by Rose Harper
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
SYNOPSIS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Epilogue
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COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2018 by Rose Harper, All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations within critical reviews and otherwise as permitted by copyright law.
NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination.
Any resemblance to real life is purely coincidental. All characters in this story are 18 or older.
Copyright © 2018, Rose Harper Publishing. All rights reserved. www.authorroseharper.wixsite.com/books/
www.facebook.com/AuthorRoseHarper
Edited by Mitzi Pummer Carroll
Mitzi Carroll: Editor
Proofread by Marisa Nichols
Marisa Nichols: Proofreader
Cover Art by Mae’s Wicked Grafix
Mae’s Wicked Grafix
DEDICATION
To all my cocky people out there … this one’s for you!
Don’t ever let someone dictate what you can or can’t do.
You are the only person that owns you, and no one has to right to say otherwise.
#CockyGate #2018
SYNOPSIS
I should have kept my distance.
Turned a cheek to his dashing good looks and charisma.
But he drew me in like a moth to a flame,
Ruining me for anyone that wasn’t him forever.
He’s my first love,
Now he’s my stepbrother.
And I’m carrying a secret no one but Alex knows about.
I know it’s wrong,
That keeping it a secret would come back to bite me in the ass.
But how can I tell the one person I loved that he put a bun in my oven?
How can I tell him he’s going to be a father,
When the ghost from his past reappears saying the exact same thing?
Author's note – Cocky Baby Daddy is a full-length novel in the Cock of the Walk Duet. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18. HEA
Chapter One
“Explain that again,” Alex stated, lying across the foot of my bed.
Before heading home, I drove around until the early hours of the morning. My mind was running a million miles a minute. I wanted to be angry at him by the way he treated me, but I couldn’t. He had every right to get mad at me. It was his business. He could choose to tell me about it or not. But, the fact he hadn’t, ripped me apart. I wanted him to be able to tell me everything, even if it was hard to get out. Losing a child, even if I didn’t know what it felt like, I was sure it hurt like hell.
Seeing the agony on his face when he explained to me why he’d gotten married in the first place, wrecked me. I wanted to take him in my arms and hug him and kiss the pain away. But that never happened; he shut me out after that, giving me some bullshit excuse about needing to get out of there. I knew we could be caught by his father at any second, but damn! All I wanted to do was take care of him, make the pain go away. But instead, he pushed me away.
I didn’t know how angry he was with me but having him leave without giving me a kiss was sort of my answer. He’d been furious with me. I knew there were things in our past that we wouldn’t want to share. That no matter how much someone meant to you, you would never be able to cover up the pain. Especially the pain of losing a child. A child you would never see grow up. Never see it play a sport, attend prom, or even have their first puppy love.
I could only imagine how he felt every day, and he hadn’t even been carrying the child. That spoke volumes for the kind of woman Cherish was. I know that she’d been a strong person in school; I just didn’t realize how strong. If she could take losing her child and still be able to function during the day, she was a really strong, independent woman. When Brad told me that he tried staying with her for years after the miscarriage, I wanted to weep. He was thinking of someone else instead of himself.
He was there when his wife needed him the most.
“Do I really have to go through it again, Alex? I already feel like shit, he probably hates me,” I whined into the pillow.
She took the pillow from in front of me, glaring. “Yes, you do. I want to make sure I have everything right.”
I sighed. “Okay. After having the most amazing, never-going-to-forget-sex-of-my-life, I did the dumbest thing known to mankind. I asked him why he got married to Cherish Sharp. Of course, he acted threatened when I mentioned her. He said I was ruining his evening by bringing up the past, an evening that was so amazing he would never forget it. It was then he explained to me that Cherish had gotten pregnant, with his child.”
“Well, they had their shotgun wedding and then tragedy stuck. Cherish ended up losing the baby right after they got married. Brad said he tried to make it work, stayed with a woman he never really loved. But that just wasn’t enough; he needed more.” I took a breath after rushing that all out. “He then said we had to leave. I got dressed and then followed him to our cars. No good-bye kiss, not even a glance in my direction. He seemed pretty fucking pissed,” I finished gasping for air.
She sat there nodding as I explained to her, yet again, how the night played out. I felt like shit already, so I hoped she would tell me something, anything that would make me feel a little better. However, knowing Alex she would be blunt just like she always was. There were times that I hated that about her, but most of the time I loved her for it. I could always count on her to be a straight shooter, even if it hurt like hell.
