Kent sighed. “I should have known this was coming.”
“Known what was coming?”
“When Madison left she told anyone who’d listen I used to hit her. The most horrible thing about it all was the fact she’d managed to find some pictures of people who’d really gone through it and printed them out, to show everyone. Jack, of course, would have listened to her. He believed whatever she said about me. He always had hated me, because I took her from him, so learning I’d been hitting her… it made sense to him.” He shook his head. “I’ve never hit anyone in my life. I’ve never got to the point where I felt angry enough to get close to that, and anyone who knows me knew I couldn’t possibly have done that to her.”
“I didn’t believe you had, but at the same time I can’t get my head around the fact someone would be willing to lie about something like that.”
“Neither could I. For a long time I didn’t want to believe she had, but then she told my mom, who quickly put Madison straight before calling me. That was when I knew I needed to do something to sort things out, although, by then, it was already too late for me to fix some of the friendships she’d managed to ruin. Loving her was never an easy thing to do. After that it was harder, but I couldn’t stop loving her, as stupid as that must sound.”
“I know what you mean. Jack cheated on me once, and I loved him so much I made the decision to take him back. It wasn’t until later I realised how bad a choice that was, because he didn’t love me enough to stop sleeping with other women, and now he seems to think I’ll take him back again as I did it before. I’m not going to. I have no interest in being with someone who can’t be loyal to me.”
“That explains why he told you about what Madison said. If he does still care about you he won’t want to see you get hurt by me.”
“Maybe he doesn’t, but it’s still my decision to make.” She shrugged. “I’m not going to let the opinion of other people affect the choices I make, because it’s an opinion, and, especially with Jack, their biases are going to have an effect on that. Jack dislikes you and he hates the thought of me being in a relationship with you. I’m guessing this is like you taking Madison from him, even though that isn’t what you did, because it was her choice to be with you.”
“Yes, but he doesn’t see that. All he sees is that I’m the enemy, when I’m not, and I don’t know what to do about that.”
***
Tyra stepped into the house the same way she had done before, only things felt different. She went straight up to Eve’s room, where she should have been napping, only to find she wasn’t there. That explained why things felt different. Normally if there was something they needed to communicate to each other either Kent or Tyra would leave a note in the kitchen, only there was nothing there when she walked into the room.
An emergency was the only reason for that. Nibbling her lip, she tried to work out what she should do, because she wasn’t certain she should be in the house when Kent wasn’t. Then, decision made, she took her coat off, hung it where she normally did, and started doing the only logical thing she could. She made dinner for him. Maybe he wouldn’t be back to eat it, but it would be there for him if he did get home.
She’d just put the pot to the side when she heard someone open the door. Tyra wasn’t certain what she should do, because it might not be Kent. Her fear, as it often did, turned into an urge to do something, so she put the kettle on, hoping it was Kent back with Eve.
“You must by Tyra.”
A woman’s voice was definitely not what she was expecting, but when Tyra turned to look at the speaker it was obvious the woman in question was Kent’s mom. “He said you’d probably be here.”
“I was making him something to eat, in case he got home tonight.” Tyra shook her head.
“It’s a thing I do.”
“You don’t have to explain, honey. I do exactly the same thing when I get worried. How about I make us a nice cup of coffee?”
“That sounds lovely. Where is Kent?”
“He’s at the hospital, with Eve, because she had a minor accident this morning. She hit her head on the bars of her crib and he took her straight there, just in case. When it’s head injuries it’s best to be careful. I should have been here when you arrived, but the traffic was far worse than I thought it was going to be.”
“Where did you come from?”
“I have a holiday home in the next state. Kent bought it for me with some of his first earnings and I go there on a semi-regular basis. I started driving the moment he called, but there were some road works I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with, and an accident.” Kent’s mom sighed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
“There’s no need to apologise. It can’t be helped.”
“I know, but he wanted me to be here, because he knows how much you care about Eve. He would have called you if you weren’t at work. He just didn’t want to worry you when there was nothing you could do to help.”
***
Katherine smiled. “I’m glad you’re here for them.”
“I’m only the babysitter.”
“No, you’re not.” Their eyes met. “I can see why Kent fell in love with you now, and he does talk to me about everything. He’s worried he might scare you off.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“I hope you’re right, because he went through hell with Madison, and I don’t want the same thing to happen again. He needs someone in his life who loves him the way he deserves to be loved.”
“Honestly, Katherine, I’m not going anywhere. I do like Kent. It’s just hard. I have my own baggage.”
