Going For It (Texas Titans #7)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “I did what I thought I had to do.”

  “What happens when you get back? Is she still going to stay with you?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I asked Rowan to stay with her while I’m here, you know, to make sure Morin doesn’t get to her. I don’t know how I’m going to kick her out, though. She has nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to, and it’s not safe for her to—”

  “I need to go.” She stood and broke into a jog.

  “Kiara, wait!” He ran after her and caught up before they moved into the more populated area of the beach. “There are no more flights out of here today.”

  “I’ll call Sabrina, ask her if Dylan can send the jet to pick me up.”

  “Please don’t do that,” he said, looking panicked. “I can’t lose you.”

  “And I can’t be with a man who’s shacking up with his pregnant ex-girlfriend. I’m sorry.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sabrina and Dylan had been waiting for Kiara at the airport, and they’d insisted on taking her to their house for an impromptu birthday dinner. She just wanted to be alone, but she couldn’t disappoint her friends, nor did she want to explain why she’d cut her trip short. The drive back to their house was short and quiet, with only soft country music filtering through the silence.

  “I’m going to grab a quick shower before dinner,” Dylan said when he opened Kiara and Sabrina’s car doors. Kissing his fiancée, he whispered, “It’ll give you girls a chance to talk.”

  Kiara grabbed Dylan’s wrist before he could make his escape. Standing on her tippy-toes, she kissed his cheek. “Thanks for sending your plane. I’m so lucky to have friends like you guys.”

  Dylan pulled her into a hug and whispered, “I owe you more than I’ll ever be able to repay. You’re the reason Sabrina and I are back together, planning a wedding, and expecting our babies. Don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”

  She squeezed him back as tears sprung to her eyes. “Love you.”

  “Love you, birthday girl.” He framed her face before kissing her forehead.

  Unable to hold back her emotions, Kiara reached for her best friend’s hand. “He’s the best, Sabrina. I’m so glad you have him in your life.”

  “Me too.” Sabrina slipped her arm around Kiara’s waist, guiding her into the house. “Now let’s talk about you. What the hell happened to make you come home early? Did you and Blaise get into a fight?”

  “No.” She couldn’t even describe it as a fight. A disagreement, maybe. “I guess we just had a difference of opinion.”

  “It seems like it was more serious than that.”

  Kiara laughed, thinking how utterly humorless their predicament was. “He thought his pregnant ex-girlfriend should live with him, and I disagreed.” She didn’t even disagree, necessarily. She saw that Blaise was in an impossible situation, but so was she. She didn’t feel like she had a choice, and he clearly felt the same way. They were both doing what they had to do, and that meant ending their relationship and putting the baby Marla was carrying first.

  Sabrina stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide. “Did you just say what I think you said?”

  “Yep.” No matter how many times she said it or how many days or weeks she had to get used to the idea, she knew it wouldn’t hurt any less. “Marla, Morin’s wife, is pregnant, and she doesn’t know whether the baby is his or Blaise’s.”

  “Blaise and Morin’s wife?” Sabrina blinked rapidly, shaking her head. “Are you serious?”

  “It’s a long story.” Kiara sighed wearily as they made their way into the house. “She was dating Blaise first. He had no idea she’d married Morin until it was too late. The last time they slept together”—the time they’d possibly conceived a baby together—“he knew, but that was after Morin ended Blaise’s career, so I guess he was trying to exact some sort of revenge or something. I don’t know.”

  “Oh God,” Sabrina said, leading Kiara into the kitchen. “This is unbelievable.” She gestured to the table. “Sounds like you need a drink. What’ll it be, wine, or something stronger?”

  Since her friend couldn’t drink because of her pregnancy, Kiara shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  “Like hell you are.” Sabrina uncorked a bottle of red wine and reached for two glasses, pouring some into each. “There’s no way you could be fine with this. If I found out Dylan’s ex was back in the picture, claiming to be pregnant with his kid, I’d be a mess.” She set one of the glasses in front of Kiara. “I don’t know how you can be so calm.”

  “I’m not, believe me.” Kiara took a fortifying sip, followed by another, of her favorite merlot. “I’m a mess on the inside.”

  “Just because I can’t drink with you doesn’t mean Dylan won’t.” Sabrina sat across from her friend with a bottle of wine in hand.

  “Thanks, but alcohol won’t help. The problem will still be there when I sober up.” She felt guilty referring to Marla’s unborn baby as a problem. A baby was a blessing, a miracle, but she wished she were the one experiencing the miracle with Blaise. “I have a huge favor to ask. I hate to ask. I know how you feel about this, but…”

  “You know you can ask me anything,” Sabrina said, frowning. “What is it?”

  “I can’t work with Morin.” Before Sabrina could interject, she said, “He’s a really bad guy, Sabrina. He’s not the kind of client you’d want to associate with your agency. He hits his wife and screws around on her. I didn’t know that when we signed him, I swear. If I had, I never—”

  “Stop!” Sabrina held up her hand. “I don’t want you to give that another thought. Obviously you can’t continue working with the man. Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out. I’ll call our legal team. Hopefully they can get us out of the contract, or maybe Morin will do the right thing on his own without inducement.” Sabrina smirked when Kiara rolled her eyes. “You’re probably right. There’s not much chance of that happening. Even if we can’t get out of it, I’ll get Dalton to represent him. He’ll be able to keep him in line.”

