by Nash, Willa
“Just . . . hang tight. Please, don’t do anything stupid.” Don’t be like me.
A bell rang in the background and the chatter intensified. “I have to get to class.”
“Savannah—”
“Bye, Dad.”
The line went silent.
Fuck.
She was getting desperate. Nothing good would come of her acting out. Which meant it was time to pull the trigger. I pulled up another name on my phone, pressing it to my ear.
“Hux,” Aiden answered.
“Hey. Just wanted to check in. See if we couldn’t move things up.” We’d planned to file the petition in two weeks. That was a month since we’d tried to negotiate with April the last time. That month would show the judge we’d given her plenty of time to consider the last proposal.
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Yes. No. Just more of the same shit.”
“Are you at home? I’m actually in Calamity today. I had to meet with another client, so I came to town.”
“Yeah, I’m home.”
“Great. On my way over.”
I stood from the island, draining the last of my mug. This was good. Aiden and I could hash out a new plan and—shit. There was a woman in my bed.
This was not something I needed Everly involved in but maybe if Aiden was fast, we could talk about it while she was still asleep or in the shower.
It was silent upstairs. As I waited for Aiden to arrive, I listened intently for any sound of Everly as I drained another cup of coffee. But when I didn’t hear a footstep or the water turn on, I figured she’d fallen asleep. Good.
A car door slammed outside, and I made my way to the door, meeting Aiden before he could ring the doorbell.
“Thanks for coming over.” I shook his hand.
“Worked out well.” He stepped inside. “Good to see you.”
“You too.”
Aiden Archer was a few years older than I was and as honest as they came. I could always count on him to tell me the truth, no matter how brutal.
I led him to the kitchen. “Coffee?”
“Please. My daughter was up all night. I’m wiped.”
“She sick?”
“Yeah. She caught a cold at school. She’ll be just fine, but Lola caved and let her sleep in our bed all night,” he said, his face softening at his wife’s name.
Aiden was a down-to-business sort of guy and he respected the fact that clients paid by the hour, so he wasn’t prone to idle chatter. I didn’t know much about his wife, other than he’d met her at a party here in Calamity years ago. They had a daughter and a son, and like me, he’d do anything for his children’s happiness.
I made him a cup as he took a seat at the bar. Then I leaned on the counter across from him and cut right to the chase. “When’s the soonest we can try to get Savannah?”
Aiden sighed, drinking the steaming cup slowly. “Like I told you when we talked before, we can get the ball rolling whenever you want. But . . .”
“But, what?”
“Nothing has changed, Hux. You’re in the same position you were the last time we went to the judge. Yeah, it shows good faith that you’ve tried to work with April. It shows she’s uncooperative, that she’s refused any consolations. But you are an ex-convict and April loves to remind the judge you ended up there because of a violent crime.”
“That was years ago. I’ve been clean ever since. No trouble. No issue with the law. That’s got to count for something.”
“It does.” Aiden nodded. “It absolutely does. And Savannah is older, which means the judge will take into account her desires. Sounds like she wants to live with you.”
I nodded. “That’s what she says.”
“But . . .”
“Getting sick of that word, Aiden.”
He chuckled. “But Savannah has been getting into trouble. The judge is going to see that and start asking questions.”
“Good. Maybe they’ll actually look at what’s happening in that house.” We could find out if Julian was hurting Savannah. And if Julian and April were flaunting their kink in my daughter’s face, that had to score points in my favor, right?
“Or maybe the judge will assume she’s a rebellious teenager who wants to live with her single dad because he’ll let her get away with more than she does with her mother.”
“That’s bull—” I stopped myself. Shit.
It wouldn’t take Savannah long to figure out—if she hadn’t already—that I wasn’t good at telling her no. Not only was I scared to alienate her, but I didn’t know the first thing about being a full-time parent. Hell, I didn’t know how to be a part-time parent.
“I’m fucked, aren’t I?”
“It’s a long shot. But it’s a shot worth taking.”
Aiden had been telling me that for years. Brutal honesty.
“What should I do?” I asked. “I don’t want to wait any longer and have her be miserable. But every time I do this, it ends up hurting Savannah.” And me.
“The biggest difference between this time and the last is Savannah. Yeah, she’s causing trouble and acting out. But she’s also old enough to convey her wishes. The judge is going to do what’s best for the child. And often what’s best is what the child wants. But . . .”
“You’re killing me today, Archer.”
He chuckled. “This is a small town, Hux. People talk. People see. And judges are people. Get out. Be part of the community. Don’t just have a clean record on paper. Make people here believe you’re a good guy.”
“I’m downtown at the gallery almost every day.”
Aiden had encouraged me years ago to become part of the community, and the gallery was about as much community as I could stomach. He should be proud that I’d set up a shop at all. I could have just sold art from my home.
“That’s not what I’m talking about. You still haven’t squashed your reputation as the town recluse. I don’t even live here, and I know you make people nervous.”
People in Calamity didn’t like me. And I didn’t like them. It was better to maintain a distance, for everyone’s sake.
