Everything She Needed (Cedar Valley Novel Book 2) Read online

Adam was the type of father every woman dreamed of having for their kids. He was hands on, active in their lives, never missing a single minute of asking them about their lives. Even with a thousand things on his plate, he refused to let them down.

  “I think Tyler has something he would like to share with you,” Rachel said, glancing at Tyler in an attempt to encourage him.

  Tyler looked up at Adam and back to Rachel. “I love baking, Dad. Rachel and I made a lot of cookies.”

  Expecting nothing less from Adam, Rachel waited for his reaction when Tyler told him that he wanted to be a baker. “Owning your own bakery?”

  “Yeah!” Tyler said, pumping a fist into the air. “I could make the best pancakes in town.”

  Adam’s eyes widened with surprise as he looked between Rachel and Tyler. Pointing a finger in Tyler’s direction, he asked, “Did he just say the best pancakes?”

  Rachel nodded, her smile couldn’t get any bigger than it was already. His love for Tyler screamed for all women to swoon. The way he interacted with the children, causing them laughter beyond tears and excitement, caused her heart to beat fast at the thoughts of finally finding the right place, the right man, and the right kind of life.

  “Well, I’ll probably need Rachel’s help,” Tyler said, his smile melted Rachel’s heart.

  “No way, she’s mine. You can’t have her,” Adam teased, passing a wink her way. “Are you sure you want to compete with the pancake breakfast?”

  Adam sounded a little worried, but it was all in good fun. Tyler nodded his head. “Yes, I could make a lot of money on them every day and donate it, Dad.”

  Rachel could feel her heart turn to mush as she watched the interaction between the father and son. Adam still had a strong hold on Ava, not letting her out of his arms before he brought out the tickle monster. Ava screamed in panic as she raced toward Rachel in the doorway. She clung tight to Rachel’s leg, begging for her mother to lift her up. When Rachel didn’t lift her, Ava let go and ran for the living room, tripping over the rug on her way in. Adam followed close behind her and once she had fallen, the rest was history.

  Ava’s laughter echoed off the walls, bouncing with slight shrills of shrieks as Adam brought the tickle monster under her chin and it trailed to her underarms.

  Tyler’s laugh caused Rachel to turn around, her eyes wide, her smile bigger, as he shook his head and turned to run away. He quickly dodged her as he ducked under her arm and ran for the stairs, spinning full circle to see where she was, he missed his step and slid across the hardwood floor of the living room. Diverting to plan b he took off through the living room toward the dining area that would lead him back to the kitchen.

  She had to give him props for being quick on his feet, as she watched her own footing, making sure she didn’t land on her butt in an attempt to get him.

  “Go mommy, go!” Ava cheered in between tickles. “Mommy!”

  Rachel laughed, continuing her chase as Ava waved at her. Taking a detour, she decided to hide out in the hallway until Tyler made his appearance around the corner. She heard the padding of his socked feet against the hardwood floor and prepared for her attack.

  As soon as he came into view, she leapt toward him, tackling him to the floor with laughter and tickling. The surprise on his face as she tackled him had been priceless. The fact that he hadn’t seen her coming was even better.

  He may have been quick on his feet, but she was quick on her tackling moves and was sure they would only get better with time. Tyler’s laughter ricocheted against the floor as he squirmed underneath her hold. He was too old for the tickle monster, but he was still young enough to have fun right along with them.

  “Run Tyler, I’ve got her,” Adam hollered from behind her as his strong arms found their way around her as he lifted her away from her captive hold on Tyler. “Go, Tyler, run for your life!”

  There was no sense in struggling against his hold, she wouldn’t win. Instead she sat back on her heels, causing him to think she was done with the torture. As soon as he relaxed his hold, she darted off in the direction Tyler had escaped. It wasn’t over yet. The fun had just gotten started.

  8

  Her love for his son was evident in the way she offered to help Tyler with homework, volunteered to give him a ride to school on her way to work, and most definitely, the way she was willing to accept him as her own.

