Page 64 of The Christmas Cowboy

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ihave noidea why the tack looks like a hurricane went through here.Val knew it wasn’t Melody’s fault and Liam was very picky and liked everything in its place, so clearly it wasn’t his. That left Les or Roland and of the two she figured it was Roland, the teenage helper. She was going to have to talk to him. But for now it was up to her.

She was straightening up the tack when she looked up to see Trent standing in the doorway of the room. She wasn’t afraid of him, but she didn’t want to deal with him. For sure not alone.

“Where’s your husband?”

“He went to the feed store. He’ll be back any minute.”

“Good. I wanted to talk to you without his interference.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “I can’t imagine what you have to say to me unless you’ve decided to do the right thing.”

“I don’t think our definitions of ‘the right thing’ are the same. I talked to a lawyer, you know.” She didn’t speak, waiting for him to continue. “He says it’s almost a sure thing that I can get partial custody of the kid.”

Not surprising but the thought petrified her. “Did he also tell you that if you claim the baby you’ll be responsible for child support? For eighteen years.”

Trent frowned. “That can be negotiated. The amount, anyway.”

“I find it hard to believe you suddenly want to claim this child. You sure as hell didn’t before you found out I married Liam.”

“Bastard doesn’t deserve to raise my kid.”

“And you do? That’s a laugh. What kind of father do you think you’ll make?” The thought of Trent being responsible for a helpless baby gave her nightmares.

“I might be persuaded not to claim it.”

This was new. She narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean? What do you want?”

“What’s it worth to you for me to sign over my parental rights?”

“Money? You want me to buy you off?”

He shrugged but didn’t respond.

“It’s illegal to sell a child.”

“Even to its mother? Besides, I’m not selling it. It’s not like I’m trafficking the kid.”

Oh Jesus. The thought of her precious baby being trafficked made her want to throw up. “You’re not coming near my baby.”

“It’s my baby too.”

“We’ll see what the court has to say when I tell the judge you tried extort money from me by giving up your rights to the baby.”

He scowled. “That’s not what I was doing. I just thought you might want to make it worth my while to sign over my rights.”

“You truly are scum. I can’t believe I ever slept with you.”

“As I remember it, you were pretty happy at the time.”

“That’s because I didn’t realize then what a terrible person you are.” It hadn’t been a bad experience, other than the condom breaking, but it sure hadn’t been anything great either. Honestly, it had been about as bland as possible.

Liam came in carrying a fifty-pound bag of oats over his shoulder. “What the hell are you doing here?” he said to Trent.

“Just talking to my baby mama.” He smirked at Liam.

Liam dropped the oats and grabbed him by his coat lapels. “Val isn’t ‘your’ anything. Say that again, you son of a bitch, and I’ll beat the shit out of you.”

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