Chapter 24

Azalea’s POV.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt me when Lucas left. It felt as if we’d finally have a shot, we had both matured and could’ve handled having a proper relationship. Lucas actually communicated rather than acting out and he had turned out to be so supportive again. I’m not sure if he was faking it but he was so good with Lynn.

So far, no other man had even wanted to get to know Lynn. They’d leave at the mention of me having a child or pretend that Lynn didn’t exist. Frankly, I cannot be with someone who’d treat my child like that. After three attempts, I had given up on that part of my life. I already had my hands too full with everything else. I didn’t need to add romance to the mix, and I certainly wasn’t craving it after what happened the last time I got involved with someone.

I slept throughout the entire night as I normally would and when the morning rolled by I could hear the rustling of my door. I slowly began to wake up and rolled over onto my back. I waited to embrace the impact and within seconds the door opened up. Today was my day off and these days I like to sleep in.

Lynn entered the bedroom, ran towards me with her blanket in her hand, and jumped right on top of me. There was no good morning, no nothing. This was just her coming here to sleep on my chest. She only woke up to switch sleeping locations and it had been this way since she was able to escape her bedroom.

I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to me. I gently ran my fingers through her hair and stared up at the ceiling. She meant the world to me, I could never imagine risking her. Her future was all I worked for now. I had her tested for the same illness as my dad and so far they saw no marks of anything. So far, she was safe, but I didn’t want to take any chances, so I put aside all the money for her. If she ended up never needing the surgery, she’d have a nice sum of money to get her life started after college.

After another ten minutes of cuddling, I knew it was time now. I gently rubbed her back, “Lynn, baby girl, it’s time to get up.”

“Noooo,” Lynn whined and nuzzled her face closer into my chest. So darn cute, I remember when she’d do this when she was barely a month old. I had been the only comfort she knew back then and now she was the only comfort I knew.

“Come on, we have so much fun stuff to do today,” I reminded her. All my days off were reserved for her and spending as much time together as possible.

“Nope,” she said stubbornly and still tried to continue her sleep. Oh boy.

“If I stay in bed any longer, then I guess there won’t be any chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast,” I said with a sad hum, knowing exactly what I was doing. Lynn loved those pancakes more than anything, they were her favorite food.

“Choco pancakes?” She looked up at me with sparkling eyes. I had just mentioned the one thing she loves more than life itself.

“Mhm, with a nice side of fresh strawberries,” I promised. It was one of her favorite fruits and she instantly smiled.

“Let’s go!” Lynn clapped her hands and instantly sat up.

I might not work on the Belt anymore to keep my body fit, but Lynn made sure I never once missed it. She had me running up and down and used me as her personal jungle gym, which kept me quite fit still.

I smiled and got up. Lynn helped me make my bed, then we did hers and finally we brushed our teeth. Now that everything was in place, we could finally head to the kitchen. I was busy checking my emails, making sure nothing about my online classes had changed.

“Mommy,” Lynn called my name. I put my phone aside and turned to her.

“Yes, angel?” I asked, pulling the chair for her so she’d be able to watch me as I made our breakfast.

“Will Mr. Lucas come back?” she asked sweetly, her eyes shining with hope. I felt my heart ache a little. I knew how much she liked all things country. For her, it was as if he came straight from the movies and he had been very polite with her. Of course, she’s interested in him.

“I can’t say, honey. He works very, very far from here,” I replied, helping her onto the chair.

“Can’t he work here?” she asked in a whine. I was wondering the same thing, kiddo, but he has a big ol’ important job at the Belt. Of course, I couldn’t tell Lynn that since my tone would contain too much sass.

“No, baby, his home is on the farm all the way on the other side of the country,” I explained and gently pushed her hair out of her face.

“Oh, ok,” she replied with a sad look on her face.

“Hey, it’s ok, we can still chat with him,” I offered. I wasn’t sure if Lucas would keep in touch but for Lynn’s sake, I knew I would.

“Grandma Ada!?” she gasped when she realized she hadn’t called her grandmother as promised.

“Yeah, she texted me just now. Do you feel like calling her now?” I asked, picking up my phone from the counter.

“Yes, please,” she grinned. Grandma would always cheer her right up.

“Okay,” I dialed her.

“Hello, Azzie, how have you been?” Ada asked.

We spoke briefly while I gathered all the ingredients to make our breakfast. I finally handed over the phone to Lynn, and she immediately smiled as she began to talk to Ada. Ada’s voice was as sweet as ever, she truly was made for this grandparent role.

I was busy adding some chocolate chips to the batter when the doorbell went off. Could it be? Had Lucas maybe changed his mind? I instantly wiped my hands on my shorts and rushed to the front door to check.

I swung the door open and frowned when I saw it was a delivery guy. He held the most beautiful bouquet ever along with a small wrapped gift. Who could’ve sent this? It couldn’t be Lucas, could it?

“Miss Azalea?” The delivery guy asked. He couldn’t have been older than twenty-one, I believe.

“That’s me,” I confirmed.

“These are meant for you then,” the guy handed over the flowers and gift, then had me sign the sheet. “Enjoy them,” he smiled and walked off.

“Thank you? Have a nice day,” I said, very confused by this all.

I carried the bouquet inside and placed it on the small table near the front door. I locked the door and then turned back to my morning gift. There was a small note attached to the wrapped box, so I opened the note.

I read in my head, ‘Dearest Azalea, this is for all you’ve done for me and I hope you can accept this. Yours truly, Jakob T.’

Oh god, how the hell did he find my address? I don’t think I even want to know. I carefully opened the small box and gasped when I saw a platinum card. It wasn’t the one I had with a low limit, this was specifically the one only the rich clients in the club came by with.

How dare Jakob think that this was ok to do? I cannot accept this gift!

The flowers were simple, a good thank you gift that I do appreciate, but the card was too much. Lynn ran up to me now that her call with Ada had ended. Her eyes instantly fell on the colorful floral arrangement and lit up.

“Those are pretty, Mommy,” Lynn gasped and reached over to delicately touch one of the petals.

“I know, right? Help me carry them to the kitchen?” I replied and handed her the flowers.

“We’ll prepare them?” she asked as she sniffed the flowers, taking her carrying job quite seriously.

“Yes, we will,” I confirmed and with that, she grinned.

Lynn brought the flowers to the kitchen and we prepared the flowers to go into the vase. They were the most expensive-looking flowers I had ever received. Lynn couldn’t stop staring at them for one moment.

I prepared breakfast for us then ushered us both to get ready and out of the door. As much as I appreciated the flowers, I couldn’t say the same about the credit card in my name and I wished to bring it back to Jakob.

I have no babysitters on my days off and the daycare was closed today so I had to take Lynn with me. I hope I won't regret this. It would be a quick visit. I stop by, hand the card over, and tell him to never do something like this, and then I get to go back home.

When we arrived on Jakob’s property Lynn was in awe. I heard her loud gasp followed by excitement as her eyes took in the vast piece of gorgeous land Jakob owned. She especially focused on the stables where some workers were taking care of two horses. Oh no, it was a bad idea bringing Lynn here. Jakob’s place was stunning at night but I wasn’t aware it was this breathtaking in broad daylight.