He leaned in and placed his hand on my cheek. “Are you okay, Lor? Did he hurt you?” He was being so gentle with me, after just beating the shit out of Cade. I loved this man so much. When I looked at him I saw my future. I wished it was that easy. I wished that we could just forget all about Stacy and Jaz. But we just couldn’t do that.
“Babe, are you okay? Is the baby okay?” he asked when I didn’t answer him.
“Yeah, Jaxon, I’m fine. He wouldn’t hurt me.”
Jaxon dropped his hand from my cheek and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
I looked him in the eye. “I think we need to talk.”
He nodded in agreement and I said, “I need to talk to Cade for a minute. I’ll meet you at my house, okay?” He agreed and started out to his motorcycle.
I walked over to Cade, who had sat up and was leaning against the wall. His head was up against the wall, and he was rubbing his hand over his cheek. It looked like he was trying to rub the pain away.
I scooted down the wall and sat down next to him. “Why didn’t you fight him, Cade? Why’d you let him hurt you?”
He gave me that belly laugh, “I got no reason to kick his ass, Lor. He won fair and square. You love him. You never loved me. I shouldn’t have been touching ya like that. Kissin’ ya that way. The man had every right to kick my ass.”
I reached down and grabbed his right hand and laced my fingers through his. “Cade, you have been a great experience for me.”
He laughed again, “An experience, huh, hon?”
I smiled at him. “Yes, sir. You have been quite the experience. You were what I needed. You showed me what I want my future to be.”
“Lor, if that baby in your belly is mine, I ain’t goin’ away. I will take care of it and its momma.”
I placed my hand on his cheek. “Cade, if this baby is yours, I will not keep you away from it. I want you to have a relationship with him or her.”
“Her, it’s definitely a her.” He said with a smirk on his face. “I always wanted a little cowgirl of my own. Lor, I will always be here for you and the baby. Even if it’s not mine. I’m just sorry you don’t get those damn butterflies in your belly for me. I saw the way you looked at him. He’s your future. As much as it’s killing me. Deep down inside, really deep down, because you know I hate that asshat.”
I chuckled at him, and he said, “You belong together. Do whatever you need to do to make that happen. Just know that I will be here for that baby, no matter what. Even if she ain’t mine. I won’t let him hurt you ever again. You understand me, Lor?”
I removed my hand from his cheek and placed it in his. “I understand you, Cade. And I wish things were different. I wish...I just want you to be happy. Promise me, okay?”
“Hon’, you can’t ask me to make a promise like that right now while you’re breakin’ my heart. Damn, woman, you’re cold.” He laughed that big belly laugh at me and started to stand up. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but he got up and wiped the blood from his lip. He started toward his truck. “I’m gonna need a day or two to lick my wounds. If ya need me, ya know where to find me, okay?”
I answered as we were walking outside, “Yes, sir, I sure do. And Cade, thanks for...”
He finished my sentence, “The most amazing sex of your life? You’re welcome, hon.” And there was that big belly laugh again, but it was followed by a really sad smile. It was killing me to hurt him like this, but I had to be with Jaxon. He was my future. I had made a promise to Declan, and I intended to keep it.
Jaxon
As I headed to Lor’s house, I couldn’t stop thinking about the baby. She was gonna have a baby. I knew it wasn’t mine. She was having his baby. I loved her. How was I going to handle this? I didn’t know the answer to that, but I did know that I loved that woman more than anything in this world. She was my future, and like hell if I would let that fucking cowboy ruin it for me. I would love that baby, just like I loved the twins. We would be a family no matter what, if she would have me.
I had to fix this. This whole thing was my fault. How could I have been so fucking stupid? If I had been honest with her from the beginning, none of this would have happened. She never would’ve met that fucking cowboy. We would be together now. She wouldn’t be pregnant though, and I would never take that away from her.
I pulled down the drive and parked in front of her house. It felt like home, like I belonged here. I wanted that perfect postcard family life. I wanted that with Lor. I had to fucking fix this. I just had to.
I walked up and sat down on the front porch in one of the white rocking chairs. I decided to sit there and think about what I was going to say to Lor. I had been practicing what I would say ever since I left Richmond, but things had changed. The baby was a new hurdle, but not really. I wouldn’t treat it like anything other than mine. The same way I planned to treat the twins. I wanted this family, and right now all I
