Chasing Forevermore (4 page)

Miranda laughed loudly at something Brad had whispered in her ear and we all whipped our heads in their direction. Her eyes rounded as Brad chuckled. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“Tell us,” Luke said. “It had to be an awesome joke.”

“Shut up, Luke,” his and Hayes’ dad said, giving him a pointed look. I think everyone knew Miranda’s dad, who was also in the room, didn’t have much of a sense of humor. We all pretty much guessed that whatever Brad had said to her had been naughty if the redness of her cheeks was any indication.

Luke held up his hands in mock surrender and Chloe slapped his chest. “Be good.”

“I’m going to go check on Harley,” I declared, trying to wiggle from Hayes’ grasp.

“She’s with Lacey watching a movie in the basement.” Hayes pulled me closer. “She’s fine.”

“Okay.” I relaxed into him and focused my attention on the parade. It was the first time I could remember watching it since I had been a kid. Most of my Thanksgivings had been spent holed up in my bedroom, and last year I was working at the diner to help Tina.

I sighed at the content feeling.

“Get up,” Hayes whispered in my ear. “I need to show you something.”

I pulled back to look at him. “What?”

He chuckled a bit. “Just do it.”

I stood from Hayes lap and helped him to his feet. Still holding my hand, he led me up the stairs to his childhood room, where we were staying, and closed the door behind us. In one swift move, my back was against the wall and his lips were on mine. “You kept wiggling around, I couldn’t take it anymore.”

I giggled. “I thought I felt something.”

“Baby,” he whispered and nipped at my lip, “we both
know
you felt something.” Hayes was very blessed and he knew it. The cocky jerk. The cocky jerk I loved more than anything.

His lips crashed down on mine and his hands traveled to my backside, lifting me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he walked us to the bed. Without letting go, he lowered us, propping his weight on his forearm. “I love you, Mac.”

He trailed kisses down my neck, setting my body on fire. “I love you, too,” I moaned.

He pulled my shirt off, and his mouth and hands moved along the now exposed skin. His touches were fervent, kisses feather light. “We’re going to get married. Then you’ll always be mine.”

“I already am,” I murmured as my fingers dug into his hair.

“Say it again,” he demanded as he pushed my bra out of the way.

“I’m yours.”

Hayes’ lips feathered over my skin to my neck before recapturing my lips with his, letting his tongue slide into my mouth. He kissed me like he couldn’t get enough, needed me to live, and I kissed him back with the same intensity. Hayes Morgan made me feel whole and as cheesy as it sounded, I needed him to breathe.

We were all hands and lips as we tore one another’s clothes off until we were skin to skin and completely lost to each other. I could honestly say this would be the best Thanksgiving of my life. A Thanksgiving spent with my fiancée, daughter, and most of our family and friends.

It felt perfect.

I felt perfect.

And by the time I was crying out Hayes’ name, everything in the world was perfect…even if it was just for that moment.

This had to be the best holiday in the history of holidays. I was engaged to the love of my life and she was sitting right beside me as my dad carved the turkey. Letting my hand travel over her thigh, I leaned in closer to her. “If you want, we can go back up to the bedroom for round two after we eat. I should have the energy.”

“Turkey actually makes you sleepy.” She shrugged and smiled without looking at me.

“I’ll show you. I’ll have so much energy you won—”

“Stop,” she said, grabbing my hand. “Please, stop. Someone could hear you.”

“So?”

“Eat.” She spooned some mashed potatoes on my plate. “Miranda’s mom made them, so they are probably delicious.”

I chuckled and let go of her, deciding not to mess with her anymore.

I loaded my plate with every kind of food on the table and dug in. Thanksgiving was one of my favorite days. I loved to eat, and food was plentiful.

“How’s work?” Miranda’s dad asked Brad from across the table.

“Good, thanks,” Brad replied. “Um, how is yours?”

“Good, good.” My dad and I looked at each other, exchanging a silent laugh at the awkwardness.

“More ‘tatoes!” Harley yelled from the other side of Mackenzie.

I grabbed the bowl, handed it to Mac, and then went back to eating. It was in that moment I realized how little Mac had actually eaten since she was spending most of her time messing with Harley.

