CHAPTER 19
***WALKER***
By the time Walker got back to the fraternity house, he’d worked himself into a fury again. It was easier to be angry than to face his part in the whole mess. Hattie was standing at the stove stirring something in a big pot when he slammed through the back door and started toward the stairs to his room. She took one look at him and hustled across the kitchen to block his path, a wooden spoon in her hand. He stopped short and stared down at her, a part of him wanting to push her out of the way, then let out a long sigh and took a step back.
“Something mighty nasty is brewing inside you,” she said, forcing him back a couple of steps. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me about it.”
“What if I don’t want to talk about it?” he demanded, feeling like a child. “It’s none of your business.”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that to me, young man,” she said, still forcing him back into the room. “You’ll talk to me or you’ll talk to one of the other guys, but you’re not locking yourself in your room looking like that.”
He plopped down into a chair at the table, leaned back, and crossed his arms over his chest. “You can’t make me talk,” he said, feeling like a child. “I’ll just sit here until you give up.”
Hattie started laughing. “Now that was mature,” she said, then shook her head. “Have it your way. I’ve got dinner to make, desserts to bake for the staff Christmas party, and four loads of laundry to do. When I’m done with all that, we’ll try again.”
He looked at the older woman who’d been like a mother to him, to all of them, since they moved into the fraternity house as freshmen. She cared about them like they were her own children, and he was taking his anger at himself out on her. A wave of guilt washed over him. Hattie was just trying to help, and he was making a mess of that, too.
“I’m sorry, I know you’re just worried about me,” he said, uncrossing his arms. “I’m acting like a jerk and you don’t deserve it.”
Hattie walked over and sat down next to him. “That’s better. Now what is this all about?” she said. “Did something happen with Maddie? I thought things were better between you two.”
He opened his mouth, the words were right on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t get them out, couldn’t say it out loud as he battled through a deep sense of shame and embarrassment. Hattie sat patiently, waiting for him to speak, then got to her feet and went over to the coffee pot. She poured them both a cup and set one in front of him.
“Sometimes it helps if you have something else to focus on,” she said, then sat back down again. “Take your time, there’s no rush, I’ll just make the boys cook dinner.”
He laughed, and it helped, “Maddie got pregnant freshman year and never told me,” he said, staring down into his cup. “I have a son, his name is Justin, and he’s two and a half years old.”
Hattie made a little sound in her throat, but she didn’t say anything for a second. “And how do you feel about that?”she finally asked, studying him. “That must have been quite a shock.”
This time it was a snort that came out of him, “That’s an understatement! I can’t believe she didn’t tell me, all these years I’ve just been living like…well…you know, and all along he was there, just waiting for me,” he said. “I can never make that time up, I can never get it back, it’s like she took something precious from me. I don’t know if I can get past it, I don’t know if I can forgive her.”
“I’m sure she had a good reason for not telling you,” Hattie said. “Did you ask her why she waited so long?”
He didn’t answer right away, felt the shame and guilt building up again, but this time he couldn’t push it away, couldn’t pretend it wasn’t there, not with Hattie watching him so closely. “I might have pushed her away back then. I stopped talking to her and responding to her messages,” he said, then shrugged his shoulders. “We call it ghosting someone. I was scared, my feelings for her were so strong, but I wasn’t ready to be that involved with anyone. I thought there would be other women…but it’s always been her, it still is even now, even with this.”
“Love is like that,” Hattie said, patting his arm, then got quiet for a second. “Walker, is it possible that you’re not angry with Maddie, you’re angry with yourself?”
“She should have tried harder, she should have…I don’t know, told someone else so they could tell me,” he said, then blew out a big breath. “That sounds stupid even to me. Maybe I am mad at myself, I didn’t really give her a chance to tell me, I thought I was doing the right thing breaking up with her.”
“There now, doesn’t that feel better?” Hattie asked. “Helps get rid of all that anger, and it’s the first step toward fixing things with Maddie. You owe her big time. You might have missed outon the last few years, but she raised that child all alone, that’s not easy.”
His perspective suddenly shifted, and he could see through Maddie’s eyes. “Her parents disowned her when they found out,” he said, all the pieces falling into place. “They tried to take her trust fund away so she couldn’t go to school, it all makes sense now. God, I’m such a jerk, I screwed up again, I wasn’t thinking about what it must have been like for her.”
“Now you’re on the right track. Instead of being angry at her, you should be grateful,” Hattie said, a little bit of disapproval in her voice. “Not only did she raise your child on her own when you ghosted her, as you put it, she’s almost finished her degree. If I were you, I’d be on my knees thanking her and asking for forgiveness.”
He jumped to his feet. “Yes, ma'am,” he said. “I’m going to go do that right now.”
***Maddie***
Maddie watched out the window, making mental notes about where they were going in case she got a chance to call for help. Thomas had confiscated her purse and locked it in the trunk with their bags, but he hadn’t searched the pockets of her coat, and the phone was right there, warm in her hand. Stealing a glance over at Thomas, she racked her mind for a way to escape, but unless they stopped somewhere, she knew it was never going to happen.
“Where are we going?” she asked, hoping he’d answer this time. “It might be nice to know…”
“Somewhere you’ll be very comfortable, don’t you worry, you’ll be treated like a princess,” Thomas said, not even looking over at her. “As my wife, you’ll automatically have some standingin the clan, and that brat of yours is a prize. I can’t wait to see the look on old man Marbury’s face when he finds out I have Walker Price’s son and he’s going to become one of us. I’ll be propelled to the top instantly, I’ll have made my name in the clan before I’m twenty-five. I’m going to be the next alpha and you’re going to be right by my side.”
“I’ll never marry you, and you can’t force me; there are laws against stuff like this. Someone is going to come looking for me,” she said, shaking her head. “This won’t work, Thomas. Just take us back. We’ll just pretend this never happened, we can call it a bad joke or something.”
“I have some terrible news for you, no one is going to come looking for you,” Thomas said, shaking his head sadly. “A few days from now, your bodies will turn up in the river, a horrible case of drowning or maybe murder suicide, I haven’t decided yet. Of course, it won’t be you, you’ll be tucked away safely in our territory, completely untouchable, even if Walker does figure out you’re not dead. It’s a perfect plan, really. You have to admit that. I’ve thought of everything. You’re really lucky to have been chosen by a man like me.”
