Forgive Me (Callaway Book 2) (24 page)

As much as she wanted to stay home and get to know Lucy, she knew Drew needed some alone time with his daughter. After Kathy and Becca dropped off some of Becca's old stuff, she headed for the diner, but not before Drew tried to talk her out of it.

"Baby, you don't have to leave. She's a part of your life, too. You need to get to know her just as much as I do." Her heart melted a little when Drew told her that.

"I know, but I think it would be good if you two spend some time together. Take Tango and go for a walk. She might open up a little bit in a neutral environment. I'll be gone for two hours, at most. When I get back, we'll all have dinner and Lucy can help me bake some cookies." As soon as she was done, he pressed his mouth on hers and whispered, "I love you." She found it so funny that three little words could diffuse any emotional situation.

When she arrived at the diner, she started to second-guess her decision to come into work. Rumors about Lucy had already begun to spread, and as much as she respected everyone's concern, the last thing she wanted to do was deal with questions she didn't have any answers to. She headed straight for the kitchen, generating a few whispers on her way.

Abby was standing over a cake when she walked into the kitchen, one she assumed was for Lucy, and she started to cry. As soon as the first tear ran down her face and the first sob left her mouth, Abby was right there beside her, rubbing circles on her back. She cried every single ounce of emotion she'd had over the last twenty-four hours. She cried for the little girl with no mother, she cried for the father who had missed so much of his daughter's life; she cried for everything.

By the time her tears had run dry, her face was red, her eyes were puffy, and she was exhausted. "You should sit down. You've had a whirlwind couple of days," Abby told her as she walked toward one of the empty chairs.

She smiled at her friend and slowly sat down on the chair before speaking. "Thank you for the furniture, Abby."

"It was nothing. I was with John last night when Kathy called a family meeting. After the shock, we both agreed we would go and pick something out first thing this morning. The store even opened early for us. John insisted on getting the ones on display since we wouldn't have the time to put them together before you guys got there. I hope it was okay."

"I don't know what to say. Thank you so much for doing that. Lucy loved them, and it helped us out a lot. We're both going into this thing blind, so any help is more than welcomed." She laughed at the image of Lucy jumping up and down when she saw her new bed with the pink bedding.

"How are you holding up?" Abby asked as she pulled up a chair beside her.

"Honestly, I don't know. It's all happening so fast, but when you look at Lucy, there's no denying she's Drew's daughter. They have the same eyes; it's crazy. She's so sweet, and she's handling this much better than I expected for a child who was just dropped off with people she's never met. I don't know her story, but I have a feeling it's not a pretty one." She took a deep breath as the last bit slipped out of her mouth. She hadn't had the chance to really let any of that out until that moment. She felt bad that Abby was on the receiving end of her meltdown, but it felt so good to get it out.

"Kids can be surprising that way. They have a much better coping mechanism than we do. So, what happens now?"

She ran her hand through her hair and reached for the elastic around her wrist, tying her hair back in a ponytail. "I don't know. I have to talk to Drew. I'm sure he'll want to try and find Lucy's mom but to be honest, I'm not sure how much luck he'll have with that. I think our main priority right now is going to be making sure Lucy is happy and feels loved." She wiped her eyes, praying she didn't look like a scary version of herself from crying.

"I think that little girl is going to get more than she's ever thought possible. John is already talking about getting a pony for her. Nick is drawing plans to build a swing set at the ranch and at your house." Abby laughed at that. Yeah, the guys were probably going overboard, but it wasn't like there was a manual on how to handle a situation like this.

Amanda just smiled, because she wasn't the least bit surprised. "They're a great family. They are going to spoil her rotten, as it should be. What are you working on?" she asked, pointing to the pink cake on the table.

"Oh, I thought I would bake a cake for Lucy to welcome her into the family. If you think it's too much, you don't have to take it to her."

"It's perfect, Abby. Thank you so much for everything. For handling the stuff here, for being such a big help for the wedding, and now this. I don't know what I would do without you."

"It's my pleasure, really, Amanda. I like it here, and I'm really happy that we're friends," Abby told her with a longing that reminded Amanda of herself once.

"I'm going to check a few things in the office and then I have to get back. I promised Drew I wouldn't be gone too long. We're going to eat together, and I want to bake with Lucy, get to know her a little." She hugged Abby before heading toward the office. She didn't know how she would get much done, but work was work and someone had to do it.

An hour later, Amanda pulled up to the house, smiling ear to ear when she saw Lucy running after Tango and Drew sitting on the grass, his shirt all stained, his baseball cap on backwards. She felt like she was coming home to a family. Drew stood when he saw her, but Lucy ran toward her at full speed. Before she knew it, Lucy was in her arms, hugging her. "Amanda, Tango is so funny," she told her as she kissed her cheek. When she lowered Lucy to the ground, Drew was right there in front of her, welcoming her home with a kiss that promised much more for later, as did the little glint of lust in his eyes.

"Welcome home," he said, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, which he probably did. Their connection was stronger than ever; there was no denying that.

"What did you guys do while I was gone?" she asked, grabbing her purse and the cake from the truck.

"We unpacked the stuff my mom brought over. Then we went for a walk like you suggested. She definitely opened up to me. Some of the stuff she told me…fuck, it made my skin crawl. From what I could gather, they didn't have much money. There was rarely enough food for them to eat. It was crazy." He looked over his shoulder to see if Lucy was anywhere close. When he saw she was far enough away, he continued. "She shared something with me and let me tell you, if that woman ever comes back, she is never getting her hands on Lucy again."