  “Thanks.” Kiara reached across the table to hug her friend. “That’s a huge relief.”

  “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” Sabrina said, looking into Kiara’s eyes. “You were there for me during one of the lowest points of my life. I wouldn’t have gotten through that without you. Not to mention the part you played in helping Dylan and me find our way back to each other. I’ll never forget that either.”

  Kiara waved off her friend’s praise. “Please, you guys would have found your way back to each other eventually. Y’all belong together.”

  “I can’t shake the feeling you and Blaise belong together too, hon.” Sabrina squeezed Kiara’s hand. “There’s a chance this baby may not be his. Maybe you could wait it out, see what happens?”

  Although five months seemed like a lifetime, the thought had occurred to her on the flight home. She’d quickly quashed it though. A lot could happen in five months, especially with Marla and Blaise living under the same roof. They could fall for each other all over again. “I can’t afford to get my hopes up. Besides, this relationship has taken a lot out of me. I need time by myself to regroup and figure out where to go from here.”

  Looking concerned, Sabrina said, “I hope this doesn’t mean you’ve given up hope. Your romantic spirit is what convinced me that finding love isn’t a lost cause. I’d hate to see you lose that faith.”

  Kiara felt as if she’d lost faith in love, but she hoped time would soften her resentment. “I’m not giving up. I’m just taking a breather, refocusing on my friends and career. Besides,” Kiara said, covering Sabrina’s hand with hers, “we have our work cut out for us, planning a wedding and getting ready for the arrival of the twins. As your maid of honor and their godmother, I intend to be very involved.” She winked, hoping to banish Sabrina’s sadness. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll get through this.”

  “Damn right you will.” Sabrina hugged Kiara. “I intend to see to it.”

  *
**

  Two weeks without a word from Kiara, and Blaise missed her more every day. He wanted to see her, to make sure she was okay, but he knew it wouldn’t be fair to drag her back into his world since nothing had changed since she’d left the Bahamas. Marla was still pregnant, still living under his roof, and the paternity of the baby she was carrying was still in question.

  “You’re kind of quiet tonight,” Marla said, pulling the throw over her. “You okay?”

  They’d settled into a comfortable routine. She cooked dinner and they watched a couple of hours of TV before he’d retire to his room to do some work or read before bed. He’d gotten to know her better, and she really wasn’t a bad person. Like him, she’d made some mistakes, but she seemed determined to walk the straight and narrow for the sake of her son.

  “Yeah, sure.” Blaise fixated on the screen, trying to block her out. He didn’t feel like talking, but he didn’t feel like turning in either. Thoughts of Kiara would prevent him from falling asleep.

  “You’re a really good guy,” she said softly. “I don’t know that I realized that before.”

  Blaise didn’t respond. He didn’t feel like a good guy. He felt like a parasite for hurting Kiara after promising she was safe to trust him with her heart.

  “You know that Rowan and I kind of got to be friends while he was staying here, right?”

  Blaise had warned his brother not to get too close to Marla, but he was a grown man and ultimately had to decide for himself whether she could be trusted. “Yeah, he mentioned something about it.”

  “He confided in me about your childhood.”

  Blaise shot her a look that warned her she was venturing into perilous territory. “He did, huh?”

  “Well, I mean he confided in me about his childhood and some of the mistakes he made.”

  “I guess we all make mistakes, don’t we?” Blaise closed his eyes as he rested his head against the back of the sofa. “I’m just glad Row’s finding his way. It’s nice to have my kid brother back in my life.” Blaise hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on how much he missed Rowan, but now that he was back, Blaise felt as if a void had been filled. Too bad Kiara’s absence had left another.

  “He’s an amazing guy,” Marla said. “He’s been calling every day to check on me, find out if I need anything. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a real friend.”

  Everyone needed support, and since it seemed Marla had no one else, Blaise didn’t want to discourage her friendship with Rowan, but he didn’t want anything to compromise his brother’s recovery either. “It’s your business if you and Row want to be friends, but I think the twelve-step programs frown on people getting involved in romantic relationships in the early stages of their recovery.”

  Marla blushed. “I won’t deny I’m attracted to Rowan, but there’s no way he feels the same way about me.” She rubbed her round stomach. “Not in my condition.”

  Blaise didn’t know if that was true or not, but he hoped so. It was too soon for both of them, not that he was an expert.

  “Would it bother you if I started seeing your brother?”

  “I don’t know.” Blaise considered it before chuckling. “It might be a bit weird if I turned out to be your baby’s father, but if you’re asking whether I would be jealous, the answer is no.” He looked in her eyes to make sure she got the message loud and clear. He had no residual feelings for her, beyond keeping her and the baby safe.

  “Because of Kiara?”

  “Because you and I were a bad idea from the start,” he said, trying not to react at the mention of Kiara’s name. “We brought out the worst in each other.”

