Page 3 of Devil

“Yous don’t like girl swimmers? I’ms a girl swimmer. Daddy’s been teaching me.” Ally stopped and looked up at me. I lookeddown,and the look of hurt on her face made my chest ache. Well shit.

“That you are, sweetheart. I just wouldn’t want to have a little girl because I would worry she wouldn’t be able to swim like you, then her feelings would get hurt.” I held my breath and waited to see if I would need a ladder to get out of the hole Idug,but Ally cut me a little slack and smiled.

“It’s okay, I willhelpsteachherifyoushave a girl.”

"Well, I see you haven’t lost your touch." Bailey chuckled and then told Ally bye.

Ally walked through the door in front of me and yelled goodbye to Bailey over her shoulder.

"Guess I could test it out on an older female." I leaned away from the door, and it started to close behind me. “See you again soon, baby.”

The door clicked shut as she said, “What?”

I smiled, maybe I should thank Sami and Carly for sending me to town after all.

Chapter Two

Bailey

What the hell just happened? I walked to the door, turned the lock, flipped the closed sign, and with the cord to the blind in my hand, I watched Lance as he helped Ally into the truck. Until today, I had only seen him at a distance. Even with the years apart, I felt the second he had walked into the store. The air thickened, my heart beat a little faster, and my skin tingled as if it waited for his touch.Christ, how pathetic is that?

Lance walked around the truck to the driver’s side and opened the door, but before he got in, his head raised and his eyes met mine. I couldn’t turn away. His eyebrows furrowed and as he stared at me, I watched his facial expression change to that all too familiar smirk. Then he winked, got in his truck, and I continued to watch as he pulled away. When I lost sight of the truck, I pulled the cord to the blinds and wentthroughthe bakery closing it down for the day.

He’d filled out from the young man who left and put a crack in my heart. Being close to him again and trying to be an adult sucked. Deep down I wanted to be the teenage girl who stomped her foot and askedwhat the fuck?

As I got in my car to head home, I thought of the layers of crap life kept dumping on me. After the last few days, with Mom’s doctor visit, which had gone excellent, things looked as if they turned around for a change. Well, until the door opened to the bakery and one of the best and worst things from my past entered.

When I opened the door to thehouse,the sound of my momhumming,and the aroma of what she was cooking hit me, I shoved the past back into its corner of my mind.

“Whatever you are cooking smells fantastic, even though you should be resting instead,” I said as I walked into the kitchen and found my momchoppingitems at the counter.

“And here I thought I was the parent.” Claire, my mom, chuckled.

Cooking had been a love of my mother’s, one put on hold whencancerand the treatment had taken her energy away. Seeing her back in her element for the first time in quite a while made me smile.

“Yeah, well, what can I say? I’ve gotten used to taking care of you.” I moved around the kitchen getting plates and utensils out, and as I set the table the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board had stopped.

“I’m sorry, Bailey.” I turned toward my mother when she spoke.

“Mom, I didn’t mean anything by that, other than it is going to be hard standing back and watching you do the things I have been doing for some time now. I’m happy you are feeling better and getting back to yourself. I just don’t want youoverdoingit.” I sat the utensils out and then looked back at her as she placed the salad fixings into a bowl. “What else do you need me to help with?”

“Everything is ready,” she said as she pulled the bread out of the oven. “If you will grab the salad, I will bring the rest to the table.” I did as she asked, then we both sat at the table to enjoy our meal.

“This is great, Mom.”

“Thanks, honey. Felt good moving around in the kitchen again.”

“After we finish eating, I’ll clean up the kitchen so you can sit down and put your feet up after working and cooking all this,” I said and motioned with my fork at the spread in front of us.

“Actually, I’m not tired. Getting backtothe bakery and cooking again, it’s like having my life back. From the minute I was diagnosed it felt as though my life wasn’t my own. I wasn’t living, I was just going through the motions. It would have been so easy to let go instead offighting,but when I thought of leaving you alone in this world, I couldn’tnotfight to survive.” She stood and started to clear the table.

“Mom, what brought this on?” I asked and waited for her reply.

“I never want to feel that way again. I plan to focus on living. We of all people, Bailey, have had our fair share of loss. James, your dad...” When her eyes searched mine, I knew who else she wanted to add.

“Lance. Is that why you paused? Mom, I’ve gotten over him. You should never feel like you need to guard what you say in front of me.” I stood from the table and grabbed the remaining dishes and carried them to the sink. “I’m stronger than that. You should know that too. I get it from you,” I said as I began to clean up the kitchen.

“Have you, sweetie?” wasspoken softlyas she reached for an empty container under the cabinet.

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