Page 15 of Harley's Hex
“Hex,” she breathed.
He didn’t hesitate—not this time. He closed the distance between them in two strides, kneeling in front of her, taking her hands in his. “Harley,” he said softly. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I know,” she whispered, voice trembling. “But you left me no choice. I needed to figure out some things. You don’t owe me or this baby anything, Hex. I know that now, and I’m good with raising him on my own.”
Hex brushed a strand of hair from her face, thumb brushing her cheek. “You don’t think I’ll stand by you?” He hated that he let her believe that he didn’t want to be a part of the life that they had created together. God, he was an idiot. Harley, I acted like a complete ass,” he breathed. “You don’t have to face any of it alone. I wasn’t thinking when I told you that I wasn’t ready for a baby. Hell, you and our baby were all I could think about these past few months. I even quit my job to look for you.”
Tears threatened, but she blinked them back, her lips twitching into the tiniest scowl. “You did what?” she asked.
“I took an honorable discharge from the military to look for you,” he said again.
“But you love the Army,” she insisted.
“I do love the Army, but I love you more, honey,” he admitted.
Harley let the tears freely fall from her eyes now. “I was afraid you’d still be angry. I want you to know that I didn’t get pregnant to trap you, Hex. I couldn’t take my birth control while the Dead Rabbits had me, and I guess that was enough that I got pregnant.” She rubbed her hand over her belly, and he ached to do the same. He wanted to touch her, but he didn’t for fear that she’d push him away again, and that would kill him.
Hex hesitantly took her hands into his own. “Harley, I was scared, and I said all the wrong things. But I was never angry about the baby, and I’d never think that you got pregnant on purpose.”
“Good, because I’m not sorry about this baby, Hex. And I wasn’t kidding when I said that I can raise him on my own.” Thatwas the second time that Harley called the baby a “him,” and he couldn’t help but let himself hope.
“You keep calling the baby him. Are we having a boy?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “The baby is a boy. I’ve been having problems with high blood pressure, so they’ve been doing lots of sonograms. He is definitely a boy.” She rubbed her belly, and this time, he didn’t hold back. This time, he placed his hand on her belly too, and she covered his with her own.
“Can you forgive me?” he asked.
She didn’t answer for a beat, and he worried that she wasn’t going to accept his apology. “I need to know that you’re fully on board, Hex. I can’t have you walking in and out of our lives.” That worked for him because he planned on never letting Harley out of his sight again.
“I’m all in,” he assured. “I want you and I want this baby, Harley.”
She let out a shaky laugh, leaning closer until their foreheads touched. “You make it hard to stay mad at you.”
“I try,” he said, grinning softly. Then his expression softened again. “We’ve been through hell, Harley. I know that you get scared, and your first instinct is to run. I get it. But we can’t keep doing that, not with this little one on the way. We’re a team, and I’m not letting you go again.”
Harley rested her hand on his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heartbeat. “I know. I’m done running. I want this. I want us. I want you. I’d like for the three of us to be a family.”
Hex’s eyes softened, dark and full of promise. “Then you’ve got me,” he murmured. “All of me. Always.”
They stayed like that for a long moment, the distance and fear melting away, replaced by the quiet certainty that whatever came next, the baby and whatever else life wanted to throw at them, they would face it together.
“Did you mean it when you said that you love me?” she asked. He dipped his head to gently kiss her lips. He more than loved her—he was head over heels for her, but she’d figure that out on her own sooner or later.
“I did,” he said. “Is that okay?”
She smiled up at him. “It’s more than okay,” she breathed, “because I love you too, Hex.” He felt like the luckiest man alive hearing her say those words to him. All the time that they had wasted with each other seemed to fade into nothing. What really mattered now was that they were together—the three of them. His little family.
Outside, the snowstorm raged on, oblivious to the reunion happening inside where Harley and Hex finally let themselves breathe again — together.
Harley
Harley had convinced Hex that staying in New York for the rest of the winter was a good idea. She really liked her doctor, and that seemed to be enough for him to agree to them staying in Yonkers. The truth was, she wanted to stay there permanently. She had fallen in love with New York, and the women down at the Royal Harlots in Yonkers had taken her in as one of their own. She felt as though she had a family for the first time in a long time.
She had given a lot of thought as to where she might end up after selling her aunt’s house, but she never imagined that she’d want to live in New York. She had read about different cities and states around the country, hoping that one would stick out for her and she’d want to move on from Alabama, but nothing really had—until now. The only thing she’d have to do was tell Hex that she wanted to stay in Yonkers—well, that and that she had sold her aunt’s house back in Huntsville and wasn’t planning on ever going back. She just hoped that he would take the news well and wanted to stay with her in New York. Harley had even purchased a brownstone in town, and she loved it. Hell, it was love at first sight, and that was saying a lot for her. She never made decisionsas easily as she had when it came to buying the Brownstone, but she could see her son growing up there, and if Hex ever wanted back into her life, there would be room for him there, too. She just never imagined that she’d be manifesting the life that she really wanted when she signed the contracts on her new home in New York.
Tonight was the night, though. She had no other alternatives. The movers were arriving with her stuff tomorrow, and she was going to have to explain why she was going to be moving out of the little room that they were sharing at Hurricane’s bar. She just hoped that Hex would be willing to pack his bags and go with her.
Harley had picked up the keys to her new home from her realtor, and she was running by there to do some light cleaning and stock the pantry and fridge. She didn’t want to take any chances with her new home not having what she needed—and that included Hex.
