CHAPTER TWENTY
LAWSON WAS CONSIDERING two options. Finding a big rock so he could hit himself in the head. Or letting Prissy Pants peck out his eyes. Even though that might not be enough punishment for what he was feeling.
In all the years he’d been having sex, he’d never had a condom break. Maybe there was no good occasion for something like that to happen, but this sure as hell felt like crap timing. Aiden wasn’t even four months old yet, and Eve was up to her eyeballs with Tessie. She didn’t need a worry like this. Neither of them did.
Eve had assured him it was the wrong time of the month for her to get pregnant, but there’d been something in her eyes.
Fear.
Yeah, that was it.
Fear that there was no wrong time of the month when it came to her getting knocked up. After all, the condom hadn’t broken all those years ago when he’d gotten her pregnant with Tessie, so they were perhaps the most fertile couple in Wrangler’s Creek.
Still, despite their history, Eve had dismissed it, managed some goodbye kisses and a smile before she’d gotten dressed and walked home. Lawson had volunteered to drive her, but she’d insisted on walking. Probably so she could look for a big rock along the way to hit herself on the head.
Cursing himself and the condom company, Lawson showered, threw on his clothes and headed back to work. He’d frittered away a good chunk of the day thinking about Tessie and Eve. And thinking about having sex with Eve. Of course, a portion of that frittering had included actual sex.
Damn good sex.
In fact, he could have put it at the top of his best sex ever if it hadn’t been for the condom malfunction.
He pulled his truck into the driveway of the Granger Ranch, and he immediately saw Roman. It wasn’t unusual for Roman to be there since he lived just about fifty yards from the house. But it was Roman’s expression that had Lawson’s stomach knotting. Because that was Roman’s troubled look. Lawson had already met his trouble quota for the year and definitely didn’t want any more.
“This had better be about a cattle sale gone wrong and nothing personal,” Lawson snarled when he stepped from his truck. “Because if it’s anything but ranching business, I don’t want to hear it.”
“It’s personal.” Roman clearly hadn’t heeded his warning. “I just saw Eve, and she had a hickey on her neck.”
Lawson cursed. “If I left a hickey, it wasn’t on her neck.” Though one on her inner thigh was a possibility, but he seriously doubted that Roman had seen that part of her anatomy. Which meant this was a fishing expedition. One to reel in some personal information.
“So, you did have sex with her.” Roman huffed. “Now, normally I wouldn’t care a rat’s nuts about that, but she looked upset.”
Hell. Lawson didn’t doubt that. He was upset and likely looked it, too. “Did she say anything?”
“Only that she was out for a walk to clear her head. I’m pretty sure we already had a conversation about you not dicking around with her.”
“I’m not dicking around with Eve!” Lawson said that a lot louder than he’d intended, and he got not only some ranch hands’ attention but also the attention of Nicky and Belle, who were in the sunroom.
“Then what are you doing?” Roman asked.
Lawson didn’t have a clue, and he didn’t have to think of an answer that wouldn’t have satisfied Roman anyway because the sound of a car engine gave him a reprieve. Or at least he thought it was a reprieve.
A confusing one.
It was Mila, but she wasn’t alone. Her small car was jammed with people. Specifically, Tessie, Cassidy and Aiden, who was strapped into his infant seat between Cassidy and Tessie. No sign of Eve though.
Mila had a big smile on her face when she got out. A smile meant for Roman because she gave him a long kiss before she even acknowledged that Lawson was there.
“I brought some guests,” Mila said, still beaming.
Cassidy and Tessie didn’t share Mila’s glee. Tessie was sullen. Cassidy was scowling. And Aiden was fussing and kicking. Cassidy took him from the seat and immediately handed him to Lawson.
“Aiden’s gassy, cranky and teething,” Cassidy informed Lawson. “Why don’t you spend some time with the kids while Mila and I have a cup of coffee. I won’t be long, and then Mila, Tessie and I are taking Aiden to the park to give Eve a break.”
