Page 70 of Kid
“I thought you guys were going at a good pace.”
“We were. Then everything happened with the whole Jeremy thing and while I was getting him back to normal, it just got easier to not deal with our relationship.” I exhaled heavily. “At first, I thought I deserve the space to handle business. That under the circumstances, I needed the room to breathe, to make sure Jeremy was okay.”
“But you closed him out.”
I nodded.
“Yeah.” Chelsea shoved a piece of apple into her mouth and nodded. “These brothers don’t handle helplessness well. I learned that the day Demon saved me in that Alley. Why was it easier not to deal with him?”
“I don’t know.” I replied.
Grace belched loudly and I gasped.
“Gracie!” I laughed.
“That’s her father.” Chelsea chuckled. “That’s definitely Demon.”
Smiling, I brought her over to the makeshift change table Demon had set up in the bedroom and laid her down to change her diaper.
“The truth is, I’m terrified of what I was feeling for Kid.” I admitted. “I’ve always felt some very complicated things for Ronan, ever since the day I met him. But lately, it was becoming all too real—I think that’s why I ran.”
“And now?”
“Who’s a pretty baby?’ I tickled Grace’s tummy before pulling down the lovely pink onesie and latching it. “Aww, it’s okay. Tia Nella is almost done.”
She shoved her small, covered first into her mouth and sucked on the material.
“Now, I can’t even get him to talk to me.” I responded.
Chelsea sighed.
I set Grace in her bassinette and sat beside the bed to look at Chelsea.
“I have an idea.” Chelsea grinned excitedly.
“You know Demon and I bought a place on the water in Draycott Cove, right?”
“I remember.”
“Pick a weekend.” Chelsea smirked. “Preferably this coming weekend. Get out there and Demon and I will get kid to go there. After that, it will be your job to make him stay.”
“What do you want me to do? Cuff him to my bed?”
“If you have to.”
I rubbed my tired eyes. “It’s not that easy. I have Jeremy. I can’t just—”
“Jeremy is a teenager.” Chelsea smacked my arm. “You’re using him as an excuse. We both know he can stay with Sean, he loves hanging with Mamba or he can stay with us. He doesn’t have school right now so it wouldn’t be an issue for any of us. If you want Kid, you have to go get him.”
I sighed. “Let me think about it.”
“Tick tock, Nella Ortiz.” Chelsea reminded me.
Over the next few days, we had to let Sean and Mamba in on the plot. Jeremy decided he wanted to stay with Uncle Mamba and Aunty Jia. They welcomed him with open arms, and I turned my attention to getting into Draycott Cove. I stopped in town to get groceries then wandered into the bakery for something just in case this whole thing exploded in my face.
When I entered the bakery a man behind the counter grinned handsomely at me.
“Welcome to Draycott Cove—just passing through?”
