Текст книги "Slaying the Dragon"
Автор книги: T.K. Leigh
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 1 (всего у книги 25 страниц)
SLAYING THE DRAGON
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this book and you have not purchased it or won it in an author/publisher contest, this book has been pirated. Please delete and support the author by purchasing the ebook from one of its many distributors.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or, if an actual place, are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Published by Carpe Per Diem, Inc / Tracy Kellam, 25852 McBean Parkway # 806, Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Edited by Kim Young, Kim’s Editing Services
Cover Design: Cat Head Biscuit, Inc., Santa Clarita, CA
Front Cover Image Copyright 2015 Denis Mirinov
Back Cover Image Copyright 2015 Wallenrock
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
Copyright © 2015 T.K. Leigh / Tracy Kellam
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0990739945
ISBN-13: 978-0-9907399-4-4
Slaying The Dragon
Chapter One – Ghost
Chapter Two – Kernel Of Truth
Chapter Three – Nothing
Chapter Four – Skeletons
Chapter Five – Second Nature
Chapter Six – Listen
Chapter Seven – Forgiveness
Chapter Eight – Through
Chapter Nine – Second Chances
Chapter Ten – The Past
Chapter Eleven – Full Disclosure
Chapter Twelve – Good Things
Chapter Thirteen – Love Happens
Chapter Fourteen – Sign
Chapter Fifteen – About A Girl
Chapter Sixteen – One More Time
Chapter Seventeen – Start Again
Chapter Eighteen – Worth The Wait
Chapter Nineteen – Scared
Chapter Twenty – New Course
Chapter Twenty-One – My Truth
Chapter Twenty-Two – With You
Chapter Twenty-Three – A Decision
Chapter Twenty-Four – Tripwire
Chapter Twenty-Five – Change
Chapter Twenty-Six – Regret
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Apologies
Chapter Twenty-Eight – Forever
Chapter Twenty-Nine – No Guarantee
Chapter Thirty – Us
Chapter Thirty-One – Goodbye
Chapter Thirty-Two – Grief
Chapter Thirty-Three – Giving Up
Chapter Thirty-Four – Set Up
Chapter Thirty-Five – Puzzle Pieces
Chapter Thirty-Six – Vindication
Chapter Thirty-Seven – Every Time We Say Goodbye
Chapter Thirty-Eight – Over
Chapter Thirty-Nine – New Orders
Epilogue
Playlist
Books By T.K. Leigh
Vanished
The Other Side Of Someday
Acknowledgements
About The Author
To Stan and little #Tinkerbump… The irony is not lost on me.
Slaying The Dragon: /slang/ A common literary motif used in fairytales whereby a dragon held a young princess hostage. Many would try to slay the beast, but none would prevail…until a handsome young knight came on the scene and defied the odds, rescuing the princess from her prison. Today, the phrase has been broadened to mean overcoming a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, either internal or external.
We all have dragons that need slaying…
What’s yours?
Mackenzie
BREATHE, I TOLD MYSELF, using my trembling hands to lift the parking brake on my Mercedes convertible. I stared at the two-story cream-colored stucco house, ghosts of what was for a brief period of time dancing in my mind. It had been a week since I ordered Tyler to let me go, leaving him alone and heartbroken on the streets of Boston.
But not as heartbroken as I was.
I had so many questions…questions I desperately needed answers to. Despite his lies, I still woke up each morning with an emptiness in my heart because another day had passed that I didn’t get to feel his skin on mine, his lips brushing mine, his heart beating in time with mine.
I didn’t want to feel this way anymore.
I needed to wash my life of his existence so I could return to the old Mackenzie, the one who maintained complete control over her feelings, but I knew I couldn’t do that until I finally confronted him and said the things I needed to say. Only then could I finally move on and forget about Tyler Burnham.
Walking up the cobblestone driveway on unsteady legs, I tried to focus on simply putting one foot in front of the other. If I thought of anything else – why Tyler lied to me, why he used me, why he didn’t come after me even when I told him to let me go – I would lose the small amount of nerve I finally had. I had driven to this same house every day since I had gotten back to South Padre. Each time, I sat in my car, never having the courage to walk those fifty steps up to the front door. I had walked fifty steps countless times, but nothing seemed as daunting and insurmountable as the path that lay before me today.
