“There’s this thing called the internet, finding out information is easy with the click of a button. I figured someone in your line of work would know something as simple as that.”
Brenden stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Fine, so you looked me up on the internet. You still haven’t told me what the fuck you’re doing here?”
“Is that all you have to say to me after I went through all the trouble of coming here to see you?”
“You weren’t invited.” He didn’t want to stand there anymore talking to Paige. They were over, and he wanted nothing to do with her. He had too much shit going on in his life.
Fuck, Stephen’s pregnant with my child, and he’s known for months. I need a fucking drink, no make that several.
Paige chuckled. “We can have that drink together if you want.”
He must have spoken out loud without realizing it.Hopefully, I didn’t say anything else.“No, thanks. I think it’s better if I drink alone and you go home.”
Paige smiled and looked down noticing the gun in his hand. Instead of being shocked, she uncrossed her arms and stepped closer to him. “Do you plan on shooting me, Brenden?” She wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her head to the side. The scent of her perfume wafting under his nose as she grazed her lips on his cheek and whispered in his ear. “I’ve missed you.”
Brenden pushed her back with one hand putting some space between them as he tried to figure out who the hell was the woman standing in front of him. She had never acted like this before, and it confused him. “Look,” he said holstering his weapon. “I’m going to forget that you showed up to my house uninvited. Because I have shit on my mind and I can’t deal with you right now, so go home, Paige.”
She stared at him for a few seconds. “Let me make it better. I still care about you, Brenden—”
“I’m not your responsibility, Paige. I don’t need you to make anything better for me,” he said cutting her off.Shit, you’ll probably make it worse.“Just go home,” he told her again stepping around her and walked up to his door, opening it, going inside locking it behind him.
He threw his keys on the table beside the door and headed straight for the kitchen. There was a bottle of vodka on the counter with his name on it. He grabbed the bottle switching the lights off as he headed for his bedroom. He sat on his bed taking a large swig, trying to drink his anger away. He should have stayed and talked with Stephen, he knew that. But he was sick and tired of secrets and just wanted one night where he didn’t need to think.
Brenden woke up the next morning to the sun beaming in his face. His head hurt like a son of a bitch. He sat up, the sheets falling down his hips as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He yawned, rubbing his chest. He froze when he heard a door slamming shut and the sound of a car starting. Either it was his hangover, and everything was just fucking loud, but it sounded as if the door that shut was his and the car was in his driveway. He hurried and got out of bed only to stop in his tracks when he realized he was naked.
What the fuck?He looked around his bedroom trying to figure out what the hell happened. He spotted the empty bottle of vodka on the floor beside his bed and picked it up. His clothes thrown all over the room. He ran his hands through his short-cropped hair.Did I get that drunk I forgot I took off my clothes?
Brenden shook his head; something didn’t feel right. Sighing, he rested his hands on his hips and looked down at his naked body. He felt out of sorts, and he didn’t know why. Nothing he could think could make him feel that way. Putting the feeling in the back of his mind, Brenden walked over to the bedside table and picked up his phone checking the time. He noticed he had a text message from Paige; instead of reading it, Brenden deleted it and went about starting his day.
** ** ** ** **
Two weeks later, Brenden was in his office, avoiding not just Stephen but everyone else. After thinking about it, he realized he’d acted like a selfish fucking idiot and overreacted when Stephen had told him about the baby they were having. Brenden felt his anger was justified. He cared about Stephen and was hoping that they were finally starting to move towards a new and better beginning. And then he dropped the bomb that he was pregnant.
Brenden wasn’t sure if he was upset that Stephen kept it from him for so long or that it was another child. He was confused on how he was supposed to feel. He got up and walked to his door, scanning the bullpen quickly just as Stephen walked into the office. Their eyes connected for a split second before the other man looked away.
“I wish you two would work out whatever issues you have with each other and stop bringing that shit into the office.” Brenden turned around to his left and Tucker was standing next to him.
“Did you know?” Brenden asked.
“If it’s about the baby,” Tucker answered, “yeah, I knew. I found out the day he told me you were Nicholas’ father, who is worried by the way. He thinks he did or said something to make you angry because you haven’t been to see him.” He walked into Brenden’s office and closed the door, sitting in front of him.
Fuck!He hadn’t seen Nicholas for two weeks because he was being stubborn and his guilt was eating at him.
“I’m not sure what to say, Tucker. I’m still a little pissed that he kept Nick away from me for so long. And when he had the chance to tell me about the baby, he didn’t. He waited until he had me emotionally attached to him, again. And now you’re saying I should forgive and forget then we can ride off happily into the sunset.”
“Would that be so bad?” Brenden went to answer, but Tucker stopped him. “Ask yourself this, why are you angry?”
The answer was simple—secrets, he hated them. He worked in an organization where things needed to remain confidential. However, when it came to his personal life he tried to be as open and honest as he could. His family knew what he did for a living, and never asked him questions. They knew about his sexual preference and accepted it for what it was.
“By the look on your face, I guess you have your answer. Now, figure out how to fix it,” Tucker told him. “I remember when my wife was pregnant with our daughter and how happy I felt to be bringing a child into the world who had something from both of us. But you don’t just have one blessing, you have two. Don’t let your anger hold you back from experiencing what you missed out on with Nick.”
Tucker looked back down in the bullpen and watched Stephen with a sad expression on his face. He felt like a heel for the way he’d been acting. Tucker lost his wife and child in a car accident, and there he was going to be a father for the second time, and he was acting like a fucking idiot. Tucker was right, he needed to fix it. But the question was how?
** ** ** ** **
Brenden was avoiding him, deliberately. Stephen knew the man would be upset, but he didn’t expect his anger to last as long as it had. Stephen was hurt because he hadn’t been around to see Nicholas in two weeks. He kissed Nicholas on the top of his forehead as he finished the story he was reading.
“Daddy, is Papa mad at me?”
