Page 37 of Sold to the Single Daddies

West yelled at the same time I did.

“Get fucked!”

“The problem is that you think you can control who I can or can’t talk to. Meanwhile you’re dating the flower girl with the psycho attitude!” I shook my head and turned to walk away.

“Excuse me?” West shifted around me so he was blocking my path. “I’m not dating anyone.”

“Fucking her. Whatever you’re doing with her. I know all about it and it’s fine. You just can’t be such a major hypocrite!”Tears were pricking my eyes again and I stomped my foot, furious with my emotions. “Stupid tears. Stupid hormones!”

When I looked back at West, I saw he was grinning. Before I could question him, he walked around me and moved to Ryan’s driver’s side door. He leaned down and said something to Ryan which had him speeding away. West’s entire attitude changed and when he came back over to me, it was like he’d taken drugs or something. He seemed so much happier.

“What is going on?”

“Why do you think I’m with the flower girl with the psycho attitude?” He gently took Lucky back from me and then took my hand. “Come on. I already put Lucky’s car seat in my truck. I’ll drive us home.”

I tried to tug my hand away but he wouldn’t let me.

“She told me. And when I talked to Mills about it, he didn’t deny it.”

That made him stop walking.

“Are you serious?”

I frowned and nodded. “Yeah.”

He took a deep breath and held my gaze.

“Listen to me. Here’s the truth. I have been with Melanie in the past. We all have. Never at the same time, though, not like how we were with you. As far as I know, none of us have been with her in over a year. Since before you. I don’t know why the fuck my brother would let you think that shit but he and I will talk about it. I don’t give a shit about Melanie or why she’s lying, other than I don’t appreciate that she was clearly trying to hurt you. I haven’t touched another woman or fucked anything besides my hand since our night together. Got me?”

My mouth had gone painfully dry. I couldn’t speak so I just nodded.

“I’m taking you home, you’re going to feed Lucky so I can help you put him down to sleep, and then you and I are going to talk.” The way he said talk made me think dirty thoughts.

I swallowed down a lump of nerves and nodded.

“Okay… Sure.”

CHAPTER 26

Reagan

The drive to the ranch was quiet. West played an old country station on the radio at a low volume and he quietly hummed along while tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. I had to shove my hands under my thighs to keep from fiddling. I was nervous. I didn’t know what West expected or didn’t expect. I didn’t understand where we’d landed.

When we got to the ranch, West helped me get Lucky out of the truck and then carried him to the bottom of the stairs before handing him to me.

“Go ahead and get him sorted. I’m going to grab something and then I’ll be up.”

My feet carried me up the stairs but my brain stayed with West. My mind was racing, wondering why Mills hadn’t told me the truth, what West wanted to talk about, and how I’d gone from crying to hovering on the edge of an inappropriate amount of arousal in so little time.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and then startled slightly at the rocking chair that had been added to my room since the last time I’d been in it. I stood up and walked around it, wondering where it’d come from. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I settled in the chair and gently rocked Lucky while feeding him. After a few minutes, his little body went slack as he fell asleep and I decided I was going to kiss whoever moved the rocking chair. It faced the window so I could look out at the back of the ranch and appreciate the land that stretched on for miles and miles.

“Hey.” West stepped inside my room with a tray filled with fresh fruit and a pitcher of ice water. “I know this isn’t exactly dinner but I’m not a cook. How do you like the chair? Our grandma used to rock our dad in it when he was a baby. Ourmom rocked us in it. At least she did until she had the girls. That’s a story for another day, though.”

“I love the chair. So does Lucky. Thank you. And thank you for the fruit. I probably don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables so this is good.” I eased Lucky away from my chest and rested him in his bassinet. “I bet growing up on a ranch you got all the vegetables you could handle.”

“And then some.” He sat on the bed with the tray and smiled when I sat beside him.

“If there were ever a fresh vegetable in a home I stayed in when I was growing up, it would’ve been because someone stole it thinking they could smoke something out of it. I found several apples turned into pipes over the years. I took Mason in and knew I needed to pretend to be an adult so I tried to make us eat a balanced diet. Between the cost of the fresh stuff and the fact that both of us have the palette of a couple of toddlers, I gave up the balanced diet dream pretty quickly.”

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