Found By You (The Found Series) Page 3

  “Hey babygirl. I see you’ve got little Rhys there. Isn’t he just precious?” My mother all, but coos as she makes her way over to me. She takes Chubbs’ hand and kisses it.

  “Hey, handsome man. I’m surprised you’re not glued to your daddy.” She says to Rhys.

  “Hey, Ma. How was work? And how do you know Chubbs. I mean Rhys?” I ask, slightly blushing that I ousted the nickname I gave him.

  “Chubbs, Avery?” She says with a raised eyebrow and continues with, “Work was good. We took them on a stroll around the waterfall today, it was beautiful. They enjoyed it and I found it peaceful. Now, stop trying to bypass what I asked babygirl, explain the ‘Chubbs’ part.”

  “Well, he is chubby and that’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw him.” I say smiling down at him. “And you didn’t answer my question. How do you know him? This is the first time I’ve ever seen him and the first time I’ve ever met Jackson. By the way you’re talking about him, they’ve been here before. How come I never knew about them?”

  “Av, they have all been here a number of times. It depends on their classes and you are usually at work when they are here. I don’t see the big deal anyway. You are around babies and kids all day long, what’s another baby?” She says this looking at me intently. She knows something I don’t know and I’m hoping she tells me.

  “Oh okay.” I say like it’s no big deal. “Where’s the baby’s mom? Can’t his parents watch Rhys while he’s doing group homework and all?” I say hoping she will tell me.

  “That’s not my story to tell, babygirl. If and when Jackson wants his business out there, he will tell you. I wish I could tell you honey, but I can’t and won’t. No need to worry your pretty little head about it.” I looked at her all but pouting and she shakes her head laughing at my antics and says. “I wish I could...”

  Man, I wish she would just tell me. Hell, anyone just tell me something! This is frustrating.

  “I’m going to go shower and then get dinner started. The guys should be finishing by the time everything is done. Be sure to come down in a bit and bring Rhys with you.” She says as she gets off the bed. She turns and looks at me once she reaches the door. She looks as if she wants to say something, but instead smiles and leaves the room.

  Chapter 8

  I play with the baby and love on him like there’ no tomorrow. I’m surprised Jackson didn’t come up to check on us and at the same time, I’m glad, because that means he is starting to trust me and I have more time to play with Chubbs.

  I put Chubbs in the crib so I could finally use the bathroom. Washing my hands and freshening up before dinner, I look at myself in the mirror. My eyes are sparkling. I’ve never seen my eyes look like this; maybe it’s because of the baby. Who knows? Whatever it is, I like it. It’s putting a bigger smile on my face.

  Heading back into the room, I grab Rhys and make my way downstairs. The smell of Ma’s homemade tacos hit my nose before I even made it halfway down the steps. Ugh, why did she have to make tacos tonight? I am not tiny, but I am not fat, I just love food. Tacos are my kryptonite. I’m 165 pounds, but I’m 5’8, plus I run every morning. Food is a true love for me, but thank you high metabolism!

  Mentally thinking of ways to kick my mother’s ass, I enter the kitchen. The guys are all at the table, quiet as can be. As Ma is getting the rest of the condiments out, she sees me and smiles. I smile back knowing that she made this meal on purpose. I don’t want to scarf down my favorite food, like I normally would, in front of the guys. Not that I’m ashamed of my love for it, or food in general, but dammit if I actually don’t want to look like a pig this time.

  Rhys coos, which gets the attention of everyone. Instantly, Jackson is by my side trying to take Chubbs from me. I pull away almost forgetting that this is his child, and not mine.

  “I got him. It’s fine. I know you guys wanna finish what you can. You don’t have to stop working.” I tell him to try and put him at ease. He raises his eyebrow as if I’m in the wrong. I’m only trying to help him.

  “I got it from here, Avery. Thanks for all your help, though.” He says, as he takes the baby from me. Huh. That’s weird. I feel as though I’m missing something now. I mean, I am around kids all day long, but I’ve never felt like that. “Okay.” I tell him as if I’m not upset that he took him, but I really am. I know I have no right to him, but I really was enjoying playing with him.

