Beyond the Cherry Trees: The Cook Brothers Series (6 page)

“You haven’t seen your parents in months,” he chuckled. “It might be nice to have your mom help take care of you. I think getting around with these things,” he nudged the crutches, “is going to be harder than you think.”

“Maybe.” I squeezed my eyes shut before releasing a deep breath slowly. I nodded before shoving open my door and climbing out. I hopped a few times as I positioned the crutches under my arms and used my hip to shut the door.

Garrett rolled the window down as he looked up at me, “You sure you don’t want any help getting back to your place?”

“Thanks, but I need to learn to do this on my own. I appreciate the ride, Garrett, and I’m sorry I’m not going to be the one in your arms next week.”

“I’ll live, but get better soon, ok?” He chuckled as he rolled the window up and slowly pulled out into traffic.

IT HAD BEEN
a few weeks since I’d seen her, but that didn’t keep my mind from going into overdrive. I don’t know what it was about Mia, but she captured my attention like no other. It had always been that way. The day I saw her on the playground, fiery hair whipping in the wind as she stuck her chin up and refused to back down to Mikey Clark, I knew I needed to know her. We were only ten at the time, but when she turned her eyes on me, and I saw them sparkle, I was done for. It took me years to move past the friend zone and kiss her, but when I did, it felt like our hearts fused together. At thirteen, I wasn’t sure what love was, but as we moved from innocent kids to something more, I knew I loved Mia Callahan.

“Daddy’s got a meeting this afternoon. Wanna do a late lunch?” Christina’s head popped through the door of my office bringing me out of my musings.

“Can’t,” I muttered as I clicked the window I been staring at on my laptop closed, and brought up the file I was supposed to be working on. I was going to court in three days, along with another associate, and even though I was sitting second chair, I knew I needed to be more prepared.

“Can’t? Or won’t?” She moved farther into the doorway now, and the hair on the back of my neck rose in preparation of a fight. Chrissi knew I couldn’t really argue here at work, at least not with this many people around.

“Can’t,” I grumbled as I shuffled the papers in front of me. “June was supposed to be ordering me takeout from down the street. I have too much to do today. I can’t spend any time messing around.” I barely looked up, hoping that she’d get the hint and leave me alone, but she did just the opposite.

I heard the door click shut, and before I knew it, she was leaning over my desk, pressing her breasts in my face. “I need to talk to you, and despite wanting more privacy to do it, I guess this will have to do.” My head snapped up at her tone, and my eyes trailed her as she moved to the side of my desk. Her black pencil skirt rode up her legs slightly as she leaned against the corner of my desk. I swallowed as I attempted to look away, but when her hand landed on my shoulder, I froze. “I’m late,” she shrugged her shoulders slightly as she waited for me to look up.

“Well, you better get going then,” I muttered and rolled my eyes.

“No Ty. I’m late, as in my period. It’s late,” she shook her head at me as she shifted to stand.

“What?” I gawked as the words rattled around in my brain. “How?”

She turned, lowered herself into my lap, and if I’d been thinking clearly, I’m sure I would have pushed her away. “We’re going to have a baby.” She smiled, and I wasn’t sure if she was serious or if this was some desperate way to keep me in her life. I had been pulling away over the last several weeks, and Chrissi had noticed. She’d been trying much more often to sneak in my office or stay late with me.

“How did this happen?” I gasped as my throat tightened up. The world began spinning around me as I watched my future dissipate.

“You fucked me without a condom multiple times.” She flipped her hand in the air as she rolled her eyes. “Nothing’s a hundred percent.”

“I can’t have a baby, not with you,” I scoffed. “Your dad is going to fucking kill me when he finds out. Shit!” I stood, pushing her off my lap. “You can’t tell him it’s mine. Fuck!” I began pacing in front of the windows of my office, furiously yanking my hair as hard as I could.

“I might be able to keep it a secret,” she paused for effect, “for the right price.” A gleam filled her eyes as she turned to face me.

“Chrissi, you have all the money in the world, way more than I do.” I let my mouth drop open. “What could I possibly give you that you don’t already have?”

“You,” her smile grew as she moved gracefully across the room. She stopped right in front of me and began toying with my tie. “I won’t tell Daddy that the baby’s yours, if you keep pleasuring me. No more office trysts though; I want you in my bed. She pressed her lips together as her head tipped to the side appraising me.

“You’re blackmailing me with sex?” I sputtered.

“Don’t think of it that way,” she tsked. “Think of it as spending time with the mother of your child. You come to my apartment in the evenings to take care of my needs, and I’ll keep my mouth shut. You stop coming, and I’ll spill the beans to Daddy. Deal?” She yanked on my tie causing my head to snap forward slightly.

“That sounds like a relationship, not a deal?” I grumbled.

“It’s that or nothing,” she shrugged.

“Deal,” I mumbled as my stomach dropped. “Fuck! I have to go home for Christmas. I was going to be there for two weeks.” I rubbed my hand over my eyes.

