She nodded. “It does.”
“I see another side of Trevor coming out that he only ever shared with me. It’s confusing because I try to think it’s not about the baby, but I still do. That insecurity is slowly fading away. I just need time.”
Corina tilted her head, a slight smirk on her face.
“I have never doubted that Trevor was in love with you, Scarlett. I think we all saw, everyone but Trevor. He was scared, but the thought of you being with Eric was the punch in the stomach he needed to see the light. I don’t doubt for one second that Trevor wouldn’t be there for you and the baby. He’s a Parker, and his parents expect him to take care of their women and always be there for them. But this!”
She motioned to the room.
“This he did because he wanted you to be happy. He told his family you were robbed of celebrating this miracle and asked if we could be here tonight.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes drifting back to Trevor. He was laughing at something Wade was saying.
Her hand landed on my shoulder and she gave it a squeeze. “I’m not telling you to rush into his arms. I’m sure he did things that hurt you. I’m just saying, no man would do all of this for a woman he didn’t love with all his heart, and I’m pretty sure he’d only do it for the one he hoped he’d get to spend the rest of his life with. Don’t let it make your guard go up because you feel like he changed overnight. Love does some pretty crazy things to people, especially when they think they’ve let it slip through their fingers.”
Turning to her, I nodded. “I know you’re right. Thank you, Corina.”
“Go slow, get to know each other better. You’re both about to have your world turned upside down, but in the most amazing way.”
Chewing on my lip, I let her words settle in.
“Mind if I hold my beautiful niece?” Trevor asked, causing my stomach to twist in knots. Did this man have any idea how he made me feel?
“Of course, you can!” I said, smiling as I carefully handed over Merit. Trevor, on the other hand, handled her like a pro. He took her from me, spun her to the other side of his arms and started walking off with her. My mouth dropped open.
“He just handled her like he does that every day!”
Corina laughed. “Trevor is an amazing uncle. Just ask Chloe. Did you know once a week he has a standing tea party with her?”
My jaw was on the floor. “What? You have got to be kidding. That man, at a tea party?” I couldn’t help the chuckle.
Corina nodded. “Paxton told me. Trevor makes time every Thursday afternoon when Chloe gets home from school. I’d love to see it! Can you see tattooed muscle-man Trevor sitting at a tiny table sipping tea from plastic cups surrounded by stuffed animals and baby goats?”
We both chuckled before I glanced over to Trevor and watched him rock his niece slightly back and forth. He was talking to Mitchell, and he looked like this was something he did every single day. Second nature.
A warm feeling filled my chest as I stared at Trevor, and I whispered, “I actually can see it.”
I walked Scarlett to her door and stopped as she fumbled with the key. Once she had it unlocked, she stepped into her house.
“I’m going to head on home,” I said, watching her expression fall just the slightest.
“You are?”
With a half shrug, I replied, “You’ve had a busy day. I figured you were tired.”
Scarlett chewed on her lip. “Thank you for tonight. It meant a lot to me that you did all of that.”
“Well, our baby deserves to be celebrated, right?”
“Yes!” she replied with a soft laugh.
“If you need anything, call me?”
“I will. I promise.”
Stepping into the doorway, I kissed her on the forehead. “Goodnight, Scarlett.”
“’Night, Trevor.”
Walking away from her was the hardest fucking thing I ever had to do. I wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her. Tell her how much I loved her and that I wanted this more than she’d ever realize.
My hand was on the truck door when Scarlett called out my name.
“Trevor?”
I glanced back at her. “Yeah?”
“Um, thank you again.”
I gave her a wave and climbed up into the truck. Scarlett stood at the doorway until I pulled out of her driveway. My heart was pounding in my chest the entire drive back to the ranch. Instead of driving to my house, I headed to my folks’ place, hoping my father would still be up.
When I saw the lights on in the house, I parked out front and made my way to the family room. My mother was curled on the sofa, book in hand.
“Trevor, is everything okay?”
I stepped into the room and gave her a warm smile. “Yeah. Thank you for helping me today with the dinner, Mom.”
Her book went to her lap as she focused on me. “Of course. I knew the moment I got that text from you that we needed to turn things around. I don’t want Scarlett feeling like this baby is a mistake.”
With a nod, I blew out a breath.
“I know you’re scared, Trevor, but I also know you love that girl. Do you know why I initially pushed the two of you together?”
With a scoff, I answered, “Because you’re nosy and like to butt into your kids’ lives?”
“Yes, well, but no, that wasn’t the reason. Eight years ago, I watched my youngest son kiss a girl. A beautiful young woman whom I had grown to know very well. The way he looked at her, watched as she drove away, stood there like his entire world had just shifted, made me smile.”
“You saw me kiss Scarlett?”
“I did,” she replied. “I also remember when the two of you were about eight years old, and you made a pledge to Scarlett. You probably don’t remember, because after that, you started saying you were too old to play with a girl.”
Sitting on the sofa, I laughed. “I don’t remember a pledge. I hardly remember even playing with Scarlett.”
