“What’d she do to end up on the run from the baby daddy, Beck? Think to ask her that? Find out what you’re getting yourself into?”
My fist clenched, muscles pulsing with the urge to reenact what I’d regretted doing for months.
“I don’t plan to hurt him.”
All heads swiveled to find Parker’s silhouette filling the doorframe.
Lennon cursed while Bailey let out a low whistle. Reed, on the other hand, had the brains to look regretful.
“If that’s what you think I’m here to do, to make him clean up some mess I was involved in, it’s not. I came to Bell Buckle for my dad’s funeral.”
Shock lit all their faces. Not many people in this town cared for Parker’s father, so aside from the outsiders who attended his funeral, Bell Buckle had stayed in the dark about his passing.
“That’s whose funeral you went to?” Bailey asked me.
I nodded.
“I was going to leave after,” Parker went on.
“She has nowhere else to go,” I clarified. “She’s staying with me. In my house.” I sent Reed a hard look, solidifying the fact that yes, I was going to fucking protect her. That’s how it’d always been with Parker, and that’s how it was going to fucking stay. I was well aware the man who’d gotten her pregnant had pushed her, but she’d told me he hadn’t hurt her before. Some part of my brain told me not to believe it. Parker was a pro at hiding her pain all so she could see those around her smile. She never wanted to bring the mood down. But fuck, couldn’t she just tell me the truth so I could kill him and get on with it?
“Don’t take this out on Beckham.” A small hand rested on the swell of her belly, and in the faint light from the house, I could see the goosebumps on her arms from the cold. She shouldn’t be out here without a coat, but I wasn’t about to interrupt her to tell her that. “I told him I could leave, but he insisted I stay. I’ve been traveling to different ranches since I left this town. I always stuck to that plan. But that changed when I got pregnant, and then I found out my father passed. I didn’t come here with some malicious intent to take advantage of Beckham, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Reed lowered his gaze to his boots. “That’s not what I thought, Parker. Beckham’s been going through something, and the last thing he needs right now is another responsibility.” He threw a hand my way, concern flitting across his features. “Fuck, a few months ago, he could barely feed himself. Now you’re here, you’re pregnant,and he’s Beck. He’ll always take care of you. There’s no question about that. We just don’t want him losing himself again.”
Unspoken words hung in the thick air. Like whether I was even capable of helping her when I could barely help myself. Whether this was the right thing for me to be doing when I’d just shown my family how unstable I was. Whether I was able to be around Parker, pregnant with someone else’s baby, and not lose my damn mind.
Spoiler: I lost my mind the first time we kissed as teenagers. Never got it back. Didn’t think I wanted it back if I could.
“So… Which is it? Is the baby his?” Bailey asked, clearly losing us with the emotional bits.
“No.” Parker’s answer hurt for some reason, even though it was the truth. I wanted that baby to be mine. Wanted to be the guy who was with her when she saw those two lines pop up. Wanted to go to every appointment, every ultrasound, and talk about how cute our baby was. How proud I was to be a dad.
But none of that was real.
This was our reality.
Lennon’s eyes narrowed slightly, skeptical. “Wyatt start that rumor himself, then?”
A flush lit Parker’s cheeks and she stepped out of the doorway, coming closer to me. “No. Uh, I did.”
Bailey’s brows shot up. “Holy shit, P.”
“I didn’t mean to,” she added quickly, wrapping her arms around herself. “He assumed, and it went from there.”
“Yeah. Spread like wildfire,” Lennon mumbled.
“So, what? You’re gonna clear it up?” Bailey asked.
Reed was quiet now, likely brooding in the fact that he hadn’t gotten out everything he wanted to say. That, and he likely felt bad for Parker overhearing our conversation. Brothers could give each other shit, but we didn’t loop girls into the mix.
“I’m fine with it,” I said before Parker could confirm.
She shook her head. “You don’t need to?—”
I pinned my gaze down on her. “We can discuss it away from my brothers and their never-ending peanut gallery.” Eyes back on my brothers, I said, “Anyone asks, that’s what you go with. I don’t want any other rumors spreading about Parker.”
“You mean, besides this one,” Reed muttered.
