Infamy (RiffRaff Records Book 3)

by L. P. Maxa

  “I’d love to learn to surf.” Jett had been listening to Dane’s big wave stories in fascination, his mouth hanging open. That kid had a surfer’s spirit, no doubt. Also, I was pretty sure I’d seen him toking on a vape pen behind the massive barbeque pit. He’d fit right in with our crew.

  “I can teach you—I used to be an instructor at a summer camp.” T pulled his phone out, swiping it unlocked. Talon loved the ocean. Loaded, but so down-to-earth, he’d volunteered to teach and donated his salary to kids who wouldn’t have been able to afford the camp otherwise. My best friend was a really good dude. “In fact, we’ll be doing a show in Malibu August sixteenth, maybe you can come out?”

  “That would be so amazing.” Jett looked down the table to Harlow. “Can we go, Mom?”

  “Um, yeah, I’m sure we could arrange it.”

  “I don’t know, kiddo, Landry is due in August. Talon might actually be here at the compound.” Luke sent his son a sympathetic smile. “We’ll have to see, okay?”

  Talon’s eyes were trained on his plate and mine were on Landry. She mouthed I’m so sorry. This was all so fucking messed up. I hadn’t seen my girl in three months. We had huge things to discuss. We had lost time to make up for. We had an envelope that should have been opened weeks ago. But instead we were sitting at dinner listening to Luke plan out her future with Talon.

  “Landry, your weird water bottle keeps blinking blue, what does that mean?” Crue nudged it toward her.

  “It’s almost empty.” I answered for her and automatically went to grab it, my hand colliding with Talon’s.

  He jerked his back, a frown on his face. “Sorry, man.” He was speaking quietly. “Luke has been making me take care of everything all evening.”

  “It’s fine. I know you’re in a weird position.”

  “Talon, you can use the water that’s in the fridge for the bottle.” Jacks was watching us from his spot at the head of the table, his voice loud and carrying. “The stuff in the pitcher is filtered.”

  Talon sighed, getting to his feet, reaching for the bottle again.

  “You know what? No.” I shook my head. “Baby cakes, I’m sorry, but this is getting out of hand.” I stood up, to address her whole freaking family. “Talon and Landry aren’t dating. They never speak on the phone. They never text. He shouldn’t be the one taking care of her. I should.”

  “He finally snapped.” Brax whispered to Dane. “You owe me twenty bucks.”

  “What are you talking about?” Luke was looking from me to Talon and back again. “Landry, is this true?”

  “Nope. You want to talk about this, you talk to me. Landry doesn’t need the stress. Stress is part of the reason she’s on bed rest. And I know that because I was there when the doctor told us. I was there for every appointment, every sonogram. I was the one who made sure she ate healthy and took her meds. I bought her the annoying disco water bottle.” I pointed at the fucker; it was still blinking. “We’re together. We’re dating. We’re having a baby.”

  “Wait. The baby is yours?” Jacks was pointing at me, a pissed-off father look on his face.

  Landry put her hands on the table, slowly standing. “Brody, you don’t have to do this. I can—”

  “Yeah, the baby is mine.” Everyone else at the table faded away. I wanted to wait until we were alone to tell her how I felt, what I wanted. But I couldn’t wait any longer. This charade had gone on long enough. “Landry, I don’t give a shit what the envelope says. It’s my baby, it’s mine in every way that matters.” Her eyes went soft, and then filled with tears.

  “Someone needs to start explaining, right now.” Landry’s mom stood up. She had a smile on her face, but she sounded super pissed.

  “Mom, let them have their moment,” Beau piped up.

  “No.” She jabbed a finger in Beau’s direction. “I have had it with people standing up at the table and dropping truth bombs all over the freaking place.” She took a deep breath. “I am not a bad parent, we are not bad parents. You guys are all amazing kids, and we trusted you because of that. You were always here at the compound. You were always together and making good grades. So we trusted you. But look where that’s gotten us.” She gestured toward Halen and Beau. “Those two had a whole secret life we never knew about. Landry is six months pregnant and now we’re finding out the drummer with the dolphin on his ass is the father? Come on.”

