I took a few seconds to just breathe before I lost my cool completely. I made sure I wasn’t holding Lucky too tightly and then I walked back towards the stairs.

“We’re leaving.”

Mills huffed and came after me. “You’re not leaving.”

“The hell I’m not.” I made it up two steps before Mills caught me by the back of my shirt and stopped me. I spun around on the step and would’ve fallen if he hadn’t been there to steady me. “You need to let me go and take me to town or I’m going to start screaming about the three of you kidnapping me.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Relax with the dramatics. No one’s kidnapping you.”

“What the fuck do you call this then?”

“We’re giving you a safe home and a good job. I’d call it pretty fucking generous.”

“I never should’ve come here! I hate you! I hate all of you. Lucky would’ve been better off never having a father! Now let me go!” I jerked away from him once more and he let me fall back on my ass. The stairs dug into my back and I cried out.

Mills’ face transformed with worry and he rushed to help me to my feet.

“Fuck, angel. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let you fall. Let me see your back.”

“No!” I was mortified as tears poured down my cheeks in a mixture of pain and shame. I struggled to my feet and cradled Lucky as close as I could without crushing him. “Don’t touch me.Don’t ever touch me again. I hate you so much. As soon as I can get away from here, I’m going to. I never want to see you again.”

CHAPTER 19

Mills

I sat at the head of the table and moved the burnt sausage around my plate. I couldn’t eat it and not because it was charred. I felt sick over the look on Reagan’s face when she fell on the stairs. She’d been in real pain and I’d caused it. I hadn’t meant to but I shouldn’t have let her go so suddenly. Everything I’d done since she showed up had been out of shock and paranoia and even I could admit that I’d been worse than ever.

“Reagan?” Mason’s surprised voice made me look up and I saw Reagan standing at the other end of the table, her eyes full of fire.

She planted her hands on the table and leaned forward. The whole scene would’ve been more intense if she didn’t have a baby strapped to her chest.

“I’ll stay but only so I can save up enough money to buy a ticket out of here. I’ll be your little maid and cook but I don’t want to hear a word from any of you. I don’t want you to talk to me, look at me, or even think about me. You’ll spend time with Lucky, only if you can guarantee that you’re not going to flake out of his life whenever the whim hits. You’re not going to be his future trauma by being deadbeat dads. I’d rather tell him you died in a fucking plane crash than have him grow up knowing men with no worth fathered him. Do you understand?”

Jolene coughed as she swallowed something wrong. Looking around the table, she swore.

“You knocked the poor girl up and treated her like shit, didn’t you? You three are more like your parents than I’ve ever cared to see. I’m going into town to get a real meal and to think about whether or not I want to work for men like you.”

I stood up, riddled with emotion. Anger, regret, shame, and even desire as I stared down the table at Reagan and watched her chest heave.

“Everyone out!”

Mason stood but he hesitated.

“Reagan?”

She didn’t take her eyes off of me.

“You heard your boss, Mason.”

He swore but followed the rest of the guys out. When it was just my brothers and Reagan, I sat back down and rubbed my jaw.

“You’re not telling Lucky that we died. We’re going to be in our son’s life.”

“That’s what I’d prefer, but only if you aren’t such pigs.” She slowly made her way around the table.

Tate growled out his demand. “We’ll look, talk, and think about you because you’re the mother of our child and we’re going to parent that little boy together.”