Chapter 20 #2
I told the hostess I was meeting a friend and she led me to a corner booth in the back of the dimly lit restaurant. It had a cool, music inspired vintage vibe, that appeared to be popular with both locals and tourists, since the place was packed.
I ordered a water and perused the menu while waiting for Easton.
I heard the murmur throughout the restaurant, confirming he’d arrived.
“Hey, you,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek before claiming the seat across from me. “Thanks for meeting me. I’m going stir-crazy at home without Lyla and the kids. Can’t wait to get back out on the road next month.”
Easton managed to balance a busy career with family because he had a wife at home holding down the fort.
But how the hell would I manage, doing it all alone?
Of course, I wouldn’t be alone. Like Eden said, I’d be co-parenting with Cam, no doubt.
But the idea of shuffling our kid back and forth between states didn’t feel like the life of safety and stability I’d imagined for them either.
We placed our order before I sat back and studied my friend. “You look like shit, by the way.” He was gorgeous, with shaggy black hair, light green eyes, scruff, and a muscled physique only enhanced by meaningful ink, but he looked dead tired. “You haven’t been sleeping?”
He sighed before rubbing his hands over his face. “I’ve been spending a lot of time at my bar since it opened. Not wanting to go home to that big, empty house.”
“When are Lyla and the kids coming back?” I asked, leaning in.
His gaze shifted and he started watching strangers walk past the window. “I don’t know.” He cleared his throat. “She’s, uh, not sure she wants to come back, Ry.”
“No.” I sank back against the vinyl seat, feeling the weight of his pain. Family was everything to Easton, and now he was on the verge of losing it? “Why?”
He shrugged. “This lifestyle isn’t easy, you know that. Lyla’s tired of it. She gets lonely. And believe me, I get that, because I’m lonely without her too.”
But he was anxious to get back out on the road? That didn’t make sense.
“Easton, I know how much you love music. But maybe you need to take a break, yeah? Spend some quality time with your kids, re-build your marriage. You’ve made more money than your grandkids could ever spend.”
He swallowed repeatedly, staring at me. “But without the music, who the hell am I? That nobody, country bumpkin Lyla’s family thinks I am.” He shook his head. “I can’t be that guy. I won’t give them the satisfaction of—”
I covered his hand with mine and looked into his eyes. “They. Don’t. Matter. What matters is your kids and the woman you love. You’ve gotta fight for them, because if you don’t, you’ll never forgive yourself.”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat, shaking his head. “Yeah, I know, you’re right.”
The waitress returned with Easton’s beer and promised our food would be up in a few minutes.
Easton took a long pull from his bottle, before he asked, “So, what’s up with you? I didn’t even see you talking to Eden’s brother at their engagement party, so I’m guessing it’s over?”
“I’m afraid my life is just as complicated as yours, my friend.” I took a sip of water before diving right in. “I’m pregnant… with Cam’s baby.”
His jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out. “Seriously?”
“Yup,” I said, popping the p. “He has no idea. I just found out, and I need a little time to process before I tell him, ya know?”
“Yeah, yeah, I get that.” He nodded. “But girl, you have to tell him soon. You’re gonna need him more than you even realize. Believe me, I’ve been around for three pregnancies, and it ain’t easy.”
“I know, but I can do hard.”
Before this happened, I would have believed I could face anything alone.
But this was different. This made me feel scared and vulnerable in a way I never had before, maybe because I knew there’d be another little person counting on me.
“I know you can. But hon, this is huge.”
Like I needed him to tell me that?
“I know, but I can handle it. I have to, right? What choice do I have? I’m gonna be a mama, whether I planned for it or not.”
He hesitated, before saying, “You could always—”
“No, I couldn’t,” I said, flashing my palm to silence him.
“Whatever you were going to say, I couldn’t.
Having this baby, and raising him or her is the only option for me.
I had a crappy childhood. And I don’t want that for my little one.
The only way I can assure he or she has the best, is to be there, and give it to them, right? ”
He nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. So, how do you think Cam will feel about this?”
I allowed myself a moment of satisfaction, knowing at least I hadn’t chosen a deadbeat to father my child.