“We all do, Tyra. Every one of us has our baggage and you’ll learn how to let go of it, the same way Kent will. For now I think the best thing you can do is take things as slow as you have to. It’s obvious how much you care about them both. It’s not every babysitter who’s first thought would be to make her employer a pot of chilli, for when he comes home from the hospital.”
“I had to do something.”
“That’s how I get. It’s why I had to come here, and I would have done even if he hadn’t asked me to be here to talk with you. I’m glad I have had a chance to talk with you.”
“It’s been good for me, too.” Tyra smiled. “You’ve put my mind at ease.”
“What were you worried about?”
“I’ve had a couple of boyfriends in the past with very racist parents. It can be difficult.”
“I can imagine, but you won’t have the problem with me. I think you’re beautiful. I know Kent does too. When he first told me about you he was hopeful things would work out with you and Eve. As time passed he got more enthusiastic about you coming over and each time I could hear a little more love in his voice when he talked about you. It’s good. I’m glad he managed to move on from Madison, because she treated him terribly, and he loved her too much to let her go. If she hadn’t left him I know he wouldn’t have walked away. He loved her far too much to walk away. Sometimes I hated him for loving her the way he did. She didn’t deserve it.”
“One of her friends told me about her lies.”
“Yes, that.” Katherine shook her head. “I can’t believe she’d do something that cruel. When she died, as hard as it was for him, I was relieved it was over for good. It was a difficult time of conflicting emotions for all of us. Eve should have known her mother and yet I don’t know how good a mother Madison would have been. I always thought she was too selfish to let someone, even her own baby, come between her and what she wanted. If that had happened I would have tried to convince Kent to go for full custody.”
***
“Kent would like it if you’d stay.”
“I have work early in the morning.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“The last thing I want to do is wake him early tomorrow. I’m going to head back to my apartment and then come back after work.”
A key slipped into the lock. Tyra watched as the door opened and Kent
stepped into the house with Eve. Eve held her arms out in the direction of Tyra. “I think she wants you.”
Tyra stepped forward to take Eve. Like always Eve seemed to snuggle into her and she couldn’t help smiling. “How is she?”
“Fine. The doctors checked her over and it doesn’t seem like there’s any damage. She stayed in for a nap, because they thought it was best. I would have been home ages ago, but they were being very thorough, and I’m not going to complain about that.”
“Good.” Tyra kissed the top of Eve’s head. “I was about to head home.”
“Don’t, please.” Kent looked at her. “I know I shouldn’t ask this of you, but I don’t want you to leave yet.” Their eyes met. “All I could do was think about you, because I wished you were at the hospital with us, and now I finally have a chance to spend some time with you.”
“I’ve got an early shift.”
Nodding, he brushed a hand through his hair. “I understand.” She hated being able to hear the disappointment in his voice. “In that case I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You have a big pot of chilli you can heat up if you’re hungry.” Katherine put a hand on Tyra’s shoulder. “Your wonderful babysitter made it for you.”
“Thank you.” Kent smiled. “You didn’t have to do that, though.”
“I know, but I wanted to.” Tyra gave Eve one last kiss. “I will be here straight after my shift tomorrow.” She stepped forward and passed Eve to Kent, before surprising herself by kissing Kent on the cheek. “We can talk them.”
Before Kent could try again to convince her to stay Tyra left the house. She didn’t look back. She couldn’t look back. She wanted to stay there more than she ever had done before, but she knew she couldn’t. Not if she wanted to be up for work in the morning. Going to work, paying her rent, was the most important thing, although she couldn’t help wishing it wasn’t. If it wasn’t she would have been able to stay with Kent and Eve, to make certain they were both okay. Sighing, Tyra brushed a hand through her hair. Her life was far more difficult than it had been before and she couldn’t work out if that was a good thing or not. When she finally reached her apartment she knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get to sleep, because she had too many things going through her mind for it to stop anytime soon. Katherine had a lot to do with that.
***
“How did it happen?”
“I turned my back for three seconds and she tumbled over.” Kent shook his head. “Knowing how quickly these things can happen doesn’t really prepare you for it. One moment Eve was crawling around, and the next she’d managed to smack her head on the ground. I’m still not entirely certain how it happened. The first I knew of it was her crying in true pain. I think the doctors saw me as parent with my first child and they decided to humour me, because they probably knew she hadn’t done any real damage, but she’s never done anything like that before and I was scared she’d really hurt herself.”
“Anyone in your position would have done the same thing.” Tyra smiled at him. “Did you manage to get any sleep last night?”
