Page 27

“You don’t talk to me right now. I’m still furious that you spanked me last night.” Reagan’s next words were lost to West and I both shouting at Tate.

“You fucking spanked her last night?”

“What the hell, Tate?”

“She was trying to stay in that filthy motel.” Tate looked back at her. “I’m not sorry.”

I glared at my brother but tried to stay focused. “He’s right. We’re going to have to talk, Reagan.”

“Fine. Only about Lucky, though.” She stopped next to me and stared with a shocking amount of heat in her pretty eyes. “Just so we’re clear, I came here with no expectations from y’all and you still disappointed me. I just wanted to do the right thing and you’ve made me regret it. I don’t want anything from y’all. Not friendship, not money, not a single fucking thing. And the next one of you who thinks about touching me is going to find out what it feels like to get tasered.”

Tate smirked and reached out to lightly graze her hip. With a surprising amount of speed and agility, Reagan whipped a taser from one of the folds of Lucky’s wrap, flicked off the protective cover, and pressed the taser to Tate’s arm. West and I watched in shock as Tate jerked and let out a high-pitched yelp.

“That’s for spanking me.” She tased him again. “And that’s for touching me after I said no touching. Jerk.”

Lucky cackled like I’d never heard a baby cackle. He even pointed his chubby little finger at Tate. Reagan bounced him and laughed with him.

“Isn’t that funny, Lucky? Daddy screams louder than you do.” She looked at our plates and headed towards the kitchen. “I’ll make a real breakfast and you can call the ranch hands back in half an hour to eat.”

Tate stared after her and then looked at us as he rubbed his arm. “I don’t know if I want to spank her or fuck her right now but I’m hard as shit.”

I threw my head back as I laughed and then I realized everyone else was quiet. Looking up, I saw that they were all staring at me. Even Reagan. I scowled at them and held up my hands.

“What?”

Reagan slowly started unwrapping Lucky. “If I didn’t know you were such an ass, that laugh would’ve made me think you were almost normal.”

My stomach tightened and my heart thudded harder as she leaned down and pressed Lucky into my chest. I was frozen as she wrapped him to my body.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to be cooking and I don’t want to burn him. I’d put him in a little swing or something but you kidnapped me to a house not very suited to babies.” She stroked Lucky’s back and met my eyes. “This is what you want. You want your son. Thatmeans you hold him and love him and help take care of him. If you need to read a book or something to feel better equipped, I can recommend a few.”

Lucky looked up at me and then reached up to smack me in the face before he grabbed a fistful of my beard. I grunted but was too afraid to move and upset him.

“Are you sure this is safe?”

“It is unless you’re planning on doing a cartwheel or walking into a wall.”

“Why would I do that?” I was horrified. I was suddenlyveryaware I’d never held a baby before. At least not since Nellie was a baby, two decades earlier.

“Just sit there and try to relax. If you have that option, anyway. I’m not quite sure you came with that setting.” She glanced over at Tate and her lips twitched. “How’s your arm?”

“Hard. I mean hot. I mean…Jesus Christ. It’s fine.” Tate’s face turned red and I stared in shock as my twin blushed.

West snorted as he tried to hold back a laugh. In a matter of minutes, she had us acting like some alien version of ourselves. I felt an odd sense of acceptance settle over me, though. We were dads. At the end of the day, we had to change. I didn’t want to become our parents. I didn’t want to fucking scar Lucky beyond belief and continue to haunt him long after I was rotting in the ground.

Tate waited until Reagan was in the kitchen to put his elbows on the table and his head in his hands.

“Fuck.”

West nodded.

“Yeah, I think you moved trouble straight into our house.”

Lucky hit me again and gurgled. I slowly lifted my hand to rest it on his back.

“He’s so little.”