Page 112 of Finding Fate
He tosses the mistletoe back. “Oh, yeah, because that made a difference the first time. Why are you telling me to chill the fuck out? I’m not even mad. All I did was push him ahead of her to make sure they walked under it at different times. I believe in prevention.”
I bust out laughing, unable to help it. That was funny as hell. They all look at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Sure you do. Your six-year-old clone with my eyes and the ultrasound yesterday showing baby B proves that’s a damn lie. Absence does not make our hearts grow fonder; it makes babies.”
He grins. “I prevent the things I want to prevent. I never said knocking you up was one of them. Wanna go three for three?”
I point at him. “I’m not leaving that fucking hospital without idiot proof birth control. The next time I piss on a stick with two pink lines it’s going to be because we were trying for it. No more uh-ohs.”
“Maybe. That’s half the fun. It’s like shooting in the dark and later finding out you hit the target. Why make it awkward. It’s not like our kids are stair steps from each other. They’ll be almost seven years apart.”
My mouth drops. “Well I would hope so considering I was fourteen with the first one!”
“Okay, well that one was a real accident. I was not trying to get it in the goal at eighteen.”
I squint at him. “Yet somehow you always get nothing but net.” I hold out my hand to Konnor. “Keys.”
The second I feel them in my hand I turn and walk off, because at this point, if I look at him the wrong way I may end up with twins.
Sixty-Two
Maddox
Landon walks in with an armful of firewood to add to the fire. He wasn’t able to make our flight between getting in from a half hitch at work and packing and all, so he got here later, which is why we had to wait. I don’t think any of them realize it’s a miracle he agreed to come, because he had to take off—something he rarely does. He has to video the whole thing according to Gabby.
Sitting on the couch next to Konnor, I drink on my beer just like he is as we watch Landon poke the embers while everyone else does what they’re supposed to be doing. “He was fucking my sister-in-law, wasn’t he?”
I pause with the rim of the bottle to my lips. “What makes you think that?”
“He’s completely back to being the ‘normal’ Landon. The one that barely speaks unless he’s being a smartass and stays to himself. I thought we were finally getting somewhere. Then, it dawned on me that Paxtyn wasn’t really Paxtyn and Landon wasn’t really Landon. There’s one thing missing from the equation.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lie. I’m not going to be the one to open that can of worms, and considering she’s underage, I’m not saying shit. I’ve been there and done that. I don’t roll on my friends.
He stares at me as he drinks from his beer. Then he grins. “I don’t know why you want to lie. She has a daddy. It’s not me. If you think I give a shit you don’t know Paxtyn. If she wants something, she’s going to get it. Unlike a lot of girls, she knows she’s hot and uses it in her favor. There isn’t a guy within a California mile that would turn her down aside from her relatives and me. She’s like her mother on steroids. Controlling like her dad. Hateful as they come when she wants to be.”
My lips curl. “How long have you known?”
“I started seeing the signs after she left. I grew up with Paxtyn. I know how she acts. She thinks she’s opaque but she’s pretty translucent if you’ve known her as long as I have. Her and Presley have never been that close because of the age difference between them and because of my sister being the same age as Presley, who was pretty much like her sister. It makes a difference for kids that grow up in stages and transition between different phases. She was still playing with toys when Presley was getting into friends and boys. Paxtyn likes to pretend she doesn’t care. Presley plays along because they’re actually closer when they pretend they hate each other. I don’t really get it, but it’s like they try harder or something. And then there’s the whole fact that her Instagram has gotten a lot vainer than usual. She’s trying to impress someone. I also may have walked up behind Landon and saw him scrolling through her posts before he knew I was there. He was looking and not liking.”
“Yeah, but it likely won’t go anywhere, so it was kind of pointless.”
We stare straight ahead as Landon adds the last log and stands. Konnor finishes off his beer and scoots to the edge of the couch like he’s about to get up. He grins. “Yeah, probably not.”
Blondie walks in the living room wearing one of Riggan’s white tee shirts like she was told to do. Probably more of a waddle than a walk. The shirt is snug because of her belly, but that’ll probably work better for what it’s going to be used for. Riggan follows her everywhere like she’s days from going into labor. She still has to go through all of January.
Konnor walks over to Gabby when she enters holding blindfolds and turns around. I watch her put it on him and tie it in the back, unable to look away. Regardless of all the things I’ve done, seeing her touch on another guy even in platonic ways is hard for me. I’ve never truly understood my feelings for her, let alone the jealousy, but I’ve always known she’s the love of my life, and yeah, maybe that makes me a little psycho.
Gabby walks over to Riggan, holding out another one. “Why do I have to be blindfolded? It’s not my kid.”
“Be a good sport. It makes it more fun.”
I finish off my beer and set it on the coffee table as I stand. The sun is starting to set, and the girls all wanted to go outside and sit around the fire pit at nightfall. I rub my hands together. “I guess it’s time to get this party started.”
“Wait!” Presley blurts out. “I feel like I’m forgetting something. Give me a minute. This has to be perfect.”
Someone starts pounding on the door. Everyone looks around at each other. “Are you expecting someone?” Gabby asks Presley.
She shrugs like she has no clue who it could be and then starts to walk away. “Landon, do you mind seeing who it is?”
He looks at me from across the room where he’s sitting in a chair wearing a Santa hat and holding a can of beer, with about as much confusion as me. He hasn’t shaved in several days, and with his lack of smile he reminds me of Billy Bob Thornton inBad Santa.I’m closer to the door by most of the room. There is obviously a reason she wants him to do it, because Presley isn’t a bitch. “Everyone knows you’re the asshole by now. If someone is selling something or trying to recruit people for a religion we don’t believe in, you can tell them to get lost with no remorse.”