Chapter Text
The drive to Rebecca’s was like driving through a very small but very serious hurricane. Sideways blowing rain he could barely see through. A wind that blew him off the road only to have him almost overcorrect more than a few times. The radio warned of flooding down by the bay and parts of Highway 101 shut down because of falling trees.
Thankfully, Rebecca, like him, had a place in the higher elevations of town.
He breathed a sigh of relief at seeing her car in the driveway.
The person who opened the door wasn’t the person he expected, but his heart swelled seeing his other favorite girl waiting for him. He moved inside as Hazel called out, “Teddy! Teddy!”
He removed his drenched jacket before picking her up and placing it on the coat rack. “Hey, Hazelnut.” He hugged her tight and kissed her cheek, feeling his relief that they were okay, settle in his chest. “Hi, honey. How ya doing, huh?”
“Okay.” She pulled back and placed her two small hands on his cheeks. “Did you see the storm?”
He huffed a small laugh. “I saw it. Where’s your mom?”
“In there!” Hazel pointed her tiny finger down the hall towards the bathroom. “The fire burned her!” she told him with the most serious little expression.
“Oh, dear,” he said, trying not to sound as concerned as he suddenly felt. “Let’s go see.”
He made his way carefully through the house and came to a stop when he found her standing in the living room. “Rebecca?”
She stood rooted to the spot. The soft light from the fire made her hair look silky and her eyes bright. His chest tightened seeing her there like that. Her voice was soft, yet full of disbelief, when she said, “Ted, what are you doing here?”
“The power is out all over town. I came to see how you and Hazel were.”
“You drove in this?” Her face fell right before it tightened. “Ted.”
Oh boy. Mad.
She was mad.
His heart hammered in his chest. She could be upset all she wanted because at least that meant concern was also in there somewhere.
He could work with that.
“What happened to your hand?” he asked with a nod to the hand she was cradling in the other.
She rolled her eyes, then shrugged. “The fire popped. It’s not so bad, I don’t think.”
He walked over until he was standing in front of her. Shifting Hazel onto his hip, he held out his hand. She frowned but placed her injured one in his. The burned skin appeared inflamed and red, but it looked alright. “Nothing that needs attention, but we should cover it. Do you have burn cream and bandages?”
“In the bathroom cupboard somewhere.”
“I’m going to put you down, sweets, while I fix your momma’s hand, okay?” Hazel nodded, and he kissed her cheek once more. When she was down, she ran over to the couch, covering herself under a blanket. Stepping into the bathroom, he pulled out his phone from his pocket. Turning on the flashlight, he went in search of the things he’d need for her hand.
Neither spoke the entire time he bandaged her up. He hadn’t known how to begin. Blurting out that he was sorry and to please forgive him for being a moron didn’t seem like the right way to apologize.
“Better?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over the bandage softly.
“Much. Thank you.”
She took her hand back, and he missed her warmth acutely, but for the first time in a while, her gaze held his. His heart thumped hard. God, he missed those eyes. He missed her. He opened his mouth to apologize for everything, but she stepped out of the room before he could get out a word. He let out a heavy breath, then followed.
“Well, now that I know you guys are okay, I should… I should probably go.”
She came to a stop in the middle of the living room. Her gaze went from him to the window, then back. “Ted, you can’t go back out there.”
His shoulders lifted and fell. “It’s just a little wind,” he said, even though it was an outright lie. He could do it, though. The strong wind was likely to blow him off the road a few more times, but he was confident he could make it home.
“It’s not just a little wind. Listen to that.” She crossed her arms. Stubbornness blazed in her eyes as if daring him to challenge her. “No. You have to stay here tonight.”
“You sure?”
“I’m not letting you go out in that.”
She left the room, and it was settled.
She didn’t talk to him while she moved around in the kitchen. He looked down as Hazel took his hand. She gazed back up and then pulled him into the living room with her.
“Teddy, come watch Inside Out with me?”
“Sure, sweets.”
