Page 26 of Fighting For Light
Mommy doesn’t say anything. Her mouth opens on a gasp, but she doesn’t cry, and she doesn’t fight him. Daddy stares at her a moment longer and drops her, then storms out of our playroom, slamming the door behind him. I watch Mommy stand there for a second as her hands shake. She walks over to the playroom door, locks it, then comes over to us. She picks upLiam and pulls all of us into a hug the best she can. I sniffle, and Liam does, too. “It’s okay, my boys. It’s okay, I promise. He took everything, but I will get it back. This will not last forever. I won’t let it.”
***
“And you would be okay with a crying baby?” Cordi asks. I blink a few times, shaking the memory and putting it back in the dark, dank storage room of my mind. I don’t want to bury it because I want to remember. I don’t ever want to forget my why. I stare at Cordelia for a minute longer and realize mywhyjust changed.
“I’m perfectly fine with a crying baby gem,” I say, and she purses her lips and nods. “I’m going to talk to your dad, man to man. He deserves that, but do you think we should tell him…the baby isn’t mine?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “Yes, but I think it would make it all worse at the moment.”
“Let me talk to him first, okay?” I offer. She grimaces. “Go lay down. I’ll be back in a little bit. I’m sure you’re tired.”
“Okay,” she rasps and moves to stand.
I walk out the door into the bright sun. The heat feels like a sauna. Dry heat, my ass. I take a deep breath and fish my phone out of my pocket. I shoot Mom a text telling her I want to talk to her and I’ll call her later.
I step up to the Quinn trailer and knock. The door swings open, and I narrowly miss it before it hits me in the face. “Coldwell,” Reece barks.
“Reece,” I start, but he holds up his hand, gesturing for me to come in.
“It’s too damn hot to be standing out there right now.”
I climb up the steps and stand in the kitchen area. He sits on the couch, and I sit at the table, leaving plenty of space betweenus. If he tries to hit me again, I won’t hit back. I deserve it in this case. The way he sees it, I would probably punch myself in the face, too.
“Don’t bullshit me, Kai. I want the truth, and I want it now,” he commands. I lean forward and look him straight in the eye.
Part of me wants to really tell him the whole truth, but I don’t feel like it’s my place to do that, so I tell him the truth as it is now. “I’m taking responsibility, Reece. I’m going to marry her, and we’re going to have a kid.”
He grimaces and leans back into the couch. “I’m honestly surprised it took you both so long to get together, even if I did forbid it,” he grumbles. The corner of my mouth tips up. If life wasn’t the way it was, it would have happened a long time ago. But here we are. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks. I send him a look, and he holds up his hands, chuckling to himself. “Don’t answer that.” He rubs his chin and drops his hands in his lap. “Are you marrying her because she’s pregnant?” I shake my head. That’s God’s honest truth, especially since the baby isn’t mine. My need to save her is only part of it. “Do you really love her, Kai? I mean,reallylove her,“ he asks.
“Yes, sir, I do,” I say, resolute. “I have loved her for a long time.”
He rubs his chin. “Then, Kai, promise me something.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Promise me you will take care of her and my grandchild. As ridiculous and vain as it sounds, I was worried about optics, you know? But now that you’re making it official, it should be fine. But, uh…sorry, that’s not what I was getting at. I—“ his voice breaks, and he takes a long, deep breath. “Her mother broke my heart. I’m man enough to admit it. I don’t want you both to end up like me and Cordi’s mom. I loved her, but I guess it wasn’t forever. That being said, this life: the traveling, the fans, all of it can get to your head. I know you’ve been doing this for a while,but…you have a family now. Not only your mom and brothers, but you’ll have a wife and a kid of your own. Part of what we do is take risks to get the win or score the points. I’m not going to suggest you stop riding. I’m not dumb, I didn’t. I don’t blame you if you don’t want to quit. But before you go out on the track next time. Get a good long look, okay?”
His words sink into me. I want to tell him I have more experience with last looks than I’d like to admit. But he’s right. In all of my stupidity and need to save the people I love, she will matter even more to me because she will be more than my best friend. “I promise, Reece. I promise. Regardless, she will be taken care of, okay?” He gives me a long, hard look, then dips his head.
I stand and hold out my hand. “Are we good?”
He stands and takes it. “We are. Now go get your head right. We have a race to win.”
“You got it, coach,” I say and head out to my trailer. When I get back to mine, I take off my shirt, hoping to cool down a bit, and find Cordi passed out in bed. Her lips are parted on a breath, and her hand rests on her stomach. I lay down next to her and stare at her sleeping face. We’ve never done this before until last night. Sure, she’s fallen asleep on my shoulder when we were watching a movie, or I laid my head on her lap, but it wasn’t this intimate. Intimacy is new to me. It’s not something I’ve ever experienced with a woman. The few I’ve been with were fast and empty.
“Why are you staring at me?” Cordelia asks sleepily.
“I guess maybe because I can now…” I trail off.
“I love you, too,” she whispers. My heart thuds in my chest, and the breath whooshes from my lungs. “How did it go with Dad?”
“Fine, actually. He said he’s surprised it took this long.”
She smiles, and her bright eyes stare up at me. “Timing is everything,” she says quietly.
“I’m sorry, gem,” I mutter.
She frowns at me. “What could you possibly be sorry for?”