“Fine,” I grumbled.
“It’s too bad you never remarried.” Aiden chuckled. “I don’t suppose you have a wife hiding in the studio out back.”
“What?”
“I’m kidding. Shit, Hux. You’re white as a sheet.”
“I don’t want to get remarried.”
He held up a hand. “It was a joke. I know April did a number on you. I was only teasing because if you had a nice, serious girlfriend, it would go a long way. Right or wrong, a judge is going to prefer a female presence in your house before handing over a sixteen-year-old girl.”
“Well . . . I don’t.” I didn’t have the time, or desire, to establish a serious relationship. I didn’t have the time or desire to find a wife. Even the word made my skin clammy.
“Again, it was a joke.” Aiden waved it off. “We’ll do our best with what we’ve got.”
“It’s not much,” I muttered. “Why won’t April just let me have her?”
“I don’t know.” Aiden shook his head. He knew enough about April to know that her tactics with Savannah were selfish. None of this was for Savannah’s own good. “Some people are vindictive.”
“Haven’t I been punished enough?”
Wasn’t a prison sentence enough? Weren’t years and years of guilt enough? Wasn’t missing out on Savannah’s life enough? Because she’d stripped me bare. April had taken every good thing in my life. My freedom. My child. That woman had broken my heart.
Maybe she hadn’t loved me, but damn it, I’d loved her. I’d loved her since we were kids. Until I’d realized that love was nothing but a gateway to hate.
“I’m sorry.” Aiden sighed. “I wish I knew.”
“What if I offered her money?”
“No.”
“I’d pay, Aiden.” I’d give April every dime of the millions I had stashed in the bank for our daughter.
“Maybe it’s worth it.”
“And when Savannah finds out, she’ll be devastated.” Aiden wasn’t wrong.
Savannah didn’t have much love for April, but April was still her mother. If Savannah learned that April had let me buy her, it would crush my daughter’s heart.
“Then we try this,” I said. “We keep trying. We keep fighting. She’s only got two years left before she’s eighteen. I know it’s probably too late but . . .”
“It’s the right thing to do.” Aiden stood from the stool. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Thanks.” I escorted him through the living room, shaking his hand once more. When I closed the door behind him, I let my forehead fall to its wooden face.
“So you need a wife.”
I jerked, stood straight and spun around to find Everly sitting on the staircase.
From those steps, you could hear everything that happened in the living room and adjoining kitchen.
My stomach dropped.
Everly stood, coming down the last few stairs. The shirt she’d put on was mine. The arms were too big so she’d rolled them at the cuffs. The blue plaid hung down her thighs, but there was still a lot of leg on display. She had great fucking legs.
Too bad my heart was too far up my throat for me to enjoy the view.
“Thought you were sleeping.”
She shook her head and headed for the kitchen. “I wanted some coffee before I took a shower.”
So she’d heard it all.
I followed her to the kitchen, watching as she opened the cabinets searching for a coffee mug. I was too stunned to help her find one, though it only took her three attempts. Then she put it under the coffee maker, inserted the single brew pod, and hit the button, waiting for her cup to fill.
With a steaming mug in hand, she turned to face me, leaning on the counter in nearly the exact same place I’d been during my discussion with Aiden. “You need a wife.”
“It was a joke.”
She sipped the hot, black liquid. “Was it?”
Everly had this way of posing a question that contradicted everything. Like the first night we’d met at the bar and I’d told her she’d missed the excitement.
Did I?
One two-word question that had led me straight to her bed.
Well, this two-word question wasn’t going to lead me to the altar.
“Did you want to shower before I drive you home?”
“Yes.” She didn’t move from the counter.
“Ev—”
“I’ll do it.”
“Shower?”
She shook her head. “Marry you.”
Chapter Seven
Everly
Hux stared at me like I was crazy.
Maybe I was. But for the first time in months, I saw a path forward. I wasn’t stuck. This was the next step and maybe the reason why I was destined to be here in Calamity. Maybe this was why I’d been suffering through limbo.
This, marrying Hux to help his daughter, was something I could do.
“No.” His voice brooked no argument.
I argued anyway. “Why not? It won’t mean anything. It’ll be fake.”
“Are you insane?”
“Probably,” I admitted.
He blinked, like he was trying to decide if this was real or a nightmare. “This is—this is . . . no. Aiden was kidding. I have no interest in getting married again. Or fake married. Ever.”
The way he spat ever was so vicious. His ex had done her best to break him. Bitch. “Your first marriage was the worst experience of your life, wasn’t it?”
“No, that would be prison.”
I hummed. “About that . . .”
I’d learned about Hux’s past from Lucy and Duke. Months ago, not long after the farmhouse, I’d been at their place having dinner. Travis and Savannah had come up in conversation, and I’d asked about Savannah’s parents.
That conversation had happened long before I knew Hux. Before I’d spent hours tracing the contours of his jaw with my tongue and running my hands up and down his chiseled body.
