26. Rook

26

ROOK

I was going to be a dad.

The news didn’t feel real. I lay in bed all night just staring at the ceiling, processing the information. When I’d met up with Kitty, I’d been certain she would walk away upon learning I could spend the next chunk of my life in prison. Suddenly, that didn’t matter anymore.

She loved me, and she was carrying my child.

It wasn’t real.

It had to be some kind of dream.

I’d never given a lot of thought to children in the past. My own upbringing was rough, and life as a soldier hadn’t made me any softer. Sometimes, I would tell myself that I just needed to find the right woman, but even that wasn’t enough to sell me on children. I had no idea how I would react to such news.

Now I knew it was the best news I could hear from the woman I loved, second only to hearing that she loved me.

Kitty loved me.

And I loved her.

Those thoughts and more kept me awake all night long. The excitement kept tiredness at bay, and when morning finally broke, I knew I had to start planning things.

After a quick breakfast at the motel bar, I spent the next few hours on the phone trying to find a lawyer within my budget. Most that I called hung up the moment they learned I could be sued by the mayor, but eventually, I was able to get through to a well-known lawyer who was only two grand out of my budget. She was my last resort, so I paid her and forwarded her my contract to look at.

She told me she would look over it and get back to me within a day but mostly wouldn’t move forward until the New Year. Understandable since Christmas was a stone's throw away.

Then I headed through town and scoured the local book shop for everything they had on babies. I had no family to speak of and very little experience with children, but I was going to learn. I would consume everything I had my hands on to make sure I was the best dad I could possibly be for my baby.

My baby .

By the time lunchtime rolled around, I’d worked up an appetite so I headed to The Anchor and couldn’t keep the smile from my face when I greeted Melanie.

“You’re in a good mood.” She snorted softly while scribbling down my lunch order. “Talk with Kitty went well, then?”

“So well,” I replied. I wanted to tell her because I was bursting with the news, but I wouldn’t take that from Kitty. They had been friends a lot longer, so I would have to wait until Kitty spilled the beans.

“You’re so soft when you talk about her.” Melanie smiled. “I used to think you were this emotionless rock.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Technically, no,” I replied. “I’m supposed to be. Too used to keeping clients at arm's length.”

“And how did that work out for you?” Melanie smirked and wandered away to the kitchen. She returned thirty seconds later and poured me a lemonade.

“I don’t regret it,” I said softly, drumming my fingers on the bar. “Part of me feels like I should, but I don’t. We’re both adults and we fell in love.”

“Love?” Melanie placed the glass down in front of me. “You said the L word?”

“We both did.”

“My, my. I bet the mayor loves you even more now.” She laughed, accepting my card.

“Honestly? I’ve got no clue what he thinks. But I need to talk to him. I need him to understand that we did nothing wrong, and I need to make sure he’s not going to sue me for my contract.”

Melanie cleared my tab, then spun my card between her fingers as she handed it back to me. “He’s a greedy man these days. Anything for extra cash.”

“I know. I tell myself that our past history of spending countless nights supporting each other through college should be enough to have him look past it, but…” I puffed out my cheeks. “He’s not the same man he was.”

“I want you and Kitty to be happy. I can’t tell you what to do in regard to the contract, but remember my barn? The mayor barely gives a shit about safety anymore. Not even Kitty being caught in that was enough to open his eyes. He needs some kind of wake up call, and I don’t know if we can do that. But I do know that surely, his lack of compassion for this town could work in your favor?”

I shrugged and drank deeply. “I have no clue. He’s still a businessman. His contracts are intense. I did find a lawyer, though.”

“Oh?” Melanie paused her polishing of the glass in her hands. “A good one?”

“As I can afford. Barely. She’s looking over the contract as we speak.”

“I wish you luck,” Melanie said. “And if there’s anything I can do?”

“I’ll call.” I smiled across at her. “All I need you to do is keep an eye on Kitty while I can’t.”

“Oh, for sure.” Melanie smiled. “It’s our annual Christmas dinner tonight, so I’ll be able to get all the low down on what her parents are up to.”

“I’m glad. I don’t like her being isolated like this.”

“Mmm.” Melanie hummed out her agreement. “Although the Yuletide Ball is right around the corner. If that goes well, maybe all your problems will melt away.”

