Chasing Bailey, page 17
part #3 of Lake Harriet Series
As the days, then weeks went by, Lisa grew more and more irritated with Andrew. He seemed to be doing fine getting around on his own while she was at work, but when she was home, he’d ask her to bring him every little thing. He also made messes wherever he went. He left food out in the kitchen which, of course, Bailey helped himself to, and his clothes all over his room that she’d have to pick up. She felt like his cook, his maid, and his nurse. Actually, it wasn’t much different than when they’d been married, except he couldn’t walk very well. Having him around again reminded her of how bad their marriage had been, and maybe Katrina had done her a favor by taking him away. Now, she wished Katrina had stayed around so he’d be her problem.
When two weeks came and went and Andrew was still living at her house, she became even more frustrated. Especially when he refused to help with anything. On Halloween night, she dressed Abby in her fuzzy puppy costume—she’d wanted to dress up like Bailey—and bundled herself up to go trick or treating with Kristen and Marie. The weather was cold and there was a chance of snow later in the evening, so the women wanted to get the toddlers out early. Lisa had asked Andrew to sit by the door and pass out candy to the children as they came by.
“I don’t want to,” he whined like a child.
“Oh, come on,” she urged him. “You can sit in your wheelchair, hang a camera around your neck, and pretend you’re Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. It’ll be fun.”
“No. I don’t want to. It’s too cold to sit outside or by the door.”
She was so angry with him that she complained to Kristen as they walked from house to house in the crisp night air. “He’s being a jerk—just like when we were married. I wish he’d go back to his own place.”
“Wasn’t he supposed to stay only two weeks?” Kristen asked.
“Yes. That was the deal. But at his last appointment, they said they didn’t want to put a walking cast on him for another week or two. And he’ll still need his crutches after that, at least for a while. I’m going to go crazy if he stays that long.”
“Sorry,” Kristen said sympathetically. “Isn’t there anywhere else he can go? What happened to that girlfriend of his?”
“I have no idea. All I know is she left.”
They had crossed the street and were going house to house when suddenly they were in front of Avery’s. Lisa hesitated.
“I’ll bring the girls up there if you’d like,” Kristen said.
Lisa nodded and waited for them on the sidewalk as they went up to his porch. It was surprising he was handing candy out at all, since he hadn’t last year. But last year he’d been a hermit. This year, he was Avery. It tore at her heart that she didn’t feel comfortable enough to go up there and see him.
“Avrey!” Abby said excitedly when she came back from his house. He’d given both her and Marie a box of animal cookies, knowing that candy wouldn’t work for them.
“You saw Avery,” Lisa said, trying to sound excited for her daughter. “That’s nice.”
As they made their way back across the street, Kristen asked, “Is it really over between you two? Can’t you try to talk it out?”
“I’m not sure if we can at this point,” Lisa told her sadly. “We were pretty angry with each other, and I think we’ve waited too long to fix it. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”
Kristen gave her a sideways glance. “I think it was meant to be. You two were good for each other. Avery isn’t as sociable now as he was when you were together. He’s regressing back into a hermit. James and Ryan asked him if he wanted to grab a beer the other night and he declined. He needs you, Lisa. And I think you need him, too.”
Lisa missed having Avery in her life, too, but right now, she didn’t have the energy to try.
When they returned home, Bailey was out in the front yard, running back and forth as the trick or treaters went by. Lisa’s blood boiled.
“What was Bailey doing out in the front yard?” she asked angrily when they went inside. “Someone could have accidentally let him out of the gate.”
“He was annoying me,” Andrew said from his spot on the sofa, his eyes never leaving the game he was watching on television. “He was barking and running around because of the people outside. So I let him out.”
“Don’t do it again!” Lisa demanded. “The last thing I need is him running around the neighborhood, lost.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he got lost,” Andrew grumbled.
Lisa walked over and blocked his view of the screen. “Your daughter loves that dog, so don’t do it again. Got it?”
“Fine. Sheesh. You don’t have to get all huffy.”
