Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance by Black, L. (good books for high schoolers .TXT) 📕

a call I have to make. I’ll be on the back porch if you need me.”

She nodded, and I walked into the kitchen and opened the glass door. Stepping outside, I pulled open my phone and hit Mason’s name. He needed to know what was going on.

“Hey, Bubba,” Mason said. It was his usual greeting for me and had been since we were kids.

“Hey, Mason,” I said.

“Uh-oh, that voice doesn’t sound good,” he said.

“It’s Hannah,” I said. “Her ex broke into her place last night and tore it up pretty good. Wrote some really heinous shit on the walls.”

“Oh God,” Mason said. “Is she okay?”

“Physically, yes. She was with me,” I admitted. “But she’s going to stay with me for a bit, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to try to come in to work or for me to leave her alone tonight.”

“Hell no,” Mason said. “You are both taking the day off. That’s an order from the boss.”

“Ava said so?” I teased. It felt good to make a joke. Mason laughed on the other end.

“She would if I told her,” he said. “Just tell Hannah that she can take all the time she needs. The new girl should be able to handle herself without shadowing anyone. She’s been waiting tables for a couple of years.”

“Will do,” I said. “Thanks, Mason.”

I went back inside to tell Hannah what Mason said. She nodded and continued folding clothes. She was setting them in neat piles on my bed, and I suddenly realized she needed a drawer to put things in.

“Thank you, Jordan,” she said. “And tell Mason I said thank you, too.”

“I will when I see him. I’m staying home tonight, too,” I said.

“Really?” she asked, her eyes floating back up to mine. Tears pooled at the edges. I walked to her and pulled her in for a deep hug.

“Of course. I wouldn’t leave you home alone tonight. Now, let’s clear out some of these drawers for you and order a pizza,” I said.

We ordered from my favorite Italian place nearby and launched up my streaming service. I let her pick what movies she wanted to watch, which turned out to be a couple of really funny romantic comedies. They were decidedly not the types of movies I usually watched, but the ones she picked were pretty good.

I tried to keep the conversation light and distracting. A bottle of wine I had put away got cracked open. I wasn’t much of a wine guy either, but for her I would avoid beer for the night. I tried talking about everything except for the house and Ethan. Eventually, she started to come out of her funk, and talk turned to the only other subject I wanted to avoid. Portland.

“So, about that,” I said after she mentioned when I was planning on leaving again. “I found something out about my expectations there.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Well, I found out that I’ll only need to be there for about six months,” I said.

“Really?” The happy note in her voice made me look up at her, and I noticed for the first time in the evening a smile crossed her face.

“Really,” I confirmed.

26 Hannah

Another week passed and there still wasn’t another sign of Ethan. He didn’t show up again, and I hadn’t gotten any phone calls or messages from him. I almost wished I had. That way, at least I wouldn’t have to wonder so much. As it was, I wasn’t sure how to feel about him just disappearing again.

On one hand, it was good to not have to deal with him. I didn’t want to see him or hear his voice. After what he did, I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. But I was also unnerved. Ethan hadn’t just threatened me. He had gone into my home and destroyed my belongings. He was in my personal space, a place where I should feel safe. It felt like a violation.

Wondering where he could be, if he was watching me, and when he might turn up next were all pushing me to the edge. The anxiety was creeping up, and I felt like I was becoming paranoid.

I wanted him found. I wanted him held accountable for what he did. More than that, I wanted him out of my life. I needed to know he wouldn’t be able to keep doing this to me.

Sitting on the couch in Jordan’s living room, I called Samantha. I ran my fingers back through my hair as I waited for her to answer. In the kitchen Jordan was making something that smelled spicy and delicious. I wanted to just be able to relax and enjoy the time with him, but I couldn’t.

“How are you doing? Is everything alright?” Samantha asked by way of answering the phone.

“I remember a time when those weren’t the most common things people said to me,” I said. “Those were the good days.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just on edge when it comes to you.”

“I’m on edge when it comes to me, too,” I said with a sigh. “Have you heard anything about him?”

“No,” Samantha said. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to find out anything I can. I’ve asked everybody I can think of, but no one has heard from him or anything about him.”

“So, once again, no one knows where he is,” I said. “That worked out really well for me last time.”

Jordan had a meeting with his brothers about the new bar that afternoon, and I didn’t want to sit around at the house by myself. Instead, I headed for the library to continue working on the mural. It was taking longer than I expected it to, but the library didn’t mind. I didn’t want to rush and not have it turn out the way I envisioned it, and they agreed.

Part of me felt like I was taking extra time just so I had something to do. It filled my mind and made me feel better, especially when I couldn’t be with Jordan.