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Authors: Kendall Ryan

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BOOK: Hard to Love
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I giggled at her. “I’ve got to get back to work. Just trust me on this one, okay?” I downed a
scalding
gulp of the coffee and threw the cup in the trash on my way into the hall.

“It’s your vagina!” she called after me, her voice carrying out into the hallway. 

I cringed as the doctor passing by me perked up at the V word being shouted in our direction.

*****

Maybe this was a stupid idea. After sleeping late, I’d showered and dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a simple black tank top, and then after making a stop at a sporting
-
goods store, I was currently parked in front of Cade’s house once again.

I’d shown up the same time as before, thinking he’d be here to meet his sister off the bus again, but h
is pickup truck was
n’t
in the driveway.

I grabbed the exercise ball and pump from the backseat and made my way to house.

Moments later, an attractive girl answered the door. She looked to be around my age, maybe a year or two younger, and she was pretty with long blonde hair that hung down h
er back and wide
-
set gray eyes. M
y stomach dropped. Was this Cade’s girlfriend?

S
hit. Did porn stars have girlfriends? That would require a lot of trust
.
I mean
, geez,
he slept with other women for a living.

“Can I help you?”

I
stood there for a second, still thrown off by this girl’s appearance and the question of her relationship with Cade, until I
realized
I hadn’t answered her yet
. “Is Cade home?”

She shook her head. “He’s working. Who are you?”

I swallowed down a lump in my throat. “I’m
Alexa,
a…friend of his. And I brought this,” I held up the exercise ball, “for Lily. I’m a nurse.”
Almost.
Friend?
Nurse?
Geez, the lies were just spewing from my mouth.

“Oh. Okay.” She opened the door wider. “Lily will be home in a few minutes. You can come in and wait.
I’m
Becca
,
by the way.

I followed her in the house, wonde
ring what
in
the
world
I was doing and who the
heck
Becca
was.

 

Chapter 7

Cade

 

I parked my truck and wondered where the hell
Becca’s
car had gone. Had she taken Lily somewhere? I didn’t like the idea of
Becca
driving Lily around in that deathtrap of hers. I grabbed my toolbox from the bed of the truck and stashed it in the garage before heading inside.

I was greeted by
sounds of giggling coming from Lily’s room
.
So Lily was here, but what about
Becca
?
I stopped at the kitchen sink to wash the grime from my hands and then headed
down the hall to find out what was going on
.

The sight that greeted me was
n’t at all what I was expecting
. Lily was lying
on
a big exercise ball and Alexa was kneeling beside her
,
helping her to roll across the ball.
I watched in stunned fascination for a second trying to understand what she was doing here and where the hell
Becca
had gone to. 


Caden
!”
Lily shrieked, spotting me in the doorway
.
She
lifted herself from the ball on shaky legs, crossing
the
few steps without her walker and throwing herself into my arms.

“Hi baby doll.” I pulled her little body to mine in a brief hug. “What
are you
guys doing?” I wanted to ask Alexa what the fuck she was doing in my house, but the grin on Lily’s face calmed me.


Lexa
is teaching me some new exercises for my legs!” She
returned to the ball, and
bounced excitedly while Alexa
grinned at her and
held it steady. Lily’s cheeks were flushed pink and I had to admit I hadn’t ever seen
her this
excited to do her stretches
.
I just hoped she wasn’t
overdoing it
.

“That’s…nice. Um, Alexa, can I have a word with you in the other room?” I turned for the living room without waiting for her response.

“Stay here while I talk to Cade, okay?” I heard her say to Lily.
She followed me into the living room, worry etched on her face.

“What are you doing here? Where’s
Becca
?”

“I came over to see Lily and then
Becca
left.”

“She left? The person I’m paying to babysit her just left her, with… you. What are you even doing here?”

“It really isn’t a big deal.”

“It’s a big fucking deal to me.”
I turned and faced the window, not wanting to lose my temper on her. Damn, I trusted
Becca
. How could s
he
just leave Lily alone with a stranger?

“Hey.” Alexa’s hand on my forearm caught my attention. “I told her I was a friend of yours
,
and a nurse
.
I think she assumed…”

“That you were Lily’s
nurse
?”

“Something
like
that.” She shrugged and removed her hand from my arm.

I blew out a breath and pressed the heels of my hands across my eyes. Fuck I was exhausted and dirty from working construction all day. I didn’t expect to come home to this.

“I’m sorry, I wanted to help,” Alexa squeaked out in a soft voice.

Becca
left only five minutes before you got here. And she did try to call your cell, but she couldn’t get through.”

I opened my eyes and met hers.
Soft blue and wide with worry.
Shit. I was being a dick.
“Listen, it’s al
l
right. Lily is safe and happy. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that. Finding good help to watch her is hard, and I don’t think I’ll be using
Becca
ag
ain, but that’s not your fault.”

