Page 24 of Line of Fire
“I’m sure, Pipe. It’s time I started worrying about what’s best for Sadie and me. Tonight showed me that Aaron doesn’t truly see us as a team. He left us so easily and didn’t think to ask me what I thought—he decided for me. I can’t live like that.” Sunny knew that Piper and Tag both thought that she was making a huge mistake; she could see it on their faces.
“We’ll leave for home at first light.” Tag said. He stormed out of the house to find Aaron. Sunny was hoping to wait until she got to the privacy of her room before her floodgates opened, but she wasn’t that lucky. She sobbed as Piper wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.
“It will all work out, Sunny, promise. You’ll see.” Sunny knew that her best friend was trying to help, but she was afraid that this was one promise that Piper wouldn’t be able to keep.
Tag joined Aaron on the front porch, and Aaron wanted to punch something; he was so mad. How in the hell could Sunny just push him out of her life? A part of him felt guilty thathe didn’t include her in his decision to go after Reid, but at the time, he wasn’t thinking about anything but keeping his family safe. Why couldn’t she see that?
“What the hell, Tag? You’re going to just let her stay with you? Why did you say yes?” Aaron flexed his fist, spoiling for a fight. He should have known that Tag wouldn’t give him one.
“First of all, I did what you asked me to do earlier. You wanted me to keep Sunny and Sadie safe, no matter what, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.” Aaron relaxed some realizing that his friend was right—he did ask that of Tag. “You want her to just go off and stay someplace that might not be safe for her and the baby, or do you want her someplace where you can keep tabs on them both while you figure your shit out?” Tag asked.
“My shit? I was taking care of things—keeping them safe. She’s just too stubborn to see that,” Aaron shouted.
Tag barked out a laugh. “You both are two of the most stubborn people that I have ever met. She just needs some time to calm down—you both do.” Aaron slumped against the porch railing. It pissed him off that Tag was right. “I’ll keep them both safe, just don’t take too long to get yourself together. You’ve both been through so much. Let her figure out that you two are good for each other and Sadie,” Tag soothed.
Aaron nodded. “What the fuck do I do, man? How do I get her to listen to reason?” he asked.
Tag clapped Aaron’s shoulder. “You give her some time and space. Come around to see Sadie, show her that you are not going anywhere. Pipe and I will help her to see that you aren’t all that bad,” Tag teased.
Aaron winced. “Gee, thanks,” he growled. “I’m going to head home. I can’t stay here, not without Sunny. I’ll go in and kiss Sadie and grab my things,” Aaron said.
Tag nodded. “You need to fight for her, man. She needs to see that you are sticking around. When you left this fall, it nearlydestroyed her.” Tag went back into the house, leaving Aaron alone on the porch. He knew that his friend was right. Sunny needed some time to remember everything that they had come to mean to each other. But walking away from the woman that he loved was going to hurt like hell. He just hoped that she would listen to reason after she had some time to think, because losing her couldn’t happen. She and Sadie were his life—he couldn’t lose them now. Not after everything that they went through together to get to this point.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sunny spent a long, miserable month at Tag and Piper’s cabin, and she saw no end in sight. She looked for places in town, but everything was out of her very limited price range. She found a few places that might have worked, but each time she told Tag about them, he insisted that she just stay with them for the time being.
Aaron picked up Sadie for visits, and each time he showed up, whether at the cabin or bakery, she had Justice or Piper hand the baby off. She couldn’t find the courage to face him; instead, she hid in her bedroom or the back office. Sunny knew that she was being a coward, but she also knew that if she saw him, she would betray everything that she fought so hard for and just let him back into her life. She was going to have to figure something out, though, because he was a part of Sadie’s life and that would never change. He left her countless texts telling her how sorry he was and that he wanted another chance to prove to her that they were a team and that he’d never leave. Every morning, he would text her that he had dreamt about her all night and how much he missed her. Each night, he would text her goodnight by telling her that he loved her and that she was his whole world, anddammit, she wanted to believe him. But she was too afraid to let herself hope that he meant every word of his sweet promises.
Aaron called both Tag and Piper, checking in on her and asking if she would talk to him. Every time they asked her to speak to him and she declined, she saw their disappointment, and it hurt. Aaron usually showed up on Friday and picked up Sadie after his night shift. Today was no exception, but Piper and Tag left earlier that morning to go to the doctor. Piper was going to find out the baby’s sex, and Sunny was so excited for her friend. She didn’t care if Pipe was having a boy or a girl. She was just happy that her daughter was going to have a best friend to grow up with, just like she had. Not having Piper or Tag around really put a crimp in her plan to avoid Aaron every time he picked up Sadie. She couldn’t just set her daughter in a basket on the front porch for him to come to pick up. The front doorbell rang, and she sighed, knowing that she would just have to put on her big girl pants and be an adult. She opened the door to find Aaron holding a bouquet.
