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“Okay… So, how about you give him what he wants? Things would have to change in the way he treats ya then.”
“Okay, that's the craziest thing you’ve ever suggested. I’d rather take a thousand more black eyes than that.” I stare back at him in horror.
“You don’t have to be pregnant, how about you just tell him that ya are? If he wants a baby so bad, there's no way he’s gonna hurt you while you're carrying one. All ya gotta do is act pregnant.” He shrugs like this is actually an option.
“Wade, how thehellam I supposed to fake that? He’d want evidence, I don’t have the first clue about being pregnant, and I’m not a very good actress.”
“Ain’t ya forgettin’ that your best friendjusthad triplets? All ya gotta do is fake bein’ sick in the morning. Toss around some crazy-assed mood swings over jack shit now and again, and be tired. Bereallyfuckin’ tired. Too tired for…” He raises his eyebrows to make me understand what he’s getting at.
“As for evidence, leave that to me.”
“Where the hell are you gonna get evidence of a pregnancy from?” I laugh.
“I’ll be back here this time tomorrow morning with it. Have a little faith.”
“Are we really gonna do this, Wade? If Caleb finds out I’m lying…” I don’t want to say it, and I don’t have to. Wade knows for himself what’ll happen.
“Leia, I swear to God that if that man hurts you again, there won’t be anythin’ that will stop me from killin’ him.” He reaches his hand around the back of my head and pulls me close, kissing my lips again and almost making me believe that everything’s going to be okay.
Ismile at the three-year-old little boy that's staring across the table at me while we wait for his momma to come out of the bathroom. Kids always seem to like me, I have no idea why, maybe it’s ‘cause I’m kinda child-like myself. Before Leia, I never took life all that seriously. I guess I was too scared to. After Bree died the family went to shit, someone had to try and keep everyone smiling. Even on days when I failed, I still felt better for trying.
“There ya go.” Marisa comes out of the ladies’ room and discreetly passes me what I need under the table.
“Thank you, darlin’.” I wink at her, checking for any eyes watching as I shove the zippo bag, containing the positive pregnancy test, inside my jacket.
“You gonna tell me what you need that for?” She stares back at me.
“Nah, only person who needs to be givin’ out any details is you. Where am I gonna find the deadbeat?” I spoke to Marisa’s sister at a River Boy party last week, she was telling me how her husband had left her pregnant, with a toddler, and fucked off with some girl far too young for him. Worse still, the fucker had cleared out their joint account and now it’s lookin’ like Marisa’s gonna find herself homeless.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Marisa cuts up her little boy's pancake and smiles at him, sadly.
“Don’t worry, we’ll track him down, and when we do…” She gives me a stern look to remind me of the little ears that are present.
“One good turn deserves another.” I try to code it for her as I hand over the envelope from my other pocket.
“Jesus, Wade, all I did was piss on a stick, it’s hardly worth this.” She flicks her thumb through the cash inside it. It’s enough to cover the next two months' rent.
“That’s where you're wrong.” I smile, getting up from the table and putting down enough bills to cover the check.
“You gonna make him suffer?” she asks before I can make it to the door. She doesn’t look happy at the thought of me making him hurt like she should. If anything, she looks like she feels sorry for the son of a bitch.
“He won’t get anythin’ that he don’t deserve.” I’m not sure if that's what she wants to hear or not, but it’s the promise I make to her before I get in my truck and head for home.
I spend some time helping out in the yard until Garrett insists I head into the house to get some sleep. I ain’t getting much of it at night while I watch Leia’s place, and as much as I wanna tell him I’m okay, I figure listening to what he says is a good idea.
“While I’m out, d'ya think you can get Zayne to get a location on this guy?” I hand him a piece of paper with Marisa’s husband’s name written on it.
“Ain’t this the asshole that ran out on Marisa McLean?” He creases his brow as he studies it.
“Yeah, that's him.”
“And ya want to find him because…?” He looks at me, expecting an answer.
“Because sometimes, Garrett, it feels good to do somethin’ right. And right now, if I can cause a little pain outta that, it may just keep those people who need to be dead livin’ a little longer.”
“I’ll see what I can do, and if Zayne has any trouble, Uncle Jimmer’s got a girl at the club. We’ll find him,” he assures me. I nod at him gratefully before I head into the house to get my head down.
* * *
