Damaged and the Dragon (20 page)

“
Sawyer’s not evil,” Nick
insisted as we dressed after a very long shower.

“
Don’t be fooled. I’ve
caught her watching me sleep plenty of times. That’s crazy killer
kid shit.”

“
I watch you sleep,” he
said, wrapping his arms around me as his crotch said hello to my
butt.

“
That’s because you’re
hoping I’ll wake up and bang you. Sawyer is watching me sleep
because she’s plotting evil.”

“
Maybe she had a bad dream
and wants you to comfort her.”

“
Poor dumb Nick,” I sighed.
“Sawyer is a bad dream. Besides, why stare at me? Why not frighten
my parents with her
Children of the
Damned
act?”

Grinning, Nick kissed my cheek then walked
to the dresser where his clothes were stacked.

“
You can use my
dresser.”

“
I know.”

“
Are you afraid to commit
too much?”

Nick flashed his wrist at me then followed
with a smile. “Your dresser is a mess. I want to organize it before
I add my clothes. I’ll move the rest of my stuff in this
weekend.”

“
I know Coop offered to get
you a new job,” I said, immediately regretting it.

Nick’s shoulders tensed, but he only
muttered, “Yeah.”

“
I didn’t send
him.”

“
I know that too,” Nick
said, glancing at me. “You worry about me and he worries about you.
I’m not used to having that kind of interest in my life. Feels
weird, but I’m getting used to it. This is my new way of
living.”

Smiling, I joined him at the dresser.
“You’ll get used to having people care about you. All your life,
you were alone, but you’re part of a family now. You have the crew
too. You won’t ever be alone again. One day you might regret this
choice you’ve made.”

Nick grinned at my fake worried expression.
“I want you naked one more time before we leave.”

“
Good,” I said, pulling my
shirt off. “Babysitting is going to suck.”

“
It was your idea,” he
reminded me while his fingers explored my back.

“
I want us to practice
being parents, so we’ll remember why we should wait for a very long
time before doing it for real.”

Nick only smiled before his lips sucked on
my neck. After a short roll around the bed, we hurried to dress and
reach the house before someone came looking for us. Maddy and
Tucker had already dropped off Scarlet and made a run for it. When
we arrived, the baby was crawling around the living room.

“
You’ll need to put in the
car seat,” Mom reminded us.

“
Easy peasy.”

Ten minutes later, I was ready to pull my
gun on the car seat. “Child safety is for assholes!” I yelled,
fighting with the belt.

“
Want me to do it?” Nick
asked while bouncing Scarlet in his arms.

Glancing back at the happy baby then at the
devil child staring at my man, I nodded. “This is too hard. I don’t
think we should ever have kids.”

“
If Tucker can manage, we
can do it.”

Sawyer laughed too loudly and I glared at
her while taking Scarlet.

“
Stay away from
him.”

Sawyer squinted her eyes at me. “I’m
stealing him away. We’ll run off and get married and make many
babies,” she hissed. When I looked outraged, she grinned. “You’re
stupid.”

I rolled my eyes before focusing on Nick’s
ass as he leaned into the car to figure out the car seat. Sawyer
stepped closer and looked at where I was staring.

“
I like him because he’s
nice and handsome and doesn’t think you’re dumb. Those are rare
things in a guy. Although I think he’s lying about the dumb
thing.”

“
Shut up,
Sawyer.”

“
No.”

Shrugging, I decided arguing with an evil
child was bound to lead to me losing an argument with an evil
child. Meanwhile, Scarlet chewed on my hair.

“
Done,” Nick announced and
reached for the baby. “Let’s go before she gets cranky.”

Sawyer climbed into the car and belted
herself in. “Can we go to Chuck E Cheese?”

“
No,” I said, getting in
the car. “We’re going to a normal restaurant and playing family.
You’re my fake daughter. Try not to embarrass me.”

