11

Adrian POV

Excitement makes me giddy on the drive back to town. Hailey and I are singing along to Disney songs at the top of our lungs with the windows down and wind blowing through the truck. Hailey’s daycare teacher said she was talking about Missy all week and I’m so excited for her to see Missy there waiting for us at the diner. 

The past week, trying to reign in my flirting and trying not to act like a 5-year-old picking on his crush was hard, especially since she didn’t avoid me as she did the week prior. She was always there, looking alluringly adorable in her denim and dirt-stained cheeks. I had to avoid being in the same room or space with her all week, but today I kinda caved.

When I caught her checking me out, my pride and ego were boosted just enough to cause me to tease her again in her kitchen. Seeing that dirt was once again smeared under her eye triggered me to act out, but I’m glad I did. The playful banter and her girlish squeals were the most refreshing and exhilarating moment I have had in so long. Her laughter has this magic effect to chase all the negativity away. 

She seemed eager to join my family for dinner again, and hope started budding in my chest. Monica was agreeable this morning when she called. At lunch, my sister was home and she made me a hot meal, so I didn’t have to settle for sandwiches, and I even found $50 on the ground outside the gas station this morning. I was set to have an awesome day. This evening, with Missy, there will just be icing on the cake. 

Pulling into the diner, I saw Missy’s car parked in the back, making me smile. She’s here. I asked Britt to sit by dad so Hailey and I could sit by Missy. She reluctantly agreed. She’s starting to get attached to Missy herself. She’s been coming with me most days just to sit and talk with her. 

This town is home, but it can be lonely sometimes. Most of Brittany’s friends moved away and went to college after graduation. The girls in her class that stayed behind are not the type of girls she hangs out with. Monica’s little sister, Lauren, is the ring leader of the group and she’s very much like her older sister. A bitch and a tramp. Brittany stayed back for the same reasons I came back; to take care of dad. Neither of us could stomach leaving the old man on his own out here. I always wanted to stay and take over his business, and after I found out about Monica’s cheating I jumped on my chance to move back. 

Britt wanted to go to college to be a teacher, but when shit went south between me and Monica and I risked losing Hailey, she stubbornly stayed behind while all her friends left. She’s the one who cooks, or at least attempts to cook, cleans, and does all the housework, since dad’s arthritis is bad and I’m always working. She said she can get a community college degree and it’s the same thing, but I know if it wasn’t for us she would have gone away too. 

Missy moving here seemed to brighten up Brittany's world too. She has someone intelligent to talk to now, who isn’t concerned about boys and gossip. They have deep, meaningful conversations and I think Brittany has finally found a friend she trusts enough to confide in, so she isn’t always carrying all her burdens on her own. 

All night last night she was laughing and giggling over memes they sent each other back and forth, mostly at my expense. Dad couldn’t stop talking about how good of a catch she would be for some lucky man while watching his daughter's face light up every time her phone went off. I knew he was making the pointed comments towards me. 

Missy is a catch for any man. Her smile alone can turn a bad day into a brilliant one. I just don’t know if putting my burdens on her will snuff out that brilliance of hers or not. I don’t want to be the reason such a sweet, radiant woman lost any of her luster. 

After I parked the truck, I pulled Hailey from her car seat and set her down to walk beside me. I noticed a dog kennel in the back of Missy’s car. Did she catch another Joe? I left the traps in her attic just in case. Maybe another raccoon got in after I left today. She could have called me and I would have taken care of it for her. 

“Daddy, can I get the same thing to eat as Missy?” Hailey asks me, her brown eyes big as she begs like a little puppy. 

I chuckled softly at her, “Sure, sweetie. You don’t like cheeseburgers though. What are you going to do if that’s what she gets again?”

“Umm,” Hailey makes a face, deep in thought, “Maybe she will order chicken nuggets instead?” her little voice lifts with hope, making me laugh deeply at her solution. 

“You can always ask!”

I can get a burger and split it with Missy if she gives in to Hailey’s request like I know she will. She told Britt that she loves the burgers here, so I’m sure that's what she really wants. 

The bell above the door rings as we enter the diner. Trish and Pegs waved at us and I nodded back with a smile, ecstatic to finally be here. The mechanic crowd, most of them guys that I grew up with, is at the counter where they usually sit, but Chris isn’t there with them for once. This lifts my spirits a little more. 