“You think?”

Melanie shrugged. “I have no idea, but that’s the plan, right? Have the town overwhelm the ball and give Samuel no place to run to? Make him face the people, so to speak? Technically, you’re invited to that, too.” She reached under the bar and retrieved a crumpled poster, then slid it toward me. “Each one grants entry, right?”

“Shit. I hadn’t even thought of that.” I straightened up suddenly. “I’m going to need a suit. A good suit.”

“This late in the game?” Melanie chuckled. “You’ll be getting a regular old funeral jacket at this rate.”

“It’ll have to do. And it gives me the perfect excuse to talk to Samuel. He won’t be able to run from anyone at the gala, and that’s all I need. Melanie, you’re a star.”

“Oh, I know!” She tossed her hair and laughed. “Although I’m not sure what I did.”

“What you always do.” I drained my glass and slid from my stool. “You spoke sense.”

“Alright.” She laughed, waving at me as I hurried away. “I’ll take it!”

Melanie was right about many things, mainly that the suit collection I was faced with was sorrowful. Kitty had worked hard to make sure everyone in town got access to good suits and dresses for the ball, and nearly everything of worth had been snatched up. With Kitty’s dress in mind, I settled for a gunmetal grey suit with a red shirt and white tie. Fashion was never my strong suit, but matching the colors to her dress felt like the right thing to do.

She was mine, and now I didn’t care who knew about it.

Suit secured, complete with black shoes, I headed back to my motel room as the sun sank beneath the horizon and cold snapped at my ankles.

It never felt this cold in the cities. There was definitely something more bitter about winter in nature.

Back inside, I hung my suit up on the door and took a quick shower, which was interrupted by a call from my lawyer. She didn’t have great news, but it wasn’t terrible, either. As I suspected, the contract was pretty watertight, and Samuel would be well within his rights to claim sleeping with his daughter was a breach of that. The only thing in my favor was doubting work conditions and treatment.

That was going to take a while.

I paced my room and gave her a quick rundown of Kitty’s accident as well as the protestors invading the meeting. My lawyer was clear. It would be difficult but not impossible to make this work. I had to be committed, and I had to be prepared for Samuel to play dirty.

It turned out that my lawyer had asked around, and Samuel was known because in the spring, a few construction workers had attempted to take him to court over unsafe working conditions after the flooding, and they had been ground into the dust over things as small as toilet breaks.

After our conversation ended, I flopped down onto the bed and once again gazed up at the ceiling. Maybe hoping for Samuel to get a wake-up call was a fool's hope. Maybe there really was nothing we could do and this was just who he was now. Not the man I had befriended. He was cold now, driven by power and greed and the approval of all the leeches locked onto the highway deal.

If it was a losing battle, then I would still fight it alongside Kitty.

For her. And our baby.

Sleep came quickly after I had been awake for over twenty-four hours, and I fell into a dreamless darkness while still damp from my shower. By the time I woke up, my neck was stiff, my head was cold, and it was pitch black inside and out.

A tune played out from my phone as someone called me, lighting up the room with flashes of blue and yellow light. Reaching for the device, I eased myself up with a yawn and pressed the phone to my ear, half expecting to hear my lawyer again.

“Hello?”

“Rook, thank God,” Melanie gasped breathlessly.

I was wide away instantly. “Melanie? What’s wrong? Why do you sound so out of breath?”

“I’m running,” she gasped. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, Rook, but something is wrong.”

“With you? Are you okay?”

“No, no, I’m fine, but Kitty didn’t turn up to our Christmas dinner even though she’d texted me yesterday to say that she was looking forward to it, depending on how her meeting went with you. I called and called but I got no answer. I waited an hour and when I heard nothing—fuck.” Melanie wheezed desperately as she spoke.

I stood and flipped on the light, then scanned around for my clothes. I didn’t like where this was going.

“So I drove to her house, and the gate guard wasn’t there, so I had to get out and walk up that long ass driveway. I knocked and someone answered, but it wasn’t someone I’ve ever seen before.”

I dressed at record speed and sprinted from my room.

“He wasn’t like any doorman I’ve ever seen there, but everyone’s cars were in the driveway so I don’t know, Rook. I don’t know what’s going on in that house, but something isn’t right!”