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“Says who?” I reply smugly. Darius rolls his eyes and shoots me a crooked smile. Our attention is drawn back to the others as Valance stands and hops out of the hot tub in that fucking suit that has holes everywhere. I don’t miss the way Corvin’s eyes linger on her ass and that shit grates on my nerves. He passes her Dawson who latches onto his mother. Leah leaps out of the tub and rushes over to get them some towels. Val eyes her warily for a second before thanking her and heading inside. Darius and I don’t move when she pushes the back door open and rushes in shivering. She tries to wrap the towel around Dawson to keep him warm but he won’t let go of her.
“Munchkin, I need you to hop down so I can wrap you up,” she pleads.
“You carry me,” he argues. Val closes her eyes for a second and takes a calming breath just as Leah walks in behind her.
“Can I help?” Leah offers. Val shakes her head.
“Thanks, but he won’t go to you when he’s this tired.” Tired of watching this exchange like a bystander, I step out from behind the counter. Val’s eyes widen at the sight of me but she says nothing when I step up beside her so Dawson can see me.
“If you let me wrap you up in your towel and get you changed, I’ll help you set out some milk and cookies for Santa.” Dawson’s face lights up with a smile.
“Yes! I go Becky now, Momma.” He practically flings himself at me, which in turn throws Val off balance and she stumbles into me. Dawson is sandwiched between us as I grip her waist to keep her steady. Her eyes snap to mine in fright, causing me to drop my hold like she burnt me. I snatch the towel from her hand and wrap it around Dawson like he’s a burrito. Val stands there staring until I raise a single brow.
“We gonna stand here all night?” I snap. She shakes her head and quickly wraps the other towel around her body and leads the way to her room.
“The sexual tension between them has me hot and needy,” I hear Leah say just before we hit the base of the stairs. She pauses outside her bedroom door and lowers her head. I give her a minute to gather her fucking shit but when she still doesn’t open the door, I’m forced to make her.
“Open it, Valance, our son is cold.” She nods her head robotically and pushes the door open. I follow after her and watch as she flicks the light on and rushes to the corner of the room where her bags are. She rummages through the duffle and pulls out a woolen worn onesie that even has the feet sock things on it. She grabs some other shit and places it on the bed. I eye the Pamper she has laid out before turning back to her. “Why is he wearing Pampers?”
She drops her gaze to the ground and scuffs her foot along the floor as she answers. “I didn’t want him to have an accident and ruin the mattress. I… I can’t afford the cleaning bill so this was easier.”
I narrow my eyes. “Does he need to wear them?” She shakes her head. I reach out, grab the Pamper and chuck it to the side of the room. Dawson claps and cheers while Val stares up at me with her mouth open in shock.
“Beckett!” she growls in annoyance.
“I don’t give a fuck about the mattress. He doesn’t wear those fucking things again. Now, help me dress him.” She nods stiffly, clearly taken aback by the demand but does as I ask. Once Dawson is changed she brushes his hair with a comb and rubs his face with some moisturizer then stands and looks at me awkwardly. I refuse to ask what her problem is, so I wait for her to speak but then her phone begins to ring next to Dawson on the bed. Before she can reach for it the clever little boy grabs it, swipes the screen, and answers the Facetime call.
“Hey, my man.” I stiffen at the sound of a guy’s voice before cutting my gaze back to Valance, who doesn’t seem to notice the tension has just risen in the room.
“Hi,” Dawson says.
“How are you,myboy.” I clench my hands into fists at my side as I glare at the bitch I pro-created with. She purses her lips as she stares down at Dawson.
“I good. Me make cookies for Santa with Becky.” There’s a pause on the other end of the end for a brief second before the fucker speaks again.
“Aww, that’s nice of your momma’s friend to do that. Is this Becky girl nice?” Before Dawson can answer Valance takes her phone from him. “Hey, beautiful,” the bastard says the moment he sees her.
“Hey, sorry now isn’t a really good time can I call you after I put Dawson to bed?” she says.
“Yeah, of course. Give him a kiss for me.” She nods before ending the call and turning to face me. Her eyes widen when she takes in the look on my face.
“How the fuck did you get service out here?” I grit out through clenched teeth.
“Katie did something to my phone so I could use it.” Fucking Katie is going to pay for that. I reach out and snatch her phone from her grasp. “Hey, give that back,” she snaps as she rushes me. Before she can make a grab for her phone, I have my hand around her throat and spin us around so my back is to Dawson and he can’t see what I’m doing to his mother. Her eyes widen in fear when I shove her against the closed door and tighten my hold on her neck.
I get right in her face as I speak low enough so Dawson can’t hear. “You don’t fucking talk to your bitch boy inmyhouse and the next time I hear that cunt callingmyson his boy, I’ll snap his fucking neck.” Her mouth drops open. I don’t wait for a reply as I push back from her and turn to face Dawson who is staring up at me with a frown. I smile trying to ease his worry. “Want to help me with those cookies?”
“Momma come?” I fight the urge to deny him. Valance steps out from behind me and smiles down at him.
“I’ll just get changed and then we’ll head down.” Dawson beams at her. I fucking hate that my own kid is terrified to be near me.
I fucking hate her.
* * *
Dawson places the tray with the cookies and milk on the small table we put next to the tree for him, then turns to us and claps. It brings a smile to my face to see him happy. It’s strange, I may have just found out he’s my kid but I can already tell I would do anything in this world to make sure he is happy and has the best fucking life. I’ll never let him go through the struggles that I did. Valance, Katie, Saint and Crue all sit down on the carpet and play with Dawson as I lean against the wall and just watch.
“I can’t believe he’s yours,” Leah says quietly from beside me. She rests her head against my shoulder, so I shift my arm and wrap it around her as I draw her into my side. No one, not even Darius, understands the bond that Leah and I share. It’s not sexual or anything like that, it’s deeper. We connect on a level that I have never connected with anyone else before. Yes, we have fucked and it was fucking epic but it will never happen again because we both know that we aren’t attracted to each in that way now. Plus, Darius will never let that shit happen again.
