by Lacey Legend
But if there was one thing he was proud of himself for, it was the fact that he wasn’t running away from his responsibilities. He needed a job. Maybe after his experience with Ken’s he could get a job at an auto shop. Then with that job he could find a better place to live and Kelsey would have no reason to keep his daughter from him.
The more whisky he drank, the more plans started to fill his head. Instead of feeling like his thoughts were a jumbled mess, he was feeling like he could gain control of everything. There’d be a way to get through it all and he’d find it.
But the first thing he needed to do was talk to Kelsey. He needed her to know that he wasn’t going anywhere and that he was going to create a great life, maybe not as great as the rich guy in the mansion, but a great life and that she wouldn’t be keeping their daughter away.
Chapter11
How quickly everyone in The Vines dropped everything for a party. Alan had called every one of their neighbors and told them the good news that Kelsey was moving in early and he was requesting a celebration for the night. It never ceased to amaze Kelsey at just what exactly money could buy. By the time her boxes were unloaded from the small group of moving men, Alan had already arranged for a catering service to come with food and wine for a cocktail party at the very last minute.
Kelsey knew he had to have spent a decent amount of money arranging the service and probably even more money paying his house cleaner to come an extra day at the last second the clean the house from top to bottom.
Any time Kelsey offered to help, Rosa would swat her out of the way. “You must rest for the baby,” she would tell her.
It was all enough to make Kelsey roll her eyes with the grandeur of it all, yet she stifled her thoughts and pasted a smile on her face. She needed to be thankful for everything that Alan was doing to make her comfortable and happy. He had shown her to her suite that adjoined the master bedroom and in it he had gotten a fabulous wooden vanity with lights and a gorgeous mirror. She had felt speechless when she saw it because of just how beautiful it was.
The house was sprawling and impressive and there was no doubt that she was going to be very comfortable living there.
So why was it that she felt so out of place? She reasoned with herself that it was just because it was new, it wasn’t home yet. But there was a part of her deep down that knew it wasn’t the place that was the problem, it was the feeling of it all. Everything in the home screamed money, from the exceptionally large TV to the outstanding kitchen (even though she knew Alan didn’t cook), even the furniture that she knew was top of the line.
What had happened to her since the summer? Money and a fabulous lifestyle had always been a regular part of her life, she had never batted an eye when it came to buying an obnoxiously expensive pair of shoes or a purse, but now everything seemed too over the top. It was all too much.
“The guests will be arriving around six tonight. Why don’t you get settled in a bit and then take a rest before the party, okay?”
She knew that Alan was sensing that something wasn’t quite right and she appreciated that he was trying to give her some space. Yet she felt annoyed at his kindness. Alan was perfect, a perfect gentleman and always thoughtful, he was good looking and considerate and he had never raised an argument with her. So why did it feel like she was going crazy? She’d only been living with him for a matter of hours.
Feeling restless, Kelsey began to unpack her boxes which was mostly her clothes and accessories. There was more than enough space for all of her belongings in such an organized closet. Even with her belongings being unpacked and put away, she still felt uneasy. It was obviously going to be difficult to adjust to a new home and a new lifestyle, but she didn’t feel that was it.
A soak in the spa tub and a nap didn’t leave her feeling refreshed, and when she heard the doorbell start to ring downstairs signaling that her guests were there, she had to stop herself from groaning. She was draped in a long red dress and her hair was wrapped in a low bun. She’d done her makeup just right giving her a smoky eye look and had glossed her lips. Even as pregnant as she was, she looked fantastic.
Her life was coming out perfectly, if not for the small bump in the road, so why was it that when she looked in her new vanity and smiled, it was pasted on her face? The light didn’t reach her eyes anymore. It was missing. Well, there was nothing that she could do about it at the moment, she had a house full of guests downstairs, her house and her guests, and she had to play the gracious hostess. So pasting on her fake smile, she stood up and left her bedroom.
Downstairs everyone had glasses of wine and were mingling about, and Kelsey wondered if she could maybe slip into the party unnoticed and hide in a corner somewhere. She scolded herself, what was wrong with her? She used to love her social life and lived for a great party. Maybe it was just hormones making her feel so uneasy and crazy like she didn’t belong.
Pulling herself up straight, she made herself stride into the party as she used to. Immediately everyone was fawning over her, rubbing her belly and giving her hugs telling her how happy they were that she and Alan were living together. What a beautiful home he had and what a wonderful idea to share a party with neighbors to celebrate the occasion.
Kelsey nodded along and thanked everyone for the warm wishes and kindness. She smiled and hugged, let everyone pet her belly, and acted as graciously as she could.
“Kelsey, there’s someone at the door for you,” her mother whispered in her ear.
She could tell that whoever it was happened to be an unwelcome guest and that she should take care of the matter immediately.
Excusing herself from her company, she scurried to the front door, wanting to take care of whatever it was that made her mother’s mouth pucker as if there was a sour candy on her tongue. There was no one standing inside of her great entrance way, so whoever it was, her mother wouldn’t even let in the house.