“Trade me places.”

“What?” Mac asked, looking puzzled.

“Trade seats with me. I can watch Harley. You deserve a break today.”
And to actually enjoy a holiday.

“Um, okay,” she finally said, and we switched spots.

I sat down and smiled as the whole table stared at us. “What? I can help with Harley. I’m capable.”

“Of course,” my mom said, smiling sweetly. Apparently I was an asshole if my own mom was shocked at my current behavior. “Will you be spending Christmas here? They are doing a beautiful train ride for kids during Christmas break.”

“A train ride in Maverick?”

“It’s only going to be a mile long, then a mile back. Santa will make an appearance and the kids wear pajamas. It’s new, but I think it’ll be fun.”

“Harley would love that,” Mac offered. “We should plan on that.”

“Great.”

After I shoveled in as much food as possible, we spent the next three hours watching football. When Carson arrived, we played a small game where I was able to use my old quarterback skills, and I hadn’t lost my touch. Everyone laughed when I picked Mac up in a victory dance and kissed her.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” I said as I lowered her back to the ground.

“You really need to lay off the romance movies.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You love them as much as I do, and you secretly loved me doing that just now.”

She grabbed on to my t-shirt and pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You’re right, I did.”

***

Two weeks had passed since I’d proposed to Mac and things were great. Christmas was just around the corner and we bought a shit ton of decorations. Mac had never had that growing up—not since she was really young, at least—and she desperately wanted Harley to grow up in a house full of Christmas decorations.

“You are doing it wrong,” Mac told me from the dining table where she was organizing ornaments. Why the hell ornaments needed to be organized beat the shit out of me.

“How am I putting lights on a tree wrong?”

She huffed and walked toward me. “You don’t want the wires to show. It looks ugly that way.”

I bunched my eyebrows for effect and looked at the tree. “But everyone will know they have a wire, so what is the big deal?”

“Because it will look ugly!” She moved closer and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Please. For me? I want this Christmas to be special. It’s our first as a family.”

Fuck. She was pulling out the big guns. I was going to have to put some effort into decorating this tree. “Fine. But you owe me. And you can pay me in the shower tonight.”

She smiled and kissed me. “Deal.” She let go of me and went back to organizing the decorations.

I pulled all the lights off the tree and began the process all over again, trying to hide the wire. A song on my iPod playing over the surround sound got my attention and I started belting out the lyrics.

“What is this song?” Mac asked as she stepped back to look at something on the table.

“
The Monster
by Eminem,” I replied.

“Is that Rihanna, also?”

“Yep,” I shoved the last light onto a branch. “I’m shocked you know since this song isn’t a 1950’s country song.”

“Shut up and come look at this.”

I plugged the lights into the switch and strode over to the dining room. I wrapped my arms around Mac and kissed her neck, pressing her back into my chest. “What do you think?” she asked.

I honestly had no opinion. It was a wreath with a big burlap bow on top and some Christmas flower things on the bottom. I did, however, love the big monogrammed “M” hanging from the middle. It was as if she was finally accepting the fact that she would be a Morgan someday soon. “I love it.”

“Are you just saying that? I want your honest opinion. I know it doesn’t look as good as the one I saw on Pinterest, but—”

“Mac,” I said, cutting her off. “It’s great. I promise. You did a wonderful job.”

“Really?” she questioned, then turned and grabbed my t-shirt. “I know I’m kinda going crazy about all this, but I just want it to be perfect for Harley.” She was silent for a moment, and I could tell she was working to keep back tears. “You know, I have maybe one good memory of Christmas. My dad waking me up and telling me to see what Santa brought. Sometimes…I think it was a dream. Like I wanted that so much, I believed the dream was real.”

“I’m sorry, Mac. I promise, Harley will know she didn’t dream up her holiday memories.” I kissed her lightly. “Now, tell me if the lights look any better.”

She gave me a weak smile before turning to look at the tree. “Wow,” she gasped, then walked into the living room. “You did a really great job.”

“Then, it is all yours.” I left the dining room and went to the fridge, pulling out a jug of sweet tea. “Did you put extra sugar in it?”