I didn’t know what I hoped to get out of finally confronting Tyler. Closure? Answers? The truth? Maybe I just wanted to look into his eyes and see that it was real for him, like he had begged me to believe. My brain never wanted to see him again, but my heart wanted it to be real because, for that brief moment in time, it was so real for me.
Step one, I thought to myself, my hands growing clammy as I timidly began the short journey that seemed akin to mounting the tallest peak. My eyes fell on Tyler’s Bronco parked beside his Jaguar and the memories began to pour in. Memories I had tried to suppress. Even though our two-week romance was short in the grand scheme of things, it felt as if it lasted so much longer, our connection stronger than any I’d ever had with another human.
A breeze blew my dark hair in front of my face as I ran my finger against the metal of the Bronco, dust settling on my skin. I stopped in my tracks, recalling the first time I sat in this very car. I had been shocked he would drive a Bronco, throwing all my preconceived notions of the ridiculously wealthy and handsome Tyler Burnham out the window. He was worth more than the operating budget of several small countries, yet he drove around in a vintage Bronco with an engine that made an obnoxious amount of noise. That was one of the things that had attracted me to him, and it was one of the things I missed. I missed never knowing what each day would bring with him in my life. I actually missed the unexpected, even though it had brought me nothing but grief and regret.
My hand resting on the hood of the Bronco, I closed my eyes, wishing I could turn back the clock and return to that first lunch date, every little detail still ingrained in my memory. It had been unseasonably hot and humid for the middle of March, and I was a bundle of nerves as Tyler led me to his car. His hand had lingered on the small of my back, sending an electrifying tingle through me. I had done everything I could to remain the poised woman I wanted him to think I was. In reality, I couldn’t remember ever being as nervous in the presence of a member of the opposite sex as I was around Tyler.
He had done everything right, making it impossible for me to imagine my life without him. He had become my lightning strike, just as he had sworn I was his. But lightning burns, and with each day that had passed since I learned the truth, I welcomed back another piece of my heart. Soon, it would be whole again, the wall around it rebuilt, and my life would go back to the way it was.
Soon, I would forget the sound of his voice, his musky scent, his dominating presence.
Soon, I would no longer be haunted with the memory of his arms wrapped around me, shielding me from the demons of my past.
Soon, he would just be another reminder of why life was better when planned.
Approaching the front door, I lost the few nerves I had and spun around quickly, ready to bolt. My chest heaved, a sick feeling settling in my stomach. Swallowing hard, I took a moment and leaned on the railing. I had no idea why I was as terrified as I was. I had been through much more challenging situations – losing my first love to what I thought was mental illness, burying my mother, losing my father – but I was petrified of what awaited me on the other side of that door.
Maybe I was scared to learn the truth. Maybe I was scared to learn I had put my faith and trust in another human and my instincts had faltered…again. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to be faced with the reminder that life was better if I kept my heart guarded. Maybe it was because Tyler had done what no man had ever done before… He made me feel. Maybe it was because once he opened that door and I finally got the closure I needed, this chapter in my life would come to an end. Maybe it was because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, despite what my brain was telling me.
Turning back around, I composed myself, drawing in a deep breath. My arm seemed to weigh a ton as I raised it and rang the doorbell. The sound of a dog barking echoed, followed by approaching footsteps. Shifting from foot to foot, I fidgeted with the hem of my dress, tugging at it. My jaw tightened as I braced myself for the impending conversation.
Everything seemed to play in slow motion as the door opened and a built man with short dark hair stared back at me. He wore a black t-shirt and cargo pants, his breathtaking smile able to light up a room. But instead of striking green eyes, the eyes that gazed back at me were blue and foreign.
“Mackenzie,” he said in a way that gave off the impression we had met before, although I couldn’t place him for the life of me. I combed through my memory for how we could have known each other. He couldn’t have been more than thirty-five, his jaw square and distinguished. His cheekbones were defined, his brow strong. Months ago, he was exactly the type of guy I’d spend a week with before he returned home to wherever he came, but I’d remember him. There was only one explanation that made sense, and my blood began to boil once again.
“So you’re working with Tyler, too, aren’t you?!” I asked with ice in my voice.
He scrunched his eyebrows, clearly taken aback. “Tyler? Tyler who? What are you talking about, Mackenzie?”