  “It’s a shark. A great white knocked me off my board when I was twelve, but then swam away.” I wasn’t sure why I felt compelled to correct her.

  “Of course you guys are good parents.” Beau was standing now too. If we kept this up, there would be more people on their feet than sitting down. “We’re all okay. Some of us marginally, some fantastically. Hell, Landry may be knocked up, but at least she’s a surgeon. Halen and I are doing great.” He glanced around the table. “And everyone else is alive and out of jail.”

  “Why do you keep lying to us?” Beau and Landry’s mom looked sad and at a loss. Like she was exasperated with her kids, but loved them so much it hurt.

  “I stopped lying. Landry is the one—”

  “Seriously?” Landry made a mean face at her brother then turned to her parents. “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you about who the father was. But I had my reasons.”

  “There is never a good reason to lie.” Jacks shook his head, standing to put his arm around his wife. “Especially to your parents. There is never a good reason to lie to your parents.” Then he sent a tight smile across the table to Dylan. “This parsley cashew pesto is delicious by the way.” Dylan rolled her eyes and Cash choked on the water he’d just taken a sip of.

  “I was dating that surgeon, Travis.” Landry waited for her parents to nod before she continued. “I caught him cheating on me, and we broke up. A few days later, I went to a Clashing Swell concert with Uncle Luke and Aunt Lo and met Brody.” She looked at me and I winked. “We started seeing each other, but we both knew it was a short-term thing. He was leaving on tour and I practically lived at the hospital. When I was home for the memorial, I found out I was pregnant. I knew then that the baby could be Brody’s or Travis’s.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you want to talk to us about it?” Her mom was breaking my heart with the desperation in her voice. I’d need to remember that tone when my own kid needed a solid guilt trip.

  “Really, Mom?” Beau again. “You wanted Landry to tell the whole family that she’d slept with two guys so close together than she didn’t know which one had gotten her pregnant?” Beau was standing up for his sister in a way that only a sibling could, and it made me want to buy him a present. It also made me want to make sure Landry and I had more than one child.

  “At first, I thought I wouldn’t tell either guy about the baby. Travis never wanted kids and Brody was about to start a whole new life. But then, I thought, okay maybe I’ll get the paternity test and then tell the father. Minimize the drama.” Landry sent Luke a glare. “Luke accidentally let it slip one night while he was watching the band that I was pregnant. Brody came over, he told me he wanted the baby and that he wanted me. And I had to tell him he might not be the baby’s father.”

  “Holy crap, dude.” Crue was looking at me, shaking his head slowly. “And you’re still here?”

  “Of course I’m still here.” I chuckled quietly. “I’m in love with Landry. And I’m in love with our baby. It doesn’t matter whose blood it shares, I’m its dad. I’ve been there from the start. I held Landry’s hair back while she puked her guts up. I slept with my hand on her stomach, silently begging the kid to take it easy on its mom. I was there to hear its heartbeat for the first time. I felt its first kick.” I held my hand out toward my girl. “And if she’ll let me, I’ll keep being there. I’ll show up, for both of them, every fucking day.” I smirked at T. “You were right—I’ve been falling for her from day one.”

  “I’m sorry. What was that? Could you say it a little louder?” Talon cupped his hand around
his ear, leaning forward.

  “You were right.” I said the words over again, loudly. “I’ve been falling for Landry from the moment we met. Walking away was never an option.” I let go of her and quickly made my way to the other side of the table, taking her face in my hands. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it, but I’m so in love with you.”

  I put my hand on her stomach, chuckling when the baby kicked my palm. “So in love with both of you.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Landry

  The table was still feeling a little tense, but I no longer cared. Brody wanted me, and he wanted the baby. It didn’t matter to him who the biological father was, and I’d been crying silent happy tears for the last five minutes. My parents were right, though; like Beau said, our secrets and lies were going to cause problems in the long run. I felt bad for them. I knew my mom was stressed to the max. She was still wearing her weird inappropriate smile.

