Malone's Fate (Haven, Texas Book 14)

Chapter 19

Tanner wanted to snatch the phone off her. But he held back, knowing that wouldn’t win him any favors.

She grew pale and climbed off his lap. Worry filled him. He stood, watching as she grabbed a handbag from a locker, pulling the strap over her.

“I’ll be right there! I’m coming now. I’ll run! Yep! Okay.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked as she rushed out of the room.

“That was my friend, Opal. Ryleigh is sick. She’s been sick for a while, but she’s gotten worse. Linc is taking her to the doctor. And Kye too just in case.”

“Ryleigh? Who is Ryleigh?” he demanded. Was he the father of her baby? Why hadn’t she mentioned him, though?

“Peggy.” She stopped by the older woman. “I’m so sorry. I’ve got to go. Family emergency.”

Peggy eyed Tanner suspiciously as though this was his fault.

“Of course. Go.”

Lilac raced out.

“Lilac! Wait!” he demanded.

“I can’t. I have to meet them at the doctors.”

“I’ll drive you.”

She slowed, turning. “What?”

“My truck’s here.” It was right next to her. He unlocked it and she practically dove for the passenger door, opening it with fingers that fumbled.

He opened it for her and lifted her in.

“Go! Let’s go!” she said as he got in.

“Seatbelt,” he said sternly.

“Tanner, go!” she wailed.

Instead of arguing with her, he decided it was better to reach over and buckle her in.

He drove her to the doctors. She undid her belt, jumping out as he was still parking.

She was in the building before he’d even gotten out of the truck.

Oh, she was in trouble when he got his hands on her.

When he got inside, he found her talking to Hannah. To his surprise, Hannah was frowning at her. Hannah never frowned at anyone.

“Where is Ryleigh?” Lilac demanded. “Kye?”

“I’m sorry, they’re in with the doctor.”

“Where?” Lilac demanded.

“I can’t let you in there.”

“Hannah,” he said in a low voice, coming up beside Lilac. He wrapped his arm around her trembling form. “Tell her where her son is.”

He couldn’t believe this.

“Her son?” Hannah gave him a shocked look.

Lilac gaped at him. “Kye isn’t my son.”

Suddenly, the woman he’d met earlier with the big hair walked out of a room, looking around. “Lilac! Come here.”

“Opal!” Lilac rushed forward. The other woman eyed him for a long moment. “Well, Cowboy, you coming too?”

That was surprising.

But he wasn’t saying no. He stepped in, shutting the door behind him. On Doc’s exam table sat a tiny, pale woman with dark blonde hair. A baby lay on the table next to her with Doc leaning over the baby, listening to his chest.

Linc hovered next to her as Lilac moved to Doc’s other side, her hand reached out to the baby who’d started to cry.

“You can pick him up,” Doc said. “Now I need to examine you, Ryleigh.”

That was Ryleigh? Ryleigh was a woman. Good.

“I’m fine,” the woman on the exam table said. “Just look after Kye.”

Lilac had Kye in her arms, bouncing him up and down lightly. Tanner walked over to her, placing a hand on her back.

“Kye is fine,” Doc reassured her. “His lungs sound good and he doesn’t have a fever. Whatever is going on with you, you’ve all kept him from catching it.”

They all breathed out sighs of relief.

“Thank God,” Lilac muttered.

“Perhaps you could all step out while I check Ryleigh over,” Doc said.

“I’m staying,” Linc insisted.

Huh. Maybe Tanner had read things wrong. It wasn’t Lilac he was interested in. Or Opal. It was the pale, sick-looking woman on the table.

“We’ll wait for you in the waiting room, Ryleigh,” Lilac told her.

As he walked out of the room, he felt Ryleigh’s eyes on him. But he only had attention for Lilac.

They settled in the waiting room, Opal sitting across from them while Lilac still held Kye, who had fallen asleep against her.

“He’s gorgeous. How old?” he asked.

“Four weeks,” Lilac said, staring down at him worriedly. “What if he gets sick, though? What are we going to do?”

“Take him to the hospital,” Opal said. “We’ll work it all out after.”

“Of course. Of course. I’m not thinking. I was just so panicked when you called me.”

