The Girl with my Heart (Summer Unplugged #8) (7 page)

My first idea is to scream. To yell out my frustrations just the way my son does in a blind howl of anger. My second idea is to storm down the stairs, drive over to Mr. Fisher’s house and throw my iPad in his face, telling him that the idiot he hired without my permission is ruining my marriage and making my work life hell. But those things don’t solve the immediate problem—that Bayleigh pretty much hates me right now.

I sit on the edge of the bed, keenly aware that she’s still in Jett’s room, still heartbroken. I need to find the best possible way of explaining the situation to her and every line I can think of sounds like a pathetic apology.

With my chest writhing in anger, I stare down at my iPad, seeing firsthand what Bayleigh saw: a dozen pictures of Natalie, taken with my phone, in my office. Shirtless, skirt hiked up, weird positions that only a porn star could come up with. All over my iPad, just waiting for my wife to see. This Natalie bitch has no boundaries.

I select all of the photos and delete them, gritting my teeth as they disappear from the screen.

Then I take my cell phone and delete those photos while cursing myself for not paying attention to my phone earlier. But it’s not like I have a habit of going through my phone to see of anyone added pictures to it while I was away. After getting back from lunch with Park, the only thing on my mind was how to start this new business idea with my best friend—not scoping out my own personal belongings for any signs of slut trespassing.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I stand up and find Bayleigh standing in the doorway, her hands resting on either side of the doorframe.

“I’m getting some clothes and going to Mom’s,” she says somberly as she enters the room, darting right past me toward the dresser.

“What? No.” I couldn’t feel any worse if a thousand daggers were thrown into my flesh. “Bayleigh, you can’t leave.”

She doesn’t look up at me, just digs through the top drawer. “Well I can’t stay here with you.”

“Then I’ll leave,” I say, taking a step toward her. “You can’t uproot Jett. He needs to be in his own bed.”

“Fine.” She slams the drawer closed. “Go.”

“I can explain what you saw,” I begin, hoping to God that my words are the right ones to make her feel better.

She turns on her heel, rage pouring off her. “I don’t need an explanation, Jace. I’m not an infant. I know what slutty pictures are when I see them.”

“It’s not like that.”

“It’s bad enough when girls send you photos but you took those yourself.” Her voice cracks and tears stream down her cheeks. “How could you?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I rush forward trying to take her hand but she jerks away from me. I straighten my shoulders because I have nothing to hide. “I did not take those photos. That bitch at work did when I went to lunch.”

“They weren’t selfies, Jace.” She shakes her head. “Her arm isn’t in those photos. They were in your office, on your phone. That means you took them.”

“No, Bay, it doesn’t. She probably used the self-timer or something.”

Her eyes go wide. “Wow. You’ve put a lot of thought into how you’ll lie your way out of this one, haven’t you?”

My head is spinning now, my thoughts jumbled messes of anger and rage and fear all tangled together. Please, God, don’t let her think this of me. I draw in a deep breath and hold out my arms. “You have got to listen to me, Bayleigh. Give me two minutes to explain. I’m your husband—it’s literally the least you can do.”

She folds her arms across her chest. “I don’t care to be lied to and I really don’t want to know the truth about this whore you’re taking pictures of.”

“I DID NOT TAKE THOSE PICTURES!”

My eyes widen. I hadn’t meant to yell at her. Guilt instantly pours over me, filling every ounce of my subconscious. Dammit. But at least it got her attention. Her jaw goes rigid and she meets my eyes. “Fine. You have two minutes to explain.”

“Promise you won’t interrupt until I’m done,” I say. She cocks her head to the side. I sigh. “Mr. Fisher hired this girl to work around the office because he owed a favor to her dad. You’re right, she is a whore but I want nothing to do with her. She won’t leave me alone and she says shit like she’s flirting with me and I’ve told her to stop it. I’ve told her I have a wife. I’ve begged Mr. Fisher to get rid of her and he won’t.”