He followed her to the couch and settled next to her. She took the iPad from the cushion beside her and then crawled into his lap. Ted smiled, kissing the crown of her head.
“I love this movie. Mummy loves it, too. Have you seen it?”
“I have,” he told her. “It’s one of Henry’s favorites.”
“Where is he?” she asked, leaning back and looking toward the door like he might come in at any moment.
“He’s with his mom for a few more days.”
“Oh. Can we go to the aquarium when he gets back?”
Her green eyes looked up imploringly at him. While he wanted to tell her yes, he wasn’t sure yet of his and Rebecca’s footing, and he didn’t want to promise her something he couldn’t deliver on. “We’ll talk to your momma about it, but if it’s okay with her, it’s okay with me.”
“Okay,” she said, grinning at him before nestling back against his side. He watched her pull up the movie. Just like Henry, he marveled at the way little kids knew the ins and outs of electronics. “My favorite is Joy. Mummy’s favorite is Disgust.”
He chuckled, thinking that sounded about right. “Joy’s my favorite, too.”
“Who’s Henry’s favorite?”
Ted tilted his head in thought. “I think he likes Anger.”
Hazel let out a full belly giggle. “He’s funny. He gets so mad. Mummy calls him Uncle Roy.”
“Does your Uncle Roy get mad a lot?”
“No, Uncle Roy doesn’t get mad,” Rebecca said, coming into the room and handing Hazel a juice box. “He just swears a lot and growls at everything.”
From what he recalled of the man after meeting him not too long ago, he could see that about him. However, he gave Ted the impression under all that grumpy stoicism was a complete and total softie.
He watched Rebecca march right back out of the room before lowering his gaze to the movie. Hazel tucked herself back into his side. At least one of his girls was happy to see him.
Even though he’d watched the Disney movie over a hundred times with Henry when he was small, it was still as cute as he remembered and easy to fall into. But the woman who reminded him of a lot of Anger with her stomping in and out of the room sure kept him distracted. The first time she came in, she carried a plateful of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The next, she brought more candles that she lit around the room, and the last time she carried a book. She took a sandwich and went over to an armchair, all the time avoiding his gaze.
He sighed softly.
He continued the movie with Hazel and if Rebecca noticed him wiping a few tears from his eyes at the end, didn’t tease him about it.
After Inside Out, they watched a few episodes of Sofia the First and My Friends Tigger and Pooh.
Ted had Hazel sit with her mom while he added some more wood to the fire. He piled it up so that it would keep the room warm as the sun went down. Even though there wasn’t any sun to see, the temperature dropped right along with it. Hazel peered at him the whole time, telling him to “be careful ” and to “watch out for the pops!”
He assured her he was and when he came back, she was right back up in his lap, asking to watch another show with her.
Rebecca disappeared from the room. When she came back she was wearing a sweater and leggings with a thick pair of socks. Some warmer clothes for Hazel were in her hands and Rebecca changed her from her outfit into a pair of pajamas with a sweater over the top.
“I’m hungry,” she told her momma.
“I know, sweetheart,” Rebecca told her, pushing the bangs from her eyes. “I don’t have much to cook with the power being out, I’m afraid. But I’ll go see if I can find us something.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Don’t you have a gas stove?”
“I do, but… will it still work?”
“It should. I can see if I can get it lit. Make us something.”
He got to his feet and headed into the kitchen.
He heard Rebecca’s footsteps behind him. Taking out his phone, he used the flashlight to glance around. “You got soup? Some bread and cheese?”
“I do,” she said, moving over to the pantry. He held up the flashlight so she could see her way around inside. She handed him a couple of cans of tomato soup, then led him over to the stove, grabbing a loaf of bread from the counter.
“Is Teddy gonna cook us something?” Hazel murmured. He could just make out her curious eyes watching him with the dim light of his phone.
“I think he is,” Rebecca told her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“Why don’t you two go get cozy on the couch and finish what Darby and Owl got up to while I make us some dinner?”
“You sure?” Rebecca asked.
He looked up to see her face had softened and it dang near took his breath away at how beautiful she was.
