pit of my stomach—a word that sounds an awful lot like mine . But that can’t be right.

Without thinking, I take his hand, threading my fingers through his. “You need support too.”

He stares at me for a beat, then opens his mouth to say something, but the nurse turns to us and starts asking questions before he can.

My stomach whirls.

Wilson Decker has an unshakable hold on me. I’m in so much trouble.

Sophia is dozy and loopy as we get back to the apartment building.

I open doors for Deck, who is carrying her, while she intermittently mumbles.

They gave her corticosteroid cream and Benadryl, plus some pain meds, and her skin looks a lot better now. She’s also being sent for specialized allergy testing. Which is good, but if it’s skin sensitivity, it may not show anything.

I unlock Decker and Sophia’s apartment door and swing it open, then step to the side to let them through. When I don’t follow Deck in, he turns back to me.

“Did you need anything else? Want me to pick you up some food?”

He stares at me for a beat. “No. There are leftovers. Do you have enough?”

“I got fries at the hospital, and my freezer is full of ice cream. Plus, I have a few other things that sound okay to my stomach.”

“Okay. I guess I should…” He nods toward the hallway of his apartment.

“Yeah. Call if you need anything. Or if she does. Okay?”

“Will do.”

We stare at each other for a beat longer. I can tell he wants to ask me to stay. But unless he needs something, I can’t do it. I have to put some space between us before I do something stupid.

Like break my cardinal rules and get tangled up with him.

“Have a good night, Hallie.”

“Night. Keep me updated on how she’s doing.”

“I will.”

One more agonizing moment passes between us, then he closes the door.

I let out a rush of air, then turn to my own apartment, my heart beating too fast.

My mind spins as I walk inside and collapse on the couch.

What am I doing?

I have no idea.

All I know is that I’m screwed because the more I get to know Deck, the more time we spend together, the harder it is to ignore the steady thrum of desire for him welling inside me. That desire is so much more than physical.

I want Deck in every way, and that’s a dangerous place to be.