Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cameron
When Rylee woke up the next morning with a serious bout of morning sickness, I tried to convince her that visiting her mama could wait, but she was hell-bent on getting it over with. And I was determined to be by her side in case she needed my support.
So, after we’d gone through the security clearance, and I used my position to gain access, even though I wasn’t on the approved visitor’s list, we were waiting in hard plastic chairs in a common visitor’s lounge when a guard led her mama in.
She looked a little better than she had the last time I saw her, but still had that perma-scowl etched on the hard lines in her face. I didn’t know how this woman had given birth to Rylee, who was so quick to smile and laugh, making friends wherever she went, and firing up a crowd.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, scowling at me, as she slumped down in the chair across from me. “If you’re here to ask for my daughter’s hand, don’t waste your breath.”
I hid my smile when Rylee gaped at her. “We don’t need your permission to get married, Mama. Cam is here because…” She drew a deep breath. “We’ll get to that in a minute. How are you? How’s your health?”
She shrugged before glancing over at a middle-aged woman, who was clearly an inmate, hugging a teenage girl. “Same.”
“The medication’s helping?” Rylee asked.
“How the hell should I know?” she snapped. “Do I look like a doctor?”
I leaned in, lowering my voice when I said, “Why don’t you calm down?
Your daughter asked you a question, because she’s concerned about your well-being.
Why don’t you try thanking her for caring and answer her like a civilized human being?
Because we all know you’ve done nothing to deserve her kindness. ”
Her mouth dropped open before she snapped it shut again. “Who the hell do you think you are? Just because you’re sleeping with my daughter doesn’t mean you can talk to me like that.”
“I’ve spent my entire career dealing with people like you,” I said, trying to control my temper. “People who refuse to take responsibility for the damage they’ve done and the heartache they’ve caused their loved ones.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about me!”
“Cam,” Rylee said, gently. “You don’t have to defend me. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” I said, feeling the disgust swell up. “She’s been treating you like this your whole life. And I know that, because I’ve known a hundred women just like her, who’ve gone to prison and left their families to pick up the pieces.”
“Babe,” Rylee said, touching my back. “You’re wasting your breath.”
“I don’t care,” I said, staring down her mother. “And you may not care either,” I said to her. “You may not care about how much you hurt Rylee. You may not care that she had to take care of herself because you weren’t strong enough to face your demons.”
“I don’t have to listen to this,” she said, standing.
“You’re right, you don’t,” I said. “But if you leave now, you’ll never meet your grandchild.”
“My what?” She stared at Rylee. “You’re pregnant?”
Rylee nodded. “That’s what we came here to tell you, Mama. We’re pregnant. The baby is due in early May.”
Looking stunned, she sank back down, resting her folded hands on the tabletop. “A baby?” she whispered. “Really?”
I was surprised by the transformation. Her whole body, including her facial expression softened when she said the word baby.
Her eyes narrowed at me. “Are you gonna do right by my girl? Marry her?”
“Mama!” Rylee said, sounding mortified. “Cam doesn’t have to marry me just because we’re having a baby. He’s—”
“It’s okay,” I said to Rylee, gently. “I don’t mind answering her questions.” To her mama, I said, “I’d love nothing more than to marry your daughter, when she decides the time is right.”
“Are you willing to sign a pre-nup?” she asked. “My daughter’s gonna be worth millions, if she’s not already.”
“Mama, please.” Rylee covered her face with her hands. “Cam doesn’t care about my money.”
Her mother snorted. “That’s what you think, honey. You might think a man is honorable until he starts seeing you as a meal-ticket. Then—”
“I’d have no problem signing a pre-nup,” I said to shut her up.
Rylee was right. I couldn’t care less about how much money she had or made in the future, but I would expect any lawyer worth their salt to demand I sign one before we got married.
“Good.” She nodded, looking satisfied. “So, you’re a cop, huh?”
“A sheriff in Oklahoma,” Rylee said. “I told you that.”
“So, how the hell is he gonna be in your kid’s life if he’s living in another state?” she asked Rylee.
“We’re still working out the details.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know what that means. A guy gets a girl knocked up and leaves her holding the bag. Just like your daddy did to me. It’s a story as old as time, honey. So, don’t think your man’s special.”
I was clenching my teeth so hard my jaw hurt when I said, “Don’t compare me to…
” I was going to say ‘the losers you hooked up with’ before I remembered we were talking about Rylee’s daddy and she might take offense.