“Claire, do you have any idea what you did?” She looked at me with saddened eyes, playing with a string on my quilt.
“Not really. I know I brought up the past. But dammit, I just had to know,” I explained to her.
She shook her head, sighing as she did. “No, sweetheart. It wasn’t that you brought up the past. That wasn’t what shifted his mood. What shifted his m
ood was the fact he had to think about his child that’s not here. A child he would never get to meet. I know you don’t know about this type of thing, but men respond to things differently than we do. They keep everything to themselves. You asking about his marriage, brought the pain and everything he felt to the surface. He was frustrated more than anything with you.”
Well, I guess that made sense. I knew if I lost a child, I would be an empty shell of a person I used to be. For him to be able to walk around as if everything were okay takes a real man.
“I guess you’re right,” I answered.
“Honey, I know I’m right.” She chuckled, slapping me on the ass as she got up. “But we need to get to sleep. Tomorrow is your momma’s last day as a single woman; we gotta turn that shit up.”
I laughed as she left the room. I knew she was right. There was so much to do for her tomorrow. First course of action was planning a bachelorette party. Henry was having a small get-together, so I figured we should have one as well. Alex and I knew how to throw a party, even on short notice. Mom wouldn’t know what hit her. Even if we had to hog-tie her to get her out of the house. With a smile on my face, I drifted off into a tough, uneasy sleep.
Chapter Two
“Oh, mother dearest … Wake, wakey,” I stated in a singsong voice, rubbing my finger along the slope of her nose.
Alex and I had gotten up early the next morning. Our asses were dragging, but we were determined to make this the best day ever. Well, second best day anyway. We’d already booked a girls’ day at the spa, alcohol included, thank God. Then afterwards we were going to go to Chuck’s, a local bar. In just the few short hours that Alex and I had been up, we’d already invited well over twenty to the bar tonight. Of course, there would be no strippers allowed. But damn, we were going to get shitfaced. I couldn’t wait to see my mother that way.
She was always so reserved when she drank. Not tonight, I was going to make her lose control and act like a complete idiot. It was going to be fun because tonight was karaoke night at Chuck’s. Even though my mother had the voice of an angel. Me, not so much. I could only be described as sounding like a dying dog howling at the moon, or so that’s what I thought. Alex was the only one of us that could actually hold her liquor, so I was hoping to God she would watch out for my mother and me.
“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey,” I giggled, plugging his nose together.
It was evil, but damn we were going to be late if she didn’t get up soon. Alex and I watched with bated breaths as Mom’s mouth fell open and she began to snore. I’d told Alex before we came in here that my mother was a heavy sleeper; she didn’t believe me. But now that she saw firsthand, she was trying to keep the laughter at bay.
“You weren’t lying. She’s like the fucking dead,” she whispered.
I snickered. “I don’t lie when it comes to my mother’s sleep. But damn, if she doesn’t get up soon, we’re going to be late.”
I sat down on the bed, thinking of what we could do. Just when an idea came to me, the evilest smile you could ever see broke out across my face. Alex cocked her head, curious about what I was thinking about. Putting my finger to my lips, I waved for her to follow me. If this didn’t wake that woman up, I don’t know what would. If it did, I’d be surprised if she didn’t shit the bed. The evil little girl within me laughed with glee. This was going to be hella funny.
“What the hell are we doing? She’s still asleep,” Alex chastised me. Of course, she didn’t know what I had planned.
Heading out of the house, we made our way to the shed in the backyard. I knew she was growing confused every second we weren’t in there waking my mother up. Throwing open the doors, I began my search. I was just about to give up when I finally found it. The box that contained all my fireworks from when I was a kid. I just knew she wouldn’t have thrown these away. Well, I’d hoped she hadn’t anyway. My mother was an extreme pack rat, never throwing anything away.
Alex saw the bag, eyes widening in excitement. I swear I believe she was meant to be my sister. Her giggle broke out before she started helping me search through the box. There were little firecrackers in here somewhere. That would definitely be a good enough alarm clock for her. I was sure of it. When I couldn’t find them, Alex helped me dump the box out. There they were. They had been at the very bottom of the box, just waiting for an occasion like this to be used.
“She is going to murder us both,” I chuckled, placing the packs of firecrackers around her broken bed.
“Umm…just a question. But do I want to know why her bed is broken?” she whispered, giggling up a storm.
“Just some rough sex, that’s all,” I answered.
