She smiles—and thank God I’m sitting down because it about knocks me off my goddamn feet.“Why haven’t you found a girl to settle down with yet?”
I chuckle.“’Cause I’m not sure there’s a woman alive willing to put up with my cranky ass.”
“Oh, come on, are we talking about the same West Winchester?High school quarterback, runs a successful ranch, sane, dependable, has all his ducks in a row, and doesn’t mind spending time with a lonely single mama?”
“You don’t have to be lonely, darlin’.”
“My husband just left me and I’m the mother of a newborn who cries every time I’m near.All I have is lonely.”
I narrow my eyes and study her face.The woman is a stunner.She could throw a dart in any direction and hit a hundred men willing to take Eddie’s place.“How’d we get here, Daisy-Mae?”
She shrugs.“Just lucky, I guess.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”I’ve never really given much thought to marriage and babies, but ever since Dais and I got close, it feels a little bit like I might be swallowed up by the silence of that empty house I go back to every night.The question is, what the hell am I going to do about it?
Chapter Twenty-three
West
I’m in the HayseedFeed Store paying for a few more bales, when my phone vibrates in my pocket.I pull it out and glance at it.Daisy’s picture flashes up on the screen and I about fall all over myself to answer it.“Well, if it isn’t my favorite Baby Mama.”
She sobs into the mouthpiece, “West?”
“Dais, what’s wrong?”I sandwich my phone between my ear and shoulder as I dump my supplies and head out of the store.
“West.Please come.They’re trying to take my boy.”
“The fuck?Who’s trying to take Waylon?”
“Eddie.Please hurry,” she whispers, and then a startled mewling cry tugs directly on my heartstrings.My pulse kicks up a notch.“Don’t hurt him!”Daisy begs.“He’s just a baby.”
“Fucking asshole!”I sprint out of The Hayseed, despite Shurl’s protests.I’m gonna kill that motherfucker.“I’m on my way, Daisy.”
I slide my phone in my vest pocket and bolt across the lot, ignoring the greeting from Miss Dot and the chastisement from old man Thompson as I climb in my truck and peel out of the parking space in a cloud of dust and gravel.A few minutes later, I pull up in front of her house and jump out.There’s a black Raptor in the drive with Dallas license plates.
“Daisy!”I stalk up the porch stairs and throw the front door wide, stepping across the threshold.The second I do, I’m hit with a blow to the face, and I go down hard.I hear Daisy screaming, and then it’s lights out for me.
