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She placed two bags on the floor. “His papers are in the bag. Good luck.”
“What the fuck?” I growled. “You can’t just drop him off here. I can’t take care of a kid!”
“Yeah, well, I can’t take care of him either. My sister isn’t the only one who fought for her life. I have breast cancer too, and I will be buried beside her soon. He has no one else, so if you don’t want him, put him in the system. It’s not my problem anymore.” She turned and walked to the little boy, patted his head, and said, “Be good for your dad.”
She didn’t say anything else and disappeared out the door. I stared at the doorway, expecting her to return, but she didn’t. My gaze dropped to the little boy who had the same-colored brown eyes I did. I rushed around the bar, turning back to Candy, who was wide-eyed. “Watch him.”
She nodded, and I took off out the door to catch the woman. She was halfway to her car, and I shouted, “Hey! You can’t just walk in here and drop him off! I live above the bar. I don’t have a place to keep him.”
“Then I guess you will need to find a bigger place.”
“I can’t afford a bigger place. I’m in the process of buying this tavern.”
She glanced at it, then at me. “Guess you need to decide which one is more important. A building or a person.”
She spun around and climbed into her beat-up Honda Civic. Before she pulled out, she rolled down the window. “For what it is worth, he’s a good kid. He’s sweet and funny, and well, Nancy adored him and you. She used to tell him how incredible you were. So, if you can’t live up to that now, give him up for adoption and let another family have a chance at raising him right. The kid has been through hell, but she did her best.”
With that, she put the car in reverse and pulled away. I watched her until her car was out of sight, and then I stared at the tavern. What the hell was I supposed to do now?
I went slowly back into the tavern and paused at the doorway to the bar. The little boy she had called Harley was seated at the bar, sipping from a glass of soda, and Candy was staring at him in awe.
She lifted her eyes to mine, and in them was a question that I didn’t have an answer to. I shook my head, and we both shifted our attention to Harley. How could I ever take care of a child? I had no clue what to do, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I could never give him away to strangers.
In my chest, I felt a tug at my heart, which felt very similar to how Candy made me feel when I looked at her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CANDY
Iwoke up the following day with a pit in my stomach, which only got worse the next afternoon when I received a phone call from Laney.
“Hey, how are you?” I asked as I answered.
“Did Mike break up with you last night?” she asked immediately.
“Yes, how did you know?”
She muttered under her breath, “Because your brother is a pain in my ass.”
“Wait! What did he do?”
“Candy, I am so sorry. Evan called Ethan after you left and then took off out of here before I could stop him. They went to talk to Mike at the tavern.”
Is that why he said it would never work? “Did my brothers threaten him?”
“In a way. They told him that if he didn’t end things with you, then I would back out. I would never have done that. I am furious with Evan for doing that.”
“Are you serious?” I had smoke coming out of my ears.
“Yes, I am so sorry, Candy. I will go talk to Mike myself.”
“No, don’t.” I sighed. As much as I didn’t want to admit it to myself, nothing would ever come between us. Yes, we enjoyed sex and might have feelings, but I could not imagine anything more with him. “I will talk to Mike, and I will talk to my brothers. I know they meant well, but they need to butt out of my life.”
“They were just trying to protect you.”
“I know, but I’m not blind. I know Mike isn’t the kind of guy I want to settle down with. I was just having a good time with him.”
“Maybe, but what they did was very wrong. I want Mike to know that I had nothing to do with that and that they went behind our backs.”
