by K. C. Crowne
Skye’s chest rose and fell. Adam stared off blankly into the distance. None of us had said the words out loud, but we were all reacting to the news just as surely as if it’d been spoken.
One of us had to talk. The pregnancy test was in Skye’s hand, her slim fingers wrapped around it so I couldn’t read it. Part of me wanted to pry open her hand and take a look for myself. But that was a non-starter – Skye needed to share the news on her own terms.
Her breathing started to slow, and so did the shaking of my legs and hands.
“Skye,” Adam murmured. “We need to hear it from you.”
She nodded. Slowly, she opened her hand before setting the test on the coffee table. “I’m pregnant.”
And there it was. The news we’d all expected. But hearing it spoken out loud was a whole other thing. Skye leaned forward, her hair hanging down both sides of her face like a curtain. Whatever was written on her features, I couldn’t see.
“You’re…pregnant,” Adam repeated. “That’s…shit, I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” I said. “We have to figure out what to do next.”
Skye was still. Was she in a state of shock? Not like I could blame her for it. Adam marched over to the fridge and took out a beer, cracking it open and bringing the drink to his lips.
“Not the time for that,” I said. “We all need clear heads right about now.
“You worry about you, I’ll worry about me.” This was followed by another pull of beer.
Skye didn’t have that luxury. A baby meant no drinking, nothing to ease her mind and take the edge off. I decided I’d go without alcohol with her.
Before I could come to any other conclusion on the matter, Skye began to shake. I put my hand on her back, trying to calm her as best I could. But it didn’t help. She started to sob, leaning forward and dropping her head into her lap as the tears poured out.
Adam, realizing what was going on, set down his beer and rushed to her. He sat down, me on one side of Skye, him on the other. His hand went to her shoulder as mine stayed on her back.
I’d been around more than a few crying women in my day. Hated to admit it, but I’d been the reason for their tears on several of those occasions. But I’d never seen a woman crying like this. I wanted to do something, anything to make the tears stop.
But what could I do? She was pregnant, and that was that. If it had been just me, or just Adam. Then it’d be a simple matter – she has the baby, and the man sticks around. Easy as Mama G’s blackberry pie.
But it wasn’t simple. No doubt in my mind I’d be there for her if I knew beyond a doubt she was carrying my kid. But what if it was Adam’s? Was I still gonna stick around? I hated that I was asking the questions in my head. Regardless, Adam and I were both there for Skye at that moment.
She continued to cry, Adam and I regarding one another with the same ‘what the hell are we gonna do’ expression on our faces. Outside, the sun was long into setting, darkness falling.
“Skye,” I murmured. “Tell me how you’re feelin’ right now.”
She choked back a few more tears before speaking. “I…I don’t know. No idea how I’m feelin’, if you really wanna know.”
“Tell us what we can do for you,” Adam offered quietly “Anything. Doesn’t matter what it is.”
“I…I…need to lie down.”
“Come on, then,” I said. “I’ll take you to bed.”
Adam gave Skye’s leg one more comforting squeeze. Then I slipped my arm around her and helped her off the couch. As we walked, Skye reminded me more of a little old lady than anything else. Her steps were short and slow, her back hunched. She was such a strong woman. Seeing her shaken was odd, but I would be there for her through it.
We reached Adam’s spare bedroom. Skye pulled off her shirt and slipped out of her pants and shoes before I helped her get under the covers. She gazed up at me with those big, gorgeous eyes of hers once her head was on the pillow.
“Travis?” she asked.
“Yeah?”
“What’s…what’s gonna happen?” She looked terrified.
“Don’t know. But I’ll be here for you. Not a doubt in my mind that Adam’s thinkin’ the same thing.” She nodded, and I wiped the tears from below her eyes. “You need anything right now?”
Skye slowly shook her head. “No. I need some rest.”
“Take as much as you need. The world’s gonna wait for us while we figure this out.”