Opal winced. “Sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to scare you. I shouldn’t have called until I knew what was going on.”

“No, you were right to call me. Do you think Ryleigh is all right?”

“So, who is Ryleigh?” he asked, interrupting their conversation

They both stared at him as though they’d forgotten he was there.

Flattering.

“What do you mean? That’s Ryleigh in there.” Opal pointed at the room, giving him a look as if she was wondering if he was a few beers short of a six-pack.

“I mean, who is she to the two of you? To him?” He nodded at the baby.

“She’s our friend. And Kye’s mama,” Lilac said quietly.

“He’s really not yours?” he said. “You weren’t pregnant when we met?”

Opal made a scoffing noise and got up to go look at the pamphlets.

“You thought that? That I hid a pregnancy from you?” Lilac asked.

“I didn’t know what to think. That night, you never turned up. You didn’t reply to my messages. I thought something terrible had happened. Then I figured you’d used and discarded me. So, what is the truth, Lilac?”

Guilt hit him as a tear dripped down her cheek. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

“The way to make it up to me is to tell me the truth.”

She nodded, sniffling. “All right, but not here. Not now.”

“Yeah. Not here. But soon.” He didn’t want her disappearing on him again.

“Either of you know why the receptionist keeps glaring at Lilac?” Opal asked. “She looks like she’s sucking on a lemon.”

Opal didn’t seem to have an indoor voice. Everything boomed through the room, and he glanced up to see Hannah giving him a mortified look.

He sighed. “That’s my fault. That’s Raid’s fiancée, Hannah. I’ll talk to her. Stay here.” Getting up, he moved to the desk to speak to Hannah.

Lilac glancedover at Opal as Tanner moved to talk to Hannah. “Do you think Ryleigh is okay?”

“I don’t know.” Opal chewed her lip, looking worried for the first time. Lilac knew she wore a mask around other people. But never around her or Ryleigh. “Linc was really upset that we hadn’t taken her to the doctor already.”

Guilt had her stomach rolling. God, she should have insisted Ryleigh go to the doctor. What was she thinking?

“Yesterday, she didn’t seem this bad.”

“I know. Her breathing started to go funny this morning. At least Kye is okay. We’ve kept him away from her. Sorry to call you. Do you think you’ll get fired?” Opal gave her a concerned look.

“Probably.” She wouldn’t blame Peggy for firing her. Especially after that mess with the guys at that booth. “I’m the worst employee.”

“I heard there were some issues last night at Dirty Delights,” Opal said. “Linc mentioned it when I first saw him this morning. You never said a thing.”

“I haven’t seen you today.”

“Sure. That’s the reason.” Opal nodded over at Tanner. “What’s going on with the cowboy?”

“What do you mean?”

Opal leaned forward. “Why is he here? Are you back with him?”

“No!” she said sharply.

Tanner glanced over. He raised an eyebrow, and she nodded back at him to let him know she was all right.

“Hmm, yeah, you two don’t act like a couple at all,” Opal said dryly.

“We’re not together. He was at the diner when you called and offered me a ride.”

And they’d kissed. But she wasn’t going to tell Opal that.

Linc opened the door and stepped through, a pale Ryleigh in his arms.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” She stood, holding Kye close.

“Ryleigh is very sick,” Linc said. “I’m taking her home with me. Can you bring Kye out to his car seat?”

“Um, yes. I need to settle the bill first.”

“Already taken care of,” Tanner said, walking over to them.

Wait. It was?

Shoot. She needed to talk to him about that.

Linc nodded at him briefly before carrying Ryleigh out. What was wrong with her, though? What was going on?

“Linc? What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked as they headed to his truck.

Linc glanced down at her, his face grim. “Why didn’t you take her to the doctor earlier?”

She jolted back, feeling as though she’d been slapped.

“Hey!” Tanner growled. “Don’t speak to her like that.”

It was true, though. Ryleigh often got sick, though, and Lilac hadn’t realized that she was feeling this bad.

Was that the real reason she hadn’t taken her to the doctor, though? Or was it because she was worried about the paper trail and money?

Had she risked her best friend’s health?

Guilt made her feel nauseous, and she was barely aware of the argument going on around her.

“Look! The fact is that Ryleigh is this close to ending up in the hospital because she didn’t receive early care. And that’s on you.” Linc glared down at her.

