by Kally Ash
John looked at him, with pity in his eyes, with sadness... with regret. “I’m so sorry, Beau. What are you going to do?”
“Well, if a blood test proves positive, then I’m going to do the right thing by Lisa.”
“You stupid bastard.”
Beau looked at his friend, the sharpness of his tone and the words catching him off guard.
“Excuse me?”
“You can’t seriously be considering that.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s exactly what Lisa wants.”
Slamming his bottle down onto the ground at his feet, he asked, “Do you think I don’t know this? Do you think I can’t see that this is what she wanted to get out of this whole fucking thing?”
“Then don’t give her what she wants.”
“If she’s carrying my child, I want to be a part of its life.”
John’s voice softened as he said, “And what about Vee, huh? She’s not going to play Mommy to Lisa’s kid, even if it is—possibly—half yours.”
“Vee doesn’t want to have anything to do with me; she never will again. Lisa hammered the last nail into our relationship by showing up at Vee’s work and flaunting our past relationship in her face. It’s better this way.”
His friend ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Beau? Why are you using the same excuses when things get tough?”
He looked up, staring hard. “This time, it truly is for the best. This isn’t about me anymore, John. This time it really is better if Vee is out of my life. I couldn’t live with myself if she had to get dragged into this.”
“So when will this blood test happen?”
He shrugged. “Lisa didn’t say; she only said she’d get one done.”
“I don’t know, man. I don’t trust her.”
“Neither do I, but she kind of has me hamstrung at the moment. Until I find out the truth, I need to keep the peace.”
“Okay, well, it’s your life, Beau. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
Seven days later...
Beau walked into the reception room of the OBGYN Lisa had chosen to look after her during her pregnancy. He didn’t know a goddamn thing about the doctor other than she was expensive. The room was decorated in muted tones of cream and white with black office chairs lining the walls. In the air, a hint of disinfectant lingered.
After Beau had badgered her about getting the confirmation blood test done, Lisa finally went five days ago; the results came back to her in less than twelve hours.
Positive.
And his whole world changed with one word.
“So what are we doing here?” he asked.
“We’re meeting the woman who’s going to bring our son into the world.”
Son? “How do you know it’s a boy?”
She caressed her flat stomach. “Just a feeling.”
He sat down in one of the waiting room chairs, shifting to find some sort of comfort.
“You don’t seem particularly happy, Beau.”
“I’m not, Lisa.”
She gasped theatrically. “Please don’t have such negative thoughts around our baby.”
Beau fought the urge to roll his eyes. “I’m only here for my kid, Lisa, if it proves to be mine.”
“Of course it’s your baby, Beau. I don’t know what you’re insinuating about me, but—” She stopped, sucking in a calming breath. “If you don’t at least try to be civil with me, I’ll make sure you never see your son.”
He gave her a withering look. Threatening him to stay was never going to work. “I want a paternity test done.”
She glanced at the other women waiting for their appointments, then back at him. “And when it’s proven that the baby is yours?” she asked in a hiss.
“I’ll support you financially through the pregnancy and then the baby after it’s born. I will not, however, be pursuing a relationship with you.”
Her expression grew stormy, her mouth open, her tongue poised to speak.
“Lisa Knight?” a nurse called.
Lisa stood up, looking down at Beau. “Are you coming?”
“No. I’ll wait for you here.”
Thirty-eight minutes later, they were done. He knew it was thirty-eight minutes because he’d been watching the clock. Lisa walked out into the reception area, a small satisfied smile on her face.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you so happy about?”
“I got our due date. Our baby will be here at the end of January.”
“Great,” he replied, his tone uninflected. He stood up and went to pay for the appointment, nearly choking on his tongue when he heard the figure. His mom’s house better sell soon if he had any chance of supporting this kid. Turning back, he found Lisa staring at him with open hostility.
“Did you ask about paternity testing?” he asked, pushing open the door and pulling out his phone.
“They can do one in utero, if necessary.”
“It’s necessary,” he snarled. “Set it up at the next appointment.”
She muttered something under her breath, too low for him to hear.
“Whatever,” he said, pulling out his phone. He saw that he had a missed call from a number he didn’t recognize.
He’d call them back later. He was not in the right state of mind right now. He was almost at his car when he heard Lisa hurrying to catch him.
“Hey! We should sit down and discuss how this is going to work.”
He forced himself to stop, to breathe, to not be so fucking pissed off at the world for two minutes. “Yeah, we should.”
She looked satisfied—smug even. “Good. There’s a café around the corner.”
“Yeah, just give me a second. I need to make a phone call.” The reality was, he was stalling. He had no desire to sit down and discuss a future he didn’t want to share with her. This was supposed to be Vee. He was supposed to be happy. Taking his phone out, he hit dial on the missed call.
“Temptation,” a man said. “How can I help?”
“Max?” he asked, stunned that the guy had called him in the first place. It had been about a week since the blow-up, but he’d stayed true to his word and not bothered Vee again.