My mother’s face was soft and beautiful. I could see where Amelia and Waylynn got their stunning looks from. Her brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail and those grey eyes were focused completely on me.
“You had both been in the backyard here and Scarlett had fallen, cut her knee up pretty good. I was watching her for Joyce that afternoon. When I walked out with a Band-Aid you were holding Scarlett’s hand. At eight, I could not believe the way you were looking at her. It actually made me stop and watch the two of you together.”
“I was a charmer even back then, huh?”
She rolled her eyes. “Very much so. You kissed her forehead and told her not to cry, that you couldn’t stand to see her cry because it made your stomach feel really bad.”
I laughed. “It still does.”
Her brows rose. “I’m sure it does.”
“What did I promise her?”
Setting her book to the side, my mother stared into my eyes and said, “I’ll never forget it.”
My heart was pounding, the memory coming straight back. All these years, all the times I’d been with Scarlett, and I hadn’t remembered. Until now.
“You kissed her forehead and then said…”
With a whispered voice, I said, “I’ll love you forever.”
She nodded. “I knew you were only eight, but the way you said those words to her, Trevor… It was as if you meant it from the bottom of your soul. When I saw you kiss her outside of Lilly’s Café, I knew you still meant it. I’m sorry if I pushed you two together but it seems that Fate intervened a long time ago and I was just helping out.”
My breath caught, and I leaned back into the sofa. When I was finally able to speak, I stood up, walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek.
“I’m not, Mom. I’m glad you’re a busybody.”
She hit me in the stomach and laughed.
“Your father is in his office. I’m sure that’s who you were hoping to find.”
“I’m glad I found you first. I love you, Mom.�
�
“I love you too, darling. Now let me get back to my book. It’s getting to a steamy part!”
I grunted. “Gross, Mom. Gross.”
Quickly escaping before she told me what she was reading, I made my way to my father’s office. I tapped lightly on the door, and he looked up from his reading.
“I figured you’d be making your way to me either tonight or tomorrow.” He leaned back, made his fingers into a steeple under his chin and said, “Come on in.”
“Do you just keep getting wiser the older you get?” I asked, making my way to the large, leather chair opposite his desk.
“I think so. It’s a power I don’t take lightly, but it is fun. Especially when I get to use it against my children.”
I dropped into the seat and let out a breath.
“Thank you for not getting angry with me.”
“Angry over a child? Never. Am I upset how it all went down? Yes. I’m not here to judge you, though, son. That’s not my job. My job is to make sure you do what is right for both Scarlett and your baby.”
“Dalton pulled me to the side tonight and demanded to know when I planned on marrying Scarlett.”
My father rolled his eyes. “I never did like that asshole.”
“What?” I said, my brows lifted. “Mom and Joyce are best friends.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to like the guy. Let me ask you something, Trevor, why do you think a man insists that his only child be sent off to a boarding school in Boston?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, a better education?”
“You don’t think there are good boarding schools in Texas? Closer to home?”
My brows pulled in tight. “What are you saying, Dad?”
He lifted his eyes past me, to the door, then focused back on me.
“What I’m about to tell you stays between us, do you understand me? You don’t even tell Scarlett. Understood?”
I swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”
Standing, my father walked to his office bar and poured us each a whiskey.
“Dalton Littlefield is not Scarlett’s father.”
It felt as if the entire room emptied of air.
“What?”
He handed me the drink and sat in the chair next to me.
“Dalton and Joyce dated off and on through high school. Things broke off in college, but when she came back, they struck up a friendship. Dalton asked her out, and Joyce told him she was three months pregnant. It was the reason she came back to town. The guy she was dating didn’t want the baby and told her to never contact him again. He signed away all rights as a parent. Dalton told her at the time he didn’t care and that he would marry her. They had a quickie marriage, but after Scarlett was born, Dalton changed. He started to resent the fact that Scarlett wasn’t his. When he and Joyce tried for a baby of their own, it never happened.”
“Can he not have kids?” I asked.
“Don’t know. He would never find out even though Joyce begged him to. Dalton never treated Scarlett badly. He just couldn’t accept that she wasn’t his. The older she got, the more she began to look like her birth father. Dalton demanded that Joyce send Scarlett off. She held off as long as she could, until high school.”
“Why didn’t she just tell the fucker no?”
My father looked at his drink and then back to me. “He told her he was going to tell Scarlett the truth, and Joyce didn’t want to break her daughter’s heart.”
I lifted my glass and nearly drank the entire thing.
“So he wanted her gone because she was a reminder of what exactly?”
“I’m not sure. Some men aren’t…well, let’s just say I don’t care for him and never have. Your mother and I have both told Joyce that he has cheated on her, and she refuses to listen. I think in some weird way, she feels like she owes him something. Her life and Scarlett’s has been a good one, and it might not have been if Dalton hadn’t married her. I’m sure Joyce would have struggled. Her folks didn’t have much, and she worked for Dalton’s parents. I think she felt she owed them to stay with their son.”
“That’s messed up.”
“I think Dalton tries, and I have no doubt that he loves Scarlett. Not like how your mother and I love you kids, which is a shame.”