Before she could ask what he meant, Lucy tugged down on her dress. "Can we bake cookies now?"

"Of course, we can. Let's go inside and after dinner, we can even have some cake my friend made just for you. She makes the most delicious cakes." Drew grabbed the cake from her and took her hand in his just as Lucy did the same on the other side. She felt like whatever she had been chasing after had finally been found.

When he finally managed to put Lucy down for the night, Drew was beyond the point of exhaustion. He quietly walked out the room, still feeling overwhelmed at how supportive his family had been. When he opened the door to their bedroom, he saw Amanda sitting on the edge of their bed, wearing nothing but his T-shirt as she brushed her hair. She looked as exhausted as he was, and as much as he wanted to crawl into bed and fall asleep with her tangled over his body, he knew they had to talk about what Lucy had told him.

She glanced up when she heard him come in and smiled at him like he was her whole world. He took off his shirt, loving how her eyes never left his body, even when he stripped off his jeans. He didn't say a word, just pulled back the covers and sat with his back on the headboard. He pulled her body so she sat between his legs, her back to his chest, and he held her in silence, letting everything else just fade for a little while. She dropped her head back on his shoulder and gave him the closeness he had been craving all day.

"They lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Missoula. Lucy told me her mom drank, and they didn't always have money for food or clothes. She used to yell at her when Lucy asked if she could have breakfast. She was telling me all of this and, baby, I swear I felt sick to my stomach. If she didn't want Lucy then why didn't she come find me sooner? Why put a child through that when you have options?"

"The important thing is that she's here with us now, and we will do whatever it takes to make sure she's happy and loved and well provided for. She will never run out of anything again." She shook her head. "How could a mother neglect her own child like that?"

He flipped her on her stomach and when he heard her sigh as he lifted his shirt off her body, he knew they both needed this. He threw the fabric on the floor and with one hand, slid his underwear down his legs. When he was naked, he covered her body with his, every inch of their skin touching. He put his mouth near her ear. "I'm never letting you go, Amanda. Whatever happens next, we're doing this hand in hand, together." He smiled when she shivered.

He sat back on his legs, running his hands up and down her back, loving how she responded to him, her moans buried in the pillow. He let his hands travel down her ass; she had the most perfect ass he'd ever seen. She parted her legs as wide as she could, considering the way his body was caging hers in. He slipped one hand down and when he felt how wet she was, he groaned, needing to feel her.

She threw her hair to the side and looked at him over her shoulder as he ran his fingers over her pussy, teasing her clit with just the right amount of pressure. "I'm ready, Drew. Please."

That was all the invitation he needed. He spread her ass cheeks with his hands and with one thrust, he was inside her. She was so tight around him in this position and he knew he wouldn't last, not after craving it all day. "You're so tight. God, I'm so deep like this," he said, not recognizing his own voice as he thrust in and out of her with a force he'd never used on her before.

"It's too good…I've never…I'm so close." He barely registered her pleas over the ringing in his head. Lowering his chest over her back, he fucked her with every ounce of passion and emotion he had in him. He used one hand to push her hair back from her neck. When he nipped the skin at the base of her shoulders, he felt her orgasm squeeze him like a vise, the sound of her pleasure buried as she screamed in the pillow. With two more thrusts, he found his release. His body covered in sweat, he dropped his weight on top of her as his orgasms rendered him immobile.

When he pulled out and shifted to his side, he smiled at the satisfied look on Amanda's face. "That was…no words," she said as she draped her arms over him and pressed her body against his.

"I love you. Whatever happens, we'll handle it one day at a time." Then he closed his eyes in the same house as the woman he loved and his daughter.

Chapter Twelve

To say the
past month had flown by was an understatement in Drew's mind. The first week after he found out about Lucy had been an adjustment not just for him, but for Amanda and his family. Shuffling work on the ranch, moving permanently into Amanda's house, getting to know Lucy and trying hard not to put his relationship with Amanda on the back burner had been a lot harder than he had anticipated. To his surprise, Lucy had been nothing but amazing during the first week. She'd been understanding and caring, something that just made him love her a little more every day.

"Do you think Amanda likes me?" Lucy asked him, sounding surer of herself with every passing day.

"I know she loves you with every fiber in her body. Why are you asking me that?" Drew looked down at his daughter who sat on a stack of hay, and he was hit with the fact that they never discussed his relationship with Amanda.

"I like her a lot, and I want her to like me, too. I wish my mom was more like her."
Talk about aiming straight for the heart.
Lucy was much smarter than he imagined a little girl her age would be.

"Well, we can always ask her, but I can tell you she loves you like a mother loves her daughter." The rest of the day went by in a flash. When Amanda pulled up to the main house later, he watched Lucy run to her, and he knew in that moment that this was exactly where he should be.

It was during the second week that things had started to be a little more complicated. Amanda had secured two more catering contracts, which meant she spent more time at the diner than at home, and that had resulted in their first fight. Normally, he would have locked her in the house until they could work it out, but with Lucy there, that hadn't been possible. His mom got the flu, which meant she couldn't watch Lucy, so he'd gotten behind his workload at the ranch. That had resulted in another fight between him and Amanda, once again going unresolved.

"Drew, I know this is a big change for you. But you have to understand it's a big change for everybody, and we are all doing the best we can," she had told him.