Chapter 24

24

Piper

Am I really going to give this guy the time to day to spill his guts… and heart…

"I'll be right inside," Maryanne says to me. "Just so Saxon isn't alone. Cutter said there are security people here too."

"Security?" I ask, looking at Cutter.

"Yes," he says. "Just to keep an eye on things. Nothing is going to happen, Piper, but if it makes you feel any better, okay? Just give me a second here. I'm begging you."

I step out onto the porch. Maryanne goes inside the house.

She closes the door but doesn't shut it all the way.

She's going to listen and snoop.

"Can we sit together and talk?" Cutter asks.

"I'm fine standing right here," I say.

Cutter nods. "This whole thing is a nightmare, Piper. I've been getting texts. Blackmail texts. This person wanted me to pay them fifty million dollars to keep the story quiet. And if you want to know the truth, we paid someone off before to shut up."

My stomach feels even sicker. "You did…?"

"My agent did. For financial gain for myself. I have nothing to hide from you, Piper."

"Now you don't. Yesterday you did."

"No. It's not that simple, Piper. There is no story. It's all made up. It's a lie."

"Seems convenient to say."

"It's not convenient. This is going to be so hard to fight back against. And the fact that you're mixed up in it. I'm so sorry. There was a woman, yes. She said she had my son. There was never a baby. There was never a pregnancy. She faked it."

I fold my arms, keeping a scowl on my face.

Cutter keeps talking.

"It was a while ago," he says. "Four or five years ago. I met a woman in a bar after a game. One thing led to another… you know. Things happens. Next thing I know she's telling me she's pregnant, having my baby and demanding all this money from me. Telling me she's going to expose me. I was shocked by it all. The crazy part is that we never slept together. We hooked up but we didn't sleep together. You know?"

"Thanks for the visual," I say.

Little stings of jealousy hit me.

How stupid of me.

"I'm just making it all clear," he says. "I panic. This woman is trying to mess with me. Then I realize I don't care all that much. I know the truth. She's pregnant? It's not mine. We can take a paternity test to prove that. It's just messy. Tony got spooked too. So I decided to just handle it myself. I went back to this town and found the woman. Told her we could meet up and get things worked out. She meets up with me and she's wearing this shirt with something obviously under it. Trying to look pregnant. Something weird was going on for sure. She was scared. Jumpy. I reassured her things would be okay and I slipped her a piece of paper asking if she was in danger. She nodded to me. I told her I had money for her but at my hotel. She had to come with me. I got her out of that town and into a hotel room to find out what the hell was really going on."

"Which was?" I ask.

"Her boyfriend put her up to it. The guy was some drugged up gambling addict. He concocted this plan to blackmail me for money. To extort me. Get a million dollars out of me to go away. Trying to convince me that I got this woman pregnant and I was going to pay her off to go away. She wasn't pregnant. She had a frigging dish towel under her shirt. She was terrified of her boyfriend for many reasons. And if you want to know the truth, Piper, I should have done things differently. I should have stopped right there, got Tony involved and walked away. I didn't. I felt for this woman. She wasn't on drugs. She wasn't messed up. She just needed a break. Some help. So I helped her. Okay? I helped her. I gave her money. I got her to bolt from her boyfriend. I thought I was doing the right thing all along."

"So you just gave some random woman some money and helped her…?"

"Yeah. I did."

"Did you…" I shake my head. "I mean, it doesn't matter, but did you have feelings for her? Did you fall in love with her?"

"It wasn't like that at all, Piper. I just wanted to help her. I don't know why. Okay? I just saw this woman faking a pregnancy, scared of the guy that should have been taking care of her…" He runs a hand through his hair. "I said I never met my father. He did stuff like that to my mother. I heard stories. The things he put her through. And why didn't anyone ever help my mother?"

Cutter's jaw tightens.

He's in pain.

He's blinking fast.