She stumbled back, nearly falling. Shit. She was still holding the baby!

“Fuck you, Linc!” Tanner snapped. “Ryleigh is an adult. She can make decisions about her own health. Lilac is not to blame for her being sick.”

But she was . . . she totally was.

Why couldn’t she get anything right? What if Ryleigh got worse?

Oh God.

She couldn’t breathe.

Do not panic. You need to keep it together.

“You don’t know jackshit about what Lilac has done for us, Deputy Dickhead,” Opal snapped at him as Ryleigh let out a small moan.

How she was sleeping through this, Lilac had no idea.

“No, because the three of you are extremely secretive. If you’d asked for help, then this might have been avoided. I need to get Ryleigh back to my place. I’ll be taking care of her from now on.” Linc grimaced as he glanced at Kye. “Kye too.”

“No, you can’t take Kye,” Lilac said, stepping back.

“Give him to me.”

No. If Ryleigh couldn’t look after Kye, then she’d want Opal and Lilac to. “No. We’ll look after him.”

“And how can I trust you to do that?” Linc asked quietly.

But she felt like he’d punched her in the gut. Her breathing grew ragged.

“Because we’ve looked after him since he was born,” Opal said sharply. “You better rein yourself in, boy. Before I do it for you.”

She put a hand on Opal’s arm. She knew her friend was close to losing her shit on Linc. And it wouldn’t be pretty. Opal was pretty easygoing until you hurt someone that she cared about.

Which was a short list.

“Fine. Kye stays with the two of you, but I will be checking on him. I’m taking Ryleigh home now to look after her.”

“Fine, but we will be checking on her,” Opal told him. Reaching into the back of the truck, Opal unhooked his car seat and dragged it out. “And when Ryleigh is better, you can bet she’s not going to be happy with the way you spoke to Lilac.”

Linc looked tense as he got in the truck and drove away with a sleeping Ryleigh.

“What if she’s not okay, Opal?” she whispered. “He’s right. It’s all on me. All my fault.”

Before Opal could reply, Tanner stepped between them, his hand cupping her chin to tilt her face back.

“Did you make her sick?” he asked.

“No, of course not.” How would that even be possible?

“Did you tell her that she couldn’t see a doctor?”

“No. I asked her if she needed to go, but she said she would be all right. However?—”

“No, no howevers, no buts.”

“I should have insisted she go.”

“How old is she?” he asked.

“Um. Twenty-three.”

“How old are you?”

“The same.”

“I’m twenty-nine, doll,” Opal drawled. “Just in case anyone cared.”

Tanner flicked her a look, and to her surprise, his lips twitched. “Would have thought you were the same age.”

“Oh, I like him,” Opal purred. “Which truck is yours, Cowboy? I’ll go get this set up.” She held up the car seat.

“Red truck over there.” He pointed to it and handed her the keys.

Opal strode away, her legs encased in tight jeans and a pair of thigh high boots with a thick wedge heel gave her some much-needed height.

“She’s not going to steal my truck, is she?” he asked.

“Of course not!” Lilac glared up at him.

“Just checking. Back to my scolding.”

“It’s rude to scold me,” she muttered.

“Not when you’ve earned it. You’re being way too hard on yourself and you need to stop.”

“Says you.”

“Yes, says me.”

“You don’t have a right to tell me off.” Although she had to admit it was helping to assuage her guilt.

“Has my dick been inside you?” he retorted.

“Tanner!” She tried to cover up Kye’s ears. “You cannot talk in front of children like that.”

Tanner grinned at her. “If he’s going to be around me or my brothers, he’s gonna hear worse than that.”

“Then you should clean up your language. And what does that have to do with anything?”

“My dick’s been in you. I’ve kissed you. Slept with you. Cared for you.”

Cared?

So, he didn’t anymore?

Pay attention, Lilac. That’s not what is important.

It felt like it was, though. Because her heart felt like it was tearing into pieces.

“And here’s the thing, I never let you go.”

Her mouth dropped open. “What?”

“I never let you go. You left. But I’m thinking now that you didn’t want to. I think there’s a reason you left which you’re going to tell me soon. But that just means you didn’t want to leave me. My claim still applies.”