“Go Ms. J. That woman is a damn beast.”
“Wow, that’s just gross. I’m going to have to bleach my brain now,” I gagged playfully.
She rolled her eyes, setting out the rest of the firecrackers packs. About the time we were going to light them I heard the doorbell ring. I cursed inwardly because the fool on the other side of the front door was ruining my plans. I held up my finger at Alex and then ran to the front door. Throwing it opened, I turned to run back down the hallway. Brad’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Claire, where are you off to so fast,” he chuckled.
I turned toward him, throwing a shy girl façade on. “Just my mom’s room. We’re taking her to the spa today. You know, for a girls’ day.”
He saw right through my mask. “Out with it, love.”
I grunted from the use of his nickname for me. “We’re just going to …” I paused, raising my eyes to his, cracking a devilish smile. I said the last part in a hurry, trying not to bust out laughing, “firecracker wake-up call my mom.”
He stared at me for a moment before busting out in laughter. I jumped on him, covering his mouth with my hand. “Shh … You big jackass. You fuck this up, I’ll prank the hell out of you. I can get vicious, remember that.”
He nipped at my hand, causing me to release him. I jumped back down as he placed his hands over his mouth rolling with laughter again. “I gotta see this shit,” his words muffled by the hand over his mouth. “Your mother is going to eat your liver for breakfast. I hope you know that.”
I giggled. “She’ll have to catch me first.”
Brad’s eyes were lit up with excitement. I could tell that he wanted to see this play out. He just didn’t want to be involved when my mother paid us back. Oh, and there would be payback too. My mother was sneaky like that. She would wait until we least expected it, then she would attack. But there was no way I was not doing this. My veins were already running with adrenaline anticipating the attack of the firecrackers. This shit was too good to pass up.
“You want to watch?” I asked.
He removed his hand and chuckled. “Hell yes, was there any doubt.”
He shut the door and followed me to my mother’s room where Alex was currently hopping foot to foot eager to get the party started. She winked when she saw Brad behind me. We each got a lighter, then counted to three. When the wicks started burning, we ran out down the hall and to the living room. We didn’t hear anything for a moment, but the hard breathing from each of us.
Just then, my mother’s room lit up like the Fourth of July. We heard her screams echo throughout the whole house. “Oh my God! What the fuck!”
We all began cracking up with laughter, tears rolling down our faces. By the time the sound stopped, Brad looked at me a little worried. I was about to go check on her when her door flew open. Brad gave me the “I’m out” signal, tossing a box into my hands. I chuckled watching him run down the sidewalk before slipping into his truck.
I took one look at my mother and couldn’t reign in the laughter. My sides were literally hurting from laughing so hard. I lost my breath on several occasions, only to bellow with laughter again. Her hair was a sight all by itself, sticking up every which way. Her eyeliner and mascara had run down her face, lipstick spread across her jaw.
“What the fuck,” sh
e huffed.
“You … wouldn’t … wake … up,” I gasped through my fits of laughter.
“So, you decided to give me a heart attack the day before my wedding? That’s just … wrong.”
As the laughter tampered down, I walked over to my mom, grabbing her into a big hug. “The reason we were trying to wake you up is because we’re taking you for a spa day. Now get that patootie dressed; otherwise, we’re going to be late.”
Since Alex and I were already ready, we were out the door thirty minutes later. We talked, sang, and acted like fools on the way to the spa. At one point, I thought we were going to get pulled over because of all the gyrating and dancing we were doing. It had been hilarious when we stopped at a light next to a cop and broke out singing the Cops theme song. Being the good sport he was, he sang and danced along with us until the light turned green.
Damn, I love small towns, where everyone knew you or had heard of you. At one point, I’d have laid my life down that living in the big city was my dream and where I belonged. But since I’ve been back, I found myself wanting to stay here more and more. Not only was my mother here, but my entire life had been this place. I knew where the perfect hiding places were. The current stomping grounds of high school kids. I knew it all and loved it dearly.
Moving back here was going to be the best thing for me. I couldn’t wait to get home and begin packing and transferring jobs. I’m sure it would take some time to transfer me, but that would just give me the time I needed to get my other clients squared away. I had to think of them first, because if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have a job at all. I decided I was going to call Premier, Inc. when we got back to the house. I was sure there would be at least someone in the office, even if it was a Saturday. New York never stopped, no matter what day of the week it was.
“Let’s get this pampering underway,” Alex said, bringing me from my thoughts.