I nodded, wiping a tear away. “I forgot too. I know he wouldn’t turn his back on his child, but he doesn’t want a relationship with me. He told me he didn’t.”
Amelia grinned. “Right now, my brother thinks he’s losing you to Eric and that is destroying his entire world. He’s upside down and inside out and no clue what to do about it. He does want you. He’s just too scared to see it.”
My eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“Last night when Wade was driving Trevor home, he kept repeating how he’d lost you. Sometimes men need to lose something in order to see what they had.”
“I’m not with Eric, though.”
“I know,” she said, throwing her hand up and waving it around. “Trevor doesn’t know that, and right now I’m going to guess he’s going out of his damn mind thinking you moved on and you’re dating Eric.”
Another round of sickness hit me. I stood. “I’ll be right back.”
Rushing out of the living room, I made it to the half bath and dropped down. I threw up the little bit of breakfast I’d had earlier. My morning sickness wasn’t just in the morning. It seemed to hit me whenever it felt like it.
“How bad is it?” Amelia asked, handing me a warm, wet, washcloth.
“It hits me at the strangest times.”
Amelia leaned against the sink counter as I planted my ass on the floor and pressed my back against the wall.
“Yours?”
“Morning, first thing. Then I feel great the rest of the day.”
I groaned. “I hate you.”
She chuckled. “From what I’ve researched, it sounds like you might be pregnant with a girl. They tend to make you more sick.”
My eyes widened, and I smiled. “A girl?”
With a nod, she said, “Yep. Of course, my research consists of old wives’ tales, but who cares!”
We both giggled.
“Needless to say, Wade would be happy with either, but I have a pretty strong feeling I’m carrying a boy.”
“A girl?” I whispered, my hands going to my stomach.
“When are you due?” Amelia asked.
“May twenty-fifth.”
She smiled. “Three weeks after me. We’re not that far apart.”
Sitting on the floor, she bumped my knee. “Me, you, and Harley are all pregnant at the same time! How fun will this be?”
I tried to smile, but I knew it looked fake.
“When are you going to tell him? Please don’t wait too long, Scarlett. It wouldn’t be fair for Trevor to miss out on things.”
Looking at the ground, I shook my head. “Right now, I don’t really care what is fair to Trevor. He’s pushed and pulled at my emotions so much, Amelia, and I’m pissed at him.”
She blew out a breath. “That’s fair. Listen, I know what we need to do to cheer you up.”
My eyes lifted to hers. “What?”
“We need to have a girls’ day.”
I chewed on my lip. “I’m not…um…ready to tell anyone else about the baby.”
Amelia stood, pulling me up with her. “Hell, neither am I. As of right now, you’re the only other person who knows.”
“What did you have in mind?” I asked, making my way to the kitchen for a glass of water to rinse my mouth out.
“I know you don’t really know Waylynn and Paxton, or Corina and Harley, but they’re all amazing. I know they want to get to know you, so I say we meet them for brunch, then we go to my place and have a fun-filled day. Bring your swimsuit, we’ll get in the pool.”
She spun around and looked at me. “You’re not showing, are you? You’re not that far along.”
I shook my head. “Almost ten weeks.”
“I don’t have anything but a little pouch that honestly I’ve always had!”
We both laughed again.
“So, you in?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek as Amelia tilted her head and gave me a pleading look.
“Okay, I’m in.”
My father’s truck pulled up and stopped as I drank the last of my water. It might have been mid-October, but it was still hot as hell.
“Trevor, Wade, how’s the new fence going up?”
Wade walked to my father and shook his hand. “Morning, sir.”
“It’s going like any other fence, Dad. Mitchell send you out here to check on us?”
My father laughed. “No. He and Steed were trying to get some cattle out of the east pasture. Looks like someone cut the fence to ride their four wheelers again.”
I cursed under my breath. Damn kids. When I caught those little bastards I was going to string them up by their toes.
Wade groaned next to me. “Damn kids.”
Nodding, my father replied, “I’m going to string the little bastards up in the barn and lash ’em.”
I couldn’t help but smirk at how close my thoughts were to my father’s.
“You boys want to grab some food? Melanie is meeting Joyce for lunch, and I’ve been abandoned by everyone. Wade, your wife is having a little party over at your house. Girls only I’ve been informed.”
My chest dropped at the mention of Joyce, Scarlett’s mother.
Wade grinned like a love-struck puppy. “Amelia texted that I wasn’t allowed home until this evening. It is a girl-only zone.”
The hearty laugh that rumbled from my father’s chest made me smile. “It’s nice to see them all spending some time together. They also invited Scarlett.”
My head jerked up, and my father smiled—like he knew that bit of information would grab my attention.
“Scarlett?”
Her name was out of my mouth before I could stop myself.
“Seems Maebh and Scarlett have become friends recently.”
“Really?” I said, casting a glance over to Wade. He shrugged, like he had no idea why my father was bringing this up.
With a wink he added, “Seems to me you boys should crash the party later. It could be fun.”
