KAT
I felt foolish for stirring up trouble today. My contractions ended up being false labor. I’d gotten wound up and let Maria contact Rowdy. Now, he was here in my town, leaving me nowhere to hide. My fantasies about Rowdy would soon come crashing down under the weight of reality.
When Maria warned he was outside the door, I froze and tried to come up with a reason why I couldn’t see him.
Before an idea came to me, Rowdy Reed entered the room.
While I was a bloated mess, he looked gorgeous as usual.
Tall and leanly muscled, Rowdy embraced his rugged good looks.
His dark hair hung straight and long down his shoulders.
His eyes were the fairest blue, seeming almost to glow. His skin was tanned and tattooed.
Tonight, he wore a black thermal top and jeans. The color made his eyes stand out even more. I might have swooned at the sight of him.
“Katarina Darville, you lying bitch,” Rowdy said, making me gasp. “Don’t worry. I forgive you.”
Before I could speak, Rowdy startled me again by leaning down and planting a wet kiss on my lips. Too shocked to react, I only stared at him.
“You look tired,” Rowdy said and settled on the part of the bed without the rail. His palm skimmed my belly. “My kid is already running you ragged, huh?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I ghosted you.”
“I’ve decided to blame your sister,” Rowdy said and frowned at Maria lingering at the door. “She’s clearly conspired to keep us apart.” Returning his icy gaze to me, Rowdy smiled. “You are completely blameless.”
“I didn’t get pregnant on purpose,” I babbled. “I don’t think I did. Maybe subconsciously, I wanted this, but I don’t know.”
“Who cares?” Rowdy said and placed his other hand on my belly. “My kid is nearly here. Let’s not worry about the past. Is it a boy or a girl? Can I help name it? I’m thinking Alicia for a girl.”
“I expected you to demand a test to prove I’m telling the truth.”
“You and I swapped fluids at the time this little beauty was created,” he said, feeling up my stomach. “Wait, was there another guy? Will you cry when I bury him?”
My gaze flashed to Maria, who looked at me like I was insane to want Rowdy. Of course, she wasn’t blind to his good looks. But he always rubbed her the wrong way. He wasn’t any better with me when we were in high school, yet I could never forget him.
“There’s no other man, but we should do a test to make things official.”
“No, I’m good. Maria said you’re having a C-section next week.”
“That’s the plan, but I thought I was going into labor. I’ve been on bed rest.”
“Because my kid is so huge?” Rowdy said, making me frown. “You look so worn out. I’ll have a talk with the kid when it’s older. We’ll make it up to you on Mother’s Day. Now, as for the name idea.”
“Alicia is nice, but I’m having twin boys,” I said and slid his hands off my belly. “It’s why I’m so big.”
Rowdy didn’t look the least bit shocked and returned his hands to my stomach. “Carrying two babies must be difficult. No wonder you look tired. Should I massage your feet? Maybe you’d prefer a sensual massage instead.”
I grinned at his bullshit, but everything remained surreal. Mostly, I wasn’t sure what would happen next.
“I’ll be discharged soon,” I said as Rowdy took my hand. “I’m sorry you drove all this way on a false alarm.”
Rowdy frowned. “You’re kidding, right? I drove all this way because you contacted me and told me where to go. If you had done the same thing but said you had the stomach flu and needed me to hold your hair while you barfed, I’d still have come.”
Rowdy was capable of behaving so sweetly. That was what I had told myself whenever he wasn’t sweet back in high school.
Once we met at the Fire Hooch, he was everything I had hoped for. During my pregnancy, I nursed the dream that he would forgive my lies and still want me. But I also feared what might really happen.
Rowdy was a criminal biker with a dangerous family. If they wanted a problem to disappear, no one would stop them.
When the nurse entered the room to remove the monitors, Rowdy moved out of her way before walking to the opposite side of the bed and taking my hand.
“Kat needs to change,” Maria said after the nurse left to organize my discharge papers.
Rowdy smiled at me. “Someone will need to learn to share.”
Maria frowned at him before putting on a smile for me. In my life, only one person had ever been reliable. Right now, she wanted Rowdy to leave. I saw that fact written all over her face.
Yet, Maria still said, “I’ll share once Kat’s home and resting. Now, get out, so I can help her dress.”
Rowdy smiled at me. “I’ll be right outside. After you’re discharged, I’ll follow you to your place. We can discuss things in a nice, calm way. Oh, and while I’m in the hallway, I’ll warn my family not to be too loud when they arrive.”
“Wait, what?”
“Oh, they’ll no doubt follow me to Little Rock. But I’ll get them to put on their best indoor voices.”
If I was still wearing the blood pressure monitor, the damn thing would likely show a spike.
Last year, Rowdy had proven to be capable of great tenderness when we were together. I believed we might get around my lies and build something real.
However, the Reed family was bound to be an entirely different obstacle.