Her glare is cold and there are tears in her eyes, but she’s still listening so I continue. “Park came to visit me for lunch today and we took his truck out to eat. I left my phone in my office. I swear to you I had no idea at all that these pictures were there. Had I saw them at work I probably would have killed her.”

“Oh is that right?” Bayleigh says, stone-faced.

I nod. “If someone took the pictures, it wasn’t me. I hate this girl and she knows it.”

She chuckles and shakes her head. “You told me that before, Jace. You said the same shit—about
oh blah blah
I didn’t realize it was on there. I forgot! Right. Right. Because you’re a man with a dick and you forgot some whore had sent you pictures. That sounds about right. Men are always forgetting about that kind of thing.”

“Don’t compare me to other men,” I snap. “I am your husband and I’ve given you everything. My heart, my life, my son. I don’t want anything to do with this girl. I’ll quit my job right this second if that’s what you want.”

“Only a guilty person would quit,” she says.

I throw my hands in the air. “Then what do you want from me?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I guess it’s all my fault that you’re seeking other women. I’m disgusting and fat and worthless.”

“Oh my god, that is so not true!” I kind of want to laugh, this is all so ridiculous. My wife hates me for something I had no control over. She thinks she’s less than perfect, which is a lie. How the hell am I going to fix this?

“Tell me this, Jace. Why am I supposed to believe you? You say these things but I have no proof that they’re true. I’m just the stupid fat housewife who has to sit home all day and hope my husband isn’t cheating on me.”

“I would never cheat on you,” I whisper.

She stares at the floor. A few seconds of silence pass and then she holds up her hand. “Can I see your phone?” she asks.

I take it out of my pocket and drop it in her hand. Just the act of doing that makes her lift an eyebrow. “You don’t mind if I go through it?”

I shrug. “Why would I?”

She bites her lip and watches me as if trying to catch me in another lie. “You don’t mind if I look at your texts…or your calls..?”

I shake my head. “Go for it.”

A wave of excitement hits me as she slides open the screen on my phone. There isn’t a single text or phone call I don’t want her knowing about. And that’s because I’m not a freaking cheater or a liar. Maybe this will prove my innocence.

“What’s her name?” Bayleigh asks, peering at my phone.

“Natalie.” I hold back my grin. There is no Natalie in my phone. And that’s because I don’t talk to her.

Bayleigh frowns and hands my phone back. “I feel bad asking to see that.”

“Honey you can go through my phone any time you want.”

“Because you delete everything you don’t want me to see?”

I shake my head. “No. Because there isn’t anything I don’t want you to see.”

She looks down at her hands, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. “Do you swear you didn’t know about those pictures?” she asks. I nod. “Do you swear there’s nothing going on with you and her?”

“I swear on the life of everyone I know,” I say with a grimace. “I hate her.”

Her shoulders fall. “Then why is she doing this? She knows you’re married.”

I shake my head but I’m feeling lighter than ever now that she’s starting to come around and stop hating me. “I guess she has a crush on me. I don’t know. She flirted with Park, too. It’s annoying as hell and I’m going to make sure she no longer works near me.”

She takes a small step closer, closing the distance between us in our bedroom. Her hand reaches up, playing with a loose string on my shirt. “How are you going to do that if Mr. Fisher won’t fire her?”

I immediately want to tell her about the new business idea with Park, but something stops me the moment I open my mouth. She’s so upset about Natalie and I’m not sure I should be asking if it’s cool to drop a ton of money right now. I draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ll quit if I have to.”

She shakes her head, taking another tiny step toward me. The skin on the back of my neck tingles… I want to grab her and pull her close to me, but I know better than to rush her. She’ll make that decision on her own, hopefully soon. “Jace, you can’t quit. Your job is what supports us.”

“Maybe there’s another job I can do,” I say with a soft smile. Depending on her reaction, maybe I will tell her about the business idea.

“Oh yeah?” she says, taking the final step that’s left between us. “You’re really good at another job, but it doesn’t pay anything.” Her hands slide up my chest and hook around my neck and suddenly it’s like old times again. Like she’s never been pissed at me at all. I gaze into her brown eyes and feel my whole body warm from her smile.

