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Authors: Tawny Taylor
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wide. “I’m not paying court-ordered support.”
“What? Wait. Are you saying you’re voluntarily paying support for a child that isn’t yours? Why would you do that?”
He nodded. “A lot of people have asked me that.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. Did I believe this explanation? No, not really. But it was possible, I supposed. Totally unlikely, but possible. “No man would volunteer to pay child support for a kid who wasn’t his. Not to mention, I got the distinct impression that the mother of said child believes very strongly that you are the father.”
“She’s convinced herself I am. And that’s fine.” He shrugged. “The blood tests say otherwise. But I’m not going to bother with setting her straight. Because that kid is the closest I’ll ever have to a child of my own.”
That explanation shook me. Because it made sense (in a strange but somewhat logical way). Clay wanted children. But he couldn’t father them. So why not claim one that was unwanted by some other asshole?
But just because his explanation was plausible, did that make it true?
I was so confused. Could I trust him? Or couldn’t I? Who was the liar, Lacy or Clay?
“She said you are late paying child support,” I mentioned as I tried to mentally sort through the twisty-turny lies and half-truths.
“ That’s a lie. I’m not late. I just gave her a check last week.” He sighed and shoved his fingers through his hair. “Obviously Lacy came here to stir up trouble. And she succeeded. This isn’t the first time she’s pulled something like this. When did you talk to her? I’m guessing it was… this morning?”
“Yes. Not long ago. You just missed her.”
He rolled his eyes. “Convenient. She just happened to leave before I got here so I couldn’t defend myself.”
“That’s because I told her to leave.”
Looking annoyed but not guilty, he searched my eyes, as if he was looking for a sign from me that I believed him. I did. At least, I believed some of his explanations. But there was still that nagging doubt, making me uneasy. I was a fool last night, letting down my guard so easily and blindly believing everything he’d said. I couldn’t let myself do that again.
He said, “Of course you told her to leave. She knew you would.”
So far he’d explained a lot of what she’d said. His explanations were reasonable, though a little bizarre. However, I couldn’t assume everything Lacy said was a lie. There could have been some grain of truth in there somewhere. “But how did she know about…about what happened between us last night? She knew everything. Where we went. The dinner. The truck….everything. She said you’d done those same things with her and every other girl Dawson.”
He nodded and shouldered the post again. “She wasn’t lying about that. I have done those same things with her. And with a few other girls. Not every. I’m not that good.” He flashed that smile, the one that no doubt melted all those girls’ hearts, and looked me straight in the eye. “But that doesn’t mean what I said wasn’t true. I have been thinking about you for a long time. And I never expected to…I never thought last night would happen.”
I could tell he was being honest now. And vulnerable. And I appreciated it. But I was still leery. Sure, I could believe that a man who couldn’t father a child might claim a kid who wasn’t his. But…but…
The bottom line: I just didn’t trust him.
I gently pushed on his chest, forcing him back. “We need to get to work.”
“Sure. Now’s not the time to talk about this.”
“Right.” Turning back to Rocket, I let my head fall forward. The horse nuzzled me with his velvety nose, the first time he’d ever shown me any kind of affection. I stroked the soft fur and blinked hard. “Thanks, boy. I needed that.”
Chapter 8
Thankfully the rest of the
“What? Wait. Are you saying you’re voluntarily paying support for a child that isn’t yours? Why would you do that?”
He nodded. “A lot of people have asked me that.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. Did I believe this explanation? No, not really. But it was possible, I supposed. Totally unlikely, but possible. “No man would volunteer to pay child support for a kid who wasn’t his. Not to mention, I got the distinct impression that the mother of said child believes very strongly that you are the father.”
“She’s convinced herself I am. And that’s fine.” He shrugged. “The blood tests say otherwise. But I’m not going to bother with setting her straight. Because that kid is the closest I’ll ever have to a child of my own.”
That explanation shook me. Because it made sense (in a strange but somewhat logical way). Clay wanted children. But he couldn’t father them. So why not claim one that was unwanted by some other asshole?
But just because his explanation was plausible, did that make it true?
I was so confused. Could I trust him? Or couldn’t I? Who was the liar, Lacy or Clay?
“She said you are late paying child support,” I mentioned as I tried to mentally sort through the twisty-turny lies and half-truths.
“ That’s a lie. I’m not late. I just gave her a check last week.” He sighed and shoved his fingers through his hair. “Obviously Lacy came here to stir up trouble. And she succeeded. This isn’t the first time she’s pulled something like this. When did you talk to her? I’m guessing it was… this morning?”
“Yes. Not long ago. You just missed her.”
He rolled his eyes. “Convenient. She just happened to leave before I got here so I couldn’t defend myself.”
“That’s because I told her to leave.”
Looking annoyed but not guilty, he searched my eyes, as if he was looking for a sign from me that I believed him. I did. At least, I believed some of his explanations. But there was still that nagging doubt, making me uneasy. I was a fool last night, letting down my guard so easily and blindly believing everything he’d said. I couldn’t let myself do that again.
He said, “Of course you told her to leave. She knew you would.”
So far he’d explained a lot of what she’d said. His explanations were reasonable, though a little bizarre. However, I couldn’t assume everything Lacy said was a lie. There could have been some grain of truth in there somewhere. “But how did she know about…about what happened between us last night? She knew everything. Where we went. The dinner. The truck….everything. She said you’d done those same things with her and every other girl Dawson.”
He nodded and shouldered the post again. “She wasn’t lying about that. I have done those same things with her. And with a few other girls. Not every. I’m not that good.” He flashed that smile, the one that no doubt melted all those girls’ hearts, and looked me straight in the eye. “But that doesn’t mean what I said wasn’t true. I have been thinking about you for a long time. And I never expected to…I never thought last night would happen.”
I could tell he was being honest now. And vulnerable. And I appreciated it. But I was still leery. Sure, I could believe that a man who couldn’t father a child might claim a kid who wasn’t his. But…but…
The bottom line: I just didn’t trust him.
I gently pushed on his chest, forcing him back. “We need to get to work.”
“Sure. Now’s not the time to talk about this.”
“Right.” Turning back to Rocket, I let my head fall forward. The horse nuzzled me with his velvety nose, the first time he’d ever shown me any kind of affection. I stroked the soft fur and blinked hard. “Thanks, boy. I needed that.”
Chapter 8
Thankfully the rest of the
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