Chapter 10

I wake up to my girls standing over me. "Typical…" I say. "Give me a minute and I will fix breakfast." I start to sit up and I fall back in pain.

"Mom, don't try to get up! You aren't well enough yet." Cara says as she pulls the covers over me. Emily nervously grabs my hand, "Mom, you are in the hospital. Dad broke three of your ribs and the doctors had to remove your spleen."

"Your dad, where is he?" Panic filling my brain.

"He's dead, mom. Remember?" Cara says soothingly.

"Oh yeah. I thought that was a dream. Where's John?" I ask.

"I'm right here. You are ok, relax." John says as he walks into the room, flowers in his hand. "I didn't know the girls knew nothing about me."

Cara grabbed Emily and they excused themselves from the room. "We will give you some privacy."

When the girls left the room, I turned to John and took a minute to collect my thoughts. "I know John, I wasn't ready to tell them about you. You acted so strange the morning you left; I figured you wouldn't show again. I didn't answer your calls because I didn't want to deal with everything long distance. I'm sorry if I acted strange. I am dealing with a lot right now. Please understand."

"Bailey, I understand. I really do. I thought it was strange that you came back that night smelling like smoke and you don't smoke. I didn't know what to think. Did you go off to see another man? I didn't know. I don't want to share you with anyone."

"Look John, I did go off to see someone. It was just Nick and no; I don't have feelings for him. He knows everything about me and he is my best friend. I was freaking out about how things between us were progressing and I went to Duggan's to have a drink. He was there and we talked. I felt better and I came back to you. I do like you a lot. I need some time to adjust and I need your patience. There is a lot I have gone through. There are things that I have not told you about my past that are very painful for me. I will tell you every thing, I promise."

"Ok, take your time, Bailey. I have a lot of time to hear it all. By the way, where did you learn all of those fancy moves I saw you pull off?"

"Well, after the first encounter with Paul, I saw a change in him. He looked as if he no longer cared about how his actions affected others. His therapist decided that he was just playing her and told the judge. Who at that point notified me to be cautious. I took Jujitsu classes as soon as possible. I wanted to defend myself just in case. They definitely came in handy." I sighed as I settled into the pillows. "John, I am tired. Do you mind if I just get some rest?"

"Not at all, sweetheart. I will be back later." He leans down to kiss me on my forehead as I fall asleep.

The next day, Nick comes in to see me. "So, you are getting discharged today!" Nick says cheerfully.

"Yep! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed. What's up?"

"I am glad to see you alive and well. Listen, Bail, I have something to tell you."

"Uh oh…" I say interrupting Nick. "What is going on?"

"Well, you know how Paul showed up at your house the first time?" He pauses to give me a sheepish look. "I told Paul where you lived. But I swear Bail; I didn't know he had gone off the deep end! I would have never let him know where you live if I had known he was going to hurt you."

"Nick, I know. You would never do that to me. Besides, if you didn't tell him, some one else might have. It is a very small town, you know."

Nick smiles and blushes, "Ok, I just didn't want you to blame me, that's all."

"Never." I say as I smile.

"Well- I am going to go. You come by and see me when those ribs heal and we will plan a hunting trip. Deal?" Nick says as he is walking out the door.

"Deal." I wave as he walks into the hallway.

"Hey, John. I didn't see you there!" Nick says as he bumps into John in the hallway. "You here to pick her up and take her home?"

"Yeah." John says. He stands a little taller his face a cold mask. "I have been meaning to ask you what your relationship is with Bailey. You guys are always talking and joking around. Even when you aren't talking, it is like you two have a weird bond that I can't explain. Have you two dated, slept together, I don't know. It is just driving me crazy and I am afraid to move forward with Bailey if you are seeing her or whatever."

"John, she and I have been through a lot together. Things like injuries, broken hearts, broken families, and now everything that has happened to her in her past that has been bubbling to the surface. I finally got her to go to a therapist to help with her posttraumatic stress disorder. I had been her support system when her husband was never there. There has never been any thing sexual and I don't think of her like that. She is like my little sister. You have nothing to worry about with me, but you will have a lot of walls to tear down with that one. She's a tough kid, but she needs that soft place to fall. If you aren't going to be that for her then you should walk away now. She doesn't need someone to cause more problems." Nick pats John on the shoulder and walks away.

"See you later!" Nick says as he walks out.

John stares after Nick wondering why he didn't know or see what was going on with Bailey. He sighs and walks to her room. The girls will be happy to see their mom; they are trying to get the house back in order before their mom comes home.

"Hey, babe." John says as he walks into the room.

Bailey looks up from her book and smiles. "Hey you! You ready to take me home?"

"Yeah, I am. I would much rather visit you at home than here. I have been thinking about spending my last week exclusively with you. I will have some time that I need to help get the boat ready to go to Dutch, but I think I would like to spend the rest of the time getting to know you better."

"Well, I think that would be great! I would love to get to know you better too." Bailey smiles sweetly. "Lets start by getting me home!"

The next thirty minutes are filled with busy work and at home instructions and getting ready to go home. Bailey was chipper and cracking jokes with the nurses and the doctor. She kept claiming she wasn't going to take it easy and she was going moose hunting tomorrow. As an orderly wheeled her out to the car, she tried to talk him into doing wheelies and running to the door. John knew that she was going to be just fine.

As we get closer to Bailey's home, Bailey seems anxious. "I don't blame you if you want to ride around the block a little more. You look like you could use a little more time…"

"No, I'm fine. I'm a little nervous about the girls and what they will think about my being with you." Bailey said quietly.

John reached over and grabbed Bailey's hand. "It will be ok. They seemed to like me when they met me in the hospital."

"That's right…" Bailey said with a thoughtful look on her face.

John pulled in to the driveway and turned the truck off. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Let's see how the girls will react."

John comes around to the passenger side and helps Bailey out of the truck. They walk to the front door and pause. Bailey opens the door and steps inside. The aroma coming from the kitchen was heavenly. They walked in to the kitchen and saw Cara and Emily sitting at the set table patiently waiting for the two of us. Cara and Emily stand and hug their mother and insist that we sit down.

"Before we eat, I have something to say." Cara looks at Emily and Emily nods. "Em and I have been talking and we think that while you should have told us about John, we believe that you are happier with him. You have been calmer and happy. So, if he makes you happy, then we are ok with you two." Cara and Emily smile at both John and Bailey.

"Well, you take after me don't you? Direct and to the point, you don't let the elephant stay in the room long do you?" Bailey asks smiling.

John sits back and lets out a breath. "Ok, well that went well. When do we eat? What ever you guys are making smells good!"

Cara smiles and walks to the kitchen to retrieve the pot roast and vegetables. "Eat up!" She exclaims, and sits to enjoy a nice dinner.

This is not the last of the book! I still have more to come!