It snowed that night, and the next, and by the weekend the neighborhood was covered in a white blanket that was sure to stay. Winter had arrived. Saturday night, after a long day of shoveling the driveway and sidewalk and playing with Abby in the snow, Lisa put the tired little girl to bed and collapsed in a chair in the living room where Andrew was still sprawled out on the sofa, watching television. Lisa reached over, grabbed the remote, and shut it off.
“Hey! I was watching that,” Andrew complained.
“We need to talk,” she said. She watched as Andrew rolled his eyes, like he’d done when they were married, and it would enrage her. Not anymore, though. She was no longer invested in a relationship with him, so she didn’t care what he thought of her.
“You said you’d be here for two weeks. The two weeks are over. I think it’s time you go home,” Lisa told him.
Andrew pushed himself up to sit higher on the sofa. “I know I said two weeks, but it’ll probably be a little longer. They said they’d put a walking cast on at the end of next week, and then it’ll be easier for me to get around, even though I’ll still need crutches. Just let me stay a few more days, then I’ll be gone.”
Lisa sighed.
“Hey. It hasn’t been that bad, has it?” he asked, giving her one of his flirty grins. He knew he was a handsome man and how to use his looks to get his way. Fortunately, she was immune to him.
“I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain, Andrew. I’m tired. You need to go home. You’ve been getting around just fine here. You’ll be fine at your place.”
“I don’t have a downstairs bedroom at the townhouse. And the bathroom is too small downstairs to maneuver with crutches. Plus, I wouldn’t have any help. It’s easier here.”
“What happened to Katrina? Why can’t she help?” Lisa asked, frustrated.
Andrew sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “She’s gone. She left me.”
“Why? She wanted you when you were married. Why not now?”
“Because I couldn’t afford her spending any longer,” Andrew said. “She wanted too much. She always wanted to go out to expensive places to eat, expensive vacations, and she wasn’t fond of having Abby over every other weekend. We fought about it all the time. I just couldn’t afford to keep her happy.”
“But I thought she was helpful with Abby.”
“She was, but only because she had to be. If it had been up to her, we would never have had Abby stay over.”
Lisa frowned. “I don’t get it. Why would you sue me for joint custody when your girlfriend didn’t even want Abby around?”
Andrew dropped his eyes. He wouldn’t look at her. That’s when it hit her. She’d been right all along. It had always been about the money, not Abby.
“You couldn’t afford Katrina, so you needed to lower your child support payments to have extra money. Right? You were willing to let us struggle so you could have ‘fun’ with Katrina.”
His eyes darted up. “That’s not entirely true. I’m just strapped. You don’t realize how expensive everything is. Paying child support on top of buying the townhouse and keeping Katrina happy was stressing me out. It hasn’t been easy on me, you know.”
Lisa snorted. “On you? What about me? I’ve had to hold everything together around here. I went from being a wife and mother one day to having to find a job and put Abby in day care the next. Do you realize how much day care costs? We’re living on a tight budget. A lot tighter than yours. So don’t expect any tears from me, mister.”
Andrew dropped his head. “I get that now. And I’m sorry I tried to lower the payments. I told you I wouldn’t do that again, and I meant it. I know I was being selfish when I ran off and I should never have petitioned to change custody. I do love Abby. I’d do anything for her. You have to believe me on that.”
Lisa thought he did look truly remorseful about his behavior. She didn’t exactly feel bad for him, but she sort of understood. “Fine. One more week. But then you have to go home,” she told him.
He lifted his head and his eyes lit up. “Thanks, Lisa. I’ll keep my end of the bargain. I promise.”
She nodded. What she really wanted to say was a snide “whatever,” but she kept that to herself.
Chapter Twenty
Avery had spent the past two weeks working on his manuscript. He’d given the couple the happy ending he’d wished he and Lisa had, then he’d sent it to his agent, hoping the publisher would like it. If they didn’t, well, tough. He’d find another publisher.
Hopefully.