“I don’t know who the hell you are or what you’re doing here, but if this is another one of his mind games, you can tell him I’m not amused. Better yet,” I said, pushing into the foyer, “I’ll tell him myself. Where is he?”
“Where is who?” he asked, his voice soft, almost concerned.
“Tyler!” I exclaimed, becoming irritated. I strode down the hallway, peeking my head into each room for any sign of him. His large waterfront house was exactly as I remembered – the furniture modern, the art lacking personality. I should have known something was amiss when I first saw his décor. It was frigid, cold, and heartless, just like Tyler.
“There is no one named Tyler here,” the man insisted, following me as I tore through the house.
Refusing to believe his words, I ignored him. “Tyler!” I shouted, throwing open door after door, only to be met with emptiness. “Eli?” I choked out, my voice strained. There was no sign of either of them. Worse, there was no indication they had ever been here.
Feeling my world spin out of control, desperation took over and I ran toward the back door. “He must be on his boat,” I muttered to myself, feeling a pair of confused eyes on me as I bolted down the stairs toward the back gate leading to the dock. I pulled on it, but it was locked.
“Mackenzie, I know things have been hectic for you, what with the opening of the restaurant and the eighty-hour work weeks…”
I reeled around and met his sympathetic eyes. “How do you know who I am?”
“It’s me,” he said, urging me to recognize him. I prayed this was all a dream and I would wake up, open my eyes, and see Tyler standing in front of me. “Jeremiah. I own a club on the island. You reached out to me for advice about opening up your own place several months ago.”
“But how do I remember this house? And I know I’ve been on that yacht.” I gestured toward the beautiful vessel anchored behind me, certain I had spent one of the best nights of my life on it just a few weeks ago.
“You’ve been here,” he said. “Hell, last fall, you were here at least once a week to pick my brain.”
“I was?” I asked, my breathing growing more ragged. I searched my brain for a memory of this man, but it just wouldn’t come. The last six months seemed to be a puzzle. Nothing of significance stood out in my mind…except meeting Tyler Burnham. And I was certain I had met him and that he lived here.
All the blood rushed from my face and I couldn’t help but feel as if the world was giving out from beneath me.
“Hey, hey,” he soothed, rushing toward me as I struggled to maintain my balance. “Let me call someone for you.” He placed his arm around my waist in an attempt to usher me back into the house.
The feel of his flesh on mine scalded me, setting me off. “Don’t touch me!” I bellowed, pushing him away. “And stop with the games! It’s not funny! Tell me where he is!”
“I’m not playing any games,” he insisted. “This is my house. I’ve lived here for years with my partner. There’s no one named Tyler here.”
Frantic, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and flipped through it, searching for proof I wasn’t crazy. “We met a few weeks ago! I just got back from Boston, where he’s from!”
“Then why are you here?” he asked, his gaze narrowed as he studied me with concern.
“Because he lives here!” I exclaimed. “Don’t you see?!” I continued searching my phone, my chin quivering as I scanned through photo after photo of me in Boston, on the waterfront, in the Commons, in the North End, eating oysters… But where Tyler was once in those photos, there was nothing. It was as if he had been erased.
The air was thick as I tried to make sense of it all. I was living in some sort of alternate reality. I prayed I would wake up and everything would turn out to have simply been a nightmare, that Tyler didn’t just date me to gather information about my father. I had always relied on what I knew to be real and true, and I thought Tyler was. Now, I felt as if I couldn’t trust any of my senses. Not sight, not sound, not touch…and I certainly couldn’t trust my heart.
Staring at the yacht on which I thought Tyler and I had spent our “one night”, I slowly turned around, my head fuzzy.
“Are you sure there’s no one I can call for you?” the man asked once more.
I raised my head and stared into his blue eyes, wishing I could see proof this was all part of some fucked up plan to mess with my memory, but they were stone cold, impenetrable.
Sighing, I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry,” I apologized flatly, my voice barely audible. “You’re right. I’ve been working too much. I must have…” I fought back the lump in my throat. “My mistake.”
My expression void of any emotion, I climbed the steps and walked back down the hallway, a lone tear falling down my cheek. I didn’t think I could ever feel any more pain than I did after learning the truth of who Tyler was and what he wanted from me, but I was wrong. This was the worst pain imaginable.