  He could say the same for himself with Ava. That little girl with her small blonde, perfectly twisted curls, along with her bright blue eyes and gap-toothed smile, had him wrapped around her finger since day one of meeting her.

  He had been with Rachel through the last few months of the pregnancy. He had ventured into the Lamaze classes, not even realizing he had long since decided that he was in their lives and nothing was going to change that.

  Meeting Rachel, and later on, Ava, had allowed him to move on from the hurt in his past. Allowed him to love again, and to realize that good things can happen after the bad.

  Swiping an arm around her waist, he pulled her in close. Out of breath, he inhaled as her sweet scent of lilies and lavender infiltrated his senses. He could stay like this for the rest of the night. She made loving her easy, with her long blonde hair and laid back personality, but there were times when her spunkiness shined through along with her stubbornness.

  Her head fell back when his lips pressed gently against her neck. Struggling against his arms left him with no choice but pull her in tighter, strengthening his hold on her as he whispered in her ear, “Let’s order some pizza... then, what do you say we call it an early night?” Her smile pressed against his cheek and he knew he’d gotten her thinking. “I’ve been thinking about those cookies all damned day.”

  A playful slap against his arm, followed by the blush on her cheeks told him that he’d gotten her thinking about other things. Releasing her from his hold, she spun away, giving him a playful warning look. He couldn’t wait ’til later.

  Sending a wink her way just to watch her squirm with laughter was the highlight of his night, along with chasing his kids around the house.

  Assisting Rachel with tackling Tyler had been the ultimate play of the night. Tyler hadn’t expected her to come for him again. He had taken a break to grab a glass of water, but no sooner than he returned to the living room than he was tackled and tickled by them both.

  The ringing of the doorbell interrupted their fun. “Saved by the bell,” he hollered over his shoulder on the way to the door, giving Tyler a shit eating grin, knowing this wasn’t over just yet.

  Pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, he heard Rachel corralling the kids to wash their hands and get ready for supper. Opening the door, he was greeted by the delivery boy—who was no older than sixteen and belonged to his longtime friend and county sheriff, Jeff. “Hey, bud, keeping busy tonight?”

  The kid shrugged a shy shoulder, offering the two large boxes of pizza with an outstretched hand. He remembered Jeff wanting to get the kid into football, but he hadn’t been interested. The boy would have made a heck of a quarterback with those broad shoulders of his.

  Swapping the boy a twenty, with a five dollar tip, for the pizza, Adam patted him on the back. “Take it easy, kid. Have a good night.”

  “You too, sir,” the boy said, walking off the porch in the direction of his old beat up Chevy S10.

  Hooking the door with his leg, he shut it and made his way to the dining room where Rachel had the kids seated and ready to eat.

  “Who’s ready to chow down?” Smiling, he placed the pizzas in the middle of the table and couldn’t help hearing Ava’s sweet voice carry over the chatter as she pleaded for pizza with outstretched arms.

  It was only their second night together as a family, but someone who didn’t know any better would have guessed longer than that.

  9

  It didn’t make sense that she would be receiving this letter in the mail after all this time. Two years and counting had been long enough for her to believe that he had not wante
d anything to do with little Ava.

  Tears streamed down her face as she climbed into her car. She hated to know what this letter meant for her and Ava. For all of them. This family she had dreamed of would soon be broken and she couldn’t do anything about it.

  Unfolding the paper, Rachel reread it, hoping she was mistaken by what it was saying. There was no way that Scott wanted full custody of Ava. Not after being out of her life for the last two years. Hell, he had even moved out of state. What the hell was he thinking?

  Folding the paper along its creases, she shoved it back into the plain white envelope she’d dreaded receiving since the day Scott had walked out of their lives, always knowing that one day he could possibly change his mind.