Kelsey pulled open the door and stepped outside. Her stomach dropped when she saw him and her nose wrinkled in disgust when she smelled him. No wonder her mother had acted the way that she had, and it was no surprise with Mason smelling of straight whisky that she wouldn’t have let him into the party. Closing the door behind her, she suddenly felt chilly in the evening air and wrapped her arms around herself.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered.
Mason stood up from leaning against the porch railings and attempted to look self-assured and tough. It wasn’t working though, and the normal confidence that radiated from him simply wasn’t there. The fact that it was so obviously missing made her hurt in a place that she didn’t know she could.
“You’re getting married to this rich guy. Didn’t you ever care about me at all?”
Well he was certainly one to talk, but she wasn’t going to do this. Not in the middle of a party. Not in the middle of Alan’s home, or her home, as it now were.
“Mason, we aren’t going to do this now.” She tried to sound firm and strong, though she desperately wanted to shout to him all of the feelings she’d been holding inside.
He simply nodded and a smile curled across his lips, one she hadn’t seen before but one she knew immediately that she didn’t like.
“That’s what I thought. Listen, you can go marry this guy and live in this mansion and pretend that you and I never existed. And I’ll live my life just fine without you, probably even better because now I know that sleeping with a million bucks isn’t worth the hassle.”
Kelsey felt as if she’d been slapped by his words, but he was stepping closer to her now, his eyes narrowed and the scent of the booze was coming off of him in waves.
“But there is one thing that you won’t do and that’s take my daughter away. I’m going to make myself a great life and she will be in it in every way possible. So you might want to inform your future husband that I’m not going anywhere and he is not her father.”
Kelsey’s mind was racing. She had to calm him down and get him out of there before the guests
came looking for her and found him drunk on the porch. On the other hand, who was he to dictate her life?
“She might be your blood, but you’ve done nothing to be a father. All you’ve been is a runaway and I won’t let that be a factor in her life. Alan has been to every doctor appointment with me from the very beginning. He’s helped pick out things for the nursery and even hired a decorator to take care of the baby’s room. So you may have done the act, but he’s the one being a father.”
Mason’s eyes grew dark and she knew she’d hit him where it hurt. She didn’t even feel bad about it and almost felt triumphant. If he was going to hurt her with his words then she would shoot them right back to him. But instead of backing down, Mason took a step closer to her. He was less than an inch away and if she leaned in even a little bit she’d have the taste of his lips on hers.
She tried to step back and get herself out of the situation, but the way his eyes were boring into hers, the way that she could feel the heat from his skin sizzle off of hers, was intoxicating, and truthfully, she couldn’t move.
“When is your next appointment?” he growled.
His words surprised her and she had to take a moment to think about what he was talking about.
“My next doctor appointment? It’s tomorrow at one, why?”
“Good, I’ll be here at twelve-thirty then.” As if it was all settled, Mason turned and walked away down the steps before Kelsey had a chance to get her thoughts in order.
“You’re not coming with us!” she called out after him.
Mason turned to face her again. He looked calmer, steadier, his cocky demeanor returning slowly. “If that’s what it takes to show you that I’m the father, Princess, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Mason!” she called out, again frustrated with herself. She hadn’t been trying to tell him he needed to start acting like a father, he’d already done his damage and there was no coming back from it. So there didn’t seem to be any point in trying to fix it all. But when she called him that time, he didn’t turn back around. Instead he offered her a wave and continued walking. Where he was walking to, she really didn’t know, judging by the smell of him she figured a bar. It wouldn’t be proper for her to go chasing after him, so she let him walk away with him thinking he could make everything right again.
She heard the door creak open and she looked to see her mother peeking outside.
“He’s gone, you can come out,” she told her.
Her mother obliged and came to stand closely to Kelsey where other people wouldn’t hear them.
“What in the world was he doing here?”
Kelsey suddenly felt drained and wished she could just go crawl into bed… alone… and sleep away this nightmare.
“He wants to be the father and be a part of the baby’s life. There’s nothing I can do, technically he is the father.”
She looked at her mother who had the wide eyes of an owl. “Absolutely not. No one can know he is the father. If they know, then the entire story that we told will be a complete lie and we will look like fools!”
Kelsey hadn’t thought about that at all. They had told everyone she was in a long-term relationship with a high society man at school and he had left her when he found out she was pregnant. If everyone knew that Mason was truly the father, they would know the story wasn’t true. Her family would get a horrible reputation, not only as liars, but because of who the father was.
She would ruin everything that her parents had worked so hard for and even more she would ruin how much they’d worked to fix her mistake. But what could she really do about it? Mason was the father, and even though she may not like it, he had rights to the baby as well. She also couldn’t deny that she’d seen how he spoke of his little brother—he’d dropped his entire life just to take care of him, so she did know he was going to be a wonderful father.