“I’ll give you a pass for that.” She shrugged again as she stepped away. “See you at nine, Stud.” She waved her manicured fingers flirtatiously as she stepped back out into the hallway and disappeared.

What the fuck just happened? I stumbled back over to my desk and fell back into my chair as I stared at nothing in particular. Did that really just happen? Was I going to be a dad? I didn’t think we’d done it that many times. I needed to get away and clear my head and fast.

Before I realized what I was doing, I sent Charlie an email telling him I wouldn’t be in court with him. I messaged my boss, feigning a family emergency, before sending him all the files I’d worked on. Then without even thinking it through, I pulled up the train schedule, and booked a ticket to Cherryville for that evening. If I left work now, I could pack my things and be at the station in plenty of time. I reserved a car, one I knew would work well in the snow, and then grabbed my briefcase and laptop bag. As I began closing out the windows and shutting my computer down, I couldn’t help but stop and pause at the screen covered in Mia’s photos. She was still one of the most beautiful women I’d ever laid eyes on. She always saw the best in me. What would she think of me now if she saw the mess I was in?

As I rushed out of the building with my coat half on, I sent Chrissi text.
Vacation started early. See you in 2 weeks.
I turned my phone off as soon as the message sent to avoid having to answer it when she would undoubtedly call me back, stuffed it in my pocket, and climbed into the first cab I could flag down. This was not how I ever pictured my first visit home in years, not at all. What the hell was I going to tell my brother when I showed up at his door tonight? The truth? Would he even let me inside when he found out what I’d done?

“FUCKETY, FUCKETY, FUCK!!!”
I hissed under my breath as I wrestled my bag over to my rental car. I hadn’t been back here in five years, and I still couldn’t believe that I’d been cursed with coming in the winter. I’d forgotten over the years how much snow this part of New York got. In the city, it was cold, but the snowfall was nowhere near this. “Damn you lakes and your stupid lake effect snow!” I shouted into the darkness as I wrenched the driver side door open before grabbing my phone and turning it on.

I tossed my luggage in the backseat, and went to work cleaning the windshield off with a snow brush. As I rounded the passenger side, my phone vibrated in my pocket. “What!” I barked into it.

“So you did leave town?” Gavin laughed on the other end.

“Fuck you!” I growled. “I didn’t have much of a choice. “She’s crazy, and I’m not screwing anything else with work up. I’ve only been partner for a little over six months. Christina is not ruining that for me,” I sighed as I finished cleaning the snow off my windshield, and climbed in the Malibu I had rented.

“So where are you?” Gavin chuckled.

“I’m in bum fucking nowhere,” I groaned.

“No seriously. Where are you?” he muttered.

“Cherryville. I came to see my brothers and sister-in-law,” I cranked the car up hoping to get some heat soon.

“You know,” he chuckled. “I heard from Daniel, Mia’s brother that she went home for the holidays too. Something about an ankle injury. You have fun with that. K?”

“Shut up,” I grumbled. “Mia wrote me off years ago. I don’t care if she’s here or not. I want nothing to do with her,” I snapped. “Listen. I’ll call you in a few days. I gotta drive in this crap, and it’s not easy.”

“Sure dude. Later,” Gavin clicked off the line and I tossed my phone over onto the passenger seat. This was fucking great. Mia was in town. Not only was I going to have to avoid work now I was going to have to avoid her too.
Easier said than done, you crazy stalker
.

When I reached Taylor and Morgan’s place, I pulled into the driveway and stared at the house. There weren’t any lights on inside, and I wondered if they were even awake. It wasn’t that late for most people, but here in Cherryville, it was pretty dead at night in the winter.

I climbed from the car, grabbed my suitcase, and dragged it along with myself up their front steps. I rang the doorbell, and waited hoping that Taylor didn’t slam the door in my face when he saw it was me. It didn’t take long before I could hear the laughter of my brother coming from the inside. The door flew open, and he stood there staring at me. “What the hell, Ty?” He shook his head.

“Nice to see you too,” I grumbled as I began to kick snow off my shoes.

“What are you doing here?” He scowled as he ran his hand through his messy hair. “You’re not supposed to be here for another couple of weeks.” He must have either been asleep on the couch or wearing a snow hat.

“I wanted to come for a visit. Plans change. If you don’t want me here,” I shrugged as my voice trailed off and I noticed a shadow from the corner of my eye. It was Morgan, and as soon as she saw it was me, she smiled.

“It’s about time you came back here.” She grinned as she reached for my luggage. “Let him in, Tay. It’s cold out there.” She pushed the suitcase over by the stairs before turning back to face me. “Come in here and have a seat. I’ll get you some coffee or tea.” She pointed toward what I assumed was the living room as I began unwinding the scarf around my neck and unbuttoning my coat.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Taylor mumbled before moving closer, “but what gives?”

“Let’s just say I will never, EVER,” I stressed, “get involved with someone from the office again.”

“Shit, Bro!” he hissed. “What’d you do?”

“I fucked the wrong person, and now I might lose my job over it.” I hung my head as I removed my shoes, pasted on a smile, and walked in the direction Morgan had pointed with Taylor trailing behind me.