“And what job is that?” I ask, bringing my lips down to her ear. I slide my hands around her waist, dipping my fingers under the hem of her pajama shorts. “Is it this job?” I whisper, my lips against her ear. She shudders and gives me a little nod and I move down to her neck, placing soft kisses on her goosebumped flesh.

“Hey,” Bayleigh says, tugging at my shirt as I kiss her neck.

“Yes, my love?” I whisper, moving to her collar bone.

“I’m serious,” she says, holding back a giggle. I pull away and look at her expectantly. Her eyes glance down and she swallows. “I don’t want to fight anymore.”

I smile. “Neither do I.”

“Good,” she says. She takes my hand and pulls me over to the bed. She sits on the edge of the mattress and smiles up at me. “I’m ready to make up.”

I lift an eyebrow and pull off my shirt. “Yes ma’am.”

I wake up in bed the next morning feeling like a million bucks and I don’t even care how stupid that sounds. I feel completely invincible. My girl is asleep on my arm, her hair all frazzled and messy from our night of love-making, her face serene and blissful while she sleeps.

Early morning sun filters in through our sheer curtains, waking me up just moments before my alarm goes off. I carefully reach across the bed with the arm that’s not under her and grab my phone to turn off the alarm. No point in risking waking her up when everything is so perfect. It’s nearly seven in the morning and Jett has slept through the night, probably worn out from crying so much last night. Hopefully he’ll be happy today now that mom and dad are happy again.

As I look at my phone’s home screen, I get an idea. Natalie can’t mess with my phone if she can’t get into it. I open the settings and set up a password lock on the home screen. Now I just need a password I won’t forget. I’m not even sure what my debit card’s PIN number is half the time. Bayleigh always remembers it for me.

I stare at the numbers on the screen, trying to think of something that I won’t forget in two seconds. Then it comes to me—the perfect number. One I could never forget. I type in 0809 and save it.

August ninth, the best day of my life.

My wedding to Bayleigh.

Smiling to myself, I set the phone back down and carefully extract my other arm out from under Bayleigh’s head. She moves a little but stays asleep. It’s Saturday, and a rare day off work for me. My usual Saturday morning client broke his leg at a night race last week and won’t be in for a few months. Now that things are better at home, I’m going to make sure Bayleigh stays happy.

I slide out of bed and throw on some clothes in the dark of the closet, not wanting to turn on the light and wake her up. Here’s to hoping the t-shirt and shorts I picked out randomly from my side of the closet ends up matching.

I tiptoe down the hallway and peek into Jett’s room. He’s out cold still, his precious little chubby face just as blissful as Bayleigh’s. When Jett was first born, I couldn’t wait to hold him and play with him every second of every day. I had complained a few days in a row because when I got home from work, he was already asleep. My mom had warned me to take the time to enjoy these little baby-free moments. She’d said that one day I’d be begging for the kid to nap so I can have some alone time.

So although I’m really tempted to wake him up and play a game of peek-a-boo or my favorite game, making motorcycle noises with the stuffed dirt bike toy in his crib, I sigh and let him sleep.

I don’t know how men are supposed to do it—go to work all day every day and never get to see their kids. As soon as Park and I get this business up and running I’m going to make sure the main office building has a playroom and nursery type area for our kids. So far I’m the only one with the kid, but with the way Park feels about Becca, that could all change soon.

And how awesome would it be to have my little man at the track with me every day?

I smile as I head into the kitchen and I can practically hear my wife’s annoyed voice right now. She’d say,
Jace Adams don’t you even think about putting my precious baby on a dirt bike!

And I’d tell her that she fell in love with me when I was on a dirt bike so why can’t our son ride?

And then she’d lift one eyebrow and put her hands on her hips and give me her serious face and say,
Because I don’t care if you hurt yourself but Jett’s my baby and he’s not allowed to get hurt
.

I snort to myself, remembering all the times we’ve had that exact same conversation. I know she’s just playing around. We’re a motocross family and maybe one day our son will go on to have the life of fame that I could have had. That I almost had before I blew it.

