Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 73824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Reagan smiled, then gave me a thumbs up before she disappeared around the corner.
My walk back to my cruiser was unhurried, and became even slower when my phone started to vibrate in my pocket.
“Hello?” I answered the call without looking at it.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I don’t like it,” a voice from my past hissed.
I blinked.
Then blinked again before coming to a halt.
“Who is this?” I asked sharply.
The woman on the other end of the line hissed, and it was in that moment that I realized who it was.
Corrinne.
I’d spoken to her about ten times over the span of Reagan’s life, and although it still sounded faintly like her, it definitely didn’t sound like she was seventeen anymore.
She sounded like an old woman who smoked two packs a day.
“It’s the mother of your child. The one you said wouldn’t owe you a fuckin’ dime, but then I get a letter in the mail that says I owe over twenty thousand dollars in back child support. Support for a child that was most definitely supposed to be solely yours,” Corrinne hissed. “Or, at least, that was what I’d been led to believe, you lying bastard.”
My eyebrows raised as I said, “I didn’t ask for any of your money, Corrinne. In fact, I’ll give them a call in the morning and tell them I refuse it.”
Corrinne growled. “Yeah, you’ll do it right now. They took that money out of my checking account, and I don’t need Buck screaming at me about our money being gone. I need that money today. Now. So call right now.”
I barely contained the urge to pull my hair out.
Just two minutes on the phone with that woman had a headache screaming at the back of my temples.
“I’ll call in the morning because I’m at work right now,” I said.
“Benny…”
When she started to protest, I cut her off.
“It’s Bennett. And the answer is still no. I’ll deal with it in the morning,” I said stiffly.
Corrinne growled. “Fine. Then I guess that, just maybe, I should try to see this kid of mine since I’m going to pay for it.”
With that she hung up, and I nearly crushed my phone in my hand.
Yanking open my car door, I dropped down into it and slammed the door.
“Fucking bitch!” I bellowed.
Michael gave me a surprised look.
“What’s going on, buddy?” Michael asked.
I glared at him.
“I don’t want to fuckin’ talk about it.”
***
Three hours later
“What the fuck crawled up your ass?” My sister asked as she stood next to me at the fence.
I didn’t look at her.
If I did, I just might yell at her, and she didn’t deserve that.
The ref, however, did.
“That was in the strike zone you moron!” I yelled.
I mean, even I could see that it was!
What the fuck was he watching? The lightening bugs? The grass grow? Because it sure as fuck wasn’t the pitching.
I felt rather than heard Payton walk away when I didn’t answer her.
It was a good thing.
I was in a very, very bad mood.
After a very long conversation with my lawyer, I found that one single slip of paperwork had slipped through the cracks. That one single piece of paperwork being the one that signed complete custody of Reagan over to me.
Todd Masterson, my lawyer, had been extremely apologetic, and said he would remedy the situation immediately, but that didn’t make me feel any better.
It wasn’t like it was his kid that it happened to.
Sure, the man was family and all, being married into the Free family by way of James’ mother, but right now I couldn’t help but be a little miffed with him.
I’d yet to inform my parents.
I didn’t want to worry them if I didn’t have to, but I just knew this was going to turn out really, really bad.
Like the worst type of bad.
The type of bad where I’d have to be in contempt of court because I refused to let Corrinne have my child under any circumstances.
Then I felt her.
It started out as cool palm right above my elbow, but turned into a warm body pressing into my back, and two arms looping around my belly.
Lennox laid her head against my back, between my shoulder blades, and gave me a tight squeeze.
Instantly I felt better.
Calmer.
Her being here was one less thing that I had to worry about right then.
“Hey,” she said against my back.
Reagan threw a pitch, and the girl at bat struck out, causing me to scream.
“There you go, baby! One more and you’re up to bat!” I yelled, shaking my hands in the chain link fence.
Lennox chuckled against my back, and I grabbed ahold of one of her arms and pulled her until her front was pressed underneath my arm.
Looking down into her blue eyes, I finally felt a little peace.
“I’m glad you came,” I rumbled softly.
Her eyes flared, and she gave me a soft smile. “Your family’s glad I came, too.”
I chuckled, dropping a kiss down onto her forehead as I looked up in time to see Reagan throw one right down the middle.
I winced, holding my breath as the girl hit it.
Luckily, it popped straight up, and Ali, the shortstop, was able to catch it without the least bit of effort.
“That a girl!” I yelled, whistling loudly with my tongue, front teeth, and lip.
“Your girl there’s pretty good,” Lennox said softly, bringing my attention back down to her.
I nodded.
“She has a pitching coach, and she plays anytime she can. I’ll bet she’s a little badass by the time she gets to high school,” I concurred.
“I watched from my car for a little bit while I was on the phone with my parents. I used to enjoy softball, but I was never good like that. And she’s only eight. Just imagine what she’ll accomplish when she’s seventeen,” Lennox said sincerely.
I shivered.
“I’d really like to not think about when she’s seventeen. I like to take things one day at a time. Because if I do, I don’t have to think about the fact that I’ll somehow need to come out with money to pay for college. Or a car. Or a wedding,” I told her honestly.