Page 102 of Where We Promise

“I want to know whatever happened to the ex…Luke. He barged into your hospital room. Have you heard anything about him?” Callie asked, sliding a hand over her own stomach while she watched Connor as his little feet kicked.

Luke. I hadn’t even thought of him since the conversation with Jamie about him using my phone to meet up with him.

“Last I saw, Wes and Killian had pulled him out.”

But I had no idea what had happened after that. “Did you both ask?”

Laura shook her head; Callie did the same. “They wouldn’t have told us anyway.”

It had been weeks. I pulled up my phone and looked through my texts, typing in Luke’s new number. It had been blocked.

I unblocked it, tempted to send a text…but I didn’t want to open a door of communication. It was a blessing that he’d stepped away. In the future, if he wanted to know Connor and was willing to change his ways then he would have the chance.

I’d let him be Connor’s father as long as he understood that Jameson would be too.

“You going to text him?” Natty asked hesitantly. I watched their faces, and then slid the phone back into my diaper bag.

“No…I’m sure he’s fine. Just back with the Chaos Kings…but I’m going to ask Jameson tonight.”

THIRTY-TWO

PENELOPE

I cooked for Jamie. It was the first time in a long while that I felt energized enough to stand and knead dough into biscuits while frying chicken and steaming green beans. We sat at the table and ate like a little family while Connor rested in his swing, gnawing on his fist.

We’d fallen into a routine of domestic bliss for the past five weeks. Jameson would go over to the Stone Riders’ garage to work. Apparently, several of the members had begun requesting custom work from him, but he’d been putting it off until I felt ready to start leaving the cabin with Connor on my own.

On my own meant Harris followed everywhere, but I didn’t mind. Harris was one of Connor’s favorite people. When I headed over to the Stone Riders’ clubhouse, he’d hold Connor for me while I ate or did laundry. At least until Red arrived and then promptly took Connor from him and snuggled him. It was nice because it was giving me time to breathe, eat and even sip coffee again without having to always hold him or fuss over what he was doing.

“This is good, babe,” Jameson said, finishing off his last bite.

I beamed, my thoughts coming back to the present. All day I had worried over how I was going to pose this question. I didn’t want to get into an argument, but more than that, I didn’t want Jamie to misunderstand my reasons for wanting to know where Luke was. It wasn’t like I wanted to know, but the curiosity had started to get to me.

“I’m glad you like it.”

He started to get up, but I reached my hand out, silently asking that he stay.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

His expression was open, but his brows were pulled in tight, those warm brown eyes penetrating.

I tucked a stray hair behind my ears. “Whatever happened to Luke? I don’t intend to reach out to him or anything…but because of Connor, I do need to unblock his number and know where he is. I don’t intend to let him close to Connor without supervision for a few years, but until then he has a right to at least see pictures if he wants them.”

Jameson’s features twisted and my heart nearly dropped into my stomach.

“He made it pretty fuckin’ clear that he wanted nothing to do with you or Connor.”

His voice dropped into something low and deadly. I swallowed past the lump in my throat.

“But then he showed up at the hospital, Jamie. People are allowed to change…you’ll be Connor’s dad, you will raise him. But, if down the line, Luke wants to get to know him?—”

Jameson stood. “He won’t.”

I twisted in the chair, following him as he walked to the sink.

“But if he wants to, then I—” I started, but Jamie’s sneer cut me off.

“He’s dead, Penelope.”

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