“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”
She nodded and, to his great surprise, placed a hand on his arm before leaning in and placing a quick kiss on his cheek.
He watched her leave the room, swallowing a lump in his throat as she left. Somehow, he knew it was going to be okay.
It took a few seconds to get the gas lit, but soon he had a pot of soup heating up and a grilled cheese for each of them on plates. He even got a kettle going, making a tea for her to go along with their dinner.
Hazel gasped as he set their plates on the coffee table. “Cheese toasties!”
“Ooh, is someone a little cheese fan?”
Hazel plopped down on her mother’s lap, waiting no time to reach for a sandwich. She nodded through a bit, humming an, “Mmmm.”
He chuckled and went back for Rebecca’s cup of tea. When he came back with it, she blinked at him before letting out a soft, “Thank you, Ted.”
He smiled at her. “You’re welcome.”
After bellies were full and dishes taken into the kitchen, they all watched one last movie that Hazel yawned all the way through.
The wind outside continued to howl and without the noise from the shows, Hazel became even more aware of it. She cuddled closer to his side. “I’m scared.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of. We build our houses around here really strong.” A crack outside had Hazel wrapping her arms around him. He didn’t worry. A branch had most likely blown off one tree and hit the roof. “Do you like stories, Hazel?”
A nod, her eyes still wide and fearful. He couldn’t have that. “Do you like pirates?”
Another nod.
“Good, because pirate stories are my forte.”
Her little brow furrowed. “What’s forte?”
“Somethin’ someone’s really good at.”
“Oh.”
He smiled at Rebecca who looked like she was about to smile, but then remembered she was mad at him, pressed her lips together before shifting it back into a bland expression once again. He sighed but started the story he knew well from the countless times he read the book to Henry.
Hazel sat with rapt attention hung on his every word. The story began with a little boy, but he changed it to a little girl. He told her about silly pirates who showed up on the beach, admiring the little girl’s sandcastles. How they were so impressed that they recruited her. They needed her help to bury their treasure. Hazel gasped at the mentions of gold and rubies and laughed at the pirate talk. Words like scurvy dog, and landlubber. He could tell Rebecca was listening. Though her gaze was on her book, her eyes were still and the pages went unturned.
It wasn’t until he got to the part where he told Hazel about pirate mannerisms. About how they all talked with their mouths full, and no one said please that earned him a reaction from her. A frown from those lips he adored, which he returned with a grin. But it delighted Hazel, and the storm raged on, so she must have decided to let it pass.
The story drew to an end with the little girl trying to go to sleep. But pirates didn’t tell one another stories and they most certainly didn’t tuck one another in. Soon a storm came, and the pirates panicked. In the end, it was only the little girl who knew how to save their treasure. They buried it under her castle.
“Guard it well, the Captain said,” Ted’s voice told her softly.
Hazel’s eyes had been getting heavier and heavier as the story went on. Now, it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. “Again,” her little voice mumbled.
Ted kissed the top of her head and started the story once more.
She was out in no more than five minutes. Rebecca rose from the armchair, sat her book down on it, and left the room. When she came back, she carried a pillow and a heavy quilt. The pillow she laid at the opposite end where he sat.
“Lie her down over here.” He rose slowly, being careful not to wake Hazel, and laid her down. Rebecca leaned down to tuck her in and when she rose, let out a sigh. “I think it might be best if we brought my mattress in here. The rooms are chilly, and we’ll all be more comfortable out here where it’s warm.”
He was relieved she thought so. The fact was, he was thinking about suggesting the same thing to her. Only he wasn’t exactly sure how she’d take it. He had expected her to send him up to the loft.
“Sounds good. I’ll be able to keep an eye on the fire that way,” he replied.
She studied him for a long moment. He wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for, but he didn’t look away. She seemed to come to some decision though and said, “My room is this way.”
He nodded and followed her. He tried not to notice the simple little touches that made it so… her. The framed family pictures. Of her and Hazel. A young Rebecca sandwiched between her parents. Her, her mother, and a very young Hazel. A small pile of books on her nightstand made him wonder if she had read them all or if she was one of those readers who could read more than one book at a time. He never could, but gave major props to anyone able to.