I'm not sure if I should be falling for this or not. If this is real or just some act.

I step toward him. "You swear on everything…"

"I swear, Piper," he says. "She had feelings for me. I shut it down quick. I got into a bar fight and next thing I knew reporters wanted to follow me. I didn't think anything of it until someone followed me to this woman's apartment. Her ex saw the pics and went after her. That's when she came after me again. This time it was worse than ever. Her and her boyfriend had this entire story of me getting her pregnant and hiding her and not taking care of her. They had pictures done up of her pregnant and with a baby and all that. It was bad. Of course that was right at the time I was due for my big contract. It makes me feel disgusting to think about it but what was I going to do? I took Tony's advice. We paid them off. Things stayed quiet. I signed my big deal. Every now and again the story would sort of pop up but nothing Tony couldn't keep under control. Until now. This… this is different, Piper. This was an onslaught. Fifty million? That's insane."

"It is insane, Cutter," I say. "And I'm really sorry you went through that."

"I'm not a bad guy, Piper. I see the look in your eyes. I'm not some deadbeat who had a kid and took off. I would never do that to someone. Ever. I can only imagine what's been going through your head about me."

"Just leave it at that then," I say. "Okay? You told me your story. It doesn't change the fact that someone was following me and taking pictures. Remember that serial killer thing? Laugh and joke, but I knew someone was following me. And you know what, Cutter? If you never showed up here then none of this would have happened. That's the reality. I appreciate the security stuff. But even that doesn't change anything."

I can't truly explain how badly I want to launch myself up to my toes and throw my hands around his neck and pull him down for a kiss.

If it was just me I had to think about, I'd do it.

But I have to think about my son. I have to protect my son. No matter what.

Even if it hurts me.

Even if it means walking away from a hunk like Cutter Buckley.

There will never be another Cutter Buckley in my life.

It makes my heart shiver and start to shatter.

But I guess sometimes that's just how things go in life.

"That man just poured his soul out to you," Maryanne says.

"Good for him," I say.

"It takes balls to do that. To confess everything like that."

"Are you going to stand here and stick up for him?"

"What did he do that was wrong?" Maryanne asks. "Nothing. Someone followed him and took pictures."

"Don't do that to me," I say. "It… it hurts… okay?"

"You have feelings for him, don't you? Serious feelings." She inches closer to me. "Are you in love with him?"

I just stare at her.

Maryanne steps back and exhales. "Wow. That's okay though, Piper. Who am I to give out advice on love, right? You want to know something about me? I was in love in college. A guy named Bret. What a sexy name. He and I were going to have the best life ever. He died in a car accident. No drinking or anything. Just one of those things. Lost control and hit a tree. I never felt that way again about anyone. My heart never knew what love was after that. Maybe that's why I like birds so much. Maybe it's my Bret visiting me, you know?"

I feel someone just cut my heart open even more.

I didn't know any of that about Maryanne.

My eyes start to fill up with tears.

"I guess I'm just saying that if you feel love or you have love, don't let anything get in the way of it," Maryanne says. "You might not ever feel it again."

Maryanne grabs my hands and squeezes them once.

Then she leaves.

I'm left in a state of shock over here.

"Mom?"

I look up and Saxon is on the steps.

"Hey," I say.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. No. It's just… weird."

"A couple of my friends sent me pictures of you and Cutter."

I sigh. "Saxon…"

"It's kind of cool actually. They think it's cool too. That you're dating a famous baseball player."

"It's not that simple."

"Mom, if you like him and he likes you, then why can't it be that simple, you know? You're probably worried about the pictures and stuff. And about me. I'm fine with it. I fine with you and Cutter dating. You should date him. You should be happy. You're a really amazing mom, okay? And if dating Cutter Buckley makes you happy, then why not keep doing that?"

I stare at my ten year old son and realize what he just said to me is the smartest and most honest thing anyone's ever said.

I mean… could love really just be that simple?