She bit her bottom lip slowly before speaking again. “Thank you.”
Instead of words, I leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead. Her eyes closed, and I shut off the lights before taking one last look at her and shutting the door.
Adam was still in the living room, his beer neglected as he stared off into space like he had shell shock.
“Hey,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“We need to talk.”
“You’re damn right about that.”
Adam
I sure as shit didn’t know how to feel. But once Travis and Skye left the room, the thoughts started racing.
The big issue, the one we’d have to sort out soon as shit, was that we didn’t know who the daddy was. Both me and Travis had been with her, and I didn’t know about him, but I hadn’t exactly been on the ball with protection.
Fucking stupid. Stupid and careless. I’d gotten so wrapped up in Skye, so consumed by the lust and the passion and the jealousy that I’d forgotten about the small detail that unprotected sex between a man and a woman meant babies.
After a time, Travis came back into the room, a faraway expression on his face.
“What’s the story?” I asked.
He sat down on the couch and shook his head. “She’s asleep. Can’t say I blame her. News like that…”
“News like that.” Silence. I took my beer from the table and pulled a swig. “You want one of these?” I asked. “Sure as hell know I do.”
Travis shook his head. “I’ll pass. Thinkin’ if Skye can’t, then I won’t.”
It was a good point. Maybe I’d join them. But right then, I needed some booze. So, bottle in hand, I took a seat on the chair across from Travis.
“How’s she takin’ it?” I asked.
“Didn’t learn nothin’ from walkin’ her to the bedroom that I didn’t already know. She’s shook up as all hell. I doubt she’d know what to say if you pinned her down on it.” Travis locked eyes with me. “And what do you think about it?”
“Me? Don’t even know what to say.”
“Say somethin’.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know,” he said, irritation in his tone. “You gotta have some thoughts on the subject.”
Another swig as I sat back in my chair. I did my best to let my mind unspool, to get some kind of grip on the situation. “Alright. You wanna know what I think? Here it is. I’m not a young man anymore, bud. Now, I ain’t exactly an old codger, but I’m not as spry as I used to be back in the day. And when you start gettin’ to be my age – our age – you start thinkin’ about things beyond what bar you wanna drink at that night and which girl you wanna take home.”
“I know what you mean.”
“So, naturally, I’ve been thinkin’ about what my life might look like in a few years. My business is doin’ alright, and settlin’ down’s been in the back of my head. But you gotta find the right woman for somethin’ like that.”
“Sure. The right woman.” He nodded his head slowly.
“And…maybe this is me bein’ some kinda stupid romantic, but I’ve been wonderin’ if Skye just might be that woman.”
Travis didn’t say anything at first. His eyes flashed with what looked like…anger.
I went on before he could speak. “Skye’s a good woman. Sure, she’s on the younger side, but when you meet someone, you feel how you feel. And I know how I feel with her. I care about her, Travis. And with each passin’ day,
I’m more sure of it.”
More silence from Travis, more staring straight ahead.
“Hell, part of me’s been thinkin’ what if she’s the one? What if she’s the woman I’ve been waitin’ for? She’s beautiful, smart as a whip, got passion like crazy. Pretty fine set of traits in a woman you might spend the rest of your life with.”
Nothing in response. I had to get to the heart of the matter.
“But I’ll tell you this much – I sure as shit didn’t imagine that when I met the right woman I’d have to share her with another man. And I sure as fuckin’ shit didn’t ever imagine I’d be sharin’ her with another man and get to the point where she’s carryin’ a kid that I don’t even know if it’s mine.”
More silence.
“So, I don’t know that the hell to do. That girl’s scared, and she’s scared for a damn good reason. She’s probably wonderin’ whether either of us are gonna be able to be there for her, or if she’s up shit creek without a paddle.”
Silence. I waited a solid minute before I spoke again.
“Come on now, Travis. This ain’t the time to be the strong, silent type. You gotta say somethin’.”