“There . . . there was no claim!” What the heck? Was he for real right now?

“Baby, there was definitely a claim. And that claim still exists. So, get your head around being mine.”

“How did I not know how arrogant you are?”

He grinned. “You knew. You just liked it before. But now that I’m bossing your ass for your own good, I might add, you’ve decided it annoys you.”

“Of course it does! Arrogance is annoying.”

“Nope. Arrogance is me knowing I own you.”

“Nobody owns me. Nobody!” She practically yelled the words, her heart racing. It was too close to something Stefan would have said to her.

Kye let out a startled cry while Tanner stared down at her in shock.

“Here.” Opal reappeared, taking Kye from her. “I think it’s best we all get home, yeah?”

Lilac nodded. She felt more exhausted than she could ever remember feeling before. It was like all of her energy had been drained out of her. Turning, she stumbled again as she tried to walk to Tanner’s truck.

Letting out a grunt that she assumed was one of annoyance, he picked her up and carried her over to the truck.

“You don’t need to carry me.” Even though she knew she should be stronger than this, it was kind of a relief.

“I think you’ll find that I do. You’re so exhausted that you can barely walk. And I don’t want you tripping up. Plus, this means I get hold you. Never a bad thing.”

“Really?” she whispered.

“Why would it be, baby?”

“Because when I first arrived here and you saw me at Dirty Delights, you looked at me like you hated me. You said what we had was just a fling.”

“I told you I didn’t mean that. I wish I hadn’t said it because it’s not true. I’m mad at you, make no mistake of that. And you’re going to get punished. For running from me. For not coming to me if you were in trouble. Oh, and for jumping out of a moving truck. Yeah, your ass is toast.”

“What?” She looked up at him in confusion as he placed her in the front passenger seat. “When did I jump out of a moving truck?”

Opal was already in the backseat with a now-quiet Kye. Tanner pulled her seatbelt over and buckled it in. “Earlier, when we pulled up here. Make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The door shut and Opal whistled. “Daddy can spank me anytime.”

“Opal!” she scolded, looking over her shoulder at her friend.

Opal just grinned. “Don’t tell me he wasn’t giving you Daddy Dom vibes.”

Lilac groaned. “This isn’t one of your romance books.”

“Why not? It could be.”

Tanner got in and Opal leaned forward. “Are you a Daddy Dom, Tanner?”

Tanner’s eyebrows rose as he half turned to look at Opal, then at her. “No, I’m not. Is that what you want, Lilac?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“Sure? I’ve never been to Saxon’s, but I’m willing to go if it’s what you need. Learn how to be a Dom.”

“Saxon’s?” Opal asked with interest.

“Local BDSM club,” Tanner explained.

“I don’t need that,” she said.

“Sure? I’ve got no objections to you calling me Daddy.”

“Are there any Daddies in this town?” Opal asked. “Who need a bratty sub with a taste for pain?”

Lilac groaned as Tanner stared at Opal in shock. “I suspect there could be.”

“Well, now,” Opal said. “I didn’t think this small town was going to be for me with all these goody-two-shoes, but things are looking up.”

“Goody-two-shoes?” he repeated.

Lilac just shook her head at him, swallowing a groan as everything spun. Shit.

She needed some sleep.

But she knew that wasn’t going to be possible anytime soon.

“Yeah, everyone here just seems too good to be true, you know?” Opal said as they started driving. “Like, it can’t be real. Although that receptionist didn’t like the look of you, Lilac.”

“Again, that was my fault. She thought she was defending me,” Tanner explained as he parked in front of Linc’s house.

“Well, I hope you set her straight,” Opal said. “Wouldn’t want to ruin her nose.”

“Ruin her nose?” he asked her after Opal climbed out of the truck.

“Don’t ask,” Lilac told him. “But Opal has a mean right hook.”

Getting out, she moved to the back door to unhook the car seat, dragging it out. Her energy was waning, and for a moment, she was worried that she wouldn’t manage.

Then Tanner tugged the baby seat out of her hands and started walking toward the guesthouse before she could even say anything.

“Well?” he questioned. “Are you coming or not?”

With a sigh, she trudged after him. He really hadn’t been this bossy and demanding before.

Had he?