She carried two pillows and the blankets from her bed out into the living room. He heaved the mattress from the bed, sliding it across the wood floor with ease. By the time he had it out there, she had already moved the coffee table out of the way. They lowered the mattress next to the couch. Rebecca made the bed, layering the blankets, which also surprised him. He thought she’d give them each their own, but it was cold. Rebecca would give him the silent treatment, but she wasn’t going to let him freeze. At least it showed she cared still.
She lay down on her side closest to Hazel, facing away from him. Her anger toward him was still a tangible thing in the air between them. He hung his head. It was alright. He needed to do better. Apologize again and again until she heard him.
“You should try to sleep,” her voice drifted up to him.
He knew that he should. He hadn’t been sleeping well as of late. But the fire needed to be built back up, and if he didn’t do it now, it would get too cold throughout the night.
“I’m going to build the fire back up and then I will.”
There were still plenty of logs inside, so he took two and threw them on top of the nearly finished few. He waited to make sure the fire would build. When he was satisfied that the fire would be alright on its own, he joined her on the bed, making sure to keep some distance between them.
“Better?”
“Yes. It’ll get warmer now.”
“That’s good.” A pause, then a soft, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, his voice equally low. “How’s your burn?” he ventured, hating the silence between them.
She took a breath in and out, then after a pause, replied, “It’s fine.” He nodded, feeling numb. Had he got it all wrong? She was still kind and thoughtful towards him, albeit short. Had his leaving her ruined things for good? “You didn’t have to come out here. If you feel some sort of obligation toward us, you don’t have to—”
“Obligation?” Was she serious? He moved up and propped himself up on his elbow so he could look at her. “Rebecca, it’s nothing like that. You and Hazel are important to me.”
“Hazel missed you,” she murmured so softly he wondered if she hadn’t meant herself to.
“Just Hazel?” Another pause, and he sighed. He deserved that. “I missed her, too. Rebecca, I need to apologize about the other night.”
“No, it’s okay, I understand—”
He shook his head. She didn’t. She couldn’t. It wasn’t as simple as his failed relationship, though that was an enormous part of it. He reached out and placed his hand on her arm. Gently, he pulled her until she finally relented and rolled onto her back.
There. He could see into her eyes, which were wet with tears. His heart clenched. That was his doing.
“I don’t think you do,” he told her, moving his hand until it lay on her stomach. She made no move to remove it, and that gave him hope. Absent-mindedly his thumb caressed the skin of her side exposed by her shirt riding up as he admitted. “I was afraid.”
She swallowed. “What are you afraid of, Ted?”
So many things he wanted to say. Getting too attached. Falling in love. Which was dumb because he already was. He loved Hazel and was so in love with Rebecca that if something were to happen, he didn’t know how he’d survive it.
When the tightness in his throat eased, he breathed, “Losing.”
“Losing what?”
He gazed into her eyes. They were curious, expectant. “My hope. You.”
“Me?” she asked, as though she couldn’t believe it.
“You.” He felt his own tears begin to sting. “Rebecca, honey, before you and Hazel came to town I really thought my life was gonna be all that it was. Don’t misunderstand, I have Henry and my family, a couple of jobs I love, but there was this piece of me that I thought would always feel…empty, you know?”
She pressed her lips together and nodded.
“Not that I couldn’t live with that. I could, I know I could. But then you walked in and filled that hole right up. The thought of feelin’ that emptiness again… feelin’ it because I lost you girls…”
“Ted,” she murmured, cupping his cheeks. “We’re not going anywhere. This is our home now.”
Her eyes shone in the firelight as a tear fell from the corner of her eye. He moved his hand, reaching up to catch it with his thumb. God help him, he loved her so much.
He wanted to kiss her.
And so he did.
