Page 49 of Snow Harm, No Foul

“Why does it bother you so much? You haven’t given a shit about yourold manin years.” Ivy puts air quotes around the old man.

“Don’t try to tell me what I should or shouldn’t give a shit about. This isn’t right,” Travis states.

She narrows her eyes. “Says who? You?”

“Yes, me. Your boyfriend’s son. It’s not right to be fucking a father and a son.”

“Good thing I’m not fucking the both of you, then,” she sasses.

He looks at me now, disbelief heavy in his gaze. “This doesn’t bother you at all?”

“That she’s had us both?”

“Obviously.”

I stroke her spine, leaning toward her. “No. And I’d suggest you leave it at that before I get into the specific reason as to why. You’ve already seen more than you ever should have, and I’d like to move on and forget that that ever happened.”

“Unlikely. That shit is burned into my fucking memory!”

“Then unburn it,” Ivy mutters before taking another sip of her drink.

Travis looks up at the ceiling. “This is bizarre and so messed up.”

“I’d try to make peace with it. It’s not going to just disappear now that you know. Especially since Ivy’s pregnant,” I say.

She tenses beneath my hand and whips her head around to gape up at me. “Niko! You don’t have to be so blunt about it.”

The legs of Travis’s bar stool screech across the floor when he stumbles to his feet. I see the move coming before he can make it. As soon as he’s reeling his arm back to punch me in the face, I’ve got it pulled back behind his back and the front of his body pressed to the bar.

“Don’t be a fool, Travis. Think your shit through,” I grunt.

“I’ve thought it through! And I’m going to punch you!” he shouts, even as his cheek is smooshed to the bar.

Ivy’s standing now, her cup pressed to her chest. Guilt lines her pretty eyes, and I wait until my son has stopped thrashing in my hold before releasing him.

He stands and immediately spins around, huffing like a bull. When he stabs a finger into my chest, I let him.

“You’re not allowed to fuck my girlfriends and knock them up! That’s not something fathers do! What the fuck is wrong with you?”

My nostrils flare as I struggle to keep my cool. “You haven’t wanted anything to do with me for a long time, Travis. Am I even a father to you at this point or just the man you got your genes from? That choice has been up to you for a long damn time.”

“This isn’t about our past shit, Dad. This is about you and your current actions!”

“His actions don’t have anything to do with you. Sorry. You weren’t a thought in my head when this started, and even if you had been the closest father-and-son duo out there, it wouldn’t have kept me from Niko. Sure, I would have considered my choices a bit more out of respect for you, but at the same time, where was your respect for me when you were telling your friends all of those things about me? You don’t get to treat people poorly and expect to be given special treatment from them in return,” Ivy says, stepping in.

Travis’s problem isn’t with her, regardless of what he’s saying. His issues are with me, and I don’t blame him for them. I’m the one who’s betrayed him. Even if we’re not close, Ivy is someone that at one point, I do believe he cared for.

If he had treated her well the entire time they were together and hadn’t been an asshole and hurt her the way he did, I’d have been more reluctant to pursue her.

She still would have been mine, though. I wasn’t going to let her go a second time, and I don’t expect him to ever understand that. If I were him, I wouldn’t. Hell, I wouldn’t even bother trying to.

I’m the one who has to live with the consequences of my decisions, even if I stand behind them.

“I’m sorry, Travis. I know it’s upsettin’, and I don’t expect you to be okay with it,” I say, drawing his attention. He grits his teeth, his grip white-knuckled on his bar stool. “Feel how you need to feel. But I do hope you’ll warm up to us eventually.”

“Don’t hold your fucking breath,” he spits, reaching for the thick jacket that’s been slung over the closest booth and slipping it on.

Ivy grabs my hand, squeezing it tight. “For what it’s worth, Travis, I didn’t set out to do this.”

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