  Hearing chairs scraping the floor, I look over and see the guys putting away their work. Jackson turns around and tries to put his stuff away too, but Rhys is kind of in the way. He is trying his hardest to do everything one handed. My mother looks at me and jerks her head as if to tell me to help him. I don’t move. I turn back and watch him again. My brother then does the same thing. Geez, am I the only person standing here? No one tries to help a struggling Jackson with his stuff or the baby. I walk over to the table and hold out his book bag for him so he can drop his stuff in there. He looks at me and then tries to put his handful of papers in there, but half of them end up on the floor. The guys try to help him which only makes him look more frustrated. He shakes his head and looks at the ceiling. All the while, my brother and Ma are looking at me intently.

  “Hey, Jackson.” I say trying to grab his attention. “Do you want me to hold Chu-...I mean Rhys until you are done cleaning up? It really isn’t a big deal. It’ll only be for a few more minutes and then I promise to give him back.” He looks as though he is fighting an inner battle. After what seems like a few minutes, he finally agrees and lets me once again hold the baby.

  Everything is finally cleared up. Ma has finished setting everything up on the island, almost like a buffet. Jackson clears his throat and leans in to the back of me and says, “Thank you. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me today. I am really grateful.” I nod my head and turn around to face him. He looks at Rhys and then back at me and smiles. I look down to see that Chubbs has fallen asleep that quick.

  “I really had fun with him, so I should be thanking you. As you can tell, he is asleep. I’m gonna go and lay him down in the crib, if that’s okay with you.” I ask him. He nods his head up and down to say yes and follows me towards the steps.

  “Ma, go ahead and start without me. I’m gonna go and lay him back in the crib.” I say pointing to Rhys.

  She nods, “Okay babygirl. Just come back down once you’re done. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the guys save you some. Then again, I cook for an army.” she says chuckling. I smile at her because she does cook like she’s feeding an army. She always has. I guess it’s because our holidays are filled with family and it’s always better to have more than enough, instead of not enough.

  Looking at Jackson, I jerk my head and tell him to follow me.

  Jackson

  Trying to put my stuff away while holding Rhys, proves to be difficult. I should’ve let Avery continue holding him until I was done, but he’s my responsibility, not hers. As I watch my papers fall all over the place, I feel like a failure and it pissed me off. What kind of idiot can’t do two things at once? Avery asks me once again if she can hold Rhys as I clean up and I reluctantly agree this time. I thank Avery after everything is cleaned up. Her holding him so I could put my stuff away is a lot easier than me holding him. Looking at her holding my son, I see that he has fallen asleep. I smile at her and she tells me to follow her. Avery is making me feel things I’m not used to feeling. I want to pursue her, but I don’t want my messed up past to get to her like it does me.

  Chapter 9

  After putting this handsome little man in the crib and covered him up, I look into his precious face and I feel at peace. It’s weird to explain, but just watching this cute baby sleep, is calming me and very peaceful.

  Jackson steps up beside me and leans over the crib and gives his son a kiss. He lingers a little longer than I thought he would. What is it about Jackson and the simple gesture of kissing his son that makes me want to cry? I know it’s not my hormones, but it’s somet
hing much deeper than that. I feel a connection to him and I hope that whatever it is, he will talk to me about it, or at least know that I’m here if he needs me.

  He looks up at me and stares into my eyes and smiles. Not a fake smile like earlier, but a genuine one. God, he really is good looking.

  “Avery, I’m really sorry about earlier. I know I already apologized, but I wanted to say I’m not used to others helping me. I’m used to doing everything alone. I am just stressed between school and taking care of Rhys that I took it out on you. I didn’t mean it.” Oh, wow. He apologized earlier, but this time I felt his words all the way to my bones. I knew school and a baby would be a lot of work, but I never expected another apology. What in the heck do I say to that? I say the first thing that comes to mind.

  “It’s okay, Jackson. Really, it is. I had fun playing with him and coddling him. I’m used to it, so it doesn’t really bother me.”