Wade laughed, and I frowned. Was my mother getting my father involved in her plans push to get Scarlett and me together? I sure as hell hoped not. It was hard enough with her butting in; if you added my father to the mix it would be too much to take.
“I’d stay and help, but it looks like the two of you got it covered. Enjoy the hot Texas day.”
“See ya around, Dad,” I called after him. Wade went back to work as I watched my father turn his truck around and head down the dirt road.
“What was that all about?” I asked, facing Wade.
“What do you mean?”
“He was talking about Scarlett.”
Wade shrugged. “So?”
“Did you tell anyone about last night?” I asked, picking up the wire cutters and making my way over to him.
“No. Well, Amelia. I told Amelia.”
I groaned. “Why?”
He let out a gruff laugh. “Because I tell my wife everything. And, dude, do you even remember last night?”
“I remember you stopping me before I ripped Eric’s goddamn throat out of his neck.”
Wade laughed. “Then you weren’t as drunk as I thought you were.”
I huffed and got back to work. The sweat poured off of me as we got the fence up and headed over to the east pasture to fix another fence that had been cut.
“You think they’re dating?” I finally asked.
“Who?” Wade wiped his forehead with his sleeve.
“You know who the fuck I’m talking about. Scarlett and Eric.”
“No, I don’t think they’re dating.”
“What makes you so sure?”
Wade stopped working and faced me. His expression was serious.
“Trevor, what’s going on with you when it comes to Scarlett? It was pretty damn clear last night you’re fucking around with her feelings, dude. I love you like a brother, but you need to make a decision if you want this girl or not. Right now all I see is an asshole treating a pretty damn amazing woman like shit.”
“You don’t know…”
Wade cut me off. “You’re right, but it’s obvious to everyone around you how you’re treating Scarlett. I don’t know why she keeps letting you in, to be honest. I’m thinking Eric is probably the better choice for her.”
I stumbled back some. It felt like Wade’s words had pushed a knife right through my heart. He wasn’t finished either.
“For fuck’s sake, even I could feel her pain from where I was standing. If you don’t want her, let her go, Trevor. If you do want her and can see a future with her, then do something about it.”
Wade turned away and went back to working on the fence, leaving me alone in my thoughts.
When I finally made my way over to the fence, I felt my anger building.
“I’m not the type of guy to settle down. At least, not yet anyway.”
He huffed. “So you want her to wait for you? Pretty fucking selfish, man.”
“No. Yes, fuck, I don’t know what I want.”
Wade faced me, a serious look on his face.
“How many women have you been with since the benefit dinner last spring, not including Scarlett.”
“Why?”
“Just answer the question, Trevor.”
“One.”
He shook his head and took two steps toward me. “Admit it to yourself, Trevor. You love Scarlett and that scares the hell out of you. You obviously knew each other before that dinner. I saw the way the two of you looked at each other.”
“We did,” I admitted.
“Intimately?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “No. We sort of grew up together off and on. Mom would bring me to her house when we were young, or her mom would bring her here. I don’t really remember much when we were little. We played tag a few times. She left to go to high school in Boston. She came back into town our senior year and I ran into her at a party. We went for coffee and I…um…kissed her.”
Wade stared at me for a few moments. “Trevor, you say you can’t give up women, that you aren’t ready to settle down, but let me ask you something. When you were with that one other woman, did you wish you were with Scarlett?”
My heart froze in my chest. I stood there, not saying a word.
“Yeah, I thought so. Why are you so afraid to commit to her?”
“I don’t know. I honest to God don’t know. I mean, all I do know is that if I give her my heart she totally has the power to destroy me and that has me fucking sideways, bro.”
He scoffed. “Well, you better figure it the fuck out, dude. Sooner rather than later. I’m pretty sure you hold that same power over her. Her tears last night were proof.”
A knock on my office door made me glance up from the planting schedule that Wade had given me earlier that week.
Cord stood in the doorway, a smile on his face.
“Hey, what brings you here?”
He shrugged as he walked in. “Maebh is over at Amelia’s for some girl’s day. Thought I would swing by and see what’s going on.”
I ignored the bit of information about Amelia’s party. “You wouldn’t happen to be free this week, would you? We’ve got to bale the south pasture, and we sure could use the help.”
Sitting in the large leather chair in front of my desk, he nodded. “Count me in. Tripp coming?”
“Yeah, he cleared his schedule, but I think that morning Harley has a sonogram he’s going to.”
Cord moved around in his seat and started looking around the office, suddenly seeming uncomfortable.
“You okay?”
He laughed. “Yeah, it’s weird thinking about Tripp and Harley. I’m happy for them.”
A warm smile moved over my face. “Me too.”
Cord looked at me with concern in his eyes. “You talk to Scarlett lately?”
I sighed and dropped back in my seat. “Sort of. I fucked up last night and took a stripper from the bachelor party out to my truck. Nothing happened, besides her sucking my face off, but before I could push her away and tell her she needed to go back in, Scarlett walked up on us.”
Cord groaned. “Fucking hell, Trevor. Are you out of your damn mind?!”