  “Who is the father, though?” At some point, Crue had taken Brody’s cup again, and was holding it in his hand while he looked between the two of us.

  “I am.” Brody shrugged, sitting down and pulling me onto his lap. He put one hand on my stomach and then reach across the table and stole his beer back from my younger cousin.

  “But the envelope, did you open it?” Brax speared a potato and popped it into his mouth.

  “What envelope?” My dad raised an eyebrow, like he was daring me to tell another lie. “And why is everyone acting like all this is over? Is anyone else’s head, like, spinning?”

  All my aunts and uncles raised their hands.

  Cash shrugged. “What’s the big deal? Landry is pregnant, and she’s about to raise the baby with a fucking standup dude. We’re all alive. Y’all are good parents. And Aunt Dilly, I actually liked the pesto.”

  “What’s in the envelope?” My dad was pleading at this point.

  Crue chuckled. “It’s like that old Brad Pitt movie—What’s in the box? What’s in the box? What’s in the fucking box?”

  “Crue. Language.” Aunt Lo gave a slight shake of her head, a disapproving frown on her face.

  “It’s a movie quote. From Seven. I can’t misquote Brad Pitt, mom.” He pointed at his twin. “And Cash said fucking thirty seconds before I did.”

  She narrowed her eye. “Seven? Gross, Crue. Don’t talk about that movie at the dinner table. What’s wrong with you?”

  “What’s in the damn envelope?” Dad was yelling now, and banging on the table to boot.

  “Baby cakes, your family is a little bit crazy.” Brody kissed my bare shoulder, speaking against my skin. “Maybe we do holidays with mine?”

  I called down the table, “The envelope holds the baby’s gender and the results from the paternity test.” May as well put my poor father out of his misery. “We were supposed to open it over a month ago, but since I ended up on bed rest, we haven’t been together to do it.”

  “So you still don’t know who the biological father is?” My mom was pouring herself another glass of wine. Impressively, she got it to the brim without spilling any.

  “Nope.” I leaned back against Brody.

  Luke finally stood up. He’d been pretty quiet during the whole ordeal. Especially considering the fact that at least some of the drama was his fault. “But you want to raise this baby with Landry?” He was addressing the question to Brody. “No matter what the results are, you’re the dad?”

  “I’m the dad.” He snorted behind me. “Holy shit. I’m going to be a father.”

  “I’m with B. If you guys would’ve been honest with us from the start, a lot of misunderstandings could have been avoided.” He sighed. “That being said, I’m sorry that I tried to push Talon on you. I didn’t want you to be in this alone, and you weren’t letting any of us help. I only want what’s best for you, Buttercup.”

  “I know. And it’s okay.” I smiled when Brody kissed my neck. “Now, if y’all will excuse us, we’re going to go find out if we’re having a boy or a girl.” And who the biological father of said boy or girl was, but restating that at this point would just be a downer.

  I stood and Brody took my hand, whispering so only I could hear, “And then after that, we are going to fuck until we pass out.”

  ***

  Brody and I were sitting on my bed, facing each other with the long white envelope between us. “Wait. Before we open it, there is something I need to do.” He placed his hands on my cheeks, pulling me toward him and kissing me breathless. It was a kiss to make up for all the kisses we’d missed while we were apart. It was a kiss that told me he loved me, and he wasn’t ever going to stop.

  “We could always open the envelope tomorrow, you know?” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I’m sure my family will give us our space now that they are your biggest fan.”

  “We could just tear it up.”

  “The results?” I pulled back farther, meeting his eyes. He nodded and I winced. “We can’t.”

  “What? Why?” He put his hands on my belly, rubbing them in circles. “It doesn’t matter what the paperwork says.”

  I put my hands on his. I loved feeling him while he felt the baby. “Well, for one thing the envelope has the tummy bug’s gender in it and I really can’t wait any longer to find out. And two, as much as it sucks, we really do need to know who the biological father is for medical purposes. Plus, I may need to file parental rights termination papers.”

