Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 53516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
A sharp knock sounded on the front door, and I went to it, wondering if Nate was playing a trick on me, waiting on the other side of the door. "I fucked up. Again," I replied as I opened the door.
The woman who stood there was tall and rail-thin with blond hair, brown eyes, and hollow cheeks. "Xavier. It's me, Judy."
"Judy," I growled, her name bitter on my tongue.
"Oh shit," Nate whispered in my ear. "Keep the phone on. I'll be your witness, but also, don't do anything where you'll need a witness, okay?"
I stepped back and motioned the woman inside. She didn't look at all familiar, but then again, plenty of people showed up at Triple Horn in costumes with their faces shielded, painted, or otherwise obscured. "Judy," I sighed. "Nice to meet you. Officially." The jury was still out on whether or not it was nice, but I kept that to myself.
She flashed a shy smile. "Right."
I wanted to ask her how she knew who I was, but it was better I didn't know. "What brings you by?"
She took a seat and fidgeted with her fingertips in her lap, scraping at the edges of her red fingernails that looked recently manicured. "Is Violet around?"
"Not right now." Thank fucking goodness. "Well?"
She nodded as if she was nervous, and that put me on edge, but only slightly. "You must have questions."
"Some, but I don't think the answers matter much at this point."
She nodded again. "I was already back home in Washington when I realized I was pregnant," she laughed half-heartedly. "Turns out Texas wasn't for me, so I returned to Seattle where I met a man, a really good man. He was the exact opposite of the man I ran away from, but the timing was terrible."
"Because you were pregnant?"
"Yes. I didn't want to reveal to him that I'd been going to sex clubs, you know? Anyway, before I knew what I was doing, I told him I was a surrogate."
"How did you know she was mine?" The question burned on the tip of my tongue, and I knew it would until I asked.
"The guy I was with down here? He wouldn't let me do anything with the other guys, just, you know, suck them off and take it up the ass, stuff like that. But he saw how big you were and wanted me to take all of you, so I did."
I frowned, not liking the sound of that.
Judy shook her head. "It's okay, I wanted to. I mean, you look like you do, and it was a good experience for me. Anyway, I knew because I wasn't with anyone else that night."
"Not even your boyfriend?"
She sighed. "He was upset about how much I enjoyed you and how much you, ah, stretched me out. We had a big fight, and I hopped on a bus out of Texas the next morning. She's yours."
"I know."
"Right. Of course. One of the regulars from the club told me you lived up here on the mountain, and when I had confirmation, I left her."
"And now you're back."
Her gaze darted around the cabin, and I was officially unsettled. "I'm moving to Los Angeles with my fiancée, and he's been asking how I plan to invest my money from the surrogacy and, well, I don't have it."
And here we go.
"And I was thinking that you could, you know, help me out so Max doesn't think I'm irresponsible with my money."
Of course she wanted money. "And why would I do that?"
"Because it's nothing to you, right? What's thirty grand to Xavier Holloway? Just because you're playing at being some dirt-poor mountain man doesn't mean that's what you are." Her fire was back, replacing the timid act she'd hoped to use on me. "Give me what I want, and I'll keep it all a secret, and I'll sign whatever you need for Violet."
I smiled. "All for the low price of thirty thousand dollars?"
Her smile grew. "Yes," she sighed. "I knew you'd see the benefit to us both."
"Except," I began, feeling good when her smile slipped. "I don't give a fuck what people think about me. My company is strong, and I don't need you to sign anything. Violet is mine, and there's nothing you can do about that."
She stood with a huff. "The courts almost always favor the mother."
"Usually, you're right. Except you abandoned her on my goddamn doorstep, which worked in my favor to get everything expedited. She's legally mine, and she's right where she belongs. You have nothing, I'm afraid, Judy."
"Xavier, please," she begged. "Be reasonable here."
"I am being perfectly reasonable, Judy. I'm guessing you didn't just choose 'surrogate' with your fiancé; you thought you'd waltz up here, threaten to take my kid away, and I'd pay you just to keep her. You didn't count on me taking care of everything before you made your way back to me, did you?"