  “I guess I can’t deny that.” She took a handful of trail mix from a bowl she’d left on the coffee table. “You were the closest thing I’ve ever had to a healthy relationship, so what does that tell you about my history with men?”

  “It must have been pretty messed up.” Blaise grabbed a handful of trail mix too, popping some in his mouth before facing her. He wanted to hear more about her story to take his mind off his own problems for a while. “What happened? I mean, how’d you get mixed up with a loser like Morin?”

  She smirked. “Believe it or not, Casey was a prize compared to most of my exes. At least he had a job.”

  And earned a lot of money. Suddenly the puzzle pieces were fitting together. “Were they abusive too?”

  “You end up stuck in a cycle sometimes,” she said, her eyes focused on the Duck Dynasty re-run instead of him. “I swore I’d never end up like my mama, but somehow I did.”

  Blaise was almost afraid to ask. “What do you mean?”

  “My dad used to beat her pretty bad.” She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. “Eventually he went too far, and she suffered a brain injury that makes it impossible for her to care for herself. That’s why she’s in a home.”

  Blaise gasped, hoping it was inaudible. “What about your old man? What happened to him?”

  “He died in jail about four years ago.”

  “No siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Nope.” She faked a smile. “Just me.”

  Blaise was beginning to understand how scared and alone she must feel. “Has Morin tried to contact you since you left?”

  “No.” She shrugged. “He’s probably moved on. I have no doubt he’s hoping the baby isn’t his, so he won’t have to pay child support.”

  “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about that,” Blaise said. “You know if the baby’s mine, I’ll take care of him, but if it turns out to be Morin’s, what kind of support do you think you’ll be entitled to?”

  “I signed a pre-nup.” She winced, holding up her hand when Blaise was about to comment. “I know it was stupid, but he didn’t give me a choice. If it lasts less than a year, I’m not entitled to anything from him, not even alimony.”

  “How the hell is that even possible?” Blaise asked, angry on her behalf. Morin garnered top dollar for his fights and was no doubt earning millions for every title match.

  “The house we lived in was his, so he made sure that was exempt in the pre-nup. The only things I can take with me are my car, my clothes, and a bit of money I managed to stash away in a bank account he knew nothing about.”

  “If you need money—”

  “Please don’t,” she said softly. “You’ve already been way too kind to me. I couldn’t take anything else from you.”

  “Marla, this living arrangement can’t be permanent.” Even if the baby was his, he couldn’t spend the rest of his life with Marla if he hoped to find love again. Not that he could think about that when the pain of losing Kiara was still so fresh. “I’m happy to help you find a place of your own, loan you money, but—”

  She gripped his knee. “I’ve been thinking about that actually. I’d like to get a job.”

  “Do you think that’s safe?” he asked. “We don’t know if you’re still on Morin’s radar.”

  “He hasn’t tried to contact me so far, and it’s not like I haven’t left the house in the past few weeks. I’ve gone to the grocery store, a doctor’s appointment, the post office, convenience store, and dry cleaners. If he wanted to confront me, he could have.”

  “True,” Blaise said. “So what were you thinking? What kind of job would you like to get?”

  “I’m not qualified to do much.” She looked embarrassed as she dipped her head. “I barely finished high school. But I handed in my resume at a boutique and a jewelry store downtown. Hopefully I’ll get a call back for an interview.” Rubbing her stomach, she said, “I’m not sure if the pregnancy will make it hard for me to find something or not, but I’m hopeful.”

  “Have you thought about doing something that would let you have your baby with you, maybe giving you more experience with kids at the same time?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you have a lot of experience with babies?” he asked, thinking how little he knew about her.

 
“I babysat a lot when I was a teenager,” she said, smoothing out the throw. “It was the only way I could get out of the house and away from my parents. I was too young for a real job, but as long as I was legally old enough to stay alone, people didn’t mind leaving me with their kids, which is crazy when you think about it.”

  “Did you like babysitting?” Blaise asked, forming a plan.

  “I loved it,” Marla said, smiling. “The kids were great. I mean, most of them. Some of them were little brats, but I learned how to deal.”

  “So, maybe you could become a live-in nanny? That would mean a roof over your head, food, you wouldn’t be alone. You could be at home with the baby when it’s born without having to worry about daycare.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Oh wow, that’s a great idea!” She chewed her bottom lip. “But I don’t have any references. You think that would be a problem?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you contact an agency tomorrow, figure out how it works?”

  She leaned over to give him a hug. “Thanks, Blaise.”

  Patting her back awkwardly, he asked, “For what?”

  “For being a friend, for listening, for believing that I’m capable of doing something with my life.”

  For the first time, Blaise believed they could become friends. He hoped so, for the sake of the baby. Whether or not it turned out to be his, Marla could clearly use a strong support system. “You can do anything you set your mind to. I really believe that.”

  “I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow,” she said hesitantly. “I’m having an ultrasound. I don’t suppose you’d want to come?”

  He was curious, and he knew she’d been to all of her doctor’s appointments alone so far, so he said, “Sure, I’d love to come. Just tell me when and where.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Blaise was sitting in the small waiting room with Marla, waiting for the technician to call her name, when Sabrina walked into the office. His heart almost stopped when he realized she wasn’t alone.