Page 72 of Piece Of Me

“Maybe he thinks he can charm you back into his bed. Maybe that’s his plan.”

“There’s only one man I want and it’s not Malcom.”

“Are you going to tell Taz?”

“What?” Alarmed at the thought she shook her head vigorously. “No. If Taz knew that Malcom was blackmailing me into spending the week with him, he’d kill him. He’d do something stupid, and I can’t have that kind of blowback come at him. I love him too much.”

Oh. Her eyes widened as her friend approached. Shit. She’d actually said the words out loud.

“Don’t worry,” Lacey said. “I won’t tell.”

“I love him,” she whispered fiercely. “But I need to take care of this part of my life before I can tell him.”

“Where will you go.”

“To New York City. But before I do, I’m hoping your cousin can draw up some papers, a custody type thing. If I can figure out his real reason for this week together, maybe I can get him to agree to give me full custody. He can visit Hank here in Montana, but he will not take my son away from me. Can you call your cousin?”

“Yes.” Lacey pulled her into a hug. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Thank you.” Scarlett stepped away. “I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Are you going to see Taz before you leave?”

She nodded. “I’m headed there now.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

A tear slid down her face. “I don’t know.”

“If he doesn’t know the whole truth he might not take kindly to your way of handling things.”

Her world was about to turn on end, and she had no idea if it would ever recover. “I know,” she whispered, then strode out to her truck.

CHAPTER 23

The girls were in the living room watching a movie, and Taz had retreated to the den where he could keep an eye on them. He was in a bitch of a mood. It was nearly seven and still no word from Scarlett. So, when he heard the soft knock at the front door, he had to take a moment and get his emotions under control. It took a bit, but he managed it and swung open the door.

“Hey,” Scarlett said softly. “I hope it’s not too late.”

“No,” he replied, though he didn’t get a chance to say anything else because the girls made it impossible. They yanked on him to get out of the way so that they could hug her, and when Ryan peered around Scarlett and then back to her with a questioning look, his heart squeezed tight.

“Where’s Hank?”

“He’s home, honey.” Scarlett attempted a smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m sure he’s tucked into bed.”

“Snug as a bug?”

She nodded. “Snug as a bug.”

“Can you read our stories tonight?” Cameron asked, reaching for her hand.

“Guys, why don’t we give Scarlett some room.”

“It’s okay,” she replied, grabbing each of their hands. “I’d love to.” Her eyes landed on him. “If it’s all right with you.”

He didn’t like this. The halting words. The delicate dance around something he couldn’t quite grasp.

“Sure,” he said with nod, then followed them upstairs. He stayed out of the way and leaned against the doorframe while Cameron rooted in the large bin of books. When she found the one she wanted, she scrambled up onto the bed and sat beside Scarlett, while Ryan snuggled in on the other side.

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