"It," Shelby hisses.
"Okay, one"—I hold up my finger—"I'm having the baby; there was never a question about it." I put my hand on Clarabella's. "But I'm doing this alone."
"That motherfucker," Shelby hisses out.
"Oh, he's happy. He kept saying, we are having a baby." I shake my head, ignoring all the screaming going on in my brain. "But the reality of it is, I'm having the baby." I grab the glass, bringing it to my mouth. "And it's going to be fine."
Chapter 6
Bennett
I park my car on the street, turning it off. Looking at the house and seeing shadows from inside, I have a feeling that I should have called before coming here. Getting out of the car, I walk up the pathway toward the front door, seeing a toy truck on the side and smiling. The sound of dogs barking and utter chaos comes through the window, and I'm about to hold up my hand and knock on the door when it's pulled open. "What the hell are you doing?" Travis says to me, and I laugh.
"Normally, when someone shows up at one’s door,” I inform him, chuckling, "one either rings or knocks."
"Shut the fuck up," Travis says, moving away from the door. "You’re family." I walk in, closing the door behind me, and I'm greeted by the two dogs they got when they got married.
"Hey, you two." I bend down to greet them. "Are you keeping out of trouble?"
"Who was it?" I hear Harlow who sticks her head out of the kitchen and smile at me.
"This idiot was at the door, and he had the audacity to try to knock," Travis informs her, shaking his head.
"Imagine that," Harlow says, coming to me now. "Having the balls to knock before storming in." She gets on her tippy-toes and kisses my cheek. "Why would you do that?"
"I just don't want to catch him naked." I motion with my head toward Travis. "I've seen him naked enough to last me a lifetime." I look over to see Travis taking his daughter out of her high chair.
"Look who came to visit," he says, taking off her bib and then wiping her face. "Uncle B." He turns and hands me Charlotte.
"Hey there, beautiful girl," I say, bending down and kissing her still wet cheek. She gets all excited and starts batting my chest.
"So what are you doing here?" Travis asks, walking to the kitchen that looks like a tornado has gone through it.
"I have to talk to you," I say, my heart speeding up, and I avoid looking at him as I look down at Charlotte.
"Oh, sounds like you two need to be alone," Harlow says, coming to me. "I'm going to go and give Charlotte a bath." Charlotte throws herself at her mother. "And you two go and have men time outside. I'm going to put her to bed and then relax before the hellion comes home from the farm tomorrow." She mentions her son, Theo, who is going through the terrible twos and making sure they don't forget it.
"It's my turn for bath time," Travis says, handing me a bottle of beer.
"Last time it was bath time, it looked like a tsunami hit the bathroom," Harlow reminds him. "So you just saved me."
"Glad I could be of service," I say, grabbing the bottle of beer.
"Let's go sit outside," Travis suggests, and I suddenly get nervous about what is to come. We've been best friends since kindergarten. He's the brother that I've never had, and I know that if I call him, regardless of the time or the situation, he would be there beside me and I to him also.
"This is nice," I say, looking around at the patio that they just had done, which opens up into a huge yard with a play structure.
"My father-in-law." He sits down on one of the couches. "Came over one weekend, and the next thing you know, I'm looking outside, and he has this crew of fifty." His father-in-law is what you call a cowboy. He has all these farms, but not only is he a cowboy and you don't want to mess with him, he's a computer wizard. It's the strangest thing I've ever seen. I think someone even said something that he trained with the SEALs for fun. Who does that?
I laugh, sitting on the couch beside him. "Let me guess, did you come outside to help?" I take a pull of my beer.
His eyebrows pinch together. "Are you out of your mind?" he huffs. "He had shovels and shit. You think I was going to come out here so I can give him a reason to actually bury me?"
I can't help but laugh at that, and I'm glad that I swallowed the beer, or I would have spit it out. "He doesn't still hate you," I tell him. "You gave him two grandkids."
"I broke her heart and left her for four years," he reminds me. "And I was going to marry someone else."
"Yeah, you can spin lots of things." I shake my head. "But no matter what, you are never going to live that down."
"Exactly," he says and then looks at me. "What's on your mind?"
I chuckle and take a pull of beer before I break the news to him. I'm both nervous and excited. "I'm going to be a father." I start with the easiest thing. Just saying the words, I can't help but smile big. The fullness that I feel is out of this world, and I didn't even know something was missing before now.
"Shut up," Travis says, shocked as he looks at me. "I mean…" He puts his arm around my neck, and his hand squeezes my shoulder. "I'm happy for you."
"It's Presley," I share, holding my breath, and now I'm wondering if perhaps sitting next to him wasn't the smartest idea.
"Wait a minute." His hand moves from around my shoulder. "Presley, as in my sister Presley?"
"The one and only," I confirm, and I don't know what I'm expecting, to be honest. He could be happy for me, or he could turn around and punch me in the face for sleeping with his sister. Either way, it doesn’t change the outcome of the situation.
“Oh my God," he says. "I…" He stops, looks at me, and questions, "Presley?"
"Yeah." I nod my head, and out of everything I've done in my life, this moment right here, saying that she is going to have my child, it is everything. "There is no one on this earth that I want to be with but her."
He throws his head back, and he laughs now. "Does she know this?"
I chuckle, the burning hitting my stomach now. "I'm going to marry her," I say, bringing the bottle to my lips and taking a pull.
"Is that a fact?" He can't help but throw his head back and laugh. His whole body shakes with laughter. "You told her this?" he asks me, and I just glare at him.
"She calls herself a lone wolf," I remind him. "You think she's going to be open to marrying me?"
"Not a chance," he admits to me, taking his own pull of his beer. "She's going to fight you the whole fucking way."
"Oh, I know." I smile, putting the bottle against my neck. "Trust me, I know."
"This is going to be fun to watch." He sits back on the couch and looks over at me.
"I can always use my charm." I shrug. "Made her sleep with me."