Rubbing my hand over the tight muscles in my neck, I asked, “Why did you tell me all of this, Dad?”
“I wanted you to understand why Scarlett’s parents reacted the way they did earlier today. Why they seemed so…disappointed. I knew Scarlett was upset, and I have to tell you, I’m proud as hell of how you took things into your own hands tonight.”
“You don’t think this pregnancy was a mistake, do you?”
He shook his head and flashed me a bright smile. “This was not a mistake. I’ve heard rumors around town about your rather loose lifestyle when it comes to women.”
My cheeks heated. “Since Scarlett and I have been together I haven’t been with anyone but one other woman and that was a mistake.”
He shrugged. “The past is in the past, Trevor. The only thing you need to focus on now is what’s in front of you. Now, how are things with you and Scarlett?”
I finished my drink and set it on a coaster. “That’s why I’m here. I needed to talk to you. I need your advice, Dad.”
“I’m listening.”
I slowly pushed out a deep breath. “Scarlett has put a wall between us, and for good reason. I never promised her a relationship, but I know I gave her mixed signals. I wanted to be with her but didn’t want to commit.”
His brow lifted.
“I know. Believe me I’ve already gotten lectured by all of your other sons and daughters on more than one occasion.”
“Good. Now keep going.”
“When I finally came to my senses about Scarlett, it was before I found out about the baby. I thought she was with another guy, and I realized that I couldn’t live without her in my life. The only problem is, she thinks I’ve changed my tune because of the baby.”
“Did you explain to her that wasn’t the case?”
“I have, but I understand why she has her guard up. I hurt her, Dad. Not on purpose, only because I was a complete asshat.”
“Let me ask you something, Trevor. Where do you see yourself in five years?”
Leaning back in the chair, I smiled. “That’s easy. Running the ranch with Scarlett by my side, maybe another baby by then. I don’t know what Scarlett wants in the way of kids, but I know watching my other siblings that it would be pretty cool to have at least two.”
A smile grew over my father’s face. “Do you realize what you just said, son? The ranch has always been in your blood, always something you knew you were going to do, but almost all of that had to do with Scarlett and kids.”
Pinching my brows, I looked down in thought. “Who am I and what happened to fun, carefree Trevor?”
His head dropped back as a burst of laughter came out. When he finally stopped, he looked at me.
“Out of all my sons, you remind me the most of myself, Trevor.”
Warmth filled my chest.
“That’s a compliment, Dad.”
“Thank you, son. But seriously. I had the same ideas about life when I was younger, but when I met your mother I fell hard on my ass and life did a one-eighty. Everything that once revolved around me, went right to her. Still does.”
“You and Mom have a beautiful love story, Dad.”
He winked. “We do, but so do the rest of your siblings. What have I always told you kids about life?”
“That we all live on borrowed time and to make the most of every moment.”
He pointed to me. “Exactly. Take each day as it comes. If Scarlett needs slow, give her slow, but let her know how you feel every single day. Be honest with her. If you’re scared, nervous, unsure of something, tell her. The key is being open. Why do you think your mother and I have been so happy all these years? I’m not afraid to tell her the truth. When I found out she was pregnant with tw
ins, I nearly ran for my life.”
My eyes widened in shock.
“I wouldn’t have, but for one brief moment, I panicked. How in the hell would I be able to run this ranch, help her with Waylynn, Tripp, and twins? I gave myself ten minutes and a few shots of Jack Daniel’s and I made my way to her and told her I was scared to death.”
“What did she do?”
“She laughed and started to cry and admitted she was scared, too. I’m sure Scarlett is scared, just like I know you are. A relationship is a lot to take in, and then throw a baby into the picture. The only thing you can do is let her know you’re here for her…for as long as she needs you to be.”
I nodded.
“Do you know what I’m most scared of?”
He shook his head. “What?”
“Not being a good dad like you and not being able to make Scarlett happy like you make Mom.”
My father’s gaze stayed locked on me for the longest time before he shook his head, looked down at his drink then finished it off. Setting the glass onto the desk, he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his legs.
“I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Trevor. Listen to me closely, do you hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve made plenty of mistakes as a husband and a father. Lots of them. Especially in the beginning. Do you want to know what I did when I found out you got your first tattoo?”
Smiling, I answered, “You probably shit your pants.”
He chuckled. “Something like that. I flew off the handle and told your mother I was going to make you go into the military because you needed to have some discipline.”
My eyes widened in shock. “Dad, I was eighteen.”
“I know. But do you know who stopped me from acting like a complete idiot and kept me from storming into your room and ripping you a new one?”
“Mom?”
He smiled, and it lit up the room. “I’m the father I am today because you have a mother who is amazing. Who loved me beyond everything. Even with my mistakes, my short temper, my over-controlling ways. Your mother and I are a team. Sometimes she’s the coach and sometimes I am, but no one is perfect and you’re going to make mistakes. It’s okay to make them, son. That’s how we learn. The most important thing you can do as a father, and a husband, is to make sure your children and the woman you love know that they are number one in your life. Everything else is below them.”
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