“Anyone else. You don’t know me. You don’t know the kind of man I am, or how much I love your daughter.
How much I want this baby. I can assure you; I would never leave them. ”
“If you say so,” she said, leaning back and crossing her arms as she sized me up. “I guess time will tell. But I gotta admit, you’re tough. Rylee needs that.”
“Excuse me?” Rylee asked.
“You need a strong man,” her mama said to her. “Someone who can hold his own with you. You’ve always been so damn headstrong and independent—”
“Because I had to be,” Rylee said, narrowing her eyes. “I didn’t have the luxury of being soft or this life would have chewed me up and spit me out.”
“I guess you’re right about that,” she conceded, before hooking a thumb in my direction. “But this is just the kind of guy you need… if he sticks around.”
“Believe me, I’ll stick around,” I said, between clenched teeth. “I don’t abandon the people I love to fend for themselves.”
Instead of appearing offended, she tipped her head to the side, studying me.
“If you’re the real deal, respect. I didn’t even think guys like you existed anymore.
I thought they all died with my daddy and grand-daddy’s generations.
Men who lived up to their responsibilities and did right by their families. ”
I made a mental note to ask Rylee about her grandparents and why they hadn’t raised her. I wanted to know everything about her and all the people who’d come before her. Because they would be a part of our child’s story now too.
“I’m not here to prove anything to you,” I said, my voice softening. “And I don’t need permission to love and take care of your daughter and grandbaby, but I promise you, I will.”
She swallowed a few times before nodding. “Good, glad to hear it.” She stood, before looking at me, then Rylee. “Congratulations to both of you. I hope you’ll bring my grandbaby to meet me sometime.”
Rylee pinched her lips together and nodded. “We will.” We watched the guard hustle her through the door and down a long hallway before Rylee whispered, “What the hell just happened here?”
I laughed, nudging her shoulder with mine. “I think we just came to an understanding with your mama, sweetheart.”
“You, Sheriff, are a miracle worker.”
If that were true, all of my carefully laid plans would go off without a hitch.
Leaving Rylee was torture, but I hoped the next time I returned, I wouldn’t have to leave.
I’d already started laying the foundation for my new life, and keeping it a secret from the woman I loved was hard, but my mama had been right. Rylee had to know it was my decision, and whatever happened between us, she wasn’t responsible for the choices I’d made.
Driving down the highway as more miles separated me from Ry and our baby was putting me in a bad mood. So, when my sister called, I answered without hesitation. “Hey, sis.”
“Hey, yourself. I heard you were in town this weekend. And you didn’t even have time to stop by and see your little sister, huh? Thanks for nothing.”
Austin texted me this weekend and I mentioned I was with Rylee. I should have known Eden would call me out for not coming to visit.
“Sorry about that. We had a lot going on. A doctor’s visit—”
“Oh my gosh, how did that go? I know Rylee was kind of anxious about it.”
“Mama and baby are good.” I said a silent prayer of thanks. “I gotta tell you, hearing the heartbeat for the first time was surreal.”
She gasped. “I can imagine. I know how long you’ve wanted this. I’m so happy for you guys.”
I laughed. “Yeah, it happened a lot sooner than we planned, but I can’t be mad about it.”
I curled my hand a little tighter around the steering wheel, fighting the urge to turn my truck around.
“I feel like this was meant to happen. It’s just what I needed to light a fire under me.
I’ve been talking for years about how having a family is a priority for me, settling down with someone I love, and if Rylee hadn’t gotten pregnant I probably would have been half-assing it for a few more years, until the end of my term, even if we hadn’t broken up. ”
“When you say this lit a fire under you,” Eden said slowly. “What, exactly, does that mean?”
“It means our mama still gives the best advice.” I chuckled. “She basically told me it was time I put up or shut up.”
Eden laughed. “Yup, that sounds like our mama.”
“She said if I know what I want, and it’s Rylee and our baby, I need to make that my top priority. Quit the job, sell the house…” I grinned. “Hell, she told me to sell every damn thing I own. And you know what? She was right. I haven’t felt this good in years.”
“Are you serious?” Eden whispered. “You’re really gonna resign and sell your house?”
“You have to keep this a secret. Promise me? Rylee doesn’t even know yet.”
“Wait! What? You’re doing all this and you haven’t even told Rylee? Are you crazy?”
“Maybe.”
I refused to let doubt creep in. It was too late to turn back now.