  She was no expert in the law, but she knew there was a good chance he could win. It scared her to think of what would happen if he did persuade the court system that he was a good father and that she was a horrible mother, unfit would be the term he would use. He had thrown that word at her a few times the night he had left her.

  Shifting the car into drive, she swiped tears from her cheeks and pulled out of the post office parking lot. Steering the car to the right, she headed in the direction of the fire station. Adam was on duty for the next twelve hours and she couldn’t wait that long to talk to him. Tyler was at the afterschool program for athletes and Ava would be at the daycare until Rachel picked her up. She had already called to let them know she would be arriving a bit later than usual.

  Pulling into an empty spot out of the way of the bay doors, she parked the car and climbed out. Adam and a few of the guys were spraying down their ladder truck when she walked over to him.

  “Hey, babe, what’s up?”

  She couldn’t hold back the tears or the quiver in her chin as she rushed into his arms. Burying her face into his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and held onto her. “What’s going on?”

  Holding the envelope out for him to pull the letter out himself, she waited, while tears streaked down her face, staining mascara against her cheeks.

  “What’s this?” Adam asked, pointing to the letter before unfolding it. She couldn’t say anything other than a mumble of the name that just shattered her life. “Scott?”

  She could barely hold herself up. The small piece of creased paper had caused her stomach to flop and her whole world to follow suit. She had no idea what she was going to do. There were quite a few lawyers back home in the city, but she wasn’t sure how she would be able to afford one.

  “Don’t worry about this,” Adam said, holding the paper with a tight grip in front of her as he pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

  “I’m scared.”

  Admitting her emotions to Adam had always been easy. He was the comfort she had always needed, and the guidance he offered was priceless, and valued more than words could express.

  He didn’t need to say anything for her to know that he was just as concerned as she was. This was something new for the both of them.

  “If I have a choice in the matter, Scott won’t see her, let alone have any kind of visitation rights.”

  Although his words were meant to comfort her, she didn’t find comfort. Instead, she felt a rush of panic and devastation. She knew, deep down, there was no way a court system would keep a child from their father. And there was no way she would be able to prove Scott to be a horrible father by mentioning he hasn’t seen her in almost two years.

  “I’ll give my buddy a call later, or tomorrow, and see what he can do for us,” Adam said, kissing her once again on the forehead before pulling her in close as he wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t worry too much until we figure out what’s going on, okay?”

  Pulling herself together had always been easier when the situation didn’t involve Ava. So many times, she’d worried about and dreaded this moment. Not because Scott would be a terrible father, at least she certainly hoped not, but because it had been so long without him in the picture and things were going just fine without him.

  “Okay?” he asked, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes. “My buddy is one of the best lawyers around. I’m sure he’ll be able to help us figure it all out.”

  Nodding, she silently agreed not to worry, knowing all too well that it would be easier said than done. For now, she needed to pick up Ava and keep her mind off of it—not just for her, but for Ava’s sake, too.

  10

  Taking his focus back to his duties as a fireman, he walked back to the rig he had been busy washing with his crew when Rachel pulled up.

  The thought of Scott wanting any type of custody of Ava was mind boggling. The jerk hadn’t wanted anything to do with her since the day he walked away from Rachel. He would be damned if that guy had anything to do with Ava, not since he was as attached to her as one of his own.

  Raising a hand to let the guys know he’d be back over there in a minute, he dug his phone from his pocket. He hadn’t talked to Lux for a while—more than a few months now, since he’d picked up extra hours at the station. They used to shoot pool on Friday nights at Levy’s when they weren’t busy with work and family obligations.

  The last time he had talked to Lux was the day the Cedar Valley Fire Department was facing a lawsuit from a bogus claim that had come from the town’s crazy lady, who had sworn her cat died in the controlled fire they had a while back. An old, abandoned house that sat next to hers. The case lasted less than a week. Lux had claimed it to be an “open and shut” case.

  “Hey, it’s been a while. What’s up?” Lux answered on the second ring—Adam guessed Lux let it ring long enough for caller id to tell him who was calling.

