Until Lilly (Until, #3)(43)

“Sleep,” he whispers into the top of my head. I can hear the steady beat of his heart and feel the rise and fall of his breathing, and like a lullaby, the sound and feel of it puts me to sleep.




Chapter 8



Cash



I wake up with a start and look around. I don’t know what caused me to wake up until I hear another loud bang coming from the kitchen or living room. My stomach tightens as a surge of adrenaline rushes through me. I lean over Lilly’s sleeping body and whisper in her ear that she needs to wake up. She grumbles something, trying to burrow into my side before I shake her gently. “Lilly, someone’s in the house. I need you to get the kids and take them both into Jax’s room. In the back of his closet is a hidden door. Go in there and wait for me.”

“What?” She rolls of the bed quickly, looking around.

“Look at me, Lil,” I say quietly as another loud bang sounds through the house. I can see Lilly start to panic by the light of dawn coming though the bedroom window. Her face is pale as she comes around to my side of the room, her body shaking.  I pull her closer to me. “Listen to me,” I tell her a little more firmly. “Take my phone,” I say, handing her my cell. “Go get Ashlyn, take her to Jax’s room, and do as I told you. Get both of them and yourself into the room in the back of Jax closet, shut the door, and call the police. Tell them that there is a break-in. Do not come out no matter what you hear. Do not come out until I come get you, or until the police come get you.”

“Okay,” she says, looking at the door.

“It will be okay,” I tell her, going to the closet and pulling out a baseball bat. For the first time ever, I wish I kept a gun in the house.

“Be careful,” she says, and I nod and open our bedroom door, looking both ways before sending Lilly across the hall. I watch her as she makes her way down to where Ashlyn’s room is, and once she clears the doorway I hear another loud bang. I make my way towards the living room and look around the corner into the kitchen. I hear a cry from behind me, and I know that Lilly can’t find the kids.

She can’t find them because they are both in the kitchen standing on chairs that they have pulled up to the counter, and they have a bowl between them, along with a bag of flour.

“Cash,” I hear cried from behind as Lilly plows into me. “The kids aren’t there,” she says franticly.

“I know,” I tell her calmly.

“What? I just said the kids aren’t in their rooms, and you don’t care?” she yells. I pull her around the corner and both kids are looking nervously at us; the flour that was on the counter in the bag is now covering both of them, and there is a white cloud of it filling the kitchen. “Oh, my God,” she says, leaving my side, rushing into the kitchen, pulling both of the kids in for a hug, and covering herself with flour in the process. “What are you guys doing?” she asks them, looking around and seeing that they have made a huge mess.

“We’re making you breakfast,” Jax says sheepishly, looking at me then around the kitchen.

“It’s five in the morning,” I say, putting the bat down before I cross my arms over my chest, looking around at the flour-bomb they set off.

“It’s your birthday,” Ashlyn says, looking around before looking at me.

“Yeah, and we wanted to make you breakfast in bed as a surprise,” Jax says with a shrug.

“That was very nice of you both,” Lilly says, looking over at me with her arms wrapped around the kids. I can’t even speak; all I can do is look at my kids and woman. “That was really sweet, right, baby?” she asks softly, the look on her face causing a slow burn to fill my chest. I nod because I can’t speak. “What do you guys say we get this mess cleaned up while Daddy goes and lays back down, and we can still take him breakfast in bed?” she asks the kids.

“We’re not in trouble?” Jax asks.

“No, honey, you’re not in trouble,” she says, kissing the top of his head, “but let’s get all this flour cleaned up, okay?” They both agree, and then get down off the chairs. Jax goes and gets the broom, while Ashlyn goes and gets the dustpan. Lilly comes to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. I’m barely holding on to my emotions. “Go back to bed, Daddy, so the kids and I can bring you breakfast,” she says softly, smiling. I nod again, kissing her forehead before I turn and walk back to our room and straight into the bathroom, where I turn on the faucet and splash cool water on my face. My hands gripping the basin, my head down, I take a few breaths before I look at myself in the mirror.

My hair is a mess, and the stubble along my jaw is darker than normal. My eyes are crystal clear, and I can see only happiness in them. There is no sign of self-hate in my eyes anymore.  I used not to even be able to look at myself in the mirror without cringing away. I hated my life; my son was the only thing who made every day worth fighting for. Now, I have a family with the first woman I ever loved. The only woman I have ever loved, besides members of my family. Lilly is someone who I will never take for granted, because I know how it feels to be without her and the light that she brings into my life. When I looked into Lilly’s eyes in the kitchen and saw the same happiness shining back at me, it almost brought me to my knees. I take a few deep breaths before turning off the water. I go back into the bedroom and sit on the bed. I can hear laughter coming from the kitchen, and I can’t help but smile when I hear the sound. I sit back against the headboard, pull out my iPad, and start searching for engagement rings. I have known since the beginning that I would ask Lilly to marry me, but having her live here over the last few weeks has only solidified that thought in my brain. I know that she has been worried about her case coming up in the school board and finding a job, but I like her home with the kids while I'm at work. I like knowing that my kids are getting the same thing I had growing up. I finally find a style of ring that I think Lilly will love, but I'm going to take the picture to the jewelry store in town and see if he can have something custom-made with a few changes to the design. I close down the web page when I hear the sound of feet coming down the hall, then the door is swung open and Ashlyn yells, “Surprise!”