Even though it killed him.
“Beau. How are you?”
“I’m... okay, I guess.”
“Well, Vee is a fucking mess.” His tone was accusatory.
His free hand curled into a fist as he took a seat on a bench outside the clinic. “I know. Has she… I mean, did she…?”
“She hasn’t spoken to me. I haven’t pushed it either.” He sighed. “I need to know what happened, man. I need to understand.”
“I get that.” Lisa cleared her throat noisily, but Beau ignored her. “I can’t talk about it now though.”
“Can you come to the club?”
“Not right now. Tomorrow night I can.”
“That’s good—Vee isn’t in tomorrow night. Swing by around seven, before it starts getting busy.”
“You got it. And, ah, thanks, man.”
“What for?”
“For not disowning me because of what happened.”
“I don’t know what happened yet, remember? I’m just giving you the benefit of the doubt, unlike Vee.”
He nodded. “Well, I appreciate it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Beau?” Lisa whined. “Come on. I need to get off my feet.”
You need to get off your fucking feet? he thought bitterly. She was barely eleven weeks along. How could her feet be swollen already?
Wordlessly, he stalked in her direction.
“It was about time,” she muttered under her breath.
He bit his tongue, yanking open the door of the café when they arrived. Lisa smiled as she passed, a gesture he had no desire to return.
“What will you have?” she asked as she sat down at a table.
“Just coffee.”
“You’re not going to let me eat b
y myself, are you?”
“I’m afraid so.”
His answer was met with a scowl. “You’re not being very supportive, Beau.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Physically, but definitely not emotionally.”
He sat down, pulling his chair in closer and resting his elbows on the surface. If she wanted to have this discussion now, then he’d damn well give it to her. “You know what? You’re right. And do you want to know what else isn’t going to happen?”
She shook her head, her eyes hard.
“I’m going to continue not being here for you emotionally because I have no emotions attached to you. I don’t want to be here, but I am because if this kid is mine,” he said, jabbing his finger in the direction of her stomach, “then I’m going to do the right thing and support it financially.”
Like the petulant child she was, she folded her arms over her chest and stared at him.
“What can I get y’all?” a middle-aged waitress asked, sidling up to their table, a notepad at the ready.
“Just coffee for me, thank you,” Beau told her.
She nodded. “And for you, darlin’?”
Lisa’s gaze was still on Beau, but she said, “The same.”
“Just coffee. Got it.”
After the woman bustled off, Beau said, “You shouldn’t have caffeine. It’s bad for the baby.”
“And you know this, how?”
Jerking his chin a little higher, he said, “I read about it.” And about how caffeine could cause a miscarriage. He didn’t want that. If this was his chance to become a father, he was going to take that as seriously as he could, even if that meant having to have Lisa in his life.
“Can we just discuss how this is going to work for us. Please?” He forced that last word out, hating how bitter it tasted.
“Yes.” She settled her hands on top of the table, folded, demure. “I’d like for us to have a relationship.”
“That’s never going to happen.”
A flicker of annoyance shadowed her face. “Okay, well, I’ll need your financial support with this pregnancy. All the ultrasounds and appointments are expensive.”
Right. He was prepared for this. Could he afford it? Probably not, but he would make the sacrifices necessary. “Fine.”
“I’ll also need someone to come to these appointments with me.”
“Don’t you have a friend who can do that?”
Lisa’s cheeks flushed with color. “I don’t have too many close friends.”
Even though he hated to give her exactly what she wanted, he said, “If I’m not working, I’ll come with you.”
“Thank you, Beau,” she said with false sincerity, sliding her hand on top of his. He recoiled, drawing back from the table with a jerk.
“Do you really find me so unappealing? You liked me enough once.”
“Once,” he mused to himself quietly. He couldn’t tell her she was a poor substitute for the woman he actually wanted. “But not anymore. The only reason I’m here is because of the baby.”
Pressing a hand to her stomach, she said, “And now I know where I stand.”
“Two cups of coffee,” the waitress said, gently placing each cup down in front of them. “Anything else I can get you? The cherry pie is exceptional.”
“We’re fine,” Beau said sharply, tempering his words by adding, “Thank you.”
With a quick bob of her head, she walked off to serve another customer.
“So we’re in agreement; I get money when I need it and you get... what? Peace of mind?” Lisa said derisively.
“I get to be in my child’s life,” he snarled, slamming his fist onto the table. Everyone at the surrounding tables stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them. “I get to be a father.”
“And what about... Evangeline, was it?”
Beau was out of his seat before Lisa could finish her question, the
sudden movement jostling the cups and the cutlery.
“Don’t you dare say her name,” he warned. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out some cash and dropped it on the table before leaving the café. His anger was biting at him—anger at Lisa, at himself, at the inequity of life. He returned to his car, each of his movements jerky and too hard.