Cassidy didn’t linger to make sure that was okay with Lawson or Tessie. It sure as heck wasn’t okay with Aiden because he fussed, farted and kicked even harder.
Apparently, Roman was a fan of Cassidy’s plan because he only gave Lawson a flat you’re on your own look and went inside with the women.
Tessie gave him a flat look, too, but she did at least try to soothe her brother by patting his back. It didn’t work. “Jiggle him a little,” Tessie suggested. “And kind of rock him while you keep a good hold on the back of his neck. His head’s not supposed to jiggle too much.”
Lawson wasn’t an expert at jiggling or rocking, but he gave it a try. “Since it appears you weren’t hog-tied and dragged over here against your will, does that mean you came to talk to me?”
Judging from her suddenly sour expression, the answer to that was no. “I just wanted to get out of the house.” She tipped her head to Roman, who was still in the doorway of the sunroom. “He’s my cousin, right?”
Lawson nodded. “And you’ve got plenty more of them. Uncles and an aunt, too.”
Her expression stayed sour. “I met Lucian.” Well, that explained the sucking-lemons look. “I think he’s a bit of an ass,” she added.
There was nothing wrong with her instincts. Well, instincts about that, anyway. “I can be an ass, too, when it comes to the stunt you pulled.”
Bringing up the subject was a risk. Tessie could just clam up or ask Mila to take her back home. But Lawson didn’t intend to avoid the elephant in the room just because it could be risky. The biggest risk of all was having Tessie do something that stupid again.
“Are you going to lecture me about it, too?” she asked.
“Damn straight I am.” He frowned though at the cursing. It was mild, but he was still doing it in front of two kids. “What you did was wrong, period. From here on out, no drinking at all until you’re legal age. That should be about the same time your mom ungrounds you.”
“If I’m lucky,” Tessie grumbled.
Well, he certainly accomplished putting a damper on the mood. Not that it was a particularly good mood before the mini-lecture. But Tessie’s expression immediately perked up when she spotted the new Appaloosas in the corral, and she hurried toward them. Lawson caught up with her, and while he continued to do some baby jostling, he recognized the look in Tessie’s eyes.
Horse love.
Yeah, she was his kid all right.
For such a simple thing, it made him feel a whole heck of a lot. Like wanting to know more about her. And wanting to kick any guy’s ass who ever laid a hand on her. That was an especially strong feeling. Ditto for wanting to repeat the whole drinking lecture until it sank into her teenage head.
“What are their names?” she asked. As if she’d done it her whole life, she climbed onto the wooden fence, straddling it. She held out her hand and made clicking noises to get the horses to come over.
“We don’t tend to name the working horses,” Lawson told her.
Aiden caught sight of the Appaloosas, too, and while he wasn’t exactly starry-eyed, he quit fussing.
One of the horses moseyed toward Tessie, nudging her hand and causing her to smile. That smile washed away all the crappiness of the day. Lawson was afraid though that it wouldn’t last when he had to ask her a question.
“Does your mom know you’re here?”
Tessie nodded, kept her attention on the horses. All four of them were headed her way now. “Miss Mila came by and asked if she could bring me to the ranch, and Mom said yes—after she thought about it for a long time. It was Cassidy’s idea to come with me.”
Probably because Cassidy wanted to keep an eye on Tessie to make sure she didn’t run off or anything. But she wasn’t running anywhere right now. Instead, she looked ready to get in the corral with the horses.
“There should be a bag of treats just inside.” Lawson tipped his head to the barn. “There’s a tack room on the left.”
Tessie got off the fence as easily as she’d gotten on, and she headed in that direction while Aiden volleyed some glances at Lawson, the horses and his sister. With the intensity of an artist analyzing a model, the kid stared at Lawson. Then he belched, farted and laughed all at the same time. Good. Maybe the belching and farting would put him in a better mood. It certainly put Lawson in a better one, and he brushed a kiss on the kid’s head.
