Page 22 of Accidental Baby Daddy

“It's so good to see you! I thought you got the hell out of this town.”

“I did,” I admitted. “It just didn’t exactly stick. I’m only back for a little while.”

He smiled. “I always wanted to reach out. I hate the way things went for you and me… and Oliver.”

I shook my head. “Let’s not talk about that right now,” I suggested, my heart aching just thinking about it.

“Tell me how you’ve been.”

“I’ve been up and down,” I admitted. “What about you? Are you married? Kids?”

“Nah. Maybe someday. Elena and I talk about it once in a while. We should catch up soon. Maybe meet for dinner and drinks sometime,” he replied.

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. “Give me your information. Getting together sounds great.”

It was time for Tristan and me to heal from what had happened all those years ago.

“Have you spoken to Oliver?”

I froze. “Not much,” I said vaguely. “What about you? Have you kept in touch over the years?”

Tristan shook his head. “Not at all. Didn’t want him to tear my head off.”

“He never should have?—”

“We don’t need to talk about it,” Tristan said quickly, and I realized that he didn’t want to reminisce about that awful day any more than I did.

“I should get back to work,” I said softly, and Tristan nodded, giving me another quick hug.

“I’ll keep in touch.”

It would be good, seeing Tristan and Elena. We’d been in classes together in high school but I hadn’t known her very well. I remember she had been beautiful then, with long red hair and bright green eyes.

I was happy for him but living in Wagontown was going to be difficult. My past kept coming back to haunt me, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay without getting wrapped up in it all over again.

Chapter 8

Oliver

Abig part of me wanted to go by the Stop ‘n Go to see Lexie, to ask her why she’d run off the other night, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It would just stir everything up all over again.

I didn’t have much to do over the next week, since my latest oil rig had just struck oil. It was mostly paperwork and phone calls, which I could do from home. I kept Trent in summer camp, though, just in case I’d have to travel during the day.

I’d been thinking about buying a couple of local businesses for some extra income—maybe for Trent’s trust fund. It wasn’t that I didn't already have money in the bank. I just wanted Trent to have something of his own and giving him a business would teach him some life skills and the value of a dollar.

I’d grown up understanding the meaning of hard work, and I wanted Trent to as well, even if he decided not to go into the oil business.

The Pig in the Poke was a bar I was thinking about buying, mostly because I knew the owner, Clayton, andknew he was looking to sell. He was getting on in years and was tired of bartending and being an owner.

I walked into the establishment around three in the afternoon, when they functioned more like a diner-style restaurant. There was a good rush of people there. I wondered if I did end up taking it over whether I’d focus more on the restaurant and less on the bar.

I walked up to the bartender, a young girl with big brown eyes and facial piercings. She blinked as she looked up at me, blushing a bit, and I couldn’t help but grin.

I might be older now, but it was still flattering to have young girls attracted to me.

“What's your name? Haven’t seen you around here before.”

“Krista,” she answered. “I just started about a week ago.”

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