  “Oh. Tearing up the envelope was going to be my big finale, like my grand…Wait. What papers need to be filed?”

  Was this what my parents were talking about? Constant truth bombs being dropped because we all hid things? “Um, the day I fainted, Travis found out I was pregnant.”

  Brody jerked back in surprise. “What? How?”

  “He overheard the Westons and me talking.” I licked my lips, mouth almost going dry at having to relive the moment. “He freaked out. He pulled me down the hall and told me he didn’t want the baby. He accused me of trying to trap him, of lying so that I could get him back.” I rubbed my arm where he had yanked me around, the area aching from the memory. “Wes came out and saw him, heard what he was saying and called security. I went down after that.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” He took my face in his hands again.

  “At first, I didn’t want to upset you. You were already so worried about me and the baby when you got to the hospital.” I shrugged, exhaling loudly. “Then the next thing I knew I was on my way back here and you were on tour. It didn’t seem like the type of conversation to have over the phone. And, I think part of me wanted you to make up your mind about the baby, whether Travis was going to be in the picture or not.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  “No.” Not really, not permanently. “He was a real dick about everything though. He doesn’t want anything to do with the baby, and I told him I’d send paperwork for him to terminate his rights. At least I think I did. Passing out kind of made things blurry.” Telling Brody that Travis had been fired could wait until later.

  “Okay, so we’re opening it. And if he’s the biological father, we’re filing the paperwork tomorrow. I don’t want him connected to our kid, or you, in any way.”

  I nodded. We were in complete agreement there. I picked up the envelope. I swear the thing was heavier than it was when it first came in the mail I’d forwarded to the compound.

  “Wait. I need you to know something first.”

  “You wanna make out again?” I wagged my eyebrows. I was pregnant and horny and so game for that.

  “I need you to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I fucking love you and I love the baby. No matter what.”

  “We fucking love you too.” I leaned forward and kissed him while I tore open the results. I drew back and scanned the page, a smile spreading on my face. “We’re having a boy and I hope like hell he’ll get your wild blond hair.”

  Brody threaded his hand in my hair, hauling me toward him. He kissed me, deep a
nd consuming. He was all I could feel, all I ever wanted to feel. He moved forward, laying me out on the bed, hovering over me. “I feel like I have been waiting for this moment since I met you.”

  “Careful, caveman, you keep saying traditionally sweet things like that, I might get the wrong idea.”

  “Oh yeah?” He chuckled. “And what idea would that be?”

  I grabbed the bottom of his gray t-shirt and dragged it over his head. “That you want the white picket fence.”

  “I want whatever you want, baby cakes. Always.” He dipped down, kissing my lips again, making all other thoughts leave my brain. “Now, take off your stretchy pants because we’re going to fuck.” I laughed as I peeled my maternity yoga pants off, moving my thighs back up Brody’s hips. He kissed my neck, my collarbone, my shoulder. He rolled us over, guiding me on top of him, helping me get on my knees. “You ready?”

  I nodded, sliding slowly onto his cock. When I was seated, I closed my eyes, savoring the moment. Savoring the fact that he was really here, that he really loved me.

  We weren’t short term.

  We were forever.

  He put his hands on my thighs, directing my movements. “I missed being inside your pussy. So fucking much.” His neck was arched, his mouth open. He was already close, but so was I. “Fuck, baby, you feel too good.” He slid his palms up to my hips, tightening his grip, silently asking me for more.

  My family was all still outside. I was biting my lip trying like hell to keep quiet. “Brody,” I whispered his name, moaning softly each time my clit rubbed against his pelvis. “Fuck, don’t stop.”

  “Never.” He let out a low growl. “Fuck.” He put his hand on my chest, angling me back slightly. “Come for me, baby.”

  I let my head fall, my hair brushing the tops of his thighs. “Brody, yes,” I whispered his name, over and over as I shattered on top of him, my orgasm never ending.