Page 10 of Rowdy & Kat

As I got dressed, Maria worked out her irritation. Rowdy calling me a bitch had set her off. I reminded her that I’d lied and ghosted him. She reminded me how his feelings were the least important consideration right now. I should be focused on my health and the babies. I agreed to keep my crush on Rowdy from distracting me from my priorities. That was the end of the conversation.

On the ride home, I talked middle names and wondered aloud about how our cats would react to the babies.

In my head, though, I was thinking about Rowdy. His icy blue eyes were hypnotic. When Rowdy first kissed me at the Fire Hooch, I’d felt the emptiness inside me grow warm.

That kiss had inspired me to ask Rowdy to join me in my back seat. For most of my life, I’d only had Maria to soothe what others had broken. Rowdy proved to be more than my high school crush. He was a tonic against my loneliness.

Maria pulled my new minivan next to her SUV in the townhome’s two-car garage. We bought this place more than five years ago after selling our grandmother’s house and splitting the proceeds with other family members. That was the last time Maria and I had spoken to the Darville family.

My sister walked around to the passenger side to help me out. I’d struggled with dizziness for weeks. Before stepping out of the minivan, I cradled her face in my hands and smiled.

“Thank you,” I said, knowing no one in the world loved me like Maria did.

Her life had been turned upside down once I announced I was pregnant. She became solely focused on our future. Her boyfriend broke up with her when she couldn’t make more time for him. Maria hadn’t even seemed to notice his absence.

All our lives, people had come and gone. We switched families several times. No one ever stuck. It was always Maria and me alone in the world with few allies.

Maria hugged me after I exited the minivan. She stroked my hair with the tenderness I had rarely gotten from anyone else. I caressed her back, wanting her to know everything would be okay.

I’d been impulsive and chased a dream by hooking up with Rowdy. That led to the pregnancy. Now, we were a week away from welcoming two new people into our lives.

“Should I park on the driveway or the curb?” Rowdy asked, interrupting the embrace.

Standing outside the garage, he made a striking yet dangerous impression.

“The driveway,” Maria answered when I stared dumbfounded by Rowdy’s beauty. “We’ll have you move it before we head out tomorrow.”

Rowdy stepped into the garage and smiled at us. “I like how you know I’m not leaving tonight.”

“You can sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t you have an inflatable bed that I can stick on Kat’s floor? I want to stay close to my baby mama.”

His words made me smile, but Maria sighed exasperated. She’d long given up on trying to talk sense into me regarding Rowdy Reed.

I was thinking about high school again as I changed into my nightgown and readied for bed. We had moved in with our aunt and uncle after our second parents divorced. Blairsville, referred to as Little Memphis by the locals, was a decent place and the school was top notch. I hoped to fit in and stay put for a while.

Instead, I stuck close to Maria while nursing a crush on a handsome bully. Less than a year later, our aunt and uncle had divorced and sent us to live with her mother in Little Rock.

Now, that handsome bully strutted into my bedroom. Rowdy looked around, taking in the sight of my three cream walls and the sage green accent wall. His gaze lingered on the crib next to my bed. A second one was waiting in my closet to be put together when the boys grew too big to share.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” Rowdy asked, standing at the foot of my bed while I got comfortable under my yam-colored plush blanket.

Too tired to lie, I admitted, “You bullied me in high school, but I still had a crush on you.”

“No, no, don’t be a dum-dum,” Rowdy said as he looked around. “I would never bully such a lovely fox. You must be confusing me with someone else.”

Sticking to silence, I only smirked at his bullshit. Rowdy unlaced his black riding boots and set them at the door before crawling onto my bed. He rested on his elbows next to my belly. His icy gaze focused on me, stealing my ability to shield myself from his desire.

“You laughed at me,” I reminded him.

“I don’t remember that,” he said and nuzzled his bearded jaw against my belly. “I do remember asking you out more than once, only for my heart to be brutally denied.”

I tightened my lips and inhaled sharply. “You were messing with me.”

“No. I thought you were gorgeous. I still do. That’s why I wasn’t careful during our sweaty fun in the back seat of your SUV.”

I lifted my hand gingerly and struggled with whether to give into my desire. Finally, I let my fingers skim across his forehead and down his cheek before cupping his jaw.