But I can’t think like that. Yeah, I was pro for about a year before my temper got me kicked out. And yeah, I was and still am sort of famous in the motocross world, but I can’t spend my time wishing for what could have been if I’d never screwed up. Because if I’d played it straight and gone on to become the world’s fastest and greatest professional motocross racer, then I would have never had the time to travel down to Salt Gap, Texas and go through my granddad’s old house. I wouldn’t have needed the summer to cool down and be alone and get my temper under control.

And all of that means I’d never have met Bayleigh.

A life of fame and riches can’t even compete to a life without that girl and my son.

I’m not proud of what I did back then and how easily I let my temper get the best of me, but all of those mistakes led me down the road that took me to my soul mate. And for that, I’m grateful, in this screwed up way, for my past mistakes. I’m a better man now because of it. I still have money and I still have respect and I’m still a badass rider in the sport I love.

Chills prickle across my skin as I think about the potential to open this business with Park. We can be business owners and partners for the rest of our lives, making a career in the sport with both love. We can train kids to become the future motocross stars of the world and they’ll be crediting us for making them the best they can be. And I can have all of this with my wife and son at my side. Things are turning out to be pretty fucking awesome.

I pull open the fridge door and peer inside, taking out the eggs and cheese and bacon. It’s rare that Bayleigh and Jett aren’t awake yet, so if I hurry I might be able to surprise her with breakfast.

A little while later, the toaster pops up and I hear a gasp of surprise. I grab the toast and toss them on a plate, turn around and see Bayleigh standing there in the kitchen. She’s wearing my t-shirt over panties, her hair tied in a messy bun and the cutest look of surprise on her face.

Nailed it.

“Hungry?” I ask, handing her the plate with toast on it. I take the pan of scrambled eggs mixed with cheddar cheese and spoon some onto her plate. “How much bacon do you want?”

“This is really nice of you,” she says, grabbing bacon and setting it on top of the toast. “You didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Sure I did, it’s my day off.” I pour her a glass of orange juice and coffee since she likes to drink both of them with breakfast and join her at the kitchen table. “It’s like the one day a week where I can help out around here.”

I mean what I say but suddenly I feel a little shitty because I haven’t exactly been pulling my weight around here lately. I can’t even remember the last time I did a load of laundry. And she’s not stupid—she probably knows I’m trying extra hard to be an amazing husband after the night we had last night.

Because even though she says she believes that I had nothing to do with Natalie, there’s still the fact that another woman’s naked photos were on my phone. And drama like that doesn’t go away overnight. So yeah, I’m trying extra hard so she doesn’t hate me, but whatever. It’s literally the least I can do to keep her happy and let her know that I’m here for the long haul.

She smiles and stabs her fork into her food. “I usually just eat cereal. This is really nice of you, babe.”

Before we’ve even taken a bite of food, the baby starts crying from his bedroom. Bay groans and drops her fork. I slide my chair back and hold out my hand to her. “I got it.”

“Yeah, that’s not a good idea,” she says, standing up at the same time I do.

“Hey now, I can handle this.” I try to make a serious Dad Face.

She laughs. Actually laughs. “Um, no you can’t.”

“Yes, sit down babe. I’ll take care of him, I promise.”

She snorts and folds her arms over her chest, the coy smirk on her face telling me that she knows something I don’t know. “You really think you can take care of him right now?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not a total idiot! I can take care of a crying baby. You should have more faith in me.”

She walks over to my side of the table and Jett starts crying even louder. “Honey,” she says slowly, grabbing my face with her hands. “I love you so much but I think you’re forgetting one very important thing.”

I lift an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

She pokes me in the chest. “Your boobs don’t have milk in them. And that’s what Jett wants at this hour of the morning.”

I can feel the blood rush to my cheeks. “Oh my god,” I mutter, feeling like a complete and total idiot. “Right. Um. Okay.” I run my hand across my forehead. “Yeah maybe you should go.”

She laughs and rises to her toes, slapping a quick kiss on my cheek. “That’s what I told you five minutes ago.”