In a daze, I couldn’t remember getting in my car and driving back to my condo. All I could remember was questioning what was real and what wasn’t. Things I thought I touched and saw were now being presented to me as fake. It made me begin to question everything else in my life, too.
Pulling my Mercedes into its usual spot, I ran into the building, ignoring Paul’s attempt to introduce me to the new security guard as I dashed into an open elevator. When it finally stopped at my floor, I couldn’t get to my condo fast enough, holding out one last ounce of hope that there would be some proof of Tyler’s existence within the four walls of my home…a home I was certain he had invaded so fully for a short time.
I ran to my kitchen, pulling open drawer after drawer, hoping to come across some lasting remnant of our time together, but I came up empty. Everything was how it was before I had met him. My silverware was just as I liked it. All my cooking utensils were in their precise location. There was barely a particle of dust on the counter, let alone a piece of Tyler’s hair. The vases containing the flowers he had sent me after opening night of my restaurant had mysteriously disappeared, if they had been there at all.
Feeling the walls closing in around me, I grabbed my cell phone and searched the contacts. I pressed the entry for Tyler, my heart racing as I waited for it to begin ringing. But it never did. All I received on the other end was a message that the phone number was no longer in service. My chin began to quiver as I hung up and tried Eli’s number, only to get the same message.
Screaming in frustration, I threw my phone on the ground, the screen shattering from the impact, and ran down the hallway into the master bedroom. I flung open the chest where I kept my father’s Victoria Cross, along with all the other keepsakes, recalling that I had placed the card Tyler sent with the extravagant flowers in it. As I rummaged through, the card was nowhere.
I let out a loud sob, starting to believe I had imagined it all. It was the only explanation that made sense. The realization was overwhelming and I darted into the master bathroom, heaving into the toilet, wishing Tyler was there to trace a pattern across my back and chase away my demons, just as I thought he had done for a short but remarkable time.
~~~~~~~~~~
AS THE WEEKS WORE on, I continued searching everywhere for some sort of proof that Tyler Burnham was real, but I found nothing. Not one piece of tangible proof he had entered my life in a whirlwind and flipped it upside down. There was nothing left, other than my memories…which I couldn’t help but question.
It was as if every trace of his time on South Padre had been erased.
All but one…
Mackenzie
THE SOUND OF SEAGULLS and laughter surrounded me as I sat on the sandy beach, trying to make sense of everything. I raised my eyes and stared at a seemingly peaceful ocean, a few boats bobbing up and down in the distance. This island was supposed to feel like paradise, like an escape, but it didn’t. Not anymore. All I felt when I looked at the calm water, the sun shining and warming everything on that Memorial Day at the end of May, was a raging storm, a ship about to sink. My surroundings were mocking me, reminding me that my life would never be the same again. The truth was, it hadn’t been the same since I met Tyler.
I should have been crying, but tears refused to fall. I should have felt something. Anything. Anger. Hatred. Resentment. Fear. Confusion. But I felt nothing. Ever since the day I had gone over to what I thought to be Tyler’s house to see someone else living there, I shut down even more than I already had. I was a shell, a ghost of a woman going through the motions of living when I was really dead inside.
I closed my eyes, trying to remind myself of a happier time, hoping that would bring forward some sort of emotion. It was like trying to jump-start a battery that was long dead. Nothing worked. I was empty, my heart no longer able to feel.
I wanted to scream, but no noise ever came from my throat. I now knew why Catholics feared purgatory. I was there. I was a lifeless soul forced to walk among the land of the living. I wanted to make it all go away, to forget the beautiful, touching moments I shared with Tyler. The thrill of his kisses. The passion in his eyes. The fire in his touch. I was still tortured by all those things, sentenced to live the past two months in a constant nightmare because I was foolish enough to love him.
A small child, who couldn’t have been more than two years old, ran in front of me, his parents trying to catch up. The glee in his laughter struck me as I watched the happy family enjoying their vacation. The mother playfully grabbed the little boy, swinging him around and around, his squeals echoing and calling to a side of me I didn’t know existed. A tear escaped my eye and trickled down my cheek, cooling the fire that had been burning inside me. Then another tear fell. And another. And another.