The entire time he worked, he’d look up and gaze at Lisa’s house, wondering how things were going there with Andrew. He saw Lisa and Abby come and go, and Kristen walking over there during the day, most likely checking up on the jerk. On Halloween, he’d hoped that Lisa would bring Abby to his door so he could say something, although he wasn’t sure what he’d have said. He’d been disappointed when Kristen brought the little girls up and Lisa had waited on the sidewalk. She must have been really mad at him not to even want to come up to his door.
He’d thought a lot about what they’d said to each other that horrible night, and he’d realized something: he hadn’t been angry at Lisa for letting Andrew manipulate her. He’d been angry at Andrew. The guy was a jerk in every sense of the word. He shouldn’t have used Abby’s custody to blackmail Lisa. In fact, Andrew should never have tried to get his child support payments lowered in the first place. He’d been the one who’d left. He lived in a nice new place with all the amenities while his ex-wife pinched pennies. How dare he not be a man and help support his daughter?
Lisa had been right about Avery, too. He didn’t understand what it was like to be responsible for a child. He didn’t understand everything she’d done to hold their lives together. But he knew one thing for certain. If he were ever lucky enough to have a daughter like little Abby, he’d do anything to protect and care for her.
The day of the snowstorm, Avery had been out shoveling like everyone else on the block and had seen Lisa out there shoveling her own driveway. He’d wanted so bad to go help her, and to play with her and Abby and Bailey in the snow. But he hadn’t. He’d just gone inside and watched them, realizing that if he wasn’t careful, he’d turn back into that hermit he’d once been. He didn’t want to be that guy again. He wanted to be the happy man he’d been when he was around Lisa and Abby. The man Lisa had helped pull out of his shell to live in the world again. He just didn’t know how to be that man without Lisa.
After eating yet another meal alone that evening, he stared at the pizza box he’d had delivered and made a decision. He didn’t want to eat alone anymore. He didn’t want to do anything alone anymore. He desperately missed Lisa and Abby, and he wanted them back in his life—if they’d have him. He’d walk across the street, knock on her door, and apologize to her, beg her, if necessary, to forgive him. He could tolerate Andrew as long as he had Lisa in his life.
Drawing on all his courage, he slipped on his coat and strode out the door and across the street. The air was crisp, and it stung his face as he made his way to Lisa’s door. The living room light was on, and just as he was about to knock on her door, he turned toward the bay window and saw Lisa and Andrew sitting there with serious expressions on their faces. They didn’t look like they were arguing; they looked like they were deep in discussion. Once, she smiled at Andrew, and his heart ached. Were they discussing their future together? From his point of view, it looked that way.
Losing his nerve, Avery walked back to his own house, went inside, and closed the door on the past.
***
Wednesday afternoon, Lisa came home from work, completely exhausted. Just two more days, she told herself. Hopefully, he’d be gone by the weekend. She opened the front door and carried Abby inside. Andrew was lying on the sofa, as usual, with a mess of dirty glasses and plates and an open bag of chips on the table next to him. Lisa sighed. Just two more days!
Her day had been long and busy at work and the weather wasn’t cooperating either. It had rained, then snowed in the afternoon, turning the roads to skating rinks. The drive home, usually taking fewer than twenty minutes, had taken forty because of the slippery conditions.
Abby hurried past Andrew down the hallway, calling for Bailey. Lisa put Abby’s bag in the entryway closet, along with her coat, and slipped off her boots. She ignored Andrew as she headed past him into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she realized she hadn’t taken any meat out of the freezer to thaw for dinner. Lisa let out a long, frustrated sigh. She had no idea what they’d eat.
Abby came into the kitchen, a frown on her sweet face. “No Baywee.”
“Bailey has to be around here somewhere, sweetie,” Lisa said. She followed Abby down the hallway and looked out into the backyard. There was no sign of Bailey anywhere. Frowning, Lisa walked around the house with Abby in tow, searching each of the downstairs rooms. When they made it back to the living room, she stopped and stared at Andrew, who seemed to be in a television trance.
“Where’s Bailey?” she said loudly so he’d hear her.