He took a deep breath before finally speaking. “You wanna know what I think?”
“I do.”
“I’m thinkin’ we might not be in this damn situation if you could’ve shown some fuckin’ restraint.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “The hell?”
“You heard me. I’m into Skye, and I know you are too. And we both knew we had a hell of a situation on our hands, one that we should’ve puzzled out before jumpin’ headfirst into bed with her. But you couldn’t do that. The second you were alone with her, you had your hands all over her.”
“Alright now,” I said slowly, lifting my hands defensively. “That ain’t the right way to look at this situation.”
“It ain’t? Because we wouldn’t be in this damn mess if you could keep it in your fuckin’ jeans.”
He was getting close to the line. I knew I should’ve kept it cool – Travis could be a bit of a hothead. But I didn’t care to sit there and have him drag me over the coals like that.
“That’s a load of bullshit and you know it. Yeah, Skye’s hard to resist. And she’s made no secret about bein’ into me. But you’ve had your share of time with her too. You can’t go blamin’ me for doing what I did when you’ve been doin’ the same.”
“I ain’t been doin’ the same,” he negated. “She’s my employee, and I knew better than to get frisky with a girl workin’ under me. You could’ve taken notice of this and figured if I wasn’t gonna get with her, then maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea for you to, either.”
“Trav, we talked about this shit,” I reminded him. “You gave me your blessing. And now here you are tellin’ me that you were just testin’ me or some shit?”
“I wasn’t testin’ you, Adam,” he yelled. “I did the right thing, and I wasn’t about to tell you what to do. But you should’ve seen that hookin’ up with her while I was holdin’ back would only cause problems. And you did it anyway.”
I laughed. Not the smartest reaction in the world, but I couldn’t help myself. “So, let me get this straight. You said one thing, but you meant somethin’ totally different. That ain’t the Travis I know.”
“And it ain’t the Adam I know to screw around with some girl when he knew he shouldn’t. You made a dumbass call, and now we’re payin’ the price.”
“I made a dumbass call?” I scoffed, furious. “Bud, normally it takes two to tango, but in this case it took three. We both hooked up with her, and then we both did it again one-on-one. And then, though we all knew it might make things worse, we had a…fuckin’ threesome with her again. How the hell are you gonna drop this all on my fuckin’ feet?”
He rose, anger flashing in his eyes. “If you’d have stayed away, I would’ve too. But you had to pick the one damn girl you knew I wanted.”
“You don’t always get what you want, Travis. Sometimes you gotta man up and accept that.”
I finished the rest of my beer with a single swig. I was getting steamed, the taste for whiskey growing in my mouth by the second.
“I gotta man up? Big fuckin’ words from the guy who couldn’t keep his hands off her!”
I rose from my seat and met his eyes. “There wasn’t a damn thing wrong with what I did. And if you were gonna act like this, maybe you should’ve put some fuckin’ thought into your words before tellin’ me it was okay for me and her to get together.”
“Maybe you’re right, ‘cause I sure as shit regret sayin’ ‘em.”
Our voices were raised, two booming shouts.
“There’s a hell of a lot of things I’m startin’ to regret right about now.”
Travis smirked, his eyes still narrowed in anger. “That right? Well, let’s fuckin’ hear ‘em.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get a word out that I was most certainly going to want to take back, Skye appeared in the hallway. She was crying.
“You two…” she sobbed, her eyes moving from one of us to the other. “I find out I’m pregnant and you can’t go five minutes without screamin’ at each other like a couple of teenage boys hopped up on testosterone.”
Travis and I regarded one another. We both knew we’d screwed up. Hell if either of us was going to admit it, though.
“Skye, go back to bed,” Travis ordered, his tone sharp and cutting. “We need to hash this shit out.”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” I quickly said.
“Like what?”