The dam broke and, for the first time in months, I felt something. I lowered the iron fortress I had erected around my heart and stopped pretending I was okay, pretending what Tyler did hadn’t destroyed me. It wasn’t his deception that shattered me. It was my love for him, then and now. In my heart, I knew he was real, that we experienced a love so perfect, which made everything so much harder. My heart ached for him. My skin craved his touch. My body longed to be held in his arms. The arms that would always remind me of dancing, full metal jackets, and Truth or Dare.
He had tainted something so beautiful, so pure, so fucking perfect. His love was toxic and I needed to purge it from my system through my cleansing sobs. I had bottled it all up for months and it felt therapeutic to finally let it out. With each tear, I was letting go of another piece of him. His smile. His green eyes. His husky voice that swore he loved me. His words begging me to spend the rest of my life with him. They were all leaving me and, once my tears stopped, I vowed to never cry because of him again.
I had no idea how long I sat there with my head buried in my knees, my cries ravaging my short and slender body, but I didn’t care. It didn’t matter that people could have been laughing and pointing at the poor pathetic girl who gave everything to a man who used her, then tried to cover his tracks and make her think she imagined him. I needed this. Maybe then I could finally be over him.
I needed to be over him.
I wouldn’t let him ruin my life anymore.
A warm presence approached from behind and two arms enveloped me. I sighed, molding my body into Brayden’s. He was exactly what I needed right now. I needed his smile, his laugh, his compassion. I needed his reassurance that I was strong enough to get through this. That this wouldn’t break me. That I could rewind the clock and forget all about Tyler Burnham.
Pulling at the crisp gray shirt underneath his black suit, I drenched him with my tears, and he simply continued to comfort me, not saying a word. He knew me well enough to know I didn’t want to talk. Not yet. He was the only man in my life who always gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it. He had always been true and honest. He never had an ulterior motive. His love was pure and untainted.
“It’s about time you started acting like a human again,” he soothed, breaking the silence between us. He rocked me gently, running his fingers up and down my back. “You can’t keep pretending what’s been going on didn’t affect you, baby girl. It’s obvious it did. It’s okay to show your emotions once in a while. It’s okay to show you’re not impenetrable.”
I nodded slightly and clung to him as if holding him was the only way to keep my world together. He and Jenna had prodded me for an explanation about why I ran out on Tyler, but I didn’t know what to tell them. I couldn’t tell them the truth. Instead, I maintained that I wasn’t ready to talk about it, but that I found out he wasn’t the man I thought he was, which had a sliver of truth.
“How did you know I’d be here?” I pulled back and stared at his kind face, his blue eyes sparkling as he gazed at me with all the tenderness and understanding I needed from him at that moment.
“Call it my gut instinct. I went to the restaurant and Jenna said you had an appointment this morning, then never showed up afterwards. That doesn’t exactly sound like the Mackenzie we all know and love, so I had a feeling something must be wrong. I was on my way to the condo and noticed your car on the side of the road here.”
I wiped at my cheeks, taking a deep breath to settle my cries.
“Want to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked, almost guarded at how I would react.
“What isn’t wrong?” I scoffed. “I still go back and forth, boo,” I confessed, leaning my head on his shoulder. I picked up some shells in front of me and began tracing patterns in the warm sand. “Sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind, that something in my brain snapped and I made it all up.” Lifting my gaze, I stared at the ocean waves, hoping they would calm me as they used to. “The only people who assured me I didn’t imagine any of it were you and Jenna. If I didn’t have you swearing it was real, that he was real, I probably would have checked myself into the loony bin at this point.” I glanced at him, seeing him studying my every move, almost as if he was ready for me to freak out at any second.
Returning my eyes to the sand in front of me, I softly asked, “Do you know I still go by his house every day?”
Biting his lip, he nodded. “I figured.”
“I don’t know why.” I shrugged, fighting back the new tears brimming in my eyes. “Part of me wants to think all of this has just been one giant nightmare, that I’ll wake up and everything will be like it used to be. What would you think if you were me? If, a week later, you decided to be the bigger person and try to talk things over, but you find someone completely different living in Tyler’s house, trying to convince you he’s lived there for years? It’s as if someone wants me to feel like I’m losing my mind. As if they want me to question whether any of it’s real. No matter how many times you and Jenna have told me it was real, I still had my doubts. My brain was yelling at me that it couldn’t be real. I had no physical proof it was. My heart didn’t want to believe it, though, and that’s been the only thing that’s kept me going. In my heart, I just knew it had to be real.” Meeting his gaze, I studied his gentle face, his eyes brimming with the same pain I felt.