  His face is unreadable as if I said something wrong. “Yeah, okay.” He says to me shortly. Whoa. Where the heck did that come from? I was just trying to be nice about it and he’s getting pissed.

  “Jackson, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that I take care of kids on a daily basis so it really wasn’t a bother to me, that’s all.” I say stepping closer to him. “I think he is such a happy baby and from what I can tell, you’re doing a great job with him, along with going to school.”

  He sighs deeply. “Thank you. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It’s just me and Rhys, so when you said you had him while I was working on the project, it made me feel a little bad. Almost as if I was pawning him off on you. I didn’t want to leave him with you. Not in a bad way, but he’s all I have.”

  “Where’s his mother at? Your parents?” I ask him, almost as soon as he is done talking.

  “I won’t get into it fully, but Rhys’ mother didn’t want anything to do with him. After they were both able to leave the hospital, I picked them both up to take them back to her house. She got out and told me he was my problem now. I had no clue how to take care of a baby, but I wasn’t gonna leave him there. That’s just a part of it. I’m not ready to get into the rest of it.” He says shaking his head, almost as if it pains him to think of the rest.

  “Well, thank you for telling me what you felt comfortable with. I won’t pry any more. Since he’s asleep, what do you say we leave him be and we go downstairs and eat?”

  He looks at the baby and then back to me. “We can bring the baby monitors back down with us that way if he wakes up, you will be able to hear him better.” I say walking over to the nightstand. Grabbing the one monitor, I turn it on and face it towards the crib. Taking the other one, I turn it on and hand it to Jackson.

  “See. Now you will hear him as soon as he cries. Let’s go eat. I’m hungry.” I say starting to walk towards the door. I look back and see Jackson placing one last kiss on Chubbs’ forehead. He stands there for a few minutes longer just watching his sleeping son. Taking a deep breath, he looks up from the crib and right at me. I smile at him. Watching him with his son is adorable.

  After a few seconds of him looking at me, I nod my head and we walk out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen to eat with everyone.

  Chapter 10

  Sitting in my room, I hit the playlist I downloaded from a book called, “Saving Us” by Ashley Johnson, which just happens to be a favorite of mine. I hit the shuffle button and ‘Like a Prayer’ by Madonna starts to play. It’s such a great song, but her words have some strong meaning. As the song continues to play, my mind drifts to Jackson.

  It’s been two weeks since taco night at the house. I haven’t seen Jackson or Chubbs. I know he’s been here though. I’ve seen a baby blanket that I know wasn’t already here. I brought it to my nose and it smelled just like Rhys. It might be weird to some, but that little man made an impact on my life somehow in a matter of a few hours. I don’t know what it is about either one of them that makes me feel as though something from my life is missing.

  I really miss seeing him. And by him I mean both of them. I miss Rhys cooing and even though Jackson really hasn’t said all that much, I miss his brooding face too. There is so much more going on with him. I don’t want to pry, I just really want to know him and help him. I could ask my brother about him, but then he would start asking questions that even I don’t have the answers to.

  Before another song starts to play, I rip out my ear buds. I love your playlist Ashley, but I am just not in the mood to hear ‘Livin’ on a Prayer.’ I swear this woman is trying to gut me without even knowing it.

  Placing my IPod far away from me so I don’t have to think about the songs again, I hear the front door close. There are a bunch of noises, a female voice which belongs to Ma and then I hear a baby cooing. My ears are now on high alert waiting to hear Jackson’s voice. I have a lot of cousins who have babies that are always dropping by so it could be them. I don’t want to rush down to see who it is and risk myself looking like an idiot, but I can’t help and feel that it is Jackson and Chubbs. Oh forget this shit, I’m going to go see! Not even caring that my hair is a complete mess and I’m in sweatpants and a tank top, I quickly make my way down the hall and towards the stairs. I need to slow my roll and make it seem as if I didn’t know anyone else was here.

  Descending the stairs, I don’t see anyone. I hear them, but don’t see them. Maybe they are in the kitchen or family room. Making my way into the kitchen, I still don’t see whoever came in through the door with Ma. Ugh, I just want to see if I was right! If Jackson is indeed here with Rhys, I want to hold him ASAP!