I ran into him a couple of days ago and he couldn’t stop asking me questions about my newest client. He is interested in her, just like my sister told me. I was very vague with my answers, not wanting to help his pursuit, though I had no real reason to stop him. She may like my abs, but that doesn’t mean she likes me. 

Looking over to our usual table, I freeze as that little bit of lift in my spirits goes plummeting back down. Chris was sitting beside Missy in our booth, in the spot I was hoping to sit with my daughter between us. 

Hailey doesn’t notice I stopped, and when she sees Missy she runs ahead, laughing in excitement. 

“Missy!” she squeals, then glares at Chris. “You’re in my seat.”

“Sorry little lady,” Chris chuckles, ruffling her hair and sliding out to allow Hailey in. I breathe a sigh of relief, but that relief is short-lived when Chris ends up just sliding back in, sandwiching my daughter between him and Missy instead of taking the chair at the end like I was expecting him to. 

What pissed me off more was when he tossed his arm on the back of the booth, setting it behind Hailey and Missy. Brittany is laughing awkwardly at something Chris says to Hailey, and Dad looks like he’s amused as he catches sight of me, smirking at my disgruntled expression. 

Missy laughs and Hailey squeals excitedly, looking down at something in Missy’s lap. 

“It’s a kitty!” Hailey’s voice rings out. 

“That’s what I said,” Chris ruffles her hair. 

“No. You said it was a baby,” Hailey glares at him. 

“He said it was his and Missy’s baby, actually,” dad tells her, looking at me afterward with that damn smirk, “He just left out 'cat'. It’s his and Missy’s baby cat.”

“Dad,” Brittany warns him, seeing the look on my face. I wipe my hand down my face, trying to wipe off the agitation I know is evident in my features. 

Missy turns to smile up at me, and that does me in. Her radiant smile chases away all my negativity once again. 

“Want to see my new best friend?” she asks me in a sweet voice. 

I’m about to jump at the opportunity to see anything she is willing to show me when Chris has to open his damn mouth first. “After you are done seeing me, you should look at the kitten too,” he turns and smirks up smugly at me.

“Are you insinuating you’re my new best friend?” Missy giggles at him. I hate it. I hate her laughing at another man that isn’t me.

“Well, we are raising a baby together. I think I’m entitled to some kind of title.”

“I hardly think bringing me a kennel and some kitten formula entitles you to anything more than a thank you,” she teases him, “But if you insist on more, I can bake you a cake or something.”

“Yeah, cause we all know that I’m her best friend,” the old man cheekily chimes in. 

“Nope, that title goes to Miss Stormy, here,” Missy nuzzles the kitten who I notice has a towel wrapped around it.

“Me too?” Hailey looked up at Missy with big eyes. 

“You are my bestest best friend,” Missy giggles down at her. 

“Where do I stand, then?” Chris pouts, making me want to vomit. 

“Somewhere after Brittany but before the boogeyman,” she smirks at him. He places a hand over his heart like he’s wounded. 

“What about me?” I asked, almost arrogantly. I spend more time with her than anyone. I don’t mind Hailey being before me, and I can tolerate Brittany being a close second, but I need to come before Chris. I know it’s a childish need, but I might lose my flipping mind and say something stupid if she says it’s him before me. 

She laughs loudly, again melting my negativity. “After the shower you gave me, you’re high up there on my scale.”

Chris’s face falls hearing that, obviously thinking about the possible double meaning, but my smile shines brightly. 

“My brother gave you a shower?” Britt raises her eyebrows at Missy. The blood seems to drain from Missy’s face at her question, then a brilliant red spreads over her cheeks and neck, making all of us laugh, everyone except Chris, who just smiles tightly. 

“Stop. I meant the actual shower,” Missy mutters. 

“I’ll give you an actual shower any day,” I wiggled my eyebrows at her. 

She scoffs, shaking her head but not looking like she is actually upset, just amused. She tilts her face down to Hailey, “Your daddy might be after the boogie man on my list now,” she whispers loudly. 

The smile falls off my face at the same time as one spreads across Chris’s.