Page 42

42

EMMETT

I wake up to Heidi in my bed.

We watched the sun go down last night, her in my lap. We didn’t have sex—it didn’t feel like the time for that.

The electric charge between us was palpable, but sunsets seem to mean so much to both of us that we just cherished it, happy with her in my arms.

It was the first one where I felt genuinely happy since that night on our vacation.

Heidi rolls over with a little groan, and it takes everything in me not to pull her ass into me and go back to sleep.

But it’s time to get up.

Heidi will not be going for a run today, so I let her sleep in a bit. She was already tucked away in my bed when Juniper got home last night, too tired from her long day at school and, in her words, “beating the crap out of Leo,” to notice the car Heidi borrowed from me in the driveway.

Who am I kidding. The damn thing is hers.

The house can be too.

It’s been two days since our moment on the car, and yet it’s been months of slowly falling in love with her. Every single day there was something that proved to me why I needed to be with her, even when I was working my hardest to find reasons that it shouldn’t happen.

This was always meant to be, I’m sure of it.

Throwing on some clothes, I head out to the kitchen to start some breakfast for Juniper and some coffee for Heidi for when she wakes up, only to find Juniper already at the table.

“Heidi’s here?” she asks, her eyes darting out the front window to her car.

I stop in my tracks, not sure what to say. “Uhh, yeah. She’s here. But she’s working on something for me.”

Juniper doesn’t look quite convinced but gathers her things with a huff anyway.

Once I have my coffee on, I allow myself to think for a moment. The hum of the coffee maker and the steady stream of it emptying into my cup feels like my kind of meditation.

I feel brand new. Like I woke up this morning in a new body, living a new life, ready for new experiences.

New experiences being Heidi.

Since it’s Tuesday and I don’t have practice, I gather Juniper’s belongings and get her into the car. I leave a note on the counter for Heidi when she wakes up, ensuring that she doesn’t panic when she can’t find anyone.

The trip to the school is quick, but Juniper pouts in the backseat the whole time. “What’s wrong, Bug?”

“Nothing.”

“Juniper.”

She shakes her head. “Nothing.”

I watch her hop out of the car with a sigh, and I don’t move until she’s through the doors. A car lays on its horn behind me, and I head home.

The second I walk through the door, I spot Heidi walking around the family room with one of my shirts on, and I pray to god that there’s nothing underneath.

“Hey,” I smile, kicking off my shoes and peeling off my jacket.

She sits on the couch, cup of coffee in hand, and smiles at me, sending butterflies through my whole body. “Hey.”

“The coffee okay?”

I walk over to her, bending over to kiss her forehead. Her eyes close as she leans into it, a soft sigh escaping her lips. “I warmed it back up and it was still great,” she assures me.

“Good.”

I grab my own, sticking it in the microwave for a couple of seconds before joining her on the couch.

“What are your plans for the day?” I ask, taking a sip.

She leans her head back against the couch cushions. “Well, my ankle is,” she twists it in the air, “Okay, I guess. I don’t know. So I should probably,” a little smirk forms on her lips as she shrugs. “Stay here today.”

A large grin spreads across mine. “Is that so?”

She nods.

“And what exactly do you suppose we do?”

“I could think of some things.”

“We could work on the car. Do some pushups,” I list.

Heidi’s eyes narrow. “I’m not sure about that one. I was thinking more along the lines of us in your bed all day. Preferably naked.”

I gasp. “That’s extremely impure, Heidi, don’t you think?”

“When it comes to you, I don’t think I’ve been pure a day in my life, Emmett.”

“This is news to me.”

“Is it?” she challenges with a smile. “Your thighs are literally,” she gestures toward them, but her words don’t come. “They’re like… that.”

My laugh shakes me, and I nearly spill my coffee. “What does that even mean?”

“They could crack open my skull and I would thank you , Emmett. Those things are huge.”

“That’s a good thing?”

“Hell yeah it is.” She looks down at her lap, the smile she’s been wearing faltering. “I told that guy that I wouldn’t be seeing him,” she whispers, and fireworks erupt in my brain.

“Thank god.”

Her head whips toward me and she smirks. “He said he still wants to meet you and get your autograph.”

I groan. “Yeah that’s not going to happen and you know it, Heidi. The only way he’s getting an autograph is if it’s a photo of my name written on your ass and sent to him, and the man isn’t seeing your ass.”

She cocks her head. “You don’t want to entertain a fan?”

“A man who fumbled you? Not even close.”

“There’s a reason he fumbled me though. His name is Emmett.”

“He seems like a really cool guy.”

“He’s good enough. Really good with his tongue. Has a shockingly dirty mouth for as quiet as he is.”

I adjust myself on the couch so I’m facing her better. “Have I ever really been quiet with you? I feel like I can’t shut up.”

She considers this. “Not always. There’s been some moments where you are. But for the most part you’re right. I kinda like being the person who makes you come out of your shell.”

I rest my head on my arm that’s draped over the back of the couch. “I don’t know if it’s me being in a shell more than just not having wanted to get close to anyone.”

Her brows furrow as she adjusts herself in the seat too. “You’ve been quiet around Leo before too.”

“Because Leo is talkative enough for both of us,” he shrugs. “When I’m with Leo the man just does all the work. It’s like I can kinda sit there and let him take the wheel, and I can just relax.”

“Ahh, so you’re a passenger princess.” She smiles as the words leave her mouth.

I shrug. “I guess so.

Heidi bites her lip. “My friends told me I had to blitz you.”

My head snaps up. “My friends told me that, too.”

“I feel like it didn’t take much.”