  “Not much, man,” Adam said, feeling a bit guilty for not keeping up with his buds. He’d have to plan a night for all of them to get together at Levy’s, like old times. “I have a favor to ask you for, though.”

  A deep chuckle echoed through the phone before Lux said, “Not another crazy woman, I hope?”

  “No, thank God; we haven’t had any complaints that I know of since then,” Adam said, knowing that the department rarely received a complaint worth making note of. “It’s about Rachel and Ava.”

  “I heard they moved into your house,” Lux said, taking a minute before asking, “How’s she liking Cedar Valley?”

  “As far as I know, she loves it.”

  It hadn’t taken long for the news to travel of Rachel and Ava’s arrival. He figured as much, especially in this small town. Rachel and Ava hadn’t been in the house more than a week, and almost everyone was well aware.

  “That’s good, I thought she would. How’s Tyler doing with everything?”

  The fact that Tyler had talked with him the other night about his mother, let Adam know that Tyler was going to be okay with Rachel and Ava. They’d had plenty of conversations over the last year or so, since Rachel and he started dating, and he knew his son would be okay with the transition to a bigger family.

  “He’s enjoying it. Actually, better than I thought he would be,” Adam admitted. He’d had some doubts that Tyler wouldn’t adjust to Rachel, but that doubt went out the window the day Tyler had met her. It was weird, but Adam knew at that moment that everything would be okay. “They baked all day yesterday.”

  “Baked?” The question was followed by a stifled laugh, but when Lux realized Adam wasn’t joking, he cleared his throat and said, “I take it Tyler likes to bake then?”

  “Seems to be the case,” Adam said, without shame that his son was into baking. “Football and baking. I guess it’ll be good for him.”

  “So, what’s this favor that you need from me?”

  “Rachel received a letter in the mail stating Scott wants custody of Ava. I told her not to worry, that I’d talk to you and figure out what’s going on.”

  “Has he been in Ava’s life at all?”

  “Not a single minute.” Adam had told Lux about Scott the night they got together at Levy’s to bullshit over the whole cat lady incident. “Rachel says he hasn’t even
asked about Ava, let alone made an attempt to see her.”

  “I’m not sure he’ll get custody, but he will most likely get visitation rights,” Lux said, setting it straight from the get-go. “No state will keep a father from their child, at least unless it’s necessary.”

  Adam didn’t like the sound of that, but at least he knew there would be a chance that Scott would be in Ava’s life—whether Rachel and he liked it or not.

  “I’ll do a little digging and see what I come up with,” Lux said, ending the call with a promise to get back to Adam soon.

  Shoving his phone back into the side pocket of his tactical pants, he walked back over to the trucks. He wanted nothing but the best for Rachel and Ava, including a house to call their own, along with whatever else he had to do to make sure they were taken care of.

  “Hey, man,” One of the newest members of their department hollered out to him. Adam gave a quick wave and kept walking in the direction of the truck. The rookie jogged up behind him and was soon matching him step for step. “I heard your brother might be coming back to Cedar Valley.”

  The last thing Adam wanted to talk about was his brother. His brother had a lot of making up to do around these parts, which would include mending relations with his father. He loved Conner, but it was clear that his brother had a lot of growing up to do. Deciding on a place to live had been his first step in the right direction, but they hadn’t thought he was going to move out of Cedar Valley and into another state. If he had to be honest, he was still bitter about Conner’s move.

  “I’ll believe it when I see it,” Adam said, waving off the conversation with a quick, “Better get back to work before the chief suspects we’re slacking.”

  Hearing about Conner moving back, twice in two days, was unnerving. Had his relationship weakened that much with Conner that the guy wouldn’t talk to him about returning to Cedar Valley? He would have liked to think they had a strong bond, but it appeared that was no longer the case. He made a mental note to give Conner a call later tonight, after he tucked the kids into bed.