Love Me ~ Without Regret (26 page)

Bailey dials her phone… “Clay, hey how are you?”

“I’m fine, Bailey, uh is something wrong?”

Bailey shakes her head, “No, I’m calling to verify information.”

Clay says, “Okay.”

“Lizzie made us a promise to give us one juicy detail about y’all’s weekend.”

Bailey points a finger at me like she’s got me.

“Ugh. They say men are bad about sharing about their sex lives, but you girls have everyone beat. Did she tell you about the fire alarm going off in the middle of me—”

“So it’s true you guys set off the fire alarm? We didn’t believe her. She never tells us anything, I swear,” Bailey smirks.

Clay laughs. “What exactly did my woman tell you?”

“That things took a spicier turn and got so hot between you that the fire alarm went off,” Bailey says.

“Well every word of that is the truth. I’ll add that she did things for me that makes me indebted to her forever.”

At Clay’s serious tone, they all look over at me wide-eyed and mouths open.

“Well, I’ve got to go, Bailey. If you see my woman, let her know how much I love her and it hurts to be without her even for a minute. Bye.”

“Aww,” they all say with dreamy looks on their faces.

“Bye, Babe. I love you and miss the hell out of you, too,” I say before Bailey disconnects.

“What did you do?” Denise wants to know.

“Nope, I told you guys not to ask for any further details.” I wink. “Now, didn’t you hussies come over to help me pack?”

“I didn’t. I live here, beotch.” Aubrey throws some panties in my face, giving me her mega-watt smile.

We pack for another hour with endless stupid chatter, and get all of my clothes done.

“You guys want pizza? I can at least feed you for your help.”

“Sure that sounds good,” Denise says

“Where’s Oak?” Bailey asks.

“She’s over at Quinn’s. She’s supposed to be home by ten,” I tell her.

“Is she still seeing Colt?” Bailey asks.

“She hasn’t been going over to Raelynn’s as much since becoming better friends with Quinn,” I tell her.

“Who’s Colt? I didn’t even know she was seeing someone, she never said anything,” Denise asks.

“Colt is Raelynn’s older brother. Bailey and I know for a fact he and Oak were in a relationship. Well, not really for a fact, but we have a very strong suspicion. Bailey’s Spidey senses were tingling when he dropped her off at the ranch,” I tell Denise.

“We think that’s why she was spending every waking minute with Raelynn,” Bailey says.

“You two used to spend every minute together,” Aubrey reminds us.

“That’s different. We’ve known each other our whole lives. We grew up like sisters,” Bailey says.

“If you say so,” Aubrey says. “But if you ask me, it sounds like you jumped to conclusions, Bailey. You have been known to do that, ya know.”

“Whatever. She’s like a little sister to me, and I don’t want her to get hurt. I’m looking out for her.”

Bailey gets her attitude on.

“Ladies, we are here to help Lizzie pack. Now let’s get to work.” Denise claps her hands to get their attention.

Thank you, Denise. Bailey and Aubs don’t always see eye to eye. Denise balances out our group nicely, I’m glad I came around and gave her a chance.

Clay

I’ve been having a decent last couple of days despite being here without my woman. Today is Wednesday and it’s only been three days, but I miss the piss out of her. At least now, we talk and text throughout the day. Even if all I get is “I miss you,” the text reminds me that she is mine. I’ve never felt this type of love from anyone else in my life nor have I ever wanted anything more.

John called, informing me we have to appear in front of the judge tomorrow. He said Megan is up to something because it’s still early for the paternity results to be back. John didn’t go into great details over the phone, and I’m sure I wouldn’t have understood his attorney jargon if he had. But the bottom line is Megan wants custody now. Fuck my life.

I didn’t bring any dress clothes with me and I feel like I need to wear something other than jeans. I want to make a good impression in front of the judge. Either I go purchase something or I go to my old home and get something out of my closet.

I’m nervous about going back to our old house. I’m going to have to deal with this eventually, but I’m afraid being in the place where Mom and Dad died will bring all of the pain back to the surface. I’ve always been good at compartmentalizing my emotions. I deal with problems for a while then put them away when I need to deal with something else. The death of my parents is taking up a huge compartment that I’ve kept locked up tight. It’s not that I haven’t grieved for them. I’ve just kept my emotions in this box while I’ve dealt with everything else.

I need to pack up everything and deal with the estate. I’m the man of this small family now. I know it’s my job to step up, but I really think this isn’t the time. I’ve got enough going on and putting another layer on top of all this shit with Megan might be my breaking point. I’ll check with GG for reputable moving and cleaning services. That way I can be done with all of this without having to deal with it.

I’ll grab something at the outlet mall to wear tomorrow. Even though I hate shopping in a crowded mall, being there will be ten times better than going to our old home.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, but my jeans are too tight to dig it out while driving.

Within an hour, I get all of my clothes bought and even pick up a gift for Lizzie. Shopping with Lizzie for her essentials took us over two hours, but she did make it fun. When I make it back to GG’s, she has dinner waiting on me. We discuss the court proceedings tomorrow throughout dinner then I ask, “You know of a packing and moving service that you would really trust?”

