Hide Your Crazy

by Vale, Lani Lynn

  Gravely.

  It would take a heartless judge to rule in favor of Tasia after all that she’d done.

  “I’m sure that he will,” I said softly. “Anyway, I hope you have a good night. I imagine that the Maxwells are already working with their lawyer, so you’ll probably hear from him early tomorrow.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Who are these Maxwell people you keep referring to?” he sniped. “They’re not God.”

  “The Maxwells,” Luke said softly. “As in Maxwell Oil and Refinery.”

  If it was possible, Tasia’s father’s face paled behind his fake tan.

  He looked sick to his stomach for a few long seconds.

  “Well,” he finally found it in him to say. “That’s nice. But for tonight, Gibby does not know you. Nor does she know this Paydon. We’ll introduce her to them gently if that time ever comes.”

  “No,” I said again.

  Simple and to the point.

  “Yes,” he snapped. “Or I’ll call the cops.”

  I looked over at Luke.

  “You could try,” I suggested.

  Luke snorted.

  “They’ll come,” Luke said. “Then they’ll call in backup because they don’t know what to do in this situation. Then they’ll call the chief of police—which is me—and I’ll give them the final answer on what they should or shouldn’t do—and I’m just telling you now that I’ll highly suggest that they leave the child with the father that’s on her birth certificate, not the grandfather.”

  Warren blinked.

  Then blinked again.

  “But he’s not her father,” he snapped.

  “In the eyes of the law, with him being on that birth certificate, he most certainly is. Logan played no part in holding your daughter’s hand as she wrote his name in. From what I’ve heard, he’s had nothing to do with her since the moment he found out that she slept with his best friend—his handicapped best friend who is mentally challenged.”

  Warren closed his eyes and looked as if he was counting to ten.

  As if he was seriously wanting to beat his child right then and there.

  “If it’s all the same to you,” I said. “I’ve ordered dessert and I’d really like to finish it. So, I’ll see you soon, I’m sure.”

  Warren looked like he wanted to attack me.

  But Luke’s presence at my side stopped him from doing any such thing.

  “This isn’t over,” he promised.

  Then he was gone, leaving only me and Luke half standing inside the foyer, half standing out.

  We waited until Warren got into his Mercedes—which he’d illegally parked in front of the front doors—and raced away.

  There was silence for a few long seconds before Luke’s words pierced the quiet.

  “You’re marrying her, right?” Luke asked, eyes on me, hard as steel and unrelenting.

  I blinked, shocked at hearing those words.

  I’d expected a lot after that man had left.

  Anger for getting his daughter in this situation? Yes. Him asking me if I was marrying his daughter? No.

  “Uh, yes,” I said, seeing no reason to beat around the bush. It may have been only a very short amount of time, but I knew. I knew it, and I wouldn’t spend time beating around the bush when I could feel the rightness of the answer in my soul. “I am.”

  “Her reputation is important to me,” he said. “Everybody in the entire department knows that you slept with her.”

  I had a feeling that was true, but I hadn’t been the one to spread that rumor.

  If I’d had my choice, we would’ve done this under the radar as long as we possibly could, because he was right. My reputation wasn’t the best in the entire world.

  I would’ve done anything if it meant that Katy wasn’t subjected to the shit that would come at her since she was with me.

  “Treat her right, Gibbs,” Roberts ordered. “Or I’ll kick your ass.”

  I had a feeling ‘kick your ass’ was an understatement. He’d do more than kick my ass.

  He’d destroy me.

  He’d utterly decimate me, piece by piece, until there was nothing left but Logan Gibbs dust particles.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Chapter 19

  I like romantic walks. I also prefer napping and eating tacos to exercise.

  -The key to Katy’s heart

  Katy

  We were at my parents’ house when Paydon and the rest of the Maxwell finally arrived.

  Nina, Darius, and Paydon Maxwell were nothing like I expected.

  Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I expected.

  But those three weren’t it.

  Paydon was honestly the most surprising of them all.

  When their car slid up to the curb of my parents’ house, I was watching for them.

  Logan and my dad were talking about the productivity of the motor patrol unit, and what Logan thought of it so far. My mom had Gibby on her hip while she pulled brownies from the oven, and I was sitting in the little window nook in the living room. The one that I used to sit on all the time as a teenager and do my homework or just read.

  Which was why I was the first one to see them pull up and get out.

  “They’re here,” I said softly.

  My eyes turned from outside to inside, automatically honing in on Logan, who was staring at me with a look of nausea on his face.

  “It’ll be okay,” I promised.

  Logan nodded once and stood up. “Will y’all give me a few minutes?”

  My father stood as well and clapped Logan on the back.

  “Sure thing,” he said. “Take your time.”

  With that, Logan practically shuffled toward the door, looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders as he moved.

  When the front door closed behind him, I returned my gaze to the front where the Maxwell family had made it about mid-way up the walk.

  Paydon was behind them, shuffling his feet as well, and I could tell that he was just as nervous as Logan was.