“Not much, even though Mom was here. I kept having to go in and check on Eve, to make certain she was still breathing, so I gave up in the end. I spent a little of the time working, I ate some of the chilli you made, and I drank lots of coffee. I think coffee is the only way I’m going to get through today.” He sighed. “Mom told me to sleep while she was here this morning, but I couldn’t. I just lay there, wondering what would have happened if Eve really had hurt herself, and I felt like a terrible dad the whole time we were at the hospital.”
“Children are very robust. I did all sorts of things to myself when I was little and I survived it. Mom used to tell me all sorts of stories about what I used to get up to. Apparently I was one of the clumsiest children. There was one time when I managed to trip over my own foot and head butt a brick wall. There were a lot of tears, a lot of blood, and she took me straight to the hospital, but there was no lasting damage. It seems like the sort of things that might cause an adult a lot of damage are something children bounce back from.”
She took his hand. “One thing I know for certain is that you aren’t a bad dad. Turning your back for three seconds is something everyone does. You can’t keep your eye on her all the time.”
“No, I know, but I want to be able to. I keep wondering if I should give up work and be a full time dad. I can afford to do it. I just… I want to be the best dad I can be and I don’t think I will be if I don’t work at times. Like I’ve said before it’s the one thing that keeps me balanced. Without it I start become irate and unable to deal with simple things.”
“I’m here to help, okay? We can get through this together. I promise you that.”
For a long time he stared at her. “Tyra…” He shook his head. “I know what I want to say, but I don’t think it’s the right time.”
“Why not?”
“You might say yes for the wrong reasons.”
***
Tyra stared at the door to Kent’s office. After he ran away from the conversation they were having she spent most of her time with Eve, but there was this niggling voice in the back of her head that kept going on about how she needed to know what he was about to say. She brushed a hand through her hair. “What do we do, Eve?” Eve replied in the only way she could. “It seems to me like your daddy is interested in me. I know I’m becoming more interested in him the longer I spend with the two of you, but I am just the rebound. The first time I stepped into your house he told me about Madison and it seemed to me like he was still in love with her. Can that have faded away?”
“Eve doesn’t have the answer to that question.” Katherine sounded amused. “The only person who does is Kent, so you’re going to have to ask him if you want the answers you need.”
“I didn’t realise you were still here.”
“Kent asked me to get some things for him, which was obviously a way of getting rid of me, only he didn’t manage to make the most of it.” Tyra turned to look at Katherine. “Give me Eve. I’ll look after her for half an hour while the two of you talk this through. You need to ask him if he’s still in love with Madison. You need to ask if he feels the way about you I think he does, because it’s not far on either of you to be in this limbo.”
“No, it’s not.” Tyra sighed. “I just don’t know what to say or how to say it.”
“In these situations we often don’t, but you can make it up as you go along.” Katherine smiled. “Tell him how you feel. That would probably be the best place to start.”
“I don’t know why I feel that way, though. Do I feel like this due to Eve? Or is it Kent?”
“Work out an evening the two of you can go on a date. I’ll babysit and the two of you can see if there is a spark. If there isn’t then I’m sure the two of you will be able to deal with that and if there is… well, you already love Eve, so that’s one massive hurdle out of the way. Don’t worry too much about everything else. These things almost always work themselves out in the end.”
“Hopefully this will be one of those times.” Tyra passed Eve to Katherine. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck, sweetie, but I don’t think you’re going to need it.”
Tyra turned back to the door. Gathering all her courage she stepped towards it and knocked, even though there was a part of her that was certain she was making a huge mistake.
***
It had been a long time since Tyra last went on a date, and that had been with Jack. She knew the sorts of places he’d take her and that meant she didn’t have to worry too much about what she was wearing. Kent wasn’t going to take her to somewhere cheap because he didn’t have the money for anything more. As she went through her clothes she realised there was nothing dressy enough in there for her to wear if she did end up somewhere more posh than she’d ever been before.
Would he do that?
She wasn’t certain he would, but she couldn’t help worrying he would, to show her she should have kno
wn better than to ask him out on a date. She shook her head at herself. That was someone who wasn’t Kent. The Kent she knew wouldn’t do that, although he might take her somewhere nice in order to show her what he could offer her. Sighing, she pulled out a pant suit she hadn’t worn in years. All she could do was hope it still fit.
There was a knock on the door.
Tyra put the suit down on her bed and went to answer it, hoping it wasn’t who she thought it would be. When she found herself staring at Jack she couldn’t help making a face. “I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again.”
“Word is that you’re going on a date with Kent.”
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 19
