Page 38 of Tuck & Roll

He handed her a box of tissues one of the men brought in and motioned for someone to get her a blanket. “Lie down, darlin’.” He covered her up, turned on the desk lamp and shut off the overhead light. He pulled the door mostly closed and stepped out. He’d give her time and check on her again.

Here it was two hours later and she was still asleep and he was on the phone with Tuck.

“I’m not sure what’s going on with the two of you, but I specifically remember asking each of you at different times if this was going to be a problem. This is looking like it’s a problem.”

The weary sigh coming over the line was not lost on Race. Whatever it was was bad.

“I’ve been fighting this thing I’ve had for Kylie for a while and seeing how close I was to losing her to the fire, I finally worked up the nerve to do something about it this morning. I asked her if we could ride whatever this is between us out until one or both of us decides it’s over.”

“So what happened?”

“Taylor showed up on my doorstep. Pregnant.”

“You’re fucking shitting me.” The Goddamn bitch always had a way of wrecking Tuck’s life. He, hell, everyone in the club had rejoiced the day Tuck got shot of her. “Is it really yours?”

“I don’t know. The timing works out that it could be. If I can believe her.”

Race was aware that after they graduated high school, he and Taylor had stayed together for the summer. She left to go to school in California in the fall and was gone for a few years. When she came back, they’d gotten back together for several months, then she took off again, presumably for California. If he had to guess, he’d say she hooked up with someone there, got pregnant and when it didn’t work out, thought she’d come back to Redemption and claim Tuck was the father.

He pulled the door to Kylie’s office all the way closed and meandered down the hall in the direction of his office. “What happens now? What are you going to do?”

Tuck’s tortured groan hit Race square in the chest. “I don’t know. She says it’s mine and that her parents refuse to have anything to do with her. She has nowhere to go, no job, no money.”

“I thought you were on good terms with her parents. Why would they cut Taylor out if it’s supposed to be your baby?” Honestly, until Race saw DNA evidence that the baby was Tuck’s, he’d never believe it. He stopped outside his office but didn’t go in.

“I thought I was, too. And every time I try and bring up her parents, she dissolves into tears.”

“Fuck, man.”

“Yeah.”

“You said she has nowhere to go? What does that mean?” Race held his breath already knowing what Tuck was going to say.

Tuck released a pent-up breath. “She’s staying here with me. I’m going to get her into the doctor and see how far along she is and go from there.” He paused, then added, “If there’s a chance the baby could be mine, I can’t kick her out on the street. I’ll take care of her for my kid’s sake.”

“You gonna marry her?”

“Hell no. Once the baby is here and I find out it’s not mine, she’s going to have to find the fool who her knocked her up. She’ll no longer be my problem. If the baby is mine, I’ll try my best to get custody, but she’s still out. Either way she’s not living here after the baby is born. I don’t care where she lives. If she has nowhere to go, all the better for me getting custody.”

He hated the mess Tuck found himself in. He wished there was something he could do. He tossed around the idea of paying Taylor off and telling her to leave town, and to never come back. He’d have to wait and see if the baby was Tuck’s first. There was no way he could chance the bitch leaving town with Tuck’s child. For now, he would keep that idea on the back burner just in case.

“I hate to ask considering your plate is already full, but what are you going to do with Kylie?” He passed his office and kept going out the back door, straight into the early afternoon sunshine. He walked past where several of the guys were shooting the shit at a picnic table and stopped under a tree, the temperature dropping a couple of degrees in the shade.

“I don’t know. I was serious when I told her I wanted to give us a shot and I think she was going to agree, but Taylor showed up and interrupted us. I’m afraid when she finds out Taylor’s staying here, she won’t have a thing to do with me. How can I ask her to stand by me with this shit? It’ll affect her, too.”

“I don’t know, brother. I wish I had the answers you need.” He leaned against a tree with a bent knee and a booted foot against the rough bark.

“What would you do?”

He thought about it a moment before he responded. “If you care for Kylie like you say, you have to keep sticking your foot in the door because she’s one of those women that once the door closes, she won’t ever open it again. If she pushes you out, you push right back in. You’re going to have to find a balance between Kylie and your need to provide for this child if it turns out to be yours.”

“Fuck,” Tuck sounded beat over the phone. “Thanks, Race. Keep an eye on her for me?”

“You know it.”

“Hey, one more thing. Make her stay in my room there. She’s got some crazy idea that she’s going to borrow money from her sister and get a hotel room. She won’t be safe if she does.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Race disconnected and pocketed his phone.

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