  My eyes took him in.

  “He doesn’t look like he has anything wrong with him,” Dad muttered from right beside me.

  I moved my feet so he could sit down, and he did, sitting half on, half off. One foot stayed planted on the floor, and the other bent at the knee to fit in close to my upraised legs.

  “No,” I agreed.

  Paydon was tall. Not as tall as Logan, but tall.

  He was beautiful, too.

  I could tell that he probably got quite a bit of attention from the female population.

  It was sad that he didn’t get to live like other men of his age lived.

  He had sandy blond hair that was buzzed at the sides, and a little longer at the top, making it where he could style it and comb it over, giving him an edgy, professional look. His eyes were dark blue, the color of the blue jeans that fit him like a glove.

  And he was built. Very well built.

  Finally, Paydon looked up from his shuffling and spotted Logan.

  Logan didn’t stop at Paydon’s parents.

  He didn’t even spare them a smile as he skirted around them on the walk, using my mother’s precious grass to get to his friend.

  And when he finally arrived at Paydon’s side, he threw his arms around him and hugged him so hard that he came off his feet.

  Paydon, not expecting that, started to laugh.

  “You can tell that they’re best friends now,” I said. “Paydon looked like he was going to be sick. Now he looks like the world is shining out of his eyes.”

  “Hard to find friends like that,” he agreed. “Glad to have a few of those in my life.”

  I thought about AJ, who I hadn’t talked to much more than to send the occasional text here and there about what was going down.

  She’d given me the ‘oh shit that sucks’ comment here and there, had been quite excited to hear about Logan, but honestly hadn’t
had much to say.

  Which surprised me because normally she was a whole lot more talkative.

  I’d met AJ in high school. She’d skipped ahead a few grades like me but had been two years older than me. She’d also been one of the ones that had befriended Bruno with me.

  Which reminded me, I needed to tell her that I’d now seen Bruno, who looked a hell of a lot different from the little emo kid I’d once known.

  “AJ isn’t that for me,” I found myself saying. “But Logan, I have a feeling, is.”

  “Your mom is for me, too,” he agreed. “Are you sure about this, Katerina?”

  I looked over at my father, who was no longer watching the reunion outside, but instead steadily focused on me.

  “You mean, am I sure that Logan is a good man?” I asked.

  “Your track record…”

  I started to laugh.

  “You damn well know that Luca was good,” I told him, then saddened slightly at remembering him. “Jakobe was kind of awful…but…”

  “Kind of awful?” he asked skeptically. “Have you been smoking something?”

  Okay, well, he was really awful.

  There was no kind of to it.

  “What I’m trying to say is that Logan is a good man,” I finally said. “Who else would go to those lengths to make sure that his friend had access to that baby’s life?”

  Dad made an agreement grunt then turned back to outside.

  “I just don’t want you to ever be hurt, Katy,” he said, sounding worried. “Parents worry about these things. They want their children to have everything. I want you to have what Reese and I have.”

  “I think I do,” I found myself saying. “It’s been a very short time but…he’s amazing, Dad. I don’t even know where to start with how amazing he is. And I get this feeling in my chest every time I see him. And the butterflies.”

  “Sounds like love,” my mother said from behind us. “I get those when I see your dad still. And when he’s in full uniform? Yeah, still gets me every single time.”

  I grinned up at her and saw that she no longer had Gibby.

  “Where’s Gibby?”

  She pointed to the floor behind us.

  “Thought it best that she play there. When they come in, I don’t want her turning away from them and to me,” she explained.

  We all turned back to the window.

  “Logan looks like he’s doing okay for seeing his best friend for the first time in two years,” Mom mused.

  “Yes,” I agreed. “He doesn’t look like he’s about to throw up anymore, either.”

  Dad snorted. “This shit is going to rock this town.”

  I looked away from the reunion once again.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “Or at least the police department. Y’all gossip more than women.”

  My mom started to laugh uncontrollably behind me.

  “Your dad is the worst of the lot,” she said. “Him and his old SWAT team. I swear, they’re always there in the thick of those rumors, whispering and chittering away.”

  I believed that, too.

  “Looks like they’re coming in,” Dad said, standing up from his seat and walking to the door.

  He opened it before they arrived, and held out his hand to Darius Maxwell.

  He did the same to Nina.

  “Nice to meet you both,” Dad said. “Logan here has told us a lot about you.”

  He saved the last handshake for Paydon, who took it, but he appeared much more unsure than his parents.

  “Nice to meet you, too,” Paydon said politely.

  I guess maybe I expected Paydon to sound ‘off’ I guess. So, when he spoke, and the sound was so deep that it made my eyes widen slightly, I must’ve shown the surprise.

  Because Logan’s smile caught my attention.

  “Paydon,” Logan said. “That woman sitting there is Katy. Katy, this is Paydon, my best friend.”

  I waved from where I was but didn’t get up.

  Mostly because Paydon offered me a distracted smile, and then his gaze went to the little girl on the floor.

