Page 70 of The B!tch List

“That baby that you’ve acquired is crying for you. One of the babysitters has been looking for you.”

Immediately I pulled away from Nancy and started toward the house. As I did one of the high school girls doing the babysitting appeared. Carly was blonde and perky and carrying my little girl.

“She wanted you.” She handed Tia over to me.

“What’s wrong baby?” I asked as Tia threw herself at me, grabbing at my shirt.

“I think she’s tired,” Carly said. She was almost eighteen and the sister of my old high school buddy Danny Sivantes and I knew she had a thing for mysixteen-year-oldbrother. That kid had some magic going on in his pants that was for sure.

“Hey, Tia.” Nancy was by my side and stroking her hand down Tia’s blonde head. “You tired sweetie?”

“I’m not going to ask where that child came from,” Mrs. Callahan said with a little shake of her head. “All I’m saying is Shaw Jackson, you and Nancy ought to be gloving up. You do not want any other babies arriving out of wedlock.”

“I’ll take it on board, Mrs. C,” I said, starting to walk away.

“Oh, we’re not…” Nancy blustered.

I turned and looked at her over Tia’s head and winked. “I think you’ll find we are, Nancy. Not tonight maybe, but we are, and we will finish that conversation about prom.”

I then walked away leaving her to think on my words, while I went to get my baby to sleep.

* * *

To say that I was the only one who wasn’t hanging out the back of my ass, was an understatement. The birthday come engagement party had been a blast, particularly for my mom and dad who were currently groaning in their room with the drapes closed and the A/C on full blast while they lay like the dead on their bed. They weren’t aware but even Austen was suffering with a hangover. I think he and his buddies pulled the old, distract the bartender and then steal some booze trick. We all had at some point in our lives. It was a rite of passage, wasn’t it? It seemed though that my brother and his buddies were particularly good at it because he was an odd shade of green that only came with your first taste of spirits.

I on the other hand was fresh as a daisy. Once I’d settled Tia back down with the babysitters, she’d slept pretty much all night, even on the journey home on the school bus that Jefferson had hired to transport everyone. Because she’d been unsettled earlier and I also didn’t think it was right being in charge of a toddler while inebriated, I’d gone onto soda for the rest of the night, hence why I was not hungover.

Once I went back to the party, I’d looked for Nancy, but she’d been nowhere to be seen. It was only after I’d done a second lap of the party that Lily told me she’d grabbed a lift home with Alaska and Jennifer as she wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t believe that and was pretty sure it was all to do with the stuff about prom, but I’d given her the space she clearly wanted. She’d had twelve hours of space though and now I was going to examine those feelings that I was starting to have about her.

Shaw:I searched for you last night after I got Tia back down. Kinda wanted to finish the conversation that we were having, among other stuff.

It took her almost five minutes to reply and I was getting a little impatient. I had approximately twenty before my daughter woke from her nap and then I would be too occupied to converse with Nancy. So, when my phone trilled with the text message, my heart had its own little dance party which surprised me.

Nancy:What other stuff? Be specific!

Okay, a flirty response, I could get down with that.

Shaw:You really want me to say how I want to get you in a bed and then…

Think about that one, Ms. Andrews! I grinned as I put my phone on the arm on the couch and waited. When it rang out with a call, I almost jumped a few feet in the air. I picked it up with a smile, thinking that Nancy evidently was as anxious as I was to finish things off. I was surprised to see it wasn’t her.

“Hi John, what can I do for you?” It was Ruthie’s lawyer and my optimism spiked.

“I’m sure you know, Shaw.” He cleared his throat. “Miss. Grey, on my advice, has removed her interest in the property owned by Mr. Jennings.”

“Is that so?” I asked with a smirk. “I’m sure that my client will be pleased to hear that. I assume Mr. Jennings will be expecting a call from Miss. Andrews?”

“He’s not my client, so I couldn’t say.”

Bullshit. He knew exactly what Jennings had said. Ruthie was only pulling out because Jennings was no longer getting her business and so had now rejected her bid. The whole thing stunk of the Delaney ranch’s barn.

“Thanks for letting me know, John,” I replied. “I’ll contact my client and let her know to expect a call from her realtor.”

The dick didn’t even say goodbye before ending the call. Fucking rude. One thing I knew though, rude or not, he’d given the best news and I couldn’t wait to tell Nancy.

* * *

Mom and Dad finally surfaced and after spending the day stuffing themselves with carbs and black coffee, they felt well enough to listen out for Tia for me. That gave me the opportunity to go and see Nancy and give her the good news in person.

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