It wasn’t long before Tessie came back, the bag of treats in hand, and she climbed on the fence again. Lawson was about to instruct her on how to give an open palm treat to avoid a bite, but she’d already figured it out.
“You know how to ride?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’ve had lessons.”
That made him want to cringe. Anyone with his DNA should have been raised on horses. But Lawson decided it would be petty to hold that against Eve.
“I’m going to be a large-animal vet,” Tessie went on. But the glee vanished. “Or at least I was going to be one.” She looked at him. “You heard that I might get kicked out of school?”
“Yeah. Can’t say I blame the dean. Underage drinking is not only bad for your liver, brain cells and judgment, it’s also bad PR for a college.”
Tessie didn’t argue with that. In fact, she might have made a teeny sound of agreement. “Now that everyone knows I’m a student there, Mom’s crazy fans keep leaving stuff outside my sorority house. Horns, capes and those stupid fake weapons she used to carry on the set. And the photographers keep trying to sneak pictures of me.”
“My advice—don’t do anything else stupid to give them a good picture. If you’re boring enough, they’ll eventually find a new target.” Lawson hoped so, anyway.
“Now I know how my mother feels about the press always hounding her,” Tessie added in a grumble. “Don’t tell her I said that. I’m not letting her off the hook just yet. She still hasn’t fessed up about you being the dad.”
Not my dad. The dad. At least she hadn’t called him a sperm donor or the a-hole who’d knocked up her mother.
“Eve knows that you know about me,” Lawson confessed. “I told her that you’d figured it out.”
If Tessie had a reaction to that, she didn’t show it. She gave another horse a treat. “Do you hate me?”
The question stunned him to the point that Lawson made a weird sound, part snort, part groan, part huff, and it was loud enough to spook the horses a little. It caused Aiden to jump, too.
“No,” Lawson barked. “Of course not.”
Tessie stared at him a moment as if waiting for more. And Lawson wanted to give her more, too, but he wasn’t sure what he should say. He considered using the l-word. But it might scare her off. Still, he did have l-word feelings for this hardheaded teenager.
“What about him?” Tessie motioned toward Aiden. “Do you hate him because he’s Kellan’s son?”
This time, Lawson tried to keep his huff a little softer. “No, I don’t hate him. I try to limit my hatred to people who actually deserve it. Your screwing up doesn’t warrant any hatred. And neither does Aiden’s gene pool.” Though he was still hanging on to some hatred for Kellan.
“But you hate my mother for keeping me secret,” she added. She didn’t look at him but kept her attention on the horses.
“I don’t hate Eve, either.” Now he did add more. “Your mom was about the same age you are now when she had you. Think about that for a second. She maybe didn’t make the smartest decision, but I think she did the best she could, all things considered.”
Now Tessie’s attention came back to him. She didn’t address what he’d just said but instead tossed something else out there. “Apparently, my mom hasn’t grasped the concept of safe sex.”
Lawson immediately thought of the broken condom. The concept was there all right, but sometimes leaky latex could squash precautions.
“Is everything okay?” Cassidy called out to them. She was no longer in the sunroom but was making her way toward them.
“Fine,” Tessie and Lawson said in unison.
Cassidy glanced at them as if trying to figure out if that was true, but then she shrugged. “Are you ready to go?” she asked Tessie as she took Aiden from Lawson.
Tessie hesitated, maybe wanting to stay. Probably not because of him, though, but because of the horses. She was giving them a longing look.
“Don’t screw up for six months, and I’ll buy you one,” Lawson offered.
“You’re bribing me?” Tessie asked.
“Yeah,” he readily admitted.
Cassidy raised an eyebrow, maybe because bribes equaled bad parenting or something, but it had always worked on him. Well, for matters that didn’t concern Eve it had, anyway.
