Page 38 of The Virgin's Baby
To be that guy, I mostly had to stay away from her and make sure there was plenty of space between us. Because when we were close, I felt this energy all around us, like we were in a vortex or something, and if I wasn’t careful, we’d get sucked under.
I couldn’t afford to get sucked under. I couldn’t afford to alienate the mother of my child. And I knew I would do that if we ever had sex. If I ever gave in to what I wanted from her, I would effectively get her under me. Once that happened, I would look at her with different eyes. She would no longer be that strong woman in my eyes. She would become just another notch on my bedpost—a woman with no more will than the last.
I’d never told a soul about what I’d seen my mother do when I was young. I’d kept it to myself, and sometimes I’d even hidden it from myself.
I loved Mom. Dad loved Mom. No one would want that to end. And if I had told a single person about the things I’d seen, it would’ve all ended.
My life would’ve turned out different. I knew I’d been right to keep it to myself. But keeping it inside made it a bit of a sore where the secrets were stashed. A sore place near my heart. It made it impossible to fully trust a woman. At least for me, it did.
The door to the patio opened and out came Dumphy. Alejandro was walking in just behind him. They’d caught me completely by surprise. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”
Dumphy was all smiles. “We surprised ya, huh?”
Pulling myself up on the side of the pool, I got out then grabbed a towel. “What has you boys in town?”
“A little bit of business with your oil company—and you, of course.” Alejandro grabbed my hand, pulling me in for a side-to-side bro-hug. “Plus, it’s Saturday. We figured you could show us a good time at one of Lubbock’s finest nightclubs.”
“Oh, guys, no.” I gave Dumphy a bro-hug too. “I’ve got to give Aspen injections every six hours. She gets one at one in the morning. If I go out with you guys, I won’t be back in time.”
Alejandro took a seat on one of the lounge chairs, stretching out his long legs. “Can’t you get a maid to do it, bro? It’s been a while since we’ve hung out.”
Can I?
I shook my head as Dumphy frowned at me. “I can’t. But I can steer you guys in the right direction if you want.”
Dumphy took a seat too. “Sit down, Ransom. We’ve got to talk to you. It’s about this situation.”
With a deep sigh, I took a seat and readied myself for an argument. “Just say what you’ve got to say, and then I’ll say my piece.”
“Cool,” Alejandro said. “You see, you’ve got your priorities all screwed up. Tell me, have you had this woman sign any type of a legal agreement keeping your inheritance safe?”
His family business was in law. I should’ve expected this out of him. “No, I haven’t. We’re not getting married or anything. She’s being compensated for even living here. Why would she ever want more than what I’m giving her?”
Dumphy laughed. “Ask my father. His six wives have more money than God, thanks to them each robbing him when they left him.”
Dumphy was forgetting a common factor in his father’s divorces. “Well, your dad did cheat on every one of them. I think he knew he had those trips to the cleaners coming.”
Alejandro nodded. “He did, bro. My family’s law firm represented two of his ex-wives.” He turned his attention to me. “But you have yet to ask for our services, Ransom. Why is that exactly?”
“For starters, she’s not even pregnant yet. I don’t see the need for any kind of legal agreement at this point. And we’re still on somewhat shaky ground as anyone could expect.” I looked up as I saw the curtain move on the upper floor again.
It has to be her.
She had to be wondering who I was talking to down here. I wondered if she would come down to introduce herself to my friends. I knew any other female wouldn’t miss the chance to meet a couple of wealthy bachelors who weren’t hard to look at.
My insides went hot with what I thought might be jealousy. Since I’d never had an attack of that before, it was hard to tell.
Probably just indigestion from the enchiladas at dinner.
Dumphy had to put his two cents out there, “In my opinion, you shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I know that.” My eyes rolled all on their own. “You’ve already told me this over the phone.”
“Yeah, well, I thought it needed to be said in person since you didn’t listen to me before,” Dumphy added. “Can we meet this trick? I want to see what she’s like.”
“First of all, don’t call her a trick. She’s not one. She’s far from any girl any of us has ever met. She’s rare. I can tell you that.” I felt pride swelling up in my chest but wasn’t sure why that was.
Alejandro sat up with a grin on his face. “Let us meet her then. Let us be the judges.”