She supposed that people were just going to have to understand and their true friends would still stick by her.
Her mother’s voice cut through her thoughts. “What about Alan?” she asked.
She hadn’t thought about him at all to be honest.
“What do you mean?”
“How do you think he is going to feel when he finds out that you lied and that you went slumming and got pregnant?”
Kelsey winced at the word “slumming,” she would never have considered being with Mason “slumming.” He was actually a very smart, hardworking guy with a very big heart and an even bigger amount of passion. But she was sure her mother would never see him that way and she wasn’t going to sit there and defend him after what he’d put her through.
“I guess if he truly loves me, he will have to understand that people make mistakes,” Kelsey answered.
Her mother gave a short laugh and shook her head before grabbing the door handle and twisting it to go back inside. “You better hope that he loves you, because he’s your last resort.”
Chapter12
In retrospect, showing up at her party drunk like that was something that Mason knew he probably shouldn’t have done. He didn’t mean to crash her party at all, he had actually gone to her parents’ house first just wanting to talk to her.
But when their housekeeper told him that she had moved out and her parents were at her house-warming party that night, well, he couldn’t help himself. Of course, he had taken a couple more shots of the liquid courage that he was carrying around before he’d actually had the strength to go there.
When she came outside, she was truly stunning in her red flowing dress and her smoky eyes. More than he wanted to argue with her and more than he wanted to upset her he had wanted to kiss her. But he wiped that idea from his mind and instead let the liquid inside do the talking.
The fact that she wasn’t considering him the father simply because he hadn’t been there was totally unfair. It hadn’t been his choice he hadn’t been there… but if that’s what made her wonderful fiancé so great, then that’s what he would do.
He’d be there for every damn thing that came next. Not for Kelsey’s sake, no the idea of her was long gone from his mind, but for the sake of being able to be around his daughter.
The following day, he woke with a massive hangover and was instantly regretting his choice of best friend the night before. But he had to get through it and make it to her house by 12:30 so that she knew he was serious. Quickly he dialed his neighbors and asked if they wouldn’t mind keeping Adam through the afternoon because he had a very important appointment to make. They agreed and he hung up to shower and get ready for the day.
He made it to her house at 12:30 on the dot, and was pretty proud of himself for that considering he was still very much feeling the horrible effects of the night before. But when he pulled up in his old rusty truck there she was, waiting for him outside, which completely took him by surprise. He figured if anything she would try to avoid him for the day, but instead she quickly waddled off of her porch steps and over to where his truck was idling.
“Listen, you can’t be here right now. If you want to go to the doctor’s appointment, then go to this address and I’ll meet you there.”
Mason gave her an unsure look. She could very well be trying to send him somewhere different in order to get rid of him, he wouldn’t put it past her at this point. Really, he wouldn’t put anything past her, she was a clever girl. She must have read his thoughts, because she stomped her foot and rolled her eyes.
“I’m serious, Mason. That’s the address, either you show up or you don’t.”
Mason looked at the paper in his hand written in her loopy handwriting. “You fiancé going to be joining us?”
Kelsey looked back at the front door and then back at him. “No, he isn’t.”
Mason gave a quick nod, his decision made up. If she really was trying to trick him then he knew where she lived now, he could always show up again and continue to demand to be a part of the baby’s life. If she thought he’d be that easy to push away again, she was wrong. Mason pu
t the old truck into drive and drove away with her in his rearview mirror.
To his complete surprise he did pull into the parking lot of a doctor’s office and even more to his surprise she pulled in only a minute or so behind him. With her head held high, she climbed out of her SUV and walked crisply toward the door not even waiting for him. Mason stifled a chuckle at her ridiculous attitude and got out of his truck.
She was already inside when he got to the front door, so he opened the door and followed her in. Immediately he felt uncomfortable; he’d never been in a doctor office like this and the posters and pamphlets about all kinds of female things were things that he didn’t want to think about made him blush a little.
Kelsey was sitting in a chair, leafing through a magazine as if she didn’t even realize he was there. He sat beside her and glanced her direction. He watched as she pretended to be engrossed in some celebrity gossip magazine and didn’t actually read a word, he also noticed how her chest started to rise and fall faster once he’d sat down.
That was an effect he’d had on her since their very first encounter and he loved to see it, it meant he was getting to her, and if there was one thing he loved to do to her it was get her riled up. A smile slipped out as he thought of the numerous other things he’d loved doing to her.
“So, where’s Mr. Perfect?” he asked with no genuine concern and only because he knew it would piss her off to bring him up.
“He can’t make this one,” she answered sharply.
“Oh, but I thought he came to every single thing and was the perfect father,” Mason let his voice drip with sarcasm. Her chest was rising faster than before and he could feel himself getting excited despite his best intentions.
Kelsey slammed down the magazine and turned to face him. Her eyes were lit with fury and he smiled thinking of all the other times he’d been able to make her eyes light like that. “Do you really want to do this now?”
“Do what?” he asked feigning innocence.