  Since I’m already in the kitchen, I might as well get something to drink. Opening up the fridge to see my options, I spot the chocolate syrup. I grab the bottle and smile at it. There’s nothing like chocolate milk. Yeah buddy! I don’t care how old you are, you are never too old for chocolate milk. The same goes for PB&J, which I love. Getting out the milk and putting it on the counter, I open the cabinet and pull out my favorite mug. Jared made it for me as a birthday present when I turned 5. He hand painted it and put “World’s Best Sister” on it with a painting of me. Granted, he was almost 7 and my mom helped him, but I still love it.

  Putting the ingredients in the cup and stirring it, I take a sip. “Hmm, so good.” I say to myself. I put everything back where it’s supposed to be. Going back to the counter, I pick up my mug and drink some more. Hearing a throat being cleared breaks me out of my chocolate milk drinking coma. Turning around, I’m met with sparkling green eyes. Jackson. I was right, he is here. Now where is my Chubbs?! My Chubbs? I know he’s not mine, but dammit, I just want to hold him and spoil him.

  “I’m guessing you’re drinking chocolate milk?” he asks, looking at me funny. How the heck would he know that? He’s on the other end of the kitchen. Surely he can’t see in my cup from there. Can he?

  Eyeing him suspiciously, I ask, “How did you know that?”

  He smiles and says, “Um, because you have a chocolate milk mustache.” and then proceeds to laugh about it. A full belly laugh. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard him laugh like that. It’s like music to my ears.

  Looking back at him, I lick my lips, shrug my shoulders and say, “Yup, I was drinking it. It’s all gone now.” He looks at me and his eyes seem to have darkened. His Adams apple is bobbing up and down. He still hasn’t said anything so I turn towards the sink and start to rinse my cup out. Turning around abruptly, I bump into something hard. Looking up after a second, I see that it’s Jackson. I didn’t even hear him move from his spot.

  Grabbing both of my arms he says huskily, “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare ya.” Good lord, his hands feel amazing.

  Stepping out of his embrace to try and catch my breath, I say, “Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t even hear you moving. Do you need something?”

  Looking down at me, he eyes my lips and his nostrils flare slightly. “I, uh, needed to make Rhys a bottle and wanted to rinse this out before I did.” He says shaking
the bottle. Nodding, I move aside and let him use the sink. I have no clue what’s going on here, but there is so much attraction between us. I want to see how those soft, yet plump lips feel against mine. I wonder why he hasn’t made a move. I guess he doesn’t feel the attraction that I do. Maybe it’s one-sided.

  Internally sighing, I turn to Jackson and ask, “So, how is Rhys doing? I haven’t seen you guys around.”

  As he is making Rhys’ bottle, he says, “He is good. We were here a few times in the last week. I’m guessing you were working because I didn’t see you.”

  A-ha. So he was thinking of me. I hope he was thinking of me the same way I was him. Maybe he’s just being friendly. He is so damn hard to read!

  “Yeah, I was covering for another girl because she was sick, so I’ve barely been home. Not only that, but we have been trying to get things together to take to the director. We want to try and extend the hours a little later. Some of the kid’s parents work later than 5 p.m. so we want to help them out a little.”

  He turns and looks at me as if I have two heads. “Why would you do that? I mean, usually workers don’t really care about all that.”

  What. The. Actual. Fuck. One minute he’s nice and then the next he acts as if a good deed has never been done before.

  Putting my hand on my hip, I look him in the eyes and say, “Because I care about all of those little kids and know for a fact that being a single parent is hard. Ma is a single parent and worked while she went to school. Sure, her mother left her a little money, but that’s not the point. She busted her ass because she wanted to make it on her own. Others literally have to scrounge to make ends meet. We are the best daycare in town. Not only are we the only ones who open at 5 a.m. every day, we have the lowest weekly rate, are the cleanest, and the parents enjoy their kids coming there. It’s more than just a job to me. That’s exactly why I care.” I turn around and leave the kitchen without so much as a second glance. He has gone and pissed me off. Whether he meant it or not, he hit a nerve.