Chapter Three
Hack
I just stand there looking at Pru for a minute, absorbing the light that is naturally her. She looks so fucking wonderful, tired but still just as beautiful as ever. Admiring her from head to toe, I take in her long, silky, dark caramel colored hair. It’s a little damp, making it appear a bit darker than I remember. Normally, it’s the color of caramel and lays down her back in soft waves, ending only inches from her ass.
Her body still looks amazing. It’s got a few more curves than it had months ago, but they only add to her sexuality. Even standing there in Mickey Mouse pajama bottoms and a faded green tank top, she has my dick pushing at my zipper.
Pru’s eyes are different than I remember. Back when I was in her bed every night, they always shined so brightly they reminded me of the small emerald necklace my pop gave Ma on their twentieth anniversary. Now, they are so dark with anger the green is damn near black.
“I asked, what the hell do you want?” she growls, drawing my attention to her lips.
The urge to pull her body flush to mine and press my lips to hers has me taking a step toward her. When she takes a step back and shakes her head, I stop in my tracks and pull in a deep breath. Fuck, what should I say? How the hell do I explain running out on her when she needed me the most?
“I don’t have time for this shit,” she huffs and goes to shut the door.
I put my hand against the wood just before it shuts. “Pru, wait.”
“Wait for what? I asked what you were doing here, but you’re just standing there looking at me like you don’t know the answer yourself,” she says with a shake of her head. “Come back when you figure it out.”
With that, she tries to push the door shut. Of course, she can’t dislodge my hand, but she keeps trying. “Let go.”
“Stop trying to shut the fucking door. Got your message. I’m here to see my daughter,” I tell her, pushing the door open and walking into her house.
As soon as I step inside, flashes of Pru naked in different positions fill my head. Bent over the back of the couch as I took her from behind. Sitting on the kitchen counter while I buried my head between her legs. Sprawled on her back, on her crappy ass living room carpet, as I took her slow and whispered shit into her ear that I had only said to one other woman, the woman I had made my wife and old lady.
“If you came back because you think I need you, you’re wrong,” Pru tells me as she walks past me into the kitchen. “I can take care of myself, Hack.”
I follow behind her and watch as she pulls a bottle of water out of the fridge and twists the top off. She stomps past me and sits down on the couch before taking a drink. Never once does she look my way. I, on the other hand, can’t keep my eyes off her.
“No, I know you don’t need me. You’ve always been good at taking care of yourself, Pru, but now you have another person to take care of,” I say, taking a seat on the other end of the couch. “I’m thinking you may need a little help taking care of her.”
Her eyes cut to me, the green even darker than it was before. “My daughter will be taken care of. You don’t need to worry about her, either.”
“She’s my daughter, too, and I’m not gonna just act like she doesn’t exist,” I choke out, trying to control the anger that is building inside me. “I never thought I’d have a kid. Now that I do, I’m not gonna turn my back on her.”
Pru studies me for a minute and starts to say something. She stops when a soft whimper that leads to a screeching cry comes from upstairs. She looks back at me and says, “No arguing in front of her. Our issues are our own. In front of her, we’re nothing but nice.”
I simply nod, not uttering a sound. She nods back then slowly gets up from the couch and walks up the stairs, coming back a few minutes later with a small pink bundle. Instead of coming back to the couch, she heads straight to the kitchen.
She mumbles something to the baby as she warms the bottle, but the little girl only screams louder. I can’t believe someone so small can make so much noise. It only takes a minute for the bottle to warm, and then Pru is heading back my way. She sits back in her spot on the couch, whispering words that make no fucking sense to me. She rocks the baby, while putting the bottle to our little girl’s lips. Scarlett quickly latches on, and the crying stops.
The only sound in the room is the muffled suckling of my baby girl drinking milk until Pru looks up at me and says, “You can hold her after she gets done eating. That’s if you want to hold her.”
It takes me a moment to comprehend that she is speaking to me. I am in such awe of the sight in front of me. I look between her and the baby then scoot closer to her. When I’m at her side, Pru unwraps the blanket from our daughter’s body and gives me my first real glimpse of her.
I take her in, searching every inch of her, from the top of her fuzzy dark head to the purple socks on her feet. “I have never seen such a beautiful sight in my whole life.”
“She is breathtaking.” Pru looks back down at the baby then back to me. “She’s got your midnight colored hair, and I think she’ll end up having your eyes.”
I continue perusing my daughter, taking in every one of her features. She does have my hair, but her eyes are scrunched closed so I can’t tell about them. “What do you mean, she’s gonna have my eyes?”
One side of Pru’s lips tips up as she answers, “She has blue eyes right now, but that will change as she gets older. Nearly all babies are born with blue eyes.”
“No shit?” I ask, not knowing what the fuck she’s talking about.
She nods, still looking down at our little girl. “Yeah, but they’ll change in the next year. They’re really dark, so I think she’ll have your eyes instead of mine.”