  “That her?” he asked, sounding scared.

  “Yeah, man,” Logan said. “I’d take you over there to meet her, but swear to God, every time I get close, she screams her little head off.”

  “You think she’s going to scream when I get close?” he asked.

  “No, honey.” My mom went over to him and took his hand. “I think she just gets nervous around new people. Come on over here and let’s introduce you.”

  And I witnessed the most beautiful thing ever happen right before my eyes.

  Paydon Maxwell crouched down and then sat his large bulk on the floor next to the couch, and held out his hand.

  His rather large hand hovered there in front of Gibby for about half a second, then she gave him a smile and placed her hand in his.

  Every single heart in the entire room melted.

  Chapter 20

  Sleep is good. Sex is better.

  -Logan’s secret thoughts

  Logan

  “Do you think we did the right thing?” Katy asked. “Giving her to Paydon’s parents?”

  I nodded once as I tore the t-shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor.

  “Seeing as she screamed her little head off anytime we held her, and didn’t when they did, I’m saying yes,” I admitted. “Plus, they looked like they fell in love with her the moment that they saw her.”

  “They looked really young,” Katy admitted as she too started slipping her shoes off with her other foot. “Like really young.”

  “Paydon’s parents were sixteen when they had him. I imagine they’re in their late forties. But they’ve aged really well,” I said.

  “Sixteen?” she gasped.

  I grinned. “Yeah. They met when they were twelve, from what Paydon told me. Been together ever since.”

  She shook her head in surprise. “That’s pretty cool, actually.” She paused in mid-shirt shuck to stare at me as I lost my jeans. “You don’t have any visible tattoos.”

  My brows rose. “You’re just now noticing this?”

  She flushed as she continued to take off her shirt. My eyes took in her near naked state. The only thing she had left on at this point was her underwear. She’d lost her bra while we were in the truck on the way home.

  I’d have said something, but she’d been quiet about it, making me hold my questions seeing as her parents were occupying the front seat.

  “Why’d you take that off in the truck?” I asked, walking up to her and trailing a finger down the curve of one breast.

  She shivered and her nipple pebbled.

  “The underwire is poking through on that bra. I’m gonna have to throw it away. See? It dug into my skin.” She turned to show me the red mark on the side of her chest.

  I pulled her toward me and ran my thumb along the inflamed area.

  “You should just go without a bra tomorrow,” I teased. “I declare tomorrow as braless Sunday.”

  She snickered and turned in my arms.

  “Why do I feel like I’ve known you forever?” she whispered up into my face.

  I looked down at her, studying her features. Her hair, the way her eyelashes curled, the cute tilt to her nose, her straight white teeth. Everything that made Katy, Katy.

  “I don’t know,” I told her. “But I’m thankful that this feels right. That I finally have that feeling that tells me this is where I’m supposed to be.”

  I’d always felt unsettled. Like something wasn’t right when it came to dates or girlfriends after Tasia. I honestly thought it’d been me overthinking things at first, but then I decided that I needed to trust my gut instinct. And that trust had me waiting when I would’ve normally tried to dismiss the feeling I had.

  If I hadn’t trusted it, I wouldn’t have found Katy. Wouldn’t have given her a ticket, or been there that day that she’d gotten the news about her
abuser.

  She moved until her unbound breasts were pressed against my bare chest, her pebbled nipples playing along the hair that covered my chest and the upper part of my abs.

  “I’ve never really thought that I liked hairy men before,” she said. “I honestly was a little taken aback when I saw this.” She ran her nipples over my chest, swaying back and forth. “But I find that I really kind of like it.”

  I would’ve shaved if that’s what she had wanted. Hell, I’d have allowed her to wax it, or had laser hair removal if that was what she’d desired.

  But it made me happy that she liked the real me.

  Tasia had always been kind of disgusted by the body hair.

  Not that I could help it or anything, but it was definitely something that struck a chord with me.

  “That’s good,” I rasped, loving the way she felt rubbing up against me. “What’s even better is when you’re telling me you love it while you rub those pretty little nipples against me.”

  Her mouth kicked up at the corner.

  “What did you and Dad talk about at the restaurant as your ex-father-in-law left?” she asked, her head tilting up so that she could stare straight into my soul.

  I debated telling her the real discussion topic but decided that she deserved the entire truth from me. I wasn’t starting this relationship out on the wrong foot. Especially when all it took was honesty on my part—honesty that she’d always given to me.

  “Your dad asked if I was marrying you,” I told her bluntly. “And I told him yes.”

  She blinked.

  Then blinked some more.

  “Umm,” she hesitated. “He told you? Or asked you? And what was your reply?”

  I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her into me, putting me at the perfect level to pull one of those dusky points into my mouth and give it the attention that it deserved.

  “He asked,” I swirled my tongue around the point. “Then I told him that I was.”

  She shivered in my arms.

  “Are you going to ask me, or tell me?” she wondered, her voice breathy with desire.

  I thought about that for one second, taking my time to blow on her nipple before moving to the next one.