Kiss by Kiss (Riggins Brothers #3) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,68

need cash, and I need it now.”

“I owe you nothing. I haven’t seen you in almost two years. You show up out of the blue demanding money after you left me on our wedding day. I don’t think so. Get lost before I call the cops.”

“You’re going to regret this, you fat bitch!” he roars.

“Hey, that’s enough of that. You best be moving on.” The older man steps in.

“This isn’t over.” Elijah points at me before turning and stalking off.

“Are you okay?” the man asks.

“Yes.” I stand taller, pushing my shoulders back. I am okay. I’m stronger without him. “Thank you,” I tell him, offering him my hand to shake.

“We should call the police,” he offers.

“Nah. He’s all bark and no bite. He’s a bully from my past.”

“He’s wrong, you know,” he says, watching me closely. “You’re not fat, and I don’t know you, but I can tell from our brief interaction, and how you’re handling yourself, you’re not a bitch either. Don’t let his hate darken your good.”

Tears prick my eyes. “Thank you. I appreciate you stepping in. Come on in, and I’ll give you some treats to take home.”

“That’s not necessary, but my wife, my Susie, she’d love this place,” he says, peering in the windows. “I think I’ll stop back by sometime when she’s with me.”

“Well, it’s on the house…” I say, not knowing his name.

“George. Name’s George. And you are?”

“Aurora. Aurora Steele.”

“I’ll be seeing you, Miss Aurora.” With that, he leaves me standing in front of my bakery. I watch him walk away until I can no longer see him. Lifting the sign, I head back inside and lock the door. I’m quick to type in the code, just in case Elijah does have some bark in him after all.

Tiptoeing up the steps, I peek in on Aspen and see that she’s sleeping soundly. I debate on waking her up to tell her, but I know she’s exhausted. I’ll just tell her when I get home. I change my clothes so I don’t smell like a bakery and head out. As soon as I’m in my car, my cell phone rings. I smile when I see Mom flash across the screen.

“Hey,” I answer, pulling out onto the street.

“How are things?”

“Good. Layla had the baby,” I tell her.

“Oh, good. I hope everyone is well.”

“Yes. Grant texted me a picture. He is the cutest little boy ever.”

“I want to see when you have time.”

“Absolutely. So—” I pause, debating on whether I should tell her but decide to just go for it. “I had a visitor just a few minutes ago. I was taking the sidewalk sign down before leaving for the hospital.”

“Okay. Are you going to tell me who it was?”

“Elijah.”

“Oh, dear,” Mom says. “Aurora—” she starts, but I interrupt her.

“I told him to get lost. Mom, I felt nothing. Not even anger. Sure, I was mad that he was there, but it’s all in the past. To be honest, I’m glad he showed up. It’s the proof and closure I needed. He’s no longer a person of significance in my life.”

“Wow. That’s not what I was expecting you to say. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. Moving to Nashville has been good for you.” I can hear the smile along with the approval in her voice. “What did he want?”

“Get this. He says that I owe him money.”

“For what?” Mom asks in disbelief.

“Apparently because I lived with him for over a year. He’s full of it, Mom. I paid for all the groceries and my half of the bills. He looked like he might have been strung out on something, or maybe had no sleep for a few days. Something was definitely off with him.”

“You girls need to make sure you’re locking your doors and using the alarm system.”

“We are. We’ll be fine. I can handle Elijah. He’s a bully. He’s not physically abusive.”

“I don’t know, Rory. If he is on something, he sounds desperate, and that changes a person.”

“We’ll be careful. Listen, I just pulled into the hospital. I’m going to go in and get my baby Carter fix. I’ll call you later.”

“Send me pictures. Love you.”

“Love you too. Tell Dad hello,” I say, ending the call.

“He’s so tiny.” I stare down at the perfect baby boy in my arms. Grant is kneeling next to me.

“Didn’t feel tiny,” Layla jokes.

I look up to see her tired smile. You can tell she’s exhausted from a long labor, but she’s a trooper, and her smile tells me that