“Thanks, but I’ve got my own money,” Tessie grumbled, walking away.
That had a distinctive don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out tone to it, but Lawson tried not to take it personally. He remembered the whole teenage-angst thing and had a daily reminder of it with Tate. Still, it stung, especially considering they had an actual conversation prior to the snark.
Lawson stayed by the corral and watched Mila drive off with them. Roman left, too, heading in the direction of his own house on the other side of the driveway.
It was strange, but Lawson suddenly felt a little, well, empty. No belching, laughing baby in his arms. No horse-loving teenager who might be grounded until infinity. Everything was...normal again. And yet it didn’t feel normal at all.
It felt shitty.
And it only got worse when he saw the car approaching. Not Mila doubling back for an extended visit. It was Darby.
Lawson tried to buck himself up, and he hoped like the devil that his ex was wearing more than a raincoat and a twinkle in her eye. She was. When she stepped from the car, he could see that she was wearing scrubs.
They walked toward each other, meeting halfway between the house and the barn. “Don’t worry,” Darby said right off. “I’m not here for that.”
Good—they were on the same page. About that, anyway.
“I heard about Eve’s daughter,” Darby went on.
Hell. He hadn’t expected it to stay a secret about Tessie being his, but he really didn’t want to have this conversation with Darby.
“I might be able to help,” Darby added.
He raised an eyebrow and was about to ask her if she’d created a time machine to go back and undo the pregnancy. Something he definitely didn’t want undone.
“Thanks for the offer...” he started, but he didn’t get to finish because Darby interrupted him.
“My dad’s college roommate is the head of a department at Wellsmore College. He can talk to the dean and maybe stop Tessie from being expelled. I wanted to make sure it was okay with Eve before I had him do anything like that, but I figured Eve would rather hear it from you than me.”
Darby was right about that, but Lawson wasn’t sure Eve would want to hear it from anyone. Having strings like that pulled might make Tessie believe she was going to get bailed out if she messed up. Lawson didn’t want that notion planted in her head. Still, this wasn’t his call to make. The dad wasn’t the same as Dad.
“I’ll mention it to Eve. Thanks,” he said and then started for the house.
But Darby went right along with him. “How’s Eve doing? I suspect she’s having a lot of mixed emotions right now.”
Lawson kept walking, but he glanced at her, trying to figure out what the heck that meant. Was there some kind of rumor about Eve and him having sex? Or was this Tessie related?
“Eve’s okay,” Lawson answered, hoping that would suffice and send Darby on her way.
It didn’t.
“So, you think Eve will stay here in Wrangler’s Creek?” Darby asked.
That got him stopping on the porch step. He didn’t like the sound of that. “Why wouldn’t she?”
Darby lifted her shoulder. “I just figured Kellan Carver wouldn’t want to live here. This doesn’t seem like the kind of place that would suit him.”
Lawson huffed, put his hands on his hips. “Is there something you’re trying to tell me? Because I’m not getting it.”
“Oh.” Darby blinked. “I thought you knew.”
“Knew what?” Lawson growled.
Darby shook her head, mumbled another “Oh,” and she took out her phone. She hit the play button on a video and showed it to him. It was a video of Kellan giving an interview to reporters. Not in California, either. It appeared to be in front of the Longhorn Bar.
“Yeah, you heard me right,” Kellan said, sounding like the cocky ass that he was. He swiped his hand through his hair and flashed that Hollywood smile. “Eve Cooper’s daughter, Tessie, is my child. Our child,” Kellan corrected himself.
For shit’s sake. What was this about?
The bombshell lie caused a flurry of questions, and the photographers were clicking off a boatload of pictures. Pictures of Kellan’s lying, smiling face.
“Don’t worry,” Kellan went on. “I’ll be sharing lots of details and pics of me, Eve and our kiddos when we start our new life together.” He outstretched his arms. “Baby-Cakes, I’m on my way home to you.”