“I’ve never used any, Clay, although I’ve been here almost my whole life. Why? What’s going on, son?”

“I want to hire someone to pack up our house and move the contents down to us in Alabama. Most of the items will be put in storage, but cleaning out that house is something I’ve put off for nearly nine months.”

“Why don’t you let me and some of your old friends around here do that for you? I could sell the big items that you don’t need or have no desire to keep for you.”

She looks at me with sad eyes.

“I don’t want to burden you. You stay busy enough as it is around here.”

“You let me worry about that. I’ll set it all up, get it organized, and feed everyone. You make a list of items you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you don’t want to keep, and I will sell them to pay for the shipping cost.”

My phone alerts me to an incoming text. I fish it out of my pocket.

“It’s Lizzie. I’ll think about that, GG. Thank you for the offer.” I walk to the bedroom I’ve been sleeping in since I’ve been here.

Lizzie:  Hey, is everything okay?

Clay:  How’s my sexy ass woman
? Did you have fun with your friends?

Lizzie:  Yeah
, it was okay. I tried to call you earlier.

Clay:  I’m sorry
, Babe, I was driving and I forgot once I went into the mall. We can talk now.

Lizzie:  I miss you. You’ve ruined me
. I need to snuggle up to something to sleep now.

Clay:  Come back this weekend
. We’ll snuggle in bed every minute we’re together.

Lizzie: HaHa! I bet that’s all you’d want. I’m sorry, I can’t this weekend, I have a rotation at the vet clinic on Saturday. Can you come here, just for the weekend?

Clay:  Let me see what’s up at court tomorrow, but yeah I bet we can make that work.
Do you want me to give you a snuggle on Skype until then?

Lizzie:  Hmm… that does sound tempting. It won’t be the same
, but it’s the next best thing to a puppy.

Clay:  You
would rather have a puppy than me :-(.

Lizzie:  What? I’ve always wanted a tiny Yorkie to love on. Sorry
, Babe, but you know how it is with girls and tiny dogs.

Clay:  Get on Skype
, woman.

Megan texted, asking me to meet her for breakfast before court. I really didn’t want to see her, but I agreed when she suggested we could settle out of court.

“Hey, Clay, I’m glad you came. Thank you.” Megan leaned in for a hug.

I hate to admit it, but she really does look cute pregnant. I have the love of my life now, though. I turn my shoulder to give her a side hug. I don’t see how I could have hugged her any other way. She looks like she is smuggling a basketball under her shirt.

“Yeah, no problem. Are you hungry? Let’s order something to eat. I need some coffee, too. How have you been feeling?” I ask.

“I’ve been tired. He wears me out. I can’t find a comfortable position at night and I have to go to pee every five minutes.”

She laughs half-heartedly.

“I’ve read that is to be expected at this stage. Have you been able to take a catnap in the afternoons at least?” I’ve been reading a lot about babies since I found out I was going to be a daddy.

The blue haired waitress comes over to take our order and brings us back our drinks. I feel like this little lady should be sitting and letting me bring the stuff to her, but I have a feeling she would give me a good tongue lashing if I were to say so.

“Clay, I wanted to talk to you about our baby,” Megan says with a sweet smile on her face.

“Okay, what’s up?” I look at her over the rim of my steaming cup of coffee. She’s not wasting any time at getting to the heart of the matter.

“I want to keep our baby. I’d like another chance to make things work with you.”

I watch her as she allows a tear to roll down her carefully made up face.

“What has made you change your mind, Megan?”

“You, Clay. You’ve changed. You’re so much more caring, thoughtful, and sweet. When we were together, you were honestly a little stuck on yourself.” She laughs softly.

“Ha, I don’t think I was the only one.” Boy, she has a lot of room to talk.

“I know I was probably a lot worse, but I’m ready for us to be a family. We could be one of those musical families. We could be the next Tim and Faith.” She reaches across the table and takes my hand.

I look down where our hands are connected, taking in everything she just laid out on the table.

“Is that what you really want, Megan? Are you saying you love the baby now and want to be a mom?”

“Yes, more than anything. I want us to be a family, Clay.”

I don’t get a chance to answer right away because our food arrives. I stare at her in disbelief. I take a couple of bites of my food as I contemplate what to say to Megan.

“What about love, Megan? Don’t you think you should love me before we get married?” I ask her.

“I do love you, Clay, in my own way.” Megan smiles.

“Is that supposed to convince me? I know what love is Megan, and you don’t have it in you to love anyone but yourself.” I’ve lost my appetite.  I wipe my face with my napkin and throw it onto my plate. Getting up from the table, I spot our sweet little waitress and walk over to her.

“Ma’am, I want to give you money for our breakfast and your tip. My company,” I motion toward Megan, “I’m afraid, isn’t a decent person. This is to just ensure you receive a proper amount for our food and your service.” I glare over at Megan.

“Well thank you, sugar. Can I get you a cup of coffee to go?” She smiles up at me.

“No, ma’am, but you have a good day and don’t work too hard.”  I put on my shades and leave. I don’t mind being a few minutes early for court.