Page 8 of Twisted Fate

“Nothing, just pay attention to that bozo,” Logan whispered back, his hands clenched into fists.

Who’d gotten her pregnant, he had to wonder. Had she moved on so quickly? But when he thought about how big she was, he counted back and knew he had to be the father. It had been five months and she was much further along than that. She might even go into labor here in the courtroom by the looks of her.

Rosa was with her and sat with her now, but even she hadn’t looked up at Logan when they came in. He didn’t mind that Rosa was with her, he was just noting that the woman wasn’t at work. He knew it was all approved somewhere along the way. Rosa was a good employee and wouldn’t call in sick just to give her friend moral support. She’d put in for a day off or used a vacation day to do it.

Not that it really mattered, he thought, as Joe rambled on about his old glory days and how he’d been a hero back in the day. He then went on about how he’d been famous in the area, but a knee injury had made life hard for him. Logan couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he tuned into the sob story for a moment.

Joe had always been a dick and used any excuse he could to justify his actions. He’d become a drunk, somewhere along the way, and even that he blamed on the knee injury. Logan knew Joe was a drinker, even when they were in middle school. His addiction had nothing to do with that knee injury. Maybe shit at home or pure selfishness had led a young Joe to drink, but the adult Joe was just a major prick, looking to use his story to get out of prison. Logan had zero sympathy for him.

The attorney finished his questions and Felix stood up to ask some rather damning questions of Joe. They were quick-fire, almost staccato, and the questioning was over before Logan knew it. But the questions were significant, the answers a glaring admission of the fact that Joe had broken the conditions of his probation, and had assaulted Logan out of nothing more than jealousy. Logan knew Joe had just sent himself to prison and sat back, happy over that part, at least.

Logan waited as the police officer who’d responded to the complaint went through his testimony, his thoughts once again on Keily. Why hadn’t she told him she was pregnant if they were his babies? He knew they must be, had to be, for her to be that far along.

So why the fuck hadn’t she told him? he wondered angrily, his jaw clenched as tightly as his fists. Because you were a douche to her, moron, his brain told him. You humiliated her, broke her heart, and left her like a toy you were tired of playing with. Why would she have called to tell you she was pregnant when she more than likely wanted nothing to do with you?

“Damnit.” He muttered again and looked off to his right. This trial was done, Joe was going to prison, and Logan was no longer interested. Joe had boldly crowed about punching Logan and said he’d do it again. Logan highly doubted any judge would let that pass him by. Especially after Joe had finished his down-on-his-luck story a few minutes before. Going from that to cocky dipshit hadn’t won him any points.

“Seriously, Logan, what’s up?” Felix hissed, and Logan turned to look at him.

“Keily’s pregnant,” Logan answered stupidly, his eyes hinting that Felix should look back at her.

“Whoa,” Felix said when he glanced back at Keily. Logan could see the shock on the man’s face. “That your kid?”

“Has to be for her to be that pregnant,” Logan mumbled softly, his head tilted toward Felix, but his eyes straight ahead.

“You didn’t know?” Felix whispered the question, his head tilted to Logan.

“Nope,” Logan answered. “But that’s my own fault. I’ll explain later.”

“Sure, Logan.” Felix frowned. “If you need anything, let me know.”

“I’m good, just surprised, that’s all.”

She’d been pregnant when he left her, she must have been. And for her to be that far along, she had to have known for a while. Why hadn’t she told him then?

He thought back to those months, how happy she’d been, and how things had changed towards the end. He’d become distant, unapproachable. Some days he didn’t bother to call her or text her at all. When did she have the chance to tell him?

She could have blurted it out at any point, he decided, but something like that must be a hard thing to admit when it was the two of them. She must have been walking on eggshells, trying to find the right time. Only he’d never given her that opportunity.

Either he wasn’t there, came and went too fast for her to have a chance, or spent most of his time with her occupying her with other matters. Matters that had obviously created a baby.

She looked good, healthy, in a pastel yellow coat dress, those overwhelmingly sexy black heels on her feet. He still loved those shoes.

Not what he needed to be thinking about right now, he reminded himself and took a deep breath. He’d wait for the end of the trial, or a recess, one of the two, then he’d approach her and ask her why she hadn’t told him.

Yeah, he knew why, but if it was his child then he had a right to know, didn’t he? He wasn’t the kind of monster that would disown his own child. He’d never really planned to have kids, or wanted to have them, but if that was his baby, he intended to be a part of its life. It didn’t matter to him that he’d broken it off with her, that he’d been the one that dropped her like a blanket infected with smallpox, he wanted to know if that was his child.

A lump formed in his throat as he thought about a baby of his own. He didn’t know that he’d feel this way, like the world had suddenly changed, just because he’d made a child with a woman. He didn’t know he’d want to be a part of its life so much either. Thoughts and emotions whirled through his mind, annoying and agitating him as the minutes passed.

He’d have to talk to her somehow, find out where she lived if he had to, but one way or another, he had to talk to her. He had a right to know his child, to be a part of its life, if it was his. And there wasn’t much he knew about the situation, but he did know that Keily hadn’t been with anyone but him since they’d first been together. He doubted she’d been with anyone since she left Joe.

She might have taken up with someone since he left her all those months ago, but it had only been five months. She had to at least be eight months along. Of course, he was no expert on how big women got when they were pregnant, but he knew enough to know that she was really big, uncomfortably big, close to term big.

“Can you stop fidgeting, Logan? You’re distracting me.” Felix hissed under his breath.

“Sorry.” Logan tried to focus, to bring his thoughts back to what was taking place in the courtroom. He watched Joe’s attorney strut around, prodding at the cop with arrogance and a snide attitude that made Logan cringe. That wasn’t helping Joe at all.

Felix asked his own polite questions before he let the cop get off the stand. Keily was next, and Logan held his breath as she got up from her seat and walked up to be sworn in. She didn’t look at him, or at Joe for that matter, she looked at the bailiff and then straight at the defense attorney as he asked her a few brief questions.