Andrew glanced up. “I put him out in the front yard earlier. He was being a pain, getting into my food.”
“You what?” Lisa hadn’t seen Bailey in the front yard when they’d walked up the sidewalk. Bailey would have come running had he been there. “You can’t put him out front. He could dig under the fence!”
Andrew shrugged. “I’m sure the ground is too frozen for him to dig.” He turned back to his program.
“Abby, stay with your dad,” Lisa told the little girl. She slipped on her boots, ran out on the porch, and looked around. Bailey was nowhere to be seen in the front yard. As she scanned the fence, she spotted a hole dug out underneath. “Crap!”
Lisa glanced up at the sky. It was cloudy and the sun would set in less than a half hour. She ran into the house to get her coat so she could search for Bailey. “Watch Abby!” she yelled at Andrew. “And I mean watch her! I have to go find Bailey.” She threw on her coat and headed outside, calling for the dog. She walked carefully on the slippery sidewalk down to the gate. That was when she saw Bailey. He was running in Avery’s yard, heading toward his SUV. Avery had just pulled into his driveway and was lifting something out of the back of it.
“Bailey! Come here right now!” Lisa yelled.
The dog looked in her direction; his ears perked up and his tail wagged happily. Bailey ran toward her, hitting the slippery street. It was then that Lisa saw the car heading straight for him. “No! Bailey, no! Stop!” she yelled, but it was too late. The car braked into a skid and kept sliding and the next thing Lisa saw was the car’s grill crashing into Bailey.
***
Avery had just pulled out a bag of groceries from the back of his car when he heard Lisa calling for Bailey. He’d looked up to see Bailey running across the street, and then the car slid and hit him head on. Lisa screamed. He dropped the bag and ran toward the dog, scared to death of what he would find.
“Oh my God!” Lisa cried as he and she met in the center of the street at the same time. “Bailey!”
The young girl driver jumped out of the car. “I tried to stop. I really tried. The car kept sliding. I’m so sorry! He ran out so quickly!”
Avery fell to the ground where Bailey lay, deathly still. Lisa stood over him, her hands over her mouth as tears fell down her cheeks.
“Oh my God! What did I do?” Lisa said hysterically.
Avery laid his head on Bailey’s chest, hoping, praying the dog was still alive. Lisa and the driver stared at him, both looking like they were in shock.
“Is he…?” Lisa whispered, unable to say the word “dead.”
Avery sat up suddenly. “I hear him breathing. He’s still alive.” His eyes met Lisa’s. “We have to get him to the vet. Now!”
Lisa stood frozen for only a second as his words sunk in, then moved into action. “Let’s go.”
Avery carefully scooped Bailey up with the help of the young driver who’d hit him. They laid Bailey down in the back seat of his SUV, and Lisa pulled off her coat and placed it over him.
“You sit in the back with Bailey, so he doesn’t fall off the seat,” Avery said to Lisa. “You’ll have to give me the directions to the vet.”
She nodded. Just then, Kristen came running across the street. “I saw what happened,” she exclaimed, looking as shocked as Lisa. “What can I do to help?”
Lisa asked her to call the vet and tell them they were headed there with an emergency. “And could you get Abby? I don’t want her there alone with Andrew.”
“It’s done. Don’t worry about anything. Just get Bailey there safely,” Kristen told her.
The girl who’d hit Bailey stood by the car, looking lost. “Should I stay?”
Avery shook his head. “No. You can go. We know it wasn’t your fault.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said again, wiping away tears.
“We know,” Avery said gently. He hopped behind the wheel. “Are you all set?” he asked Lisa.
“Yes. Go!”
Avery wished he could have sped all the way to the vet’s office, but the roads were slippery and heavy with evening traffic. It was hard for him to keep his emotions in check as he listened to Lisa’s tearful voice telling Bailey he was a good dog and she loved him. It felt like forever before they pulled up in front of the small brick building. A woman in scrubs and a man in a white coat both rushed out with a stretcher. Avery assumed they must have received Kristen’s call.