“He’s a good guy; he’ll be there for me. I have no doubt about that. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s had baby-fever for awhile now, so he might even be stoked about this.”
“Good,” Easton said. “I’m glad to hear that. ‘Cause if he wasn’t, I’d have to lay into him.”
I smiled, feeling the warmth spread through me. Having friends like him, after doing life alone for so long was a blessing.
“You’re sweet,” I said, smiling at the waitress who delivered our food. “But that won’t be necessary.”
Easton dressed his burger before asking, “You said he’s a great guy, so what happened between y’all? Was it the insecurity you mentioned that night at the bar?”
“Dean happened,” I said, adding ketchup to my fries. “He couldn’t stand to see me happy with Cam so he found a way to sabotage us.”
“How the hell could he do that?” Easton asked, frowning. “No way does that shifty little shit have that kind of power.”
I chuckled over my friend’s apt description of my ex.
“You wouldn’t think so, would you? But it turns out he’d been recording us during…” I cleared my throat. “Intimate moments, while we were dating. I guess he found a way to change the date and timestamp and sent them to Cam, convincing him I’d cheated on him.”
“Come on.” Easton sank back, looking stunned. “For real?”
“I’m afraid so.”
I felt the hot burn of tears sting my throat and blamed it on pregnancy hormones. But if I was being honest, it was losing Cam to my ex’s scam that still stung.
“I’m gonna run that asshole out of town,” Easton said, looking fierce. “I’ve never trusted the sleazy little bastard and when I start spreading the word that he’s a maggot, he’ll never work in this town again.”
“I appreciate that.”
I didn’t have to ask my friends to go to bat for me, but I loved that they would. I didn’t want to see Dean’s face again, so if Easton really could run him out of town, I’d be grateful.
“You should press charges though. He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that, Ry.”
“I’ve thought about it,” I admitted. “But he’s still got that video and who knows how many others. He leaks them and it would be humiliating. Might even end my career. I can’t risk that.”
“Yeah, but he ruined the best thing that’s happened to you in a hell of a long time. He can’t be allowed to get away with that.”
I wiped my mouth with a napkin after taking a bite of my burger. “How do you know Cam was the best thing—”
“Because I saw the way he looked at you at the engagement party. And that look in your eyes the night we talked about him, before y’all broke up.
It was obvious he was it for you. And a loser like Dean shouldn’t have the power to rob you of that.
You deserve to be happy. And you deserve a good guy you can count on. I want that for you, hon.”
“Don’t you dare make me cry,” I whispered. “Or I will kill you.”
He grinned, flashing a smile that made most women act stupid. Thankfully, I thought of him as a big brother, so I was immune.
“I can’t believe Cam would fall for that though,” Easton said, looking thoughtful. “I mean, the guy’s a sheriff, right? So, he deals with scum for a living.”
“Yeah, I think he was just shocked when he got that video and acted without thinking it through. His ex cheated on him, so he’s got trust issues.”
He worked on his burger for a minute before he said, “So, the guy made a mistake, Ry. Give him a break.”
I scowled before huffing at him. “Would you quit telling me to give him a break? What is it with you? He clearly doesn’t trust me, and if he doesn’t trust me, this can’t work, right?”
“You’ve never made a bonehead mistake and needed to beg forgiveness?”
“I…”
I sure as hell wasn’t perfect, but this was more than a mistake, wasn’t it? This was about trust. The very foundation of any solid relationship.
“Of course, I have. But he—”
“Listen to me,” Easton said gently. “I keep encouraging you to cut the guy some slack because I’m so far from perfect, you have no idea. If you’d known me before I met Lyla, you wouldn’t have liked me. I wasn’t a good guy. But she made me a better man.”
For that very reason I wanted to plead with him to fight for her.
“And from what you’ve told me about Cam, and what I’ve heard about him over the years from Austin and Eden, he’s the real deal. Strong. Smart. Loyal.” He let those words sink in before he said, “Someone you can count on.”
“That’s why he’ll make a great dad.” Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them away. “The kind of dad I wish I could have had when I was growing up.”
“He’s the kind of man you deserve, Rylee. Don’t cheat yourself because you’re trying to punish him for one stupid lapse in judgment.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but snapped it shut.
Damn. Was he right?