Page 105 of Escaping Our Reality

“Must be hard. I can’t imagine having your life upended like this. Let alone while having to take care of a little baby.” I reach around and run my finger across Alexis’ smooth cheek, taking care not to get her dirty.

Holt leans in the bedroom, whispering. “I’m finished in the bathroom, man.”

I squeeze Lulu’s waist. “We haven’t talked about it, but I assume we’re staying here for the night, right? I’m supposed to go back out with the guys at six in the morning.”

“Yeah, I can’t leave Aunt Teresa with all of these kids.”

“I’m gonna go get cleaned up and eat a few sandwiches. Are you hungry?”

She shakes her head, shifting Alexis into a more comfortable position. “No, I already ate. Can you tell Aunt Teresa that I’m gonna sleep up here with the baby? If she starts crying during the night, I don’t want her to wake the other kids. There’s one more sealed bottle of formula downstairs. Can you bring it up? Aunt Teresa has it.”

“You got it.”

I quickly rinse as much dirt from my hair and body as I can. I’m not sure what to do with my dirty clothes so I just toss them in the hamper with Holt’s. I know he didn’t share his underwear with me, but he has to give me a little bit of leeway with the deodorant. I rifle around in the bathroom drawers, find some men’s deodorant, and lather it on before going downstairs.

Teresa sits with Ray, Holt, and me while we eat. I eat four sandwiches, and I know Holt eats more than me.

“Ella’s gonna keep the baby upstairs in case she starts to cry during the night. She asked me to bring up a bottle of formula?”

Teresa nods, grabbing it from the counter.

Ray clears his throat. “There’s a guest bedroom upstairs. I assume that’s where you’re gonna sleep tonight, right, son?”

I’m dying to wrap my arms around Lulu, hold her close and never let her go. I could’ve lost her today. That thought makes me want to collapse on the floor in a pile of tears and snot. Like a complete pussy. But… this is his house. And I have to respect his wishes. I just nod. “Sir.”

Together, Holt and I climb the stairs again. By now, it’s already one in the morning, so we’ve only got five hours to sleep before we head back out. The second I walk into Raylee’s room, that big pussy heart of mine just melts even more.

Lulu’s spread across the bed, cuddling Alexis in her arms. She changed into fresh clothes while I was gone—must belong to Raylee. The T-shirt fits fine, but the pajama pants are short, riding well above her ankles. There’s a burning flashlight, sitting on the dresser. Lulu shined it at a small section of the wall, so there’s just enough light to see in case she wakes up. But based on her heavy and even breathing, I don’t see her waking up any time soon.

I gently place the formula next to the flashlight. I respect the hell out of Ray, but if he thinks I’m leaving my gorgeous girl alone after a day like this, he’s a lunatic. I walk into the other room, grab a pillow, and rip the comforter and top sheet from the bed. I quickly make a pallet on the floor next to Lulu and Alexis. Giving them each a kiss on the forehead, I crawl into my makeshift bed and pass out.

It seems like only mere seconds tick away before someone is knocking me awake. I jump. Nothing like a toe to the shoulder to make a man really piss his pants in the morning. I open my eyes to see Ray standing over me.

He glances at the bed, and I assume Lulu and the baby are still sleeping. Whispering, he holds out a hand, helping me up. “Come on. It’s six.”

Grabbing my boots and the pair of jeans from the corner of the room, I follow him out the door, leaving Lulu softly snoring. I quietly close the door.

When we get out of earshot, Ray claps a hand across my shoulder. “I wouldn’t have listened to me either.”

Chapter 43

ELLA

Night is starting to fall by the time we pull into my driveway from Uncle Ray and Aunt Teresa’s house. Ry and I were glad to spend the day helping; the neighborhood really needs it. But we are beyond thrilled to finally have some down time. We’ve barely gotten a chance to talk or even really process what all happened.

Harlan went back to the garage today and confirmed everything was just fine. He has an extra key to Ry’s truck and found it on the side of the road where we left it. Nothing was stolen. Nothing was storm damaged. The bed of the truck was waterlogged, and that’s it. What a blessing. He drove it back to the shop and currently has the tent and foldable chairs set outside, drying.

I talked to my parents again. Not willing to cut their trip short since all immediate family members are still alive—not counting my sister—they said they’d be back in town on Sunday. Marcum and Leary and everyone else from the department made it through okay. Leary had a power pole fall across his driveway, but no one was hurt. I also talked to Kristie. She wanted to come over tonight, but I firmly told her no. And of course, Hudson called. He also wanted to come over tonight to check on me. You can imagine what I said to that.

I’ve never felt so dirty in my entire life, and I’m not even the one who was chopping trees and climbing over sheetrock all day today. I glance over at Ry, turning on the flashlight as he unlocks the door to my house. White plaster clings to his hair. His faceis smudged with dark brown dirt, and chainsaw grease is caked against his neck.

“The hot water heaters keep a reservoir of hot water even when the power goes out, but I don’t know how long it will last once the shower is turned on. You use my shower. I’ll go over to the Big House and use one of the guest room showers. They’re on different hot water tanks.”

His brow furrows. “I don’t want you walking though that house by yourself without the power on. You could hurt yourself.”

I smile at his thoughtfulness. “It’s okay. I’ll use the guest bathroom closest to us.”

He reaches in his back pocket and grabs his cell phone, turning on the flashlight. “No. You use your bathroom; I’ll use the guest bathroom. I’ll just follow the smell of entitled money until I come to the right door.”

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