Page 67 of The Hard Hitter
I suck in a sharp breath as that thought pings around inside my rattled brain, and while there is a part of me that believes she’s kind, sweet and trustworthy, there’s another part of me that’s fucking scared.
“Daddy,” Daisy says, and I catch her pout.
“Yeah, kiddo,” I say in my happiest voice, despite the train wreck that I’ve become. Fuck man, I need to get my shit together. I have a child to think about.
“I miss Sam,” she whines.
Me too.
The truth is, I miss her so fucking much, I can’t even function. My mind goes back to all the time I spent with her. My heart beats faster, crashes against my chest. In the heat of the moment I reacted, said some pretty shitty things as my past came back to haunt me. I pinch my eyes shut as the vision of Sam fill’s my mind’s eye—her sweet smile, her generous nature. Why didn’t she tell me she was leaving, and with my child?
Maybe she’s not.
As that thought hits, I go over the events again. Truthfully, I’m not sure what is really going on anymore, but one thing I do know, is I need to talk to Sam, and this time I need to listen instead of jumping to all the worst conclusions, because that’s exactly what I did.
We stop in front of the daycare, and I park. Daisy waves to Scotty, who’s playing in the yard. Quinn, tanned from her long weekend in Mexico, glances up when she sees me, and her expression changes, the smile falling from her face.
I climb from the car, unbuckle Daisy, and guide her to the fenced-in yard, where kids are running around and playing on various pieces of equipment.
Quinn says something to one of her employees, gives Daisy a hug, and walks up to me.
“Let’s go,” she says.
“Go where?” I ask.
“Get in the car, Zander.” The chill in her voice is enough to frost my windows.
I stare at her for a second, confused by the way she’s acting. “Don’t you have to be here with the kids?”
She jerks her thumb out. “My assistants are qualified to watch the kids in my absence. Now get in.”
I climb into the driver’s seat and she gets in beside me, slamming her door with much more force than necessary. “Where to?” I ask, having no idea what’s going one or why she’s acting like she’s so pissed off at me.
Correction, she’s not acting. She’s completely and utterly pissed off at me. I never told her about Sam, so unless they had a conversation…
Ah, of course. That’s it. The two had undoubtedly talked. They are, after all, friends. Such good friends, my sister tried to set her up with her bartender friend, Todd.
Anger boils in my blood at the image of Sam with another other man. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one fucking bit.
Jesus, I am so fucked up.
“There’s a coffee shop, just around the corner.”
“I know it,” I say and pull into traffic. At the light, I take a left and drive a few more feet until the coffee shop is in view. I glance at Quinn, but she’s staring straight ahead, her gaze trained on the road. I ease my car into a parking spot, and she jumps out and darts into the coffee shop ahead of me. I follow her in, and Jonah waves us both over.
What the fuck is going on? Am I walking in to some kind of intervention?
Oh, fuck…I think I am.
I stop dead in my tracks. “What’s going on?” I ask.
“Sit,” Jonah says, and gestures to the cup of coffee waiting for me.
I hesitantly lower myself, take a drink from the takeout cup, and wait to see what this is all about.
“Sam is pregnant,” Quinn blurts out.
I take another sip and lower the cup. I fiddle with the plastic lid and meet my sister’s gaze straight on. “She told you?”