Page 20 of Sold to the Single Daddies

“You were there. When the hell would I have had enough time to sabotage your condoms? I don’t know how it happened. Trust me when I say I was shocked when I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t even know who y’all were.”

“Whatever your plan is, it’s not going to work.” Tate leaned forward. “You’re not going to get out of us what you want.”

“I just want Lucky to have a father!” I lowered my voice and rushed on. “I found the three of you so Lucky would have a chance at having a dad. I don’t want anything from y’all, except for you to meet your son and maybe decide to be in his life.Hislife, not mine.”

“Fine. If you want him to have a dad so much and that’s all you want, leave him with us.” Mills watched my face twist in horror. “What? Do you want money for him? If it’ll make you leave, we’ll pay you to leave him and go.”

My jaw dropped. I licked my dry lips and slowly tucked Lucky back into his carrier. I could feel them studying me and I wanted to scream. I wanted to lose my mind and attack them for even suggesting I’d let thembuyLucky from me. I was his mother. I loved him more than I loved life. I would never walk away from my son.

“If he’s really ours, you need to leave him with us and walk away. We’ll give him a good life.” West sighed heavily. “He deserves a chance in this world.”

“And you don’t think I could give him that?” I stood up and ignored the way everyone around us watched me. “You think you know me. You have me all figured out. You spend one night with me, at a club we wereallat, and now I’m just a whore who would sell her son to you? I don’t want your money. I don’t want anything from you. And if this is who y’all are… Lucky and I are better off getting far, far away from you.”

“You opened this can of worms. We know about him now and you don’t get to just take him and run.” Mills stood up and frowned down at me. “He’s ours.”

“Go fuck yourself.” I stormed away from the table and out of the diner with the fires of hell burning inside me. I couldn’t remember ever being so angry. I’d procreated with the biggest assholes in the entire country.

CHAPTER 15

Reagan

“Ma’am?!” A woman with a clipboard and a too-wide smile approached me on the sidewalk in front of the diner. “Hi! I don’t recognize you. My name is Samantha Drury and I’m a member of the Third Baptist Church. I’m going around today, getting folks to sign a petition to change the town’s name. Would you sign it for me?”

After walking out of the tense encounter with the Hellstone assholes I was too thrown off to keep a neutral face. I scrunched up my nose and tilted my head to the side.

“What’s wrong with the town’s name?”

She let out a fake laugh.

“Oh, dear. It’s named after thedevil. That’s just wrong.”

Even though I knew she was being serious, the part of my brain that hadn’t grown up yet swore up and down that she was making a joke. Unfortunately, at times that part of my brain was the loudest. I laughed. It wasn’t a fake laugh like hers or a cute laugh, even. I guffawed. Out of all the things in the world the woman was worried about, the town’s name was what she chose to crusade for?

“It’s hardly a laughing matter. This town was founded by lost and corrupt men. It’s time we brought the church back into focus. Every day we let this continue is one more day we earn God’s disappointment. Having our town named after the devil is disgusting. Our children play for teams that have the devil cheering them on in mascot uniforms. It’s deplorable.”

“You’re serious? You think the name of the town is going to be its downfall? Isn’t there something real you can focus your time on, something that would actually make a difference?” I shook my head and looked down the street, hoping to see Rudy waiting close by.

“Where’s your husband?” Taking in my blank face, Samantha clearly thought she’d won. “Oh. You’re a single mom, huh? No idea who the father is? That makes so much more sense. Obviously, a woman like you isn’t going to mind a town of sin. You’ll fit right in.”

“Lady, you’d be smart to get the hell away from me. I’m having a shitty day and you’re not making it any better. I’ve got hormones firing from every direction and if you’re not careful, some of them are bound to knock you right on your ass for talking to me like that.”

“How dare you? I should call the police for you threatening me! I am a good, God-fearing woman and you should show a little respect.” She crossed her arms and stared down her nose at me. “I’m going to pray for you.”

“You’re going to need to pray for yourself pretty soon. I’m serious. I don’t appreciate being called names and judged. Your cause is stupid and I hope the devil mascot pushes you down at the next game you attend. You’re a jerk.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve!” She actually moved even closer to me and tapped me in the chest with her clipboard. “You’re—”

“That’s enough!” West shouted as he pulled me back a step. “Leave her alone, Samantha. You want to push your bullshit petition, go do it somewhere else.”

I was surprised at his sudden appearance but more than happy to watch Samantha’s mouth flop open then close, as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say back to him. I moved back a few more steps and shook his hands off of me. I wasn’t going to thank him for saving me from Samantha being an asshole when he and his brothers had just done worse.

“West…Of course you’re tied up with this woman.” Somehow the woman decided sticking her nose even higher in the air was the answer. “Is this your spawn?”

“Yeah, he fucking is. Do you have an issue with that?” West shifted, blocking Samantha from looking at Lucky. “If you do, you should head on down to the bar and ask your husband why having an issue with the Hellstones is a bad idea.”

With a red face and a whole lot of huffing she stormed off, leaving West and I together on the sidewalk. I sucked in a deep breath when he turned around to face me. I was so angry at him and his brothers but there was still something in his gaze that made my blood pump faster. And then there was the simple fact that he’d claimed Lucky.

“You—”

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