“No. The rest of us don’t like drinking pure sugar,” she called as she placed an ornament on the tree.

“Okay,” I said, pouring some sugar into my glass. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I really need to study.”

“Go for it.”

***

It was December and raining like crazy, which made it really cold. I hiked across campus, ready to go home for the day.

“Hayes?” I heard someone yell from beside me. I glanced around until my eyes landed on Baylee, a girl I had made a huge mistake with in high school.

“Yeah?” I said cautiously as she strode up to me.

“By any chance are you leaving campus?”

I had no idea how to answer since I had no idea what she wanted. “Yeah.”

She smiled and bit her lip. Starting to get a little irritated about standing in the rain, I cocked my head to the side and arched an eyebrow. “Would you be able to give me a lift?”

“Give you a lift?” I repeated. “Why?”

She tucked a piece of wet hair behind her ear. “I was here visiting a…friend, and now my car won’t start and I can’t find my friend. He isn’t answering his cell either.”

“You don’t have anyone else you could call or ask?”

She licked her lips and a horrible memory of us kissing rushed through my head, instantly making me nauseas. “No. Look, I really hate to ask this, but I’m basically stranded in the rain.”

I looked to my right, hoping it would give me an idea of what I should do. Should I be my normal asshole self and leave her? Or should I try to be a nice guy and take her somewhere? I wanted to say no, but then I thought about what would happen if Harley were in this position years from now. “I guess.”

I started walking and she fell into step with me. “Thank you so much.”

“Yeah.”

Once we made it to the parking lot where I had parked my Jeep, I unlocked it and got inside without saying a word. I turned over the ignition and flipped on the defroster while she got inside and buckled her seatbelt. “Where am I taking you?”

“I actually live in the city. But it’s on the south side, so not horribly far.”

I huffed and bit my tongue. I was getting a little pissed. I’d have to drive to the city then back to Norman to get home when my normal drive was only ten minutes.
Think about how you would want someone to treat Harley.

I flicked the radio on and turned it up, letting her know I didn’t want to talk. A block later, she flipped the sound down. “So, how have you been? I haven’t seen you since graduation.”

Baylee had always been irritating and that obviously hadn’t changed. “I’ve been great.” I didn’t ask her how she had been because I didn’t care.

She angled her body to face me. “I’ve been great. I have an apartment and I’m going to community college.”

Keeping my eyes on the road, I remained silent. I stopped at a light and texted Mac, telling her I’d be a little late.

“How is your brother?” she asked.

“Fine.”

“And how is your sister? Lacey, wasn’t it?” And I remembered how fucking annoying she always was with her questions.

“Fine.”

“So, you have a daughter now?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you dating someone?”

I glared at her, letting her see how much I didn’t like her. “I’m engaged to Mackenzie Blanchard. My daughter’s mother.”

“Oh? That girl from the trailer park that went to our school for a couple of months?”

I really wanted to pull over and kick her ass out. “If you want this ride, I suggest you shut the fuck up.”

“Wow, I see you’re still an ass.”

I turned the music up as loud as it would go and sped down the interstate, desperate to get her out of my vehicle.

She started fidgeting with her purse and pulling things out. When she removed her cell and began texting someone, I wondered why the fuck she couldn’t have texted that person to come get her earlier. Then I wouldn’t be in this God awful situation.

She reached for the radio and turned the volume down again. “Rebecca Morton says hello.”

“What the fuck? Are you texting people?”

“It’s no biggie. She texted me and I just said I was with you and you were taking me home.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal.

I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. “What you just said makes it sound a whole lot different than what is happening.” Baylee had always been a trouble making bitch. I could see things hadn’t changed with that either.

She grinned. “Sorry.”

“Where the fuck do I need to turn?”

She gave me directions to her apartment and I couldn’t kick her out of my Jeep fast enough. I dropped her at the entrance to the complex and drove home, fuming. When I parked in my driveway, my anger reached a whole new level. Baylee had left a tube of lipstick in the cup holder. If she were anyone else, I would say it was an accident, but I knew it had been done on purpose.

I grabbed the tube and chucked it into the outdoor trashcan on the way inside the house. I took a few deep breaths before going inside, vowing not to give a shit about being nice anymore.