I didn’t dare look back at Sawyer, but I
sensed she was glaring at me. Nick joined us in the SUV and
sighed.

“
What was the point of this
again?”

“
I can’t remember. Let’s
just eat and dump these stink machines back with their
parents.”

Scarlet babbled wildly the whole ride to the
restaurant. She was perfect while we ordered. The little angel
waited until the food arrived to lose her fucking mind.

“
She’s teething,” Sawyer
said helpfully while eating her chicken sandwich. “Give her
something to chew on.”

“
Like what?”

“
Your ass,” Sawyer
snickered. “How the hell would I know? I’m seven. Stop treating me
like a grownup.”

“
Fine, you’re grounded.
Now, go to your room.”

My little sister flipped me off then
returned to eating. Nick sat next to me, bouncing a pissed Scarlet.
He dipped his finger in a glass of soda then into her mouth.
Scarlet sucked at it for nearly a minute then started up again.

“
I’ll take her outside
while you eat,” Nick announced, standing up.

Doing a poor attempt at faking concern, I
said, “I should do it.”

Rolling his eyes at my bullshit, Nick walked
outside and left me with the demon child.

“
Nick is nice.”

“
Yeah. Too nice. I’ll
probably destroy him with my bitchiness.”

“
Probably.”

“
You’re supposed to say
something supportive like, ‘No, Bailey, your love will protect
him.’”

“
I’m not saying that. I
don’t believe in lying.”

“
Bullshit. On the way here,
you told Nick you were the best ballerina in your
class.”

“
So?”

“
So you don’t take a dance
class.”

“
So?”

“
That’s lying,
dumbass.”

“
Not really. If I was in a
class, I’d be the best.”

“
There’s something wrong
with you.”

“
Not really.”

Deciding to ignore her, I returned to eating
until the guilt got to me. “I should stay with Scarlet while Nick
eats.”

“
Yeah. He doesn’t want kids
and you’re making it worse. Even for you, that’s dumb.”

“
I’m going to kick your ass
one day.”

“
I doubt it.”

Leaving a smiling Sawyer behind, I hurried
outside to where Nick sat in the car with a now quiet Scarlet.

“
You should go eat,” I
said, reaching for the baby.

“
Why do you argue with
Sawyer so much?” he asked, ignoring my attempts to take
Scarlet.

“
She’s an evil
freak.”

“
She’s a child. You treat
her like she’s your equal then complain how immature she
is.”

Hands on my hips, I frowned. “So it’s my
fault she sucks?”

“
No, it’s your fault she
drives you nuts. Treat her like a little kid and she won’t bother
you so much.”

“
It’s not that
simple.”

“
Isn’t it? I watch how
everyone else treats Sawyer. I also notice how she is with them.
Farah expects Sawyer to behave like a seven year old and she gets
along fine with her.”

“
Farah, huh?”

Nick’s gaze met mine and he smiled. “I
shouldn’t like when you’re jealous, but it’s pretty hot.”

“
I was your first choice,
right?”

“
My only
choice.”

Smiling, I relaxed against the car until
Nick frowned at me. “What?”

“
She’s seven, Bailey.
Leaving a child in a restaurant isn’t right.”

“
No one will hurt her.
She’s Sawyer Fucking Johansson. Even if someone grabbed her, she’s
a biter. I’ve seen her bite the damn dogs.”

“
That’s not the point. She
shouldn’t need to protect herself. I bet you were tough at her age,
but that didn’t mean you wanted to be alone in a busy
restaurant.”

Glancing back at where I ditched my little
sister, I nodded. “Yeah, I would hate that.”

“
We’ll both go back in.
Scarlet is feeling better since I rubbed that numbing crap on her
gums.”

My niece sat on Nick’s hip like it was the
most comfortable place in the world. With her face dry and cheeks
only slightly flushed, she really was a gorgeous child. I imagined
the kids I would have one day with Nick.

