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“Hey, guys. I can’t believe you two are attending this event together. This is a rarity for Renegade. What’s the occasion?”
“I need to monitor my brother. He needs all the help he can get after we get rid of that idiot. I never liked him, just so you know.”
Martie smiled. “Well, actually, since this is my last night with you both, I have something I need to tell you before we get to the party. It’s really important for you, James. I promised Gwen I wouldn’t, but I really have to unload, since it’s been bothering me since she left.”
The mere mention of her name rolling off another person’s lips irritated me. “Martie, if it's okay, let's save that for another time.”
“I can’t, James. You need to know all this.” She pressed her hand to my knee, and the look in her eyes told me she would not take no for an answer.
“Fine. What is it you need to unload on me right now before this big party?” The sigh that escaped my lips was louder than I intended, but I didn't care.
She explained everything Gwen had told her about Terry, and exactly how that set of papers ended up in her bag. She told me everything about how she found out and what she did, and why. As her words sunk into my brain, everything made sense.
Suddenly, the party didn't matter anymore. “I have to go; I can’t do this right now. Stop the car now.”
She stopped me after our driver stopped the car and took my hand. The seriousness in her eyes worried me. “There’s more, James. I’m not sure I should share this, but I have to. I need to clear my conscience before I leave. Call it selfishness, but I don’t care.”
“What?”
I glanced at my brother. His face was unreadable as he digested everything I was hearing at the same time.
“Gwen wasn’t sick. She was pregnant with your baby, James. She wanted to tell you, but she didn't want you to feel responsible. She was going to tell you, but the situation with Terry ruined that, and she got so upset that she kept it a secret that she decided to raise the baby alone.”
“Wait, what?” My world tilted on its axis, my chest felt tight, every muscle in my body flexed and tensed at once, and I could barely think straight. “She left and went back to the east coast pregnant, carryingmybaby, and not telling me, because I was an asshole?”
Martie smiled. “Pretty much. I can send you all the information you need via text. She’s living with her grandmother, and she just started a job yesterday at a hair salon, as a receptionist.”
“Damn it!” Frustrated, I sat back for a moment and looked at my brother, who seemed amused.
“Well, I think we both know what you need to do, brother. It looks like Martie is going to be my date for the evening, and you have a plane to catch. Tell that little diva I have a bone to pick with her for not coming straight to me about my dumbass brother.”
It all hit me at once. “I’m sorry. I gotta go. I’m gonna be a father. No shit, this is surreal. I got a plane to catch.”
I instructed the driver to drop me off at the airport before they went to the party so I could catch a flight.
Chapter Thirty
Gwen
Thingsweren’tgoingwellwith the book. Writing it had started out great, but as the days went by, my enthusiasm wavered, and all my thoughts were on missing James and the baby in my belly.
To help pay the bills, and so I did not deplete all the money I made at Renegade, I took a job at a local hair salon. They needed a receptionist, and the work was easy, so I wouldn’t overstrain my body and hurt the baby. I needed something flexible that would allow me to come and go for doctor’s appointments and rest.
Martie was on her way to Washington, and every time she wanted to tell me something about James, I refused to listen and told her I didn't want to hear about him, even though I did. I didn't want to encourage her when she’d obviously kept all my secrets so far. The last thing I needed was James standing in front of me when I didn't tell him about the baby.
I was tired, and it was only 11 a.m. My lunch break was coming soon, but not soon enough, so I snuck a few crackers as I sat at the reception desk and checked a few customers in for their hair appointments.
The phone rang, so I answered it. It was Mrs. Stevens demanding another appointment next week after Ginny messed up her hair color.
“Yes, Mrs. Stevens, I can get you in.”
“Oh, my God! No way!” Jasmine's voice broke through my concentration as always.
I put Mrs. Stevens on hold and looked sideways at her. “What is it now? Did you see Miley Cyrus walk by or something?”
I laughed and saw the stunned look on her face just as the front doorbell rang, telling us someone had walked in.
Unfazed by her stunned look, I looked over and got the shock of my life. “James!”