“Boys!” Skye’s voice boomed surprisingly loudly for a woman. It was enough to silence Travis and me. “I don’t know what you’re sayin’ to one another, only that it was loud enough to wake me up. Now, I just found out that I’m going to be a mother, and I come out here and find the two of you at each other’s damn throats. You think this is helpin’ matters any?”
No words from Travis or me. But I was still steamed, still pissed that he’d had the stones to say what he had. “I’m outta here,” I said. “Not in the mood for this shit.”
They were the wrong words, and I knew it the moment they’d come out of my mouth. But more than that, I knew I needed some time to think. Hell, maybe the kind of thinking you can only do with a few shots of whiskey in your belly. I snatched my keys up, storming out and shutting the door hard behind me. Moments later I was in my truck, pulling off the property and getting as far away from the situation as possible.
Fucking hell, what a mess. And worse than that, no one but Skye seemed to be handling it well at all. She was right and I knew it – she’d gotten a hell of a piece of news dropped on her lap and all Travis and I could do was squabble about it.
We needed time. Each one of us needed time to process what had happened. And more than that, I needed a drink. I headed to Crawford, ready to throw back a few and calm my ass down. I needed to play it smart, though. A few slams of whiskey might end with me throwing punches at whoever looked at me the wrong way. Last thing I needed was to wake up the next morning with a hangover in some holding cell.
As if right on cue, I spotted the flashing whites and blues of a police car behind me.
“Fuckin’ hell,” I growled to the empty interior of my truck.
I had no idea why I was being pulled over. Sure, I was steamed, but I was driving the damn speed limit. I pulled the truck over to the side of the road, the police car trailing behind me and coming to a stop. After taking out my ID and insurance card, I gripped the wheel and hoped to get my ticket and get back on the road.
But the moment I spotted the officer step out of the car and swagger toward me, I knew it wasn’t going to be that simple.
Officer Mayer had a grin on his face as he approached the truck, his thumbs hooked into his belt. He sauntered up to the side of my ride, a smirk on his face like he didn’t have a damn care in the world.
“Evening, officer,” I said.
It was dar
k, but he had on those mirrored shades. “Evening, Mr. Carter,” he said. “Would you be so kind as to let me see those?” He nodded towards my information. Slowly, I picked them up and handed them over. “Why, thank you. I’ll be just a second.” My papers in hand, he flashed me one last smirk before returning to his squad car.
Time passed by slowly. Twenty minutes later, he hadn’t returned. I knew what he was doing – making me wait, letting me know I was powerless, that he was the big man in charge. Finally, he returned. Once he was back, he whipped the information onto the passenger seat, the papers and ID scattering to the floorboard.
“You know, you coulda just handed them to me.” My words came out edged with anger, and I knew I’d said something stupid.
“You’re not takin’ a tone with me, are you, pal?”
I bit my tongue. “No. Just wanna know why you pulled me over, is all.”
“You’re not really in a position to be demandin’ information, buddy.”
“I ain’t demanding nothin’. But I’d like to know why you pulled me over, Officer.”
Another smirk. The fucker was playing a game with me, and I didn’t like it one bit.
“First, I’m gonna need you to step out of the truck.”
“What? Why? I was drivin’ proper. I didn’t do nothin’.”
“You disobeying a direct order from an officer of the law?”
I sucked in a breath and released it. “No.”
“Then step out of the damn truck.”
“I’ll step out of the truck when you tell me what’s goin’ on.”
He shook his head, almost sadly. “There you go again. You sure don’t know how to make a situation easy for yourself, do ya? Here, let me help.”
Officer Mayer opened the door, and before I could react, he unhooked my seatbelt and grabbed my arm, yanking me out of the truck with surprising strength. I stumbled as I got pulled out, falling on my ass in the dirt.
“What the shit?” Without thinking, I scrambled to my feet and got right up close to him. “What’re you doin’?”
He grabbed my wrist, squeezing it tightly. “None of your damn business. All you gotta do is listen and obey, got it?”