Page 26 of Rowdy & Kat

Pax rolled his eyes. “Stop being selfish and use Maria to neuter Tricky.”

“He’s still into Cher and would never treat Maria right.”

“You’re so shortsighted. The savvy move would be to get your future sister-in-law married into the Curran family. Maybe dose her drink before they meet, so she won’t notice his flaws.”

I started to argue with Pax before realizing he was fucking with me. Grinning, I nudged him and let my gaze wash over the room full of people.

“So, you knew this girl in high school?”

“She asked me to the winter formal.”

“You didn’t go to the winter formal.”

“No, when she asked, I thought she was kidding and laughed. But she wasn’t kidding and wouldn’t give me another shot.”

Pax smirked. “How did you handle that?”

“I followed her around, acting like a seductive jerk.”

“As you’ve heard before, I acted like a jackass with your mom when we first met. Reed men don’t know how to seduce women. That’s why I ordered your mom to live with me, so I could keep her close without needing to flirt.”

I admired my mother nearby, standing between her daughters and the twins. “Well, your plan worked out.”

“Sure, and knocking up this nurse seems to have worked out for you.”

“Exactly how I planned.”

As we shared a grin, I struggled against a building fatigue. The day was only half over, and I was already overwhelmed.

Taking a deep breath, I settled down by recalling how comfortable I felt last night in bed with Kat. She felt like an old friend and the sexiest woman in the world wrapped into one amazing package. This morning, she gave birth to my two boys. I believed I loved her.

I imagined us back at her townhome. The boys were asleep in the crib. I was cuddled with Kat. Maria was in her room. Wicked and Witchy were sneaking around, plotting like cats tended to do.

When I imagined that one quiet image, my future with Katarina Darville felt like a done deal.

KAT

Despite how charming the Reed family behaved, I remained insanely intimidated by them. Mostly, I couldn’t forget their power in the world versus mine.

Back in high school, I had been warned about crossing the Reed kids. Rowdy’s cousin Elle was also in my grade. She frequently got into shouting matches with the cheerleaders. I once saw her punch a guy in the face when he tried to defend his “whore” girlfriend.

Every Monday, I would hear stories about fights between the Reed family and various people. Often their friends from Rawlins would come up to Little Memphis and run wild around town.

Though I enjoyed the gossip, I also heard rumors about people who messed with the Reed family ending up in a local quarry. Those stories returned to me as I watched Rowdy’s family fill up the hospital room.

“Are you tired?” Maria asked me in Estonian.

“My incision is beginning to hurt a lot.”

“It’s almost time for your pain medication. You should drink as much broth as you can manage.”

“I want to hold my babies,” I said to Maria as tears burned my eyes. “But I’m scared to sound greedy with Rowdy’s family.”

“They seem nice.”

“You know what people said in school.”

“You knew the same things when you slept with Rowdy.”