Page 73 of Secret Baby Daddies
“First of all, you’re going to get bed sores. Second of all, you look like you smell bad. Third of all, Lucky wants his Aunt Harley. Fourth of all, I’ve been listening to your voicemails. Fifth of all, you’re now the owner of a small business. You can’t hide here forever. Sixth of all, that tiny little baby in your belly needs sunlight and better nutrition than whatever it’s getting from the beef jerky and chips you’ve been eating. Seventh of all, I’m worried about you.”
I hugged my pillow to my chest.
“Don’t use a numbered list against me.”
She sat down next to me and sighed.
“Oh, Harley.”
“What did they say?” I slowly met her gaze and bit my lip. “The voicemails?”
“I’ll tell you if you get out of bed and shower. You’re going to want to hear.” She cupped my cheek and smiled. “I think you left too fast, babe. You know I’d never tell you to go back to anyone I thought would be bad for you and I’m telling you that you should go back to them.”
My stomach twisted while my stupid heart thumped harder, hopeful until the very end. That hope caused the crater through my heart to grow larger when Reagan kept talking, though.
“I didn’t want to tell you this but they’ve been calling less. I think you’re missing your chance here, Harley.”
“They’ve been calling less?”
“Your phone hasn’t vibrated once today.” She groaned. “Go shower already so I can tell you everything.”
I couldn’t hear anything else once I knew that they’d stopped calling. My chest ached and I felt like I was having a heart attack. I scooted deeper into the bed and got back under the blankets.
“Later. I just… Later.”
Reagan blew out a long sigh.
“I’ll give you one more night, Harley, and then I’m dragging you out of here.”
I didn’t bother responding. I couldn’t. My tongue was tied in a sad little knot. They’d stopped calling. Had they already given up on me? That was fine, right? It was what I wanted…I left them. I was hiding from them. I didn’t want to be controlled by them. Yet…I felt like my world was ending all over again.
Eight days. Eight days had passed and I felt worse and worse. I wasn’t sure how much further down I could go before I shattered.
Reagan was right about one thing. I had to get up and do something. I was going insane just lying in bed all day. I needed to get away from myself and my feelings.
I stumbled to the shower on legs weak from a lack of use. Hanging onto the shower wall, I scrubbed myself raw and then pulled on clothes so I could leave the room.
Reagan was at the kitchen island when I went downstairs and her eyes widened when she spotted me.
“You’re up!”
I moved towards the door.
“I need to do something. Anything.”
“Do you want to hear about the—”
“No.” I shook my head hard. “I just need to get away from my thoughts for a while.”
Thankfully one of her men, Mills, was there and he looked up at me with the same grumpy expression he gave everyone but Reagan and Lucky.
“Plenty of work to do on the ranch.”
“Mills, no. She’s pregnant and—”
“I’ll do it.” I yanked my hair into a painfully tight bun and nodded at him. “Just tell me what to do.”
CHAPTER 50