Taking a deep breath, my voice quivered. “But there’s no doubt anymore.” I pulled the black-and-white image I had been staring at most of the day out of my purse and handed it to Brayden.
He glimpsed at the photo, then shot his wide eyes to me, questioning.
“You’re going to be an uncle, boo.” I covered my mouth, my breath catching at the words. Until that moment, it hadn’t sunk in. Even after the doctor confirmed what over a dozen pregnancy tests already had, I didn’t think it was real. Finally speaking those words surrounded me with the truth amidst a lifetime of lies.
Brayden’s expression momentarily grew grim before he replaced it with a cheerful smile I was certain was for my benefit. “Uncle Boo… I like the sound of that.” He pulled me to him once more and planted a soft kiss on my temple.
A thousand thoughts ran through my mind, the most pressing of which being how the hell I was going to afford this. Since most of my money was tied up in the restaurant, I had allowed my health insurance to lapse. The doctor visit itself was going to cost me a small fortune. I knew Brayden would offer to help, as he always did; however, at some point, I was going to have to find the man who had become a ghost…Tyler.
“Mack, I know you probably don’t want to, but you need to talk about what you’re going to do.” He released his hold on me, forcing me to stare into his eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean,” he insisted, raising his eyebrows at me once more. “He has a right to know. I’m assuming it’s his…”
I nodded. “But how am I supposed to tell him? It’s like he’s dropped off the face of the earth! His cell is disconnected, and so is Eli’s! Every time I’ve called his company’s office, I get nowhere! Hell, maybe I am losing my mind. Maybe I did imagine him. Maybe it’s someone else’s kid! Right now, I just…” My chin wavering, I squeaked out, “I’m barely holding it together here, Brayden.”
Tears began to stream down my face again. There was a hollow feeling in my chest as I struggled to come to terms with the reality that would soon be my life, that I was carrying the baby of a man who wounded me, then disappeared. I would be forced to stare into my baby’s eyes every day and be reminded of how stupid and naïve I had been.
“Shhh, baby girl,” Brayden soothed, comforting me in his embrace. He kissed the top of my head, brushing my hair back just like my mother used to all those years ago.
“I’m stuck and it’s all my fault.”
“Mack, baby, it takes two to tango. He’s just as responsible as you so don’t you dare put all the blame on your shoulders. He could have easily slipped on a rubber and you wouldn’t be faced with this.”
I shook my head. “I told him it was okay. I was so stupid and caught up in the moment. I wasn’t thinking straight. Now I’m knocked up, carrying the baby of a man I can’t even think about without breaking down.” I turned to him and stared into his eyes, finally allowing myself to voice my true emotions instead of bottling them up. “How am I supposed to get through this?”
“Mackenzie,” Brayden started, “you are one of the toughest females I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. You have so much life, so much strength. You’ll get through this just like you’ve gotten through everything else over the past few years. With Jenna and me by your side.” Enclosing my hand in his, he gave me a sincere look. “You know, you have options and I will fully support you, no matter your decision.”
Taking a deep breath, I briefly closed my eyes. “I love how you’ll back me, no matter what.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I don’t have a vagina or uterus. I’m certainly not going to try to tell you what to do with yours.”
I giggled at Brayden’s words, thankful he always had a way to lighten the tension. “I know. As much as I hate the idea of having his baby, it’s also part of me.” I held my hand over my stomach. “I can’t… I’m keeping it. I’m sure there’s going to be moments down the road where I may regret this decision, especially when I’m trying to do all of this on my own–”
“You won’t be on your own,” Brayden interrupted. “In the past eight years, when have you ever had to do anything alone? I’ll be there. Hell, if I need to, I’ll move back into your condo and help out.”
“You don’t need to,” I objected. “You have your own life you need to live.”
“I know, but you’re my soul mate,” he explained, caressing my hand. “I love you, Mack, and I will always do whatever you need.” He beamed, placing his hand over my stomach. “And this kid, well… He’ll be the most spoiled baby ever. Come on! Every kid needs a fantastic gay uncle who has no problem spending a ridiculous amount of money buying him Prada diapers!”