“What’s this?” She didn’t make a move to take the flowers or invite him into the cabin.
“It’s good to see you, too, Sunny. You look beautiful.” He kissed her cheek and made his way past her into the kitchen, and started going through the cabinets to find a jar for the flowers.
“Sure, Aaron, come on in and rummage through Piper’s stuff, make yourself at home.” She knew she sounded a bit too snarky because, truthfully, seeing him made her stomach flip and her heart ache. She felt more alive in the minute that he shared the same space as her than she felt all month. Sunny missed him to the point of feeling as though she was in physical pain without him. Seeing Aaron made all that pain disappear, and she knew that she needed to just hand Sadie off and get on with her weekend. It was her turn to man the bakery while Justice went to the ranch to visit Norma Jeane for a few days. Aarontaking Sadie would mean that she had more free time, and more free time meant that she would miss them both. There were weekends when she missed them so much that she would drive to his condo and sit in the garage, arguing with herself whether she should go up or leave. She was never brave enough to walk up to his front door and knock, each time leaving to head back up to the cabin and cry herself to sleep, only to wake up and repeat the whole scene the next day.
“I brought Piper some flowers, and I don’t want them to die before she gets back from her doctor appointment.” Aaron found a mason jar and filled it with water to put the flowers in. Sunny felt a pang of disappointment that they weren’t for her.
“Oh well, that’s nice of you. They should be back later today. I’ll leave Pipe a note to let her know that you brought her flowers.” Sunny disappeared back to her room to wake Sadie and change her diaper. She already packed everything that Aaron would need for a few days. She hated waking her daughter, but she needed to get this over with. Having Aaron around and pretending nothing ever happened between them, as if her heart wasn’t breaking, was tearing her apart. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she broke down crying, and she would rather he not be here to witness how heartbroken she still was.
Sadie yawned and stretched on the bed while Sunny finished changing her. “You’re going to go with daddy for a few days and then I’ll pick you up, Pumpkin.” She pulled her daughter into her arms and snuggled her close. Saying goodbye to her was always so hard, but she knew that Sadie needed time with her father, too. She didn’t want her failed relationship with Aaron to affect his and Sadie’s time together. “I’m going to miss you so much, baby.” She kissed Sadie’s little bald head and put her into her car seat.
“You know, you could just come home with us,” Aaron offered. Sunny jumped, not expecting to find Aaron standing inher doorway. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to see if you needed any help getting her things together,” he whispered. She finished buckling the baby into the car seat and turned to face Aaron, who now stood right behind her.
“We both know that would be a mistake, Aaron. If I come home with you, I would never leave, but I would always worry that you might.” Aaron groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end.
“Sunny, what do I have to do to prove that I’m not going anywhere? I’ve given you time. I’ve checked on you every day, and I have never given up on us. How much longer are you going to punish me?” he asked.
“Punish you?” she breathed. “How is this punishing you? I’m the one who has to cry myself to sleep during my endless nights alone. I’m the one who’s had to navigate being a single mother while longing to run back into your arms,” she sobbed.
Aaron held his arms open wide as if making a point. “Here I am, honey. Run back, please.” She didn’t make a move towards him, and he dropped his arms. “I didn’t think so.” He started to gather Sadie’s things and lifted the car seat, turning to leave. “If you change your mind, Honey, you know where to find us. It’s your home too, you know. I’m not going anywhere, Sunny. We’re a family now, and I’ll do whatever I need to do and wait as long as it takes to prove that to you.” A sob escaped her chest as she turned away. She heard the front door softly shut and Aaron’s truck pull out of the driveway before she fell to the floor and cried. She just let the two best things to ever happen to her walk out the door.
Sunny woke up to the sound of a truck pulling up to Piper and Tag’s cabin, and her heart skipped a beat. Did Aaron come back to take her back home with him? She stood and stretched, feeling achy from having fallen asleep on the hardwood floor. She walked out to the main room to find Torren helping himself to Tag’s beer and making himself a sandwich.
“Let me guess. You ran out of food and beer at your place?” Torren turned with a half a piece of ham sticking out of his mouth and smiled. She couldn’t help but smile back. He looked like a grizzly bear who had just been caught going through a camper’s picnic basket.
“Well,” he said with his mouth full, “as a matter of fact, yeah. I also wanted to see why you never opened the bakery today.” He rubbed his stomach, causing her another giggle.