“Don’t fire her on my account
.
I
t was just a misunderstanding,” she pleaded.

“I’ll think about it. At the very least we’ll be having a little talk about safety and strangers at the door.”
I sighed, not wanting to argue with
Alexa
. “
Thanks for working with her today.”

She pulled in a breath and her shoulders
visibly
sagged with relief. “You’re welcome.”

“I can’t afford a private nurse


“T
hat’s not why I came. You don’t owe me anything.”

I cocked my head, studying her. “
Then w
hy did you come?”
I honestly hadn’t expected to see her again, and now she was here, in my house, looking sexy in a pair of low-rise jeans and a fitted tank top
that clung to her chest
.

Alexa didn’t get a chance to answer my question, because at that moment,
Lily came barreling down the hallway, her walker clattering against the wood floor. “I want
Lexa
!”

Alexa met my eyes and
we both smiled
.
Lily’s enthusiasm was contagious.
“Do you mind, um, staying with her for a few more minutes
?
I need to hop in the shower.”
I looked down at my
grimy
jeans and T-shirt.

“Sure, not a problem.”

I kissed the top of Lily’s head. “Be good, okay?”

She nodded and lunged for me, wrapping
herself
around my leg in a hug
.
I winced, and bent over, moving her out of the way from clobbering my nuts. Alexa held in a laugh, realizing what I was doing. Then she
head
ed
back to her room with Alexa
.
I disappeared into the bathroom, completely confused at this turn of events.

Alexa was in my house, melting my damn heart by how sweet she was
being
with Lil.

I could hear
happy sounds of conversation and laughter, and I poked my head out of the bathroom door to listen in
.

“What does your brother like for dinner?” Alexa asked.

Lily took her time answering, and I held my breath, wondering what she’d say. “Um, usually he likes to eat ice cream. And I do too.”

“You do, huh?” Alexa chuckled. “Well let’s find something
healthy
to make and maybe we can have ice cream
after
dinner.”

I took my time in the shower, my mind momentarily at ease that Lily was in good hands. I let the rough spray of water beat down on me,
and closed my eyes.

After my shower,
I threw on jeans and a T-shirt and made my way into
a
kitchen that was filled with amazing smells.
Garlic
.
T
omatoes
.
R
oasting meat
.
My mouth watered. It had been a long time since anyone had cooked for me.

Alexa was
wiping down the kitchen counter,
and I suddenly I felt out of place in my own ho
me
. I didn’t know
whether
to go in and help her, or see what Lily was up to.

Alexa spotted me, and made the decision. “Dinner’s ready. Get Lil
y
for me?”

I nodded and found Lily in the living room, playing with the ball from earlier.

“Come on munchkin, let’s eat.” I lifted her onto my
hip
, and carried her into the kitchen.

The table had been set
with
a big platter of
spaghetti and meatballs
, a
nd a
small cup of milk for Lily and a glass of ice water for me
.

Lily stared
in wonder at the place mats
, napkins
and dishes for two.  Her stomach rumbled loudly and she slapped a little hand over her mouth and giggled.

Alexa’s eyes caught mine and we both laughed.

“Hungry, little one?”
I asked,
settling her
into her chair.

“Yep.
And guess what?”

“What’s that?” I
placed
a napkin over her lap.

“I helped
Lexa
roll the meatballs.”

“Oh yeah
?
I bet they’ll be extra good
then
.”

She basked in the compliment. It was times like this,
witnessing
her sweet innocence and
desire to belong,
to fit in
,
that
pulled at my heart and made every hour of hard work worth it.

Alexa gathered up her purse from the counter. “I had fun with you today, Lily.”

“You’re not staying?” I asked.

“Oh, no.”
She looked down, adjusting the strap of her purse. “You guys enjoy.”

“But you haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”

She shook her head.

I stood and directed her towards the table. “Sit.” I guided her into the chair next to mine then retrieved an extra plate and
silverware
from the kitchen, setting them in front of her. “
Here.
” I scooped up a heap of spaghetti for Lily first, then some for Alexa.

“Oh, that’s too much
.

Alexa gestured to the full plate.

“Mine’s too much too,” Lily said, grinning over at Alexa.

“Hush. Both of
you
girls are too thin. Eat up.”

I sat down and dug into my own plate, noting the satisfied smile tugging
at
Alexa’s lips. 

We enjoyed the
delicious pasta and flavorful
meatballs in relative silence. For once I didn’t have to prod Lily to
stop playing with her food and
eat. She
gulped
the
food
down
greedily and was soon coated from chin to cheeks in tomato sauce.
I couldn’t help but steal glances at Alexa
throughout the meal, and I
remembered that she hadn’t answered my question earlier. I wondered just what, exactly, had
prompted her to come over
.

BOOK: Hard to Love
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ads

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