Chapter Eight

Blake

My sister glared at me over a now sobbing Hadley’s shoulder with a look of disgust on her face. I was rendered speechless. What in the fuck just happened?

When I pulled into my parking space last night, I bumped into my neighbor Courtney, who I’d been known to sleep with on occasion, leaving for her shift at the hospital. We hadn’t spoken in a while, so I stopped to play catch up. Our conversation was interrupted when she got paged, and since we hadn’t finished catching up, she offered to bring me breakfast before crashing after her shift the following morning. Sex was implied, but by the time she got home the next morning, she was dead on her feet and I was running late. We were saying goodbye when Cat pulled up and Hadley went ballistic. I’ll admit it looked bad, but it was really just an innocent kiss. Okay, maybe not entirely innocent, but nowhere near as bad as Hadley had suggested.

Not sure what to do, I started down the steps in their direction. Cat shook her head at me and I slowed to a stop. I watched her chin dip as she spoke in Hadley’s ear, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. My head spun with questions. Hadley’s pregnant? Why didn’t she tell me?

A few seconds passed before Cat’s eyes lifted back to mine, and she mouthed, “Sorry. I’ll call you later.” Wait! They were leaving? Sure enough, they both started for the car. No way in hell was I going to let that happen.

“What? You’re just going to drop this bomb and then walk away?” I called after them. Hadley’s shoulders stiffened, but other than that, she didn’t reply. She just opened the car door and slid inside. With a loud bang the door slammed shut behind her and I felt locked out. Of what, I wasn’t sure, but I knew I didn’t like it. “Cathryn!” I shouted as my sister skirted around to her side of the car. She paused at her car door and I could see it on her face. She knew that Hadley was being unfair, so why was she supporting her? Why wasn’t she forcing her to talk to me? “You know this is wrong,” I warned.

“She’s upset, Blake. Let me get her calmed down and then you two can talk.” I wanted to talk now, but could see that wasn’t going to happen, so I nodded my consent and watched them drive away. Then I hauled my ass inside my place and jumped into the shower.

While getting dressed, the reality of the situation hit, and the impact nearly dropped me to my knees. Hadley was pregnant with my child. How? I’d gloved up, hadn’t I? I racked my brain trying to remember but couldn’t. The thought that I’d slept with her...with any woman, for that matter...without using protection, was all kinds of fucked up. I never had unprotected sex. This was something Hunter would do, but not me. I didn’t make mistakes like this. It wasn’t in my nature.

“Fuck!” I shouted. So what now? Was the kid even mine? Did Hadley expect me to be happy about this? I knew dick about being a parent. The concept of getting married and having a family was just that...a concept—something to ponder at a future date. Way in the future. Not now. I liked my life. I had plenty of money and all the pussy a man could ask for. The thought of settling down with one woman...of being monogamous...made my balls shrivel. Focus, Blake. My head was spinning. Instead of work clothes, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee. I was supposed to be at Sazerac’s this morning, but there was no way that was happening. Cat would just have to deal without me.

With my wallet and phone in hand, I headed to my car. Zane and Hunter were scheduled to be at Whisky’s today, which was good because I needed some advice.

Two hours later, I was lying on the office floor with a glass of Macallan in one hand, my other arm bent behind my head, and my feet propped in a chair. Hunter, Zane, and I had gone several rounds about what I should do. This was after I punched Zane in the face for not telling me he knew that Hadley was pregnant. Who cared if he just found out? The dickhead shouldn’t have kept it from me.

“Look, all of this is supposition. The kid may not even be yours,” Hunter noted.

“Hadley’s not like that,” Zane argued.

“Really? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure she is,” I clipped, knowing full well she wasn’t. I may have been inebriated the night I hooked up with her, but that didn’t mean I didn’t notice her lack of experience. That, however, didn’t matter. In fact, it had only elevated the entire experience. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I was ensnared. Her simply-stated beauty and her innocence were quite an intoxicating combination, which is why it infuriated me beyond reason when she ran. I wanted more of Hadley Jacobs. The fact that she was done with me burned deep.

“Okay, for argument’s sake, let’s say Hadley is carrying your child,” Hunter cut in before Zane and I got into it again. “The way I look at it you have two choices. Either you decide to be in the kid’s life or you don’t.” He didn’t mention Hadley and I wondered if she was part of the deal. Would she even want to be? The thought of not being a part of my kid’s life was wrong on so many different levels and I couldn’t help but think of my father. It was hard to miss a man who never existed. I missed the concept of a father, but not the man himself. I couldn’t imagine how any man could abandon his own child.

“What would you do?” I asked.

“I would step up. No questions asked,” Zane said. I knew that would be his answer. Of all of my friends, Zane was the most dependable.

“I would be on the next bus to Tijuana,” Hunter declared. I was surprised, but also skeptical of his answer. Zane and I both stared at him.

“You’re telling us that if you got some woman pregnant, you’d honestly give up the chance to be a father?” Zane asked.

Hunter gave a shrug of indifference. “What? I like my freedom. To be tied to one woman for the rest of my life isn’t my thing. I have no problem admitting I’m a selfish bastard. Any kid of mine would be better off without me.”

“Harsh,” Zane said.

“You asked,” Hunter countered.

“I don’t believe you. I think if Lena walked through that door right now and told you to jump, you’d ask how high,” I challenged.

Hunter sputtered. After tripping over his words a few times, he managed to mutter, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Aaaaah, so that’s how it is,” Zane teased.

Hunter shot us both a scowl. “How did this become about me? This is about Blake,” he growled.

“You’re right, it is,” I sighed, as I hefted my ass from the floor and placed my half-empty glass on the desk.

“What are you going to do?” Zane asked.

“Fuck if I know,” I shrugged.

“Better you than me, Bro,” Hunter goaded.

Ignoring him, I said, “Later,” and walked out the door.