Page 25 of Unbreakable
"No, Peanut, there is nothing wrong with you or your clothes. You look beautiful as always. It's hard to see you growing up so fast, that’s all," I tell her with a smile.
Nervously twirling her hair, she remarks, "I'm so excited to go to a public school, but I'm a little nervous about being the new kid. What if no one talks to me?"
Jake saunters over to the table and sits my plate filled with scrambled eggs, jelly toast and two pieces of bacon in front of me along with a mug of coffee. Lifting the cup, I take a sip enjoying the warmth.
"You won't have a problem making friends, sweetheart," Jake says before I get the chance to say it myself. "And if there happens to be that one dumbass who has a problem with you then fuck them. Don’t ever let someone make you think they are better than you. No one will ever be better than you," he finishes and pops the last piece of bacon on his plate into his mouth.
Watching Remi's reaction to Jake's words makes my day. Her smile reaches her eyes in one big expressive emotion. To have someone, a man in our lives to care so much to love her so much is overwhelming. Jakes love and devotion is fierce. It reminds me of how my papa was with my mom.
Looking at the time, I take a few bites of my breakfast, and down the rest of my coffee. "We need to get going. I have a meeting with the principal this morning, and we don’t want you to be late on your first day." After gathering our things, Remi and I load up in the car while Jake locks the door before getting on his bike to follow us to town.
As promised, Austin is sitting outside the school in the parking lot across the street. He and Grey will take shifts throughout the day to keep an eye on things. Technically, we are testing the waters on this whole idea. I want it to work for Remi's sake because she wants normalcy in her life so bad, as do I. The threat of her father, however, is still a shadow over our heads.
Parking the car my daughter and I make our way inside while Jake stops by the large black SUV Austin is keeping watch in. Standing, with my hand on the entrance to the school, I turn to Remi. "You ready?"
Hoisting her bag to her shoulder, she says, "Ready."
Once we make it through the two secured doors and into the office. Remi and I have a brief conversation with the school counselor before she introduces her to Sarah, the office helper for the day who looks to be around the same age as Remi. I was hoping for a least a hug goodbye, but instead got a quick wave and a smile over her shoulder as she walked away and quickly got lost in girl chat with Sarah who was tasked with taking Remi to her homeroom class. I felt a sudden ache in my heart watching her disappear around the corner, but it subsided as soon as I heard her laughter echo off the stone walls accompanied by the other girl's giggles.She's got this.
"Ms. Cohen, Mr. Kelly is ready for you," the counselor, Mrs. Sullivan addresses, and points to the right of me towards a door, "no need to knock," she adds with a smile.
Pushing the door open I find a middle-aged man sitting behind a desk stirring a cup of coffee. He looks up from the paper in his hands, "Ms. Cohen, how are you this morning? Would you like a cup?" he gestures holding up his mug.
"I'm okay, and thank you for the offer, but I'll pass on the coffee," I tell him and take a seat in the chair across from him.
He clears his throat, "I've been made aware by your lawyer of the custody matter at hand and that your ex-husband is not to have any contact with..." he looks down at the paper in front of him, "Remi."
Lawyer?I do my best to keep my face neutral though I'm very confused by his statement.
"I can assure you that we will take great care and exercise extreme caution with her safety. I've also talked with your fiancé, Mr. Delane." I raise my brow and lean back against the back of the chair while he continues to talk. "Jake's a good guy. I've known him for several years now. He keeps my touring bike in top condition."
"Well, Mr. Kelly, I feel a little better knowing you and the staff have been made aware of my current situation. We are hoping Polson will be a good place for my daughter to finish her schooling." I play along as best I can to the storyline Reid and Jake hatched. I honestly do feel better knowing they will be more alert to her wellbeing and safety. Jake seems to know everyone in town and has a lot of respect from them as well.
"You have nothing to worry about, and may I also say welcome back. Your bakery was closed for awhile, and I missed those wonderful double chocolate chunk cookies my wife would bring me every week." He leans forward, "She tried her best to create them. Not that they weren’t good. They just weren’t yours. I don’t know what you put in them, but those cookies are addictive," he leans back and pats his stomach.
"It's good to be back and send your wife to the bakery; I'll send her home with a fresh batch tomorrow. As a thank you for understanding and helping keep my daughter safe," I tell him.
"I look forward to it. Once again, Ms. Cohen, rest assured your daughter will be fine. He stands, and I do the same as we end the meeting. Mr. Kelly walks me out of his office. I thank him one more time before leaving.
Jake is waiting by my car, kicked back on his bike. Deserving a kiss, I walk straight to him, and a light tug on his beard brings his lips to mine. "Thank you for making sure she stays safe," I say between pressing my lips to his a few more times.
"No thanks needed, Little Bird. Let's get to work before I decide to take you home and keep you to myself for the day," he states.
A few hourslater as I am putting out a batch of fresh double stuffed cookies the front door chimes. Peering through the glass case, I watch Bella and Emerson walk in, and Bella has Breanna in her arms.
"Hey girl, how are you doing today?" Bella walks to the counter and waits for me to reply.
"I'm better. Sorry about the other night, guys. I didn’t mean to ruin the evening," I admit.
"You didn’t ruin a thing. The important thing is you are okay." Bella tells me as I close the display case and walk around the counter to greedily take Breanna from her arms.
"You know who puts a smile on my face? This little girl right here," I snuggle Bella's daughter in my embrace. "I missed the moments when Remi was this little with little cherub cheeks, and full of innocence," I express as I inhale the soft smell of baby shampoo from her hair.
"So, the other reason we came by was to tell you a new kickboxing class opened over by the gym, and the instructor is offering self-defense classes. Bella and I were thinking about checking the place out later and wanted to know if you might want to join us," Emerson adds as she walks over to the cookie samples and lifts the lid grabbing one.
"Yeah, I've talked about taking some classes like this for a long time now, and Logan thinks it’s a great idea. The doctor cleared me," Bella rubs her small baby bump. "And I know Alba wants to check it out too," she adds.
"Sure, I can close a little early today. I want to be the one to pick Remi up from school anyway. I'm anxious to hear how her first day went." Handing Bree back to her mommy, I retrieve my phone from my pocket and shoot a text to Jake letting him know of my plans.