“Is that why you told me about the second-string guy?”

She shakes her head, no. “I really did want to start getting out there. I knew I didn’t want much out of him, but if you didn’t want me I was going to use him to get over you.”

“That’s a little cold hearted.”

“He knew what the deal was,” she defends. “He didn’t want anything serious either. Just wanted a photo of you at some point, and a couple quickies here and there.”

“So you were wearing those panties for him.” I nod as I say it, but my smile makes it clear that I’m teasing.

“I was hoping you’d find them first,” she lobs back at me.

I’m just about to fire back when my phone rings, and I reach for it, answering it without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mr. Gardner. Could you come down to the school? Juniper has had another,” there’s a pause, “Incident, and we need you to come get her. This is the last one allowed, Mr. Gardner.”

Fuck.

I wipe my hand down my face, a myriad of curses going off in my mind. I knew something was going on this morning, and I didn’t push it.

Heidi’s brows knit together as she watches me, and when she starts to pick up on what’s going on, she gets up from the couch, making her way to the kitchen where she dumps the rest of her coffee.

“I’m sorry,” I tell Trisha. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

She hums from the other end of the line before hanging up on me.

We both get to the school to find Juniper in tears. There’s no evil little smirk this time. No excuses. Just tears, and the second we walk through the door she’s in Heidi’s arms.

I watch as my daughter completely skips over me, flinging herself at the redhead behind next to me, who bends down to hug her better.

She wipes the tears from Juniper’s eyes, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Are you okay?” she asks, concern dripping from her words.

Juniper just nods.

“The principal will see you,” Trisha says, gesturing to the open door.

The man is at his desk as usual, an irritated glaze to his eye as I sit down. Heidi stays out in the main office with Juniper.

The man sighs. “We can’t have this keep happening, Mr. Gardner.”

“What was it this time?”

“She snuck a squirrel into the school. It’s been in her locker for,” he looks up at the ceiling, the wheels in his brain turning, “I have no idea how long, actually.”

“What can I do?” I ask desperately.

“She needs therapy. I don’t know what else to say. This just can’t happen again or she’s going to be expelled.”

I close my eyes, my head hanging. “I don’t know what’s causing these behavioral issues, but I’ll get to the bottom of it. I thought it had gotten better,” I tell him.

“It got better for a time. But please figure it out. Our staff can’t keep chasing animals around the building and it puts the kids at risk.”

I’m not sure how the squirrel puts kids at significant risk, but I don’t say that. Instead, I get up from my seat, ignoring Trisha’s judgmental stare as I walk by her, gesturing for Heidi and Juniper to exit the office.

We don’t talk until we’re home. Juniper makes a beeline for her bedroom, sniffling and wiping tears from her face.

“Juniper,” I say, and she stops in her tracks. “Come sit down.”

Her eyes flash to the couch to me, unsure. “You’re okay,” I assure her. I’m mad, but I don’t ever want her to think that I’m going to yell at her.

She sits on the couch carefully and Heidi takes a seat on the floor, folding her legs up under her.

“What’s going on, Bug?” I ask in a desperate attempt to understand it all.

Her lips tilt down. “I just thought he looked cold. He was shivering and ran right into my backpack.”

“You can’t bring animals into the school, sweetie. And they’re made to withstand the cold. There’s millions of them that survive.”

I watch as she looks down at her lap, her mouth quivering as a sob builds.

“Is Elara promoting this? I feel like this only started when she joined the school,” I ask. And it’s not to bash the kid. I adore her, and I adore Briar. But it’s also frustrating that my daughter only started to get into real trouble after she started going there too.

Juni shakes her head, fresh tears falling down her face. “Elara told me to stop,” she admits through heaves. “Told me she wouldn’t be my friend. I started it.”

“You started the animal thing?”

She nods.

“She thought it was fun at first and then told me she wouldn’t be my friend. I’m,” she sobs loudly and has to pause, “I—I’m jus—just trying to h—help.”

Heidi crawls to the couch, climbing into it and pulling her close. “You are helping, sweetie. And you have the biggest heart that I’ve ever seen. But there’s a time and a place, and you can’t bring them into the school.”

“Can I bring them here?” Juniper looks right at me, her eyes glossy from crying.

“I—”

“Hey,” Heidi interrupts me, holding her face in her hands. “There’s some rules we have to follow here, too. But we can look at it case by case, and if there’s an issue and an animal needs help, we can call a vet, okay?”

Juniper nods, wiping her eyes with her arm. “Elara is angry with me.”

Heidi opens her arms for a hug, and Juniper practically throws herself into them. “You know what’s really great?” she asks, her fingers lacing through Juniper’s dark hair. “Friendships with strong women. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t issues. There’s a lot of opinions. You don’t grow at the same time, and you both experience life differently.” Heidi places a kiss on top of her head. “But having those friendships are worth everything and more. Elara set a boundary.”

Juniper looks up at her, her lashes sticking together from crying, her eyes puffy. “But boundaries are good. They’re meant for both of you and show you how to be a better friend to each other. You have to respect where the other one is.”

Juniper nods, tucking her head back into Heidi’s chest.

My heart pounds in my chest as I watch them. Watching Heidi interreact with my daughter like this. It’s one thing to see them dancing and smiling, it’s another to watch her eyes mist as she consoles my daughter.

As she mothers her.

The final little piece of the puzzle fits into the spot in my heart, and it feels like I’m crashing. Like I’m in a car and the breaks give out, a solid concrete wall in front of me.

I need her.

Juniper needs her.

And I’ll do anything to make it happen.