With all the sex and other distractions, I’d sort of forgotten that he’d spent time in prison for nearly beating a man to death. Or it just hadn’t mattered. It had happened so long ago, and Hux didn’t emit a hardened-criminal vibe. A grouch? Absolutely. But he’d never made me feel unsafe.
Still, before I jumped into a marriage, it would probably be a good topic to touch on.
“Was that prison stint a one-time thing?”
There was that blink again. “Uh . . . yeah.”
“Good. Because you look hot in blue, honey. But I’m not down with you in orange.”
Hux’s jaw slackened. Another blink. A headshake. Then the shock on his face disappeared, replaced by his signature scowl. No person could scowl quite like Hux.
It was a full-body scowl. His shoulders were ramrod straight. His legs were planted wide. His eyebrows formed this perfect slash, like a teacher’s harsh underline under a failing grade. Add to that the flat hold of his mouth and the tension in his jaw, he was not a happy camper.
“You lied to me.” His voice was harsh and accusing, like he thought this was my way of trapping him and reneging on our agreement. “I told you this was sex only.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I held up a hand. “Let’s not get carried away. This is not a romantic thing.”
“Uh-huh,” he deadpanned.
A laugh escaped. I couldn’t help it. This man was so terrified of commitment he was practically shaking. “Listen, I get that you’re averse to commitment. You’ve made that inescapably clear. But I told you from the start, I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“Yet you’re willing to get married.”
“Fake married. There’s a difference.”
He wasn’t buying it.
“I’m assuming that guy who was here is your lawyer.”
Hux nodded. “He is.”
“Then your lawyer has a valid point. Savannah is a sixteen-year-old girl with an attitude but she’s cute as can be. You’re a single man who spent time in prison and—” I waved my hand up and down his body.
Hux looked down to his feet, then back at me. “And what?”
“This.” I waved my hand again. “You are all hard lines and angry glares. You don’t exactly radiate Mr. Rogers. I’d be skeptical about putting Savannah with you, and I just spent the night in your bed.”
Maybe it was because I’d spent the night in his bed that I was skeptical. This man was pure sin.
I shivered at the thought of him taking me from behind last night. God, it had felt so good to be handled, to be with a man who knew exactly when to flip the switch from gentle to rough.
The reason I’d come down here this morning before showering was to have another go with him. I’d slid out of bed and tugged on his shirt. But when I’d hit the stairs and heard voices, I’d considered giving him privacy.
I’d sat on the stairs and eavesdropped instead.
Hux huffed and threw up his hands. “Aiden was joking.”
“How could I forget when you keep reminding me? Maybe he said it as a joke. Except it kind of sounded like a really good idea.”
“Marriage is never a really good idea.”
I laughed again. Poor Hux. “This wouldn’t be a real marriage. This is a way to help get your daughter.”
“No.”
“Think about it.” I shoved off the counter and stepped to the island, moving closer. “You need to show the town of Calamity that you’re not just a brooding artist with a magnificent scowl and marginal social skills.”
His frown deepened.
“See?” I pointed to his face. “This is what I’m talking about. Seriously, Hux, you radiate pissed-off jerk. No one wants a jerk for a dad.”
As a woman who’d had a jerk for a father—a stuffy, inattentive jerk, but a jerk nonetheless—I could attest.
“This is
. . .” He shook his head and spun away from me, walking into the adjoining living room. “No. I don’t need this shit. Get dressed. I’ll take you home.”
I ignored the order and went back to my coffee as he paced in front of a walnut coffee table.
If he didn’t want my help, fine. But before he kicked me out, I was going to at least get some caffeine in my system. So while he paced, I stood there and inspected his home, instantly picturing Savannah within these walls.
She’d liven up the space. It could use some added personality.
This wasn’t a new or large house but Hux had chosen quality pieces to fill the space. His couch was a plain, chocolate rawhide leather, its only charm coming from the natural scratches and wear patterns. The chair beside it was a lighter shade and nearly the size of a loveseat. The perfect seat to curl up with a good book.
There were only the two pieces, along with the coffee table. The space would accommodate another seat, but my guess was that Hux didn’t entertain a lot of visitors. The only person watching that large flatscreen was him.
The décor was masculine, much like his bedroom upstairs. The only light colors were the cream walls and white trim. Besides the maroon rug beneath the coffee table, there wasn’t much color either. My eyes darted to every wall. Each was bare.
“You don’t have any art.” Not even his own.
Hux stopped his pacing and looked at me, his hands fisting on his hips. “What?”
“You don’t have any of your own artwork. Why not?”
His eyes darted to the ceiling. “Are you going to shower?”
My invitation had expired.
I doubted I’d get another.
“Yeah.” I drained the rest of my coffee, then set the mug in the sink. I padded over the hardwood floors, passing Hux for the staircase. But before I could round the banister and disappear to collect my clothes from his bedroom floor, he stopped me.
“Why would you offer?”
“To marry you?”
He nodded.
“Reasons.” Reasons that didn’t matter since he’d shot me down. Reasons I didn’t fully understand myself. It was just an impulse. From the moment his lawyer had mentioned it, a feeling of purpose had swelled inside me.