“
You’ll make a great
daddy,” I said, holding the door open for him.

“
Not yet,
right?”

“
Oh, hell, right. I like
sleeping late.”

His eyes nervous, Nick
still smiled. He was great with Scarlet and Sawyer. One day, he’d
be great with our kids. Not yet.
Thank
goodness, not yet.

“
Are you going to marry my
sister?” Sawyer asked when we returned.

“
Yes,” Nick said then
added, “When we’re ready.”

Smiling like he’d announced something I
already knew, I was freaking out inside. Mostly, I couldn’t wait to
call the girls to tell them how I had Nick hooked and got to keep
him forever.

Next to me, Scarlet sat in a high chair,
sucking on a chunk of watermelon. She showed it to me then smiled.
When I cooed over her, Scarlet looked at me like I was amazing. I
couldn’t deny loving such adoration.

“
Not yet,” Nick said softly
when I stared at the baby for too long.

“
I know. I really do. I’m
just happy.”

Nick gave me a killer smile and I saw him
finally relax. Life was moving too fast for him already and I saw
on his gorgeous face how he was dealing with the pressure of so
many changes. Yet for the rest of evening, he smiled easily at me
and the girls like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Autumn break was days away, giving the
campus a festive vibe. My life had changed dramatically since the
break during my freshman year. Oftentimes, I felt like a completely
different person from the kid who showed up in Ellsberg with a
vague dream. The one thing I had in common from freshman Nick was
that no other girl made me feel like the pretty, yet mouthy babe
now holding my hand.

As Bailey and I walked to my Harley after
our final class of the day, she smiled and swung her ponytail back
and forth.

“
In my writing class, I
took my final exam before the break,” Bailey said. “Now I can skip
out tomorrow and go shopping with Maddy and Mom. She’s still
figuring out the last touches for the wedding, but it’s mostly set.
Redneck chic is pretty cool. Hint.”

I only smiled. “When our time comes, you can
do whatever chic your heart desires.”

“
I know, but I still like
hearing you bow to my will.”

All the good humor left me once I noticed
Winnie standing in the parking lot next to my dad and three of his
asshole friends.

“
What the hell?” Bailey
asked as I walked faster.

“
Take Winnie and go,” I
said over my shoulder before we reached the men.

My dad looked just the way I remembered.
Big, rugged, and handsome, he hovered over a clearly rattled
Winnie. By the expression on his face, he was flirting with her.
His every word caused her face to disappear more behind her
hair.

“
There you are,” Dad said
when he noticed me.

“
What are you doing here?”
I asked, standing between the men and Winnie.

“
I looked you up at the
address you gave your grandma, but you’d moved out. I asked around
and a stoner told me this girl worked for your girlfriend. Is this
her?”

Ignoring his question about Bailey, I turned
towards her. “Take Winnie and go,” I said again in a hard voice,
hoping she understood.

Bailey’s temper demanded she ignore the
danger of the situation. Even worried about Winnie, she wouldn’t
leave me alone with these men.

“
Who are these fucking
douches?”

“
Little mouth on her,” Dad
said to his friends. “I like the quiet one better.”

“
Who are you?” Bailey
growled, now in full redneck bitch mode.

“
I’m Nicky’s
dad.”

Standing between them, I felt a familiar
unease. The same feeling I got as a kid when violence was coming.
These days, Dad knew he couldn’t take me alone, so he brought back
up.

I glanced at his shirt
pocket where his cigarettes and lighter rested. Those were his
favorite weapons when I was growing up. He once told me the smell
of burning flesh turned him on. I remembered thinking he was
evil.
I hadn’t been wrong.

“
Why are you here?” I asked
calmly, going through the motions until the first punch was
thrown.

“
Drove all the way up here
to see the great Dragon fight then I find out you’ve pussied out
and thrown in the towel. Over a slut too.”

I glanced at Bailey who took the word “slut”
as to be expected.