He screamed out loud, slamming his palm against the steering wheel over and over again. Twisting the key in the ignition, he started the car and began heading back to John’s place.
His phone started ringing about a block away from the apartment. It was probably just Lisa again, ready to chew him out for embarrassing her back at the café. Against his better judgement, he took the call.
“Yes?” he barked.
“Mr. Jenkins?” a stuffy-sounding woman asked. “Alicia Rawlings from Sun City Realty.”
“Yes, Ms. Rawlings, hello,” he said, his tone quieter than before. “How are you?”
“Fine. Thank you. I have some news about your mother’s property.”
“Yes?” The house had been on the market for around a month already. He needed to sell it so he could afford to keep up with Lisa’s medical bills. “I hope it’s good news.”
“It is,” she replied perfunctorily. “We got an offer for six hundred and eighty-nine thousand nine hundred; that’s twenty-five thousand over list price. I suggest you take the offer.”
“I do,” he replied. “I accept.”
“Then congratulations. You’ve sold the property. I’ll start the paperwork right away.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Have a nice day, Mr. Jenkins.”
24
“Vee, what are you doing here?” Max asked.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I own this club. Is that a problem?”
“No, I just thought you said you were taking today off.”
Well, that was true, but sitting around at home and thinking about everything she lost was messing with her head. What she needed was to stay busy, and that’s exactly what she intended to do. She’d work herself into the damn ground if she had to. When she wasn’t working, she found herself going for runs until she was so exhausted she just fell into a heap and slept through her never-ending sadness.
“I return to my previous statement.”
He gave her a weak smile. “Right you are, boss.”
She walked through to the office, counting on there being a pile of paperwork to keep her occupied. When she got inside, she was not disappointed at all. With a sigh, she sat down and got to work.
“Hey, boss?” someone said outside the door a couple of hours later. Evangeline glanced at the clock, seeing it closing in on seven o’clock.
“Yeah?”
Rich opened the door but didn’t step inside. “You got a minute?”
“Sure, Rich. What do you need?”
“I was wondering if you could help me out,” he said nervously, his eyes darting around the office before he glanced over his shoulder.
“Come in, Rich, and take a seat.”
With a decisive nod, he did just that. “Thanks, boss.”
“So what can I help you with?”
The guy slowly lowered himself down into the chair opposite her desk. “I know I have no right to ask this of you…”
“Just ask me, Rich.”
“Right.” He nodded. “You gave me a job when I needed one. And now I’m curious to know if you’d offer the same to my brother.”
Her brows rose. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“He’s not a blood relative; we served together in the Marines. He’s fallen on some hard times—lost his job, his marriage fell apart and now he has to find somewhere to live. He’s going to crash with me until he gets on his feet again. I know you don’t owe me anything, I just thought—”
“If you vouch for him, Rich, consider him hired.”
“Really?” She nodded. “Thank you, boss. I appreciate it. He’ll appreciate it.”
She waved away his thanks, feeling uncomfortable
to be the focus of his appreciation. “Just tell…” She paused, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.
“Bear.”
“Bear?” she replied.
“Nick Watts is his actual name, but we call him Bear.”
Did she even want to know why? “Okay, just tell Bear to come and see me tomorrow. We’ll figure something out for him.”
“I will.” Rich stood up, stretching out his hand to her. “Thank you, boss.”
She shook his proffered hand, then said, “Now get the hell out of here.”
Rich grinned at her, then left. Evangeline felt like she took in strays with the way she’d been hiring staff lately. What she’d told Rich was the truth, though. If he said the guy was solid, then she was inclined to believe him. He hadn’t so much as been a minute late to work since he started there, always staying behind until she was ready to lock up.
Standing up, she stretched, reaching her arms up above her head and feeling the vertebra pop in her neck and back. She’d been sitting down for too long. She opened up the door to her sanctuary and walked into the club. Despite it being early, they were filling up quickly. She saw a couple of regulars who nodded in her direction as she made her way to the bar.
“How are you, boss?” Ava asked, pulling two beers from the underbar fridge and popping off the lids.
“I’m doing alright,” she replied, turning when she felt eyes on her.
Beau?
What the fuck is he doing here?
“Vee.” He spoke her name so quietly. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have been able to hear him over the din, but somehow everything around them seemed to disappear into a vacuum.
“Get out of here,” she said, her words a slow, malicious drawl.
“I was—”
“You know what? Forget about it. I’ll get out of here.”
“Vee, I invited him here.”
She turned at the sound of Max’s voice. “You what?”
“I invited him. You weren’t supposed to be here tonight. I thought it would be okay.”
Her gaze traveled between Max and Beau, wondering what the fucking connection was. They couldn’t be friends—they’d hardly spent enough time together for that. The fact that Max reached out to the bastard without her knowledge also rankled. Over Beau’s shoulder, she could see her other bar staff had stopped to watch the show. Max followed her gaze, telling everyone to get back to work.