She gasped, then her hand moved from his cheek to the back of his head and her mouth softened under his. He moaned, feeling her tongue lick across his lips. Soon, he lost himself in her. His heart swelled. He almost forgot how it felt to feel like this. The all-consuming need to have and hold someone.
Her nails raked against his scalp, making him swallow back another moan. Ever well aware Hazel was only a few feet from them. Her leg lifted over his hip as she turned on her side into him, bringing them closer together. f*ck , his mind whispered, feeling her warmth against him.
He moved his hand down her side. Skimmed up over her hip, wanting to touch every part of her but very aware they had to keep their actions as PG as possible.
Ted’s breathing was deep and even, and she took the liberty while he was asleep to enjoy being there in his arms. Of the feel of his arms around her. Of his warm breath and stubble on her skin. The smell of pine and day-old cologne.
She couldn’t describe how relieved she’d been when Ted showed up. Relieved and happy and irritated because damn him for going out in such horrible weather. He could have gotten hurt or worse, driving out in that wind and rain. It was half of the reason why she was so mad to begin with. The gesture touched her that he would risk himself for them, but if something had happened… if he had gotten hurt…
He was lucky he was so handsome and even luckier he kissed her when he did because if he hadn’t seized the moment, she would have.
She still remembered it as vividly as if it were moments ago. She’d been so surprised it took her a second to respond, but when she did… She thought he’d be a good kisser, but what she imagined hadn’t held a candle to actually kissing him.
If it hadn’t been for her exhaustion from last week with little sleep, she would have kissed him all night. But she had been, and so had he. The time apart had been hard on them both. Before she succumbed to sleep, she worried a moment at how ready she was to dive into whatever came next for them. But then dismissed the thought as quickly as it came.
He was here with them, and neither of them were going anywhere.
“Hey,” his sleep-filled voice croaked, startling her.
She smothered a smile into his chest. “Hi,” she murmured and closed her eyes at the feel of his hand on her back, caressing under her shirt and over her bare skin.
She raised her head and peered into a pair of sleep-filled hazel-brown eyes. But she only gazed into them a minute before his lips were on hers. And just like that, they were kissing and kissing, and kissing some more. Her mouth opened under his, and she let out a moan as his tongue swept in, meeting hers.
They could use a toothbrush or a slosh of mouthwash, but as late as they were up, it wasn’t that bad. Not bad enough to make her want to stop him either, it seemed. One hand splayed against her lower back, the other cupping her cheek. She was in no hurry to move.
Eventually, their need for air drew them away from one another.
Her lips lifted at the sight of him. He and his sleep-mussed hair were adorable.
Just as they drifted towards one another, her stomach growled. The sound was loud and mortifying. He grinned, and she laughed.
“Breakfast?” she suggested.
“Breakfast,” he echoed, kissing the tip of her nose, then her lips, which lingered on and on until he kissed his way down her neck.
“We’re going to have to leave the bed if we want to eat,” she told him.
He chuckled between kisses. His lips pressed soft kisses on her neck just below her ear. “You sure about that?”
Her mouth popped open with a smile. She felt heat creep into her cheeks. “You have a dirty mind, Ted Lasso.”
He raised his head and looked down at her. “Is that bad?”
“No, it’s good,” she admitted, loving that he had those thoughts of them. “But Hazel will wake up soon, and this is just short of torture.”
“Unfortunately, I agree.” The hand that had once been on her back slid up and around. Her breath hitched, and her body trembled as it made its way up and up, stopping just short of her breast. The tips of his fingers brushed the underside with the slightest touch. He removed his hand and kissed her once more, then moved away, taking all the warmth and lovely weight with him. “Okay, up we go.”
She blinked up at him, feeling frustrated and disappointed. She was sorta hoping he’d see it on her face and continue, but all he did was grin down at her like the big tease he was. “Ugh, you’re more evil than you led me to believe.”
“I never said I was a saint.”
“Thank God.”
Together, they hauled her mattress back into her room. Once they finished, she shut the door and spent some time with Ted without the fear of little eyes watching them. With his tongue in her mouth, she wrapped her leg around his hip as he pressed her back against her closed bedroom door.