The disappointment in his voice nearly killed me. I seemed to be disappointing a lot of people lately.
“She took off with that fucker from Maebh’s restaurant.”
Cord’s look of surprise—and then dread—made me frown.
“Eric was with her?” he asked.
I leaned in closer. “Yeah, does he like her? Is there something going on with them?”
The way Cord’s throat bobbed made me realize he knew something he wasn’t telling me.
“No, I think they’re friends. That’s all.”
My brow lifted. “You think they’re just friends?”
He half shrugged. “I mean, I get the feeling he might like her, but…”
Cord’s voice trailed off.
“But?” I replied, motioning with my hand for him to keep going.
His cell phone rang, and he quickly grabbed it. Smiling, he answered.
“Hey, Maebh, y’all having fun?”
He smiled, so I was guessing the girls’ day party was a hit.
Glancing at his watch, he said, “I’ll pick you up in about an hour. I’m on my bike.”
I glanced down at the schedule again and made a few notes while Cord finished talking to Maebh. When he ended the call, I looked back at him. The smile on his face even made me smile.
“Jesus H. Christ, dude. You look like you’re on cloud nine.”
He seemed to glow with happiness. If I wasn’t so happy for him I would think he was pussy whipped and call his ass out on it.
“I am. I honestly didn’t think I would ever be this happy.”
My chest ached because even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I was jealous of Cord. His smile faded, and he leaned over, placing his arms on his legs.
“Trevor, I’m pretty damn sure Scarlett loves you.”
Mixed emotions swirled around in my head. I was happy Cord had said that, and scared, and confused as to why he’d said it. How in the hell would he know how Scarlett felt about me?
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“Maebh and Scarlett have become close the last couple of weeks. They share…things.”
“Like?”
His head dropped, and he groaned. He was for sure keeping something from me and I could tell it was eating him up. When he looked up at me, he blew out a breath.
“Listen, all I can say for sure is that if you don’t figure this shit out, you’re going to lose her and a helluva lot more than that.”
“Lose her to Eric?” I asked, half joking, half serious. The look on Cord’s face was one-hundred-percent serious.
“Yes. To Eric. I think he has a thing for her, and he’s been hanging around her a lot the last few days. He knows she is…vulnerable. He’s a good guy, and I don’t think he’s taking advantage of anything, but they’re growing closer. You need to figure this out, Trev. Fast.”
I dropped back in my chair, scrubbing my hands down my four-day stubble.
“I’ve messed things up so bad with Scarlett. I’ve said some things to her I know she can’t forgive. I’ve been trying to call her and she keeps ignoring me.”
“Because she keeps seeing a different woman hanging on you, dude. How do you expect her to ever forgive you or give you a chance if you can’t keep your dick in your pants?”
“I haven’t been with anyone in months besides Scarlett. The last time we were together, things got pretty intense. I’d never in my life felt the way I felt that night I was with her, and I sort of walked out on her.”
His eyes filled with understanding. Did he know Scarlett and I had had unprotected sex?
“Did Scarlett tell Maebh about that night?”
Cord’s eyes left mine, and he looked down at the floor. “Yes.”
Damn.
“I’ve never done anything like that before, it’s just, we got s
o caught up in each other and…hell…Scarlett has always made me feel different.”
Cord’s brows pulled in tight. “What do you mean, ‘always made you feel different’?”
I laughed. “Fuck, I’ve had a thing for her since middle school.”
Shock rushed over my brother’s face. “What? I didn’t think you even knew her that well before Mom made you take her to the benefit dinner. I mean, y’all played together when you were younger, but I thought once she left town for school, you didn’t think twice about her.”
With a shake of my head, I told him about how she had been the first…and last…girl I’d ever asked to dance with in middle school. How I never even asked anyone to dance at any school function after that. I told him about the night Scarlett and I went and had coffee and how I’d had kissed her.
“Wait, Trevor, you’re telling me you’ve liked Scarlett for that long?”
I swallowed hard, ready to admit to myself and to him the truth. “Yes.”
“What the fuck are you doing then?”
“I don’t know! I guess I’m scared.”
“Of?”
“The same fucking reasons you were with Maebh. I’m worried I’m going to hurt her, or worse yet, she’ll hurt me.”
Cord stood and started pacing. What in the hell was wrong with him?
“Trevor, you need to talk to Scarlett. Y’all need to work this out. This trying to push her away because you think you can forget how you feel about her, it’s not working, and you…you…you really need to talk.”
I stood, fear gripping my chest. He knew something. I could see it all over his face. “What are you not telling me, Cord?”
His eyes met mine. “Nothing.”
I scoffed. “You always were a terrible liar.”
Pushing his fingers through his hair, Cord let out a breath. “Let me just give you a piece of advice, little bro. If you wait too long, I’m not sure you’re ever going to be able to get her back, and you’re going to regret it. Trust me when I say that. You’ll regret it for a lot of different reasons.”
This had to do with Eric. I knew it did. That fucker was moving in on Scarlett, and I’d be damned if I would sit back and let that happen.
Reckless Love Page 3