Chapter 23
Dixie
Holding the tub against my hip with my left hand, I grab the plates and glasses from the table with my right. My large belly makes things a little more difficult than they used to be, and Nancy’s kicked me out from behind the bar after I knocked over a two-hundred-dollar bottle of whiskey.
“Let me help you,” Penn says, walking over and grabbing the plates.
Rolling my eyes, I sigh. “I’m fine. I can do this, Penn.”
“You don’t have to,” he says.
And we’re back to the conversation about money.
How he’ll provide for me while I sit at home and eat bonbons and grow a baby.
“Yes, I do,” I remind him. “My center of gravity is just a bit off, and until Nancy trusts I won’t knock over expensive bottles of booze with this baby, I can’t get back behind the bar. ”
He’s not happy with my answer, but he doesn’t fight me. Which I’ll take as a win. “Okay.”
“You’re sweet, but I’m okay. Really.”
“Like you’d tell me if you weren’t?”
“Touché,” I say. “I’ll work on that if you’ll work on giving me a little more autonomy.”
Sighing, he gives me a dramatic shrug. “Fine.”
I laugh and head to the back to dump the glasses and plates next to the sink for the dishwasher, a man I haven’t bothered to learn the name of. Who is conveniently nowhere to be seen.
The trash is overflowing as I add napkins and coasters to it, and I groan. Lainey’s probably on her break. Again. And who the hell knows where Demi is. I swear, that woman is hiding more times than I actually see her.
It’s heavier than it looks, and I struggle to pull it from the plastic bin and drag it outside to the dumpster. With the baby growing, I have less lung capacity than normal, and it’s pathetic how winded I get from such a simple task.
As I brace myself to hoist the bag into the dumpster, I hear, “Fuck, right there. Don’t stop.”
“Ugh!”
“Yes!”
Rolling my eyes, I walk over to the alley, making sure I’m heard, and a zipper quickly zips as I turn the corner. Sure enough, it’s Lainey and Wylie.
“Seriously?” I hiss. “What if I’d been Penn? He’s been trying to do everything strenuous for me, and if he’d been the one to catch you, you’d both be dead.”
“Dixie—”
“You think he wouldn’t immediately run to Zep?”
Lainey hangs her head and nods. “I’m sorry, Dixie.”
“I’m not sorry,” Wylie says. “No offense.”
Of course he’s not. “Since you’re out here…” I point at the bag sitting by the dumpster.
He frowns. “What?”
“I can’t lift the bag up into the dumpster,” I admit. “Could you? Since I’m keeping the secret of a lifetime for you both?”
Chuckling, he walks over to the bag and hoists it up into the dumpster, wincing as he does. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Got shot in the arm,” he says, touching the now-blood-stained fabric.
My eyes widen as I gape. “How?”
He waves a hand to dismiss it. “It was a freak accident. Was driving by while someone was playing with a gun. Stray bullet.” Kissing Lainey, he heads to his bike parked in the shadows. “Gotta go.”
“That wasn’t just a stray bullet, was it?” I ask.
“I’ve learned it’s better not to question it,” Lainey says.
“You’re playing with fire. You know that, right?”
“Good thing I’ve always loved the heat,” she says with a smirk. “It’s why I live in the fucking desert.”
Holding the door open for me, she grins and pats my ass. I want to be angry, but I can’t really fault her. It sounds like the two of them really like being with each other, and I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to fall for one of a handful of men her stepbrother hates with a passion.
“She’s going to get herself killed,” Demi says when Lainey walks out front.
I nearly jump out of my skin and slam a hand over my chest. “Jesus, Demi, where the fuck did you come from?”
“Hanging out in the corner for my break,” she says. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Give a girl a warning next time. Haven’t you heard it’s not exactly a smart idea to scare a pregnant woman?”
“You’re pregnant?” she asks. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Frowning, I point at my very obviously pregnant belly. “You thought I just gained this much weight? In my stomach?”
“Look, I don’t ask unless I see the head. And you haven’t told me, so I didn’t want to assume.”
“Please, fucking assume… I’m actually more offended you didn’t notice.”
Demi laughs, her dark hair brushing her shoulders. “Of course I did. But I wasn’t going to ask you. I’m not that much of a bitch.”
My heart still flutters from the scare as I walk out into the bar, and I stop short when I see Stephen sitting at a table. The moment his eyes meet mine, he smiles and gives a short little wave.
He wears a button-down blue shirt, his hair perfectly styled, and expensive Italian loafers to match the Rolex watch on his wrist. “Dixie, hi.”
Penn turns from the bar, and I’m nearly frozen. My baby’s father and the man who currently wants to help me raise my child are sitting only feet apart from each other. He couldn’t have come in here when Penn was gone on his run?
My hand rests on my belly protectively, and I shake my head. “What are you doing here?”
He stands and walks over to me, but I step back to keep distance between us. “You look gorgeous,” he says, placing his hands on either side of my stomach.
It’s such a fatherly move, except he doesn’t want this baby. “Thanks. What are you doing here?”
“I love you, Dixie. And I fucking miss you.”
“Okay?”
“I want you back. I want you, and I want this baby. God, I’m so glad you didn’t make that appointment like I wanted.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see every Daredevil—including Penn—turn and watch us. Great, they all know who the father of my child is now. And who tried to kill me in my house fire.
“Outside,” I say, leading him to the back door and away from everyone.
Once we’re outside, he grabs me by the shoulders and tries to kiss me. My palms press against his chest and push him backwards. “Dixie—”
“You tried to kill me and our unborn child, Stephen.”
“I feel really bad about that.”
I blink at him and laugh. Really laugh. “You feel… you feel bad about that?”
“I want to be with you. I’ve already talked to a lawyer, and I’m leaving Caroline.”
Holy shit. “You what?”
“It’s not working with her. If it was, I wouldn’t have strayed. And I wouldn’t be thinking about you every moment of every day, Dixie. I love you.”
“But your job has you gone—”
“I’ve got that figured out, too. I’ve grown the company enough to have people beneath me. I can have them working out of town for me and only go when absolutely necessary. I’ll have more time with you.”
This makes no sense. “You said everything you told me was a lie. You didn’t love me, and we were never going to have the life we talked about.”
“I believed that when I said it, but now, being with you in a big house with our child is all I want. That life we dreamed about is something I didn’t know I wanted until it was completely off the table.”
“You don’t want to be a dad. Not even to the three you already have, remember? I still can’t believe you said that.”
And I can’t. Those poor kids. Children always know when their parents don’t want them around. It’s a sad life to live.
“It’s not about the kids as much as their mom. Caroline’s a hag. She nags and demands. All she wants is to spend my money and have me gone all the time. It’s really hard to stay at home when you’re only seen as a bank.”
That’s understandable. Assuming it’s true. And I’ve run out of arguments. I mean, trying to set me on fire is still a big blockade, but I might still believe everything else he says. And I did love him once.
Cupping my face, he kisses me softly. “Just think about it. I’ll be in town for a few days finishing up a business deal. You know how to reach me.”
I stare as he walks away. There are so many reasons to walk away and never look back, but there’s one big one that I can’t ignore: He’s the father of my baby. What mother doesn’t want to be with her baby’s father? To have the family you created together?
But then there’s Penn. He’s all in, and he’s already acting like this child is his to raise.
I still can’t truly believe he understands the full impact of raising another man’s child, and it’ll all change when the baby comes.
He’ll eventually realize he doesn’t have to be woken up at three in the morning for diaper changes and feedings, and then what?
Where will I be then?