He was just such a good kisser. Not to mention, the feel of him pressed so deliciously into her made it equally hard to want to stop. If it had only been the two of them, she would have thrown caution to the wind and let him take her right there.
But it wasn’t, and as tempting as he was (with what she felt against her, he would in no way leave her disappointed), Hazel would be up soon. She’d rather not have their first time interrupted by her daughter.
Reluctantly, they pulled apart. Each kiss grew shorter than the last until he moved away from her with a sigh.
They made their way hand in hand into the kitchen. From the view out the French doors, the dark gray sky only enhanced the gloom from the day before. The wind was still blowing, but less forcefully. More of a breeze after a thunderstorm.
She crossed over to the fridge and frowned when no light came on. Reaching in, the air inside felt room temperature. There went all her groceries. “So much for breakfast. The power is still out,” she said, letting the door shut.
There came the sound of tiny feet on the floor. They looked over as Hazel made her way into the room, her hair wild and eyes still sleepy.
“Morning, Hazel,” Ted said, then looked over at Rebecca when she went right over to him and raised her arms. “You want me to hold you?” She said nothing, only nodded. Once up in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck without a word. Her heart flipped in her chest as her daughter rested her head on his shoulder, making him smile. “She’s fun in the morning.”
“She takes a while to get going.”
“I don’t blame her after last night.”
Her gaze swept out the window. Around three, the strongest of the winds hit, waking them all. The swing on her porch had broken on one side. She’d have to fix it along with collecting some of Hazel’s toys that were now scattered throughout the yard. “How bad do you think it is out there?”
“The storm didn’t last all night, and we’ve had worse. I boarded up the shop windows, so hopefully not too bad.”
She hadn’t even thought of the bakery until now. “Do you need to go?”
He nodded. “I should go soon and check on things. If you both want to, you can come with me. We can get you tea and this little girl something to eat.”
Tea sounded amazing.
“We could,” she said but then laughed softly, looking over at her daughter back asleep once again.
“What?” he asked.
“She went back to sleep.” She ran her hand down her daughter’s back. Hazel’s small hands clutched at his shirt as though someone might try to snatch her away from him. “She’s very attached to you. I hope you know that.”
Her gaze lifted from Hazel to him. Don’t hurt them, were her unspoken words.
“I do know. And you don’t need to worry. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be around for her and you as long as you’ll let me.”
She had to ask. “No regrets? No doubts?”
“None,” he said with conviction. There was no hesitation in his eyes, and she believed him.
“I’m glad. I kinda like having you around. You’re a sight for sore eyes to wake up next to.”
He grinned that great big, dopey grin that she loved. “Yeah?”
She hummed an affirmative hum. “Yeah.”
“We’ll have to make sure we wake up to more of each other because I was thinking I could get used to this.”
She could get used to so many things. Him standing in her kitchen holding her daughter while she made them breakfast. Going to bed every night and waking up every day in his arms. But she was getting ahead of herself, and if she didn’t slow herself down, they’d be married before the end of the year.
“I’m sure you could.” She smiled. “Watch her while I shower?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got her.” She moved around him but stopped when he took her hand. “Hey, how well do you think she’d do at my mother’s house with Henry and Lennon for a few hours?”
“She’d be okay. Why?”
“I want to take you on a date. If you’ll go on one with me.”
A date. Her lips pulled up. It’d been years since she’d been on a date.
“I will. When?”
“Friday?”
“I could make myself available for you.”
He reached out and drew her to him. She met him halfway for a soft kiss.
“Thank you,” he murmured against her lips. Their foreheads met as both silently acknowledged all that had happened between them.
“I’ll be right back.” She kissed him again. “If she’s not up when I’m done, we can wake her and go.”
“Sounds good.”
In her room, she grabbed jeans and a long-sleeved v-neck shirt. It was cold, but she’d wear a jacket. She grabbed underwear and a bra and made her way into the bathroom. She smiled at her reflection before getting into the shower. She had a feeling the smile would be with her for the rest of the day.