“She’s got your nose and lips,” I say, still staring at the baby. “She’s gonna be a beauty, just like her momma.”
She ignores my words and starts talking quickly. “I was gonna breastfeed, but it just didn’t work out. It’s better for her, but she always still seemed hungry after. Plus, the bottle will be easier when I go back to work. Easier to take formula to the daycare and not have to worry about pumping all the time.”
Since I have no idea about breastfeeding, I ignore that part and latch onto the last. The thought of my daughter being with someone I don’t know while Pru goes to work really bothers me, but I know this is not the time to say anything. Right now, Pru’s in charge, and I’m just a bystander.
I continue watching as Pru feeds the baby until she is finished. She puts the baby to her shoulder and starts patting her gently on her tiny back. “She doesn’t usually take long to burp, but if she doesn’t, she gets a belly ache. I learned that quickly, the day after she was born to be exact.”
Pru keeps explaining things to me—burping, feeding, changing diapers—but it goes in one ear and out the other. Right now, all I can think about is the fact that this little human is my daughter. I helped make her. She’s mine. She’s the best gift God ever gave me.
Suddenly, it all hits me. This is MY DAUGHTER. What the hell do I know about babies? Nothing, not a damn thing. Pru could talk ‘til she’s blue in the face, and I still wouldn’t know shit. I’m getting nervous, knowing that it is almost time to hold her. I’m nervous but also excited. I hope like hell my big ass hands don’t hurt her.
I can hardly hold back my laugh when the baby lets out a big burp. “That’s a big noise from such a little baby. She must get that from her daddy.”
Pru gives me a little smile before asking, “Are you ready to hold her?”
As ready as I’ll ever be, but I answer with a simple, “Yeah.”
She starts to transfer the baby to my arms, and I feel this is the best time to give her a little warning. “I’ve never done this before.”
Pru grins and says, “That’s okay. Neither had I until the doctor laid her in my arms. It’s not hard. Just be careful with her head. She’s still little so she doesn’t do much wiggling. She’ll probably just lay there and fall back asleep.”
I give her another nod as she places the baby in my arms. I stare at the little girl again, knowing she is the most beautiful thing I’ll ever see in my life. Her little pink puffy face, so peaceful drifting off to sleep, is enough for me to feel the moisture building up in my eyes. Fuck, I haven’t cried since I was a kid. Not even when Holly died did I shed a tear. Inside, I was being torn apart, but I didn’t cry. I quickly blink it away before looking back up at Pru.
“What’s her name?” I ask, stroking her little cheek. It’s funny to see my huge hand next to her tiny face. Her entire head is smaller than the palm of my hand.
Pru looks at me before looking back at the baby. “Scarlett Ann Chambers.”
“You gave her my last name?” I ask, nearly as shocked as I was when I read the text about her birth.
“Of course. You are her father, Hack. No matter what happened between you and me, you’re still her father,” she replies with a shrug.
“Thank you,” I whisper, knowing there are no words to express the gratitude I feel.
She chews on her bottom lip, looking a bit nervous when she adds, “You’re not listed as her father on her birth certificate. You never told me your first name, always said you were Hack. I figured your parents didn’t give you that name, so I didn’t know what to put on her birth certificate. You can have it added if you want.”
Her words are like a gut punch, reminding me just how little I shared of myself with Pru. “My name’s Noah. Noah John Chambers, and yes, I want it listed on Scarlett’s birth certificate.”
We both stay quiet for a while, and my mind goes over every minute I spent with Pru. I treated her good, at least, a hell of lot better than I treated the bed warmers back at the clubhouse. Hell, I may have even treated her better than I did Holly. Still, I kept myself separate from her, forced her to tell me everything about herself, but I held all my shit back. Then, I walked out on her and left her to deal with being pregnant on her own. Not sure I’ll ever be able to make up for that. But since the second I started reading her text messages, I knew I wanted her back. Scarlett is a bonus, a fucking great one, but not the reason I want Pru as mine.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I had my reasons for leaving, even had reasons for not getting in touch with you, ones you probably wouldn’t understand. I’m not trying to make excuses for the way I acted. It was fucked up, and I’m sorry,” I tell her, hoping she can hear the honesty in my voice.
I could try to explain it to her, try to explain that I was saving her, but really, I don’t think she would understand my reasoning. Now, it’s time to buck up and prove that I’m the man she needs in her and her daughter’s lives.
“You’re right. It’s not worth much, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Right now, Scarlett is the only thing that matters.” She looks away, but not before I see her wipe tears from her face. “As long as you are the father she needs you to be, consider yourself forgiven. We can co-parent if you want, and maybe someday even be friends.”
She’s throwing the gauntlet down, letting me know that we are over. My daughter can be in my life, but that’s it. Well, she’s wrong. She and Scarlett are both mine. I’ll give her some time to figure that out on her own.