Shrinking Violet (Colors #2) (26 page)

“It’s not going to last, Milly,” I answered quietly, not taking my eyes off the two people I loved more than anything as they played in the yard.

“Oh, child. I’ve seen the way that boy looks at you. There’s not a brittle bone in my old-as-dirt body that believes that’s true. I might be going blind in my old age, but I can still see unconditional love from a mile away.”

“You’re not old, Milly,” I said, turning to her with a smile.

“And you’re a liar.” She chuckled. “Don’t think I’m gonna let you change the subject on me, girly. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I still haven’t told him what I did to land myself in Texas four years ago.” I felt guilty even admitting that out loud. “After what happened the other night, you still think he’ll feel the same way once he learns I was even worse than the girl who picks on Navie?”

“Oh, Cassidy.” The scolding tone in Milly’s voice made me feel like a child being chastised. “You should know better than anyone that keeping secrets never leads to anything good. Why would you keep that from him?”

“Because I was afraid I’d lose him!” I cried.

“Sweetheart,” Milly started, leaning forward to take my hands in both of hers. “When it comes to matters of the heart, it’s not up to you to decide what you divulge and what you keep hidden away. Love doesn’t work like that. The only way to guarantee a long and lasting relationship is to lay all your cards on the table and let fate handle the rest. You need to learn to have faith in the person you give your heart to.

“True love doesn’t come with conditions or stipulations, honey. If that boy is the one you’re meant to be with then he’ll find a way to move past all the bad in order to get to the good. He’ll see that who you were then isn’t who you are now. Just like we all do.”

“But what if he can’t see past it?” I sniffled.

“Then you pick yourself up, lick your wounds for just a bit, and move on until you find the one who’s meant for you. It’ll hurt like a son of a bitch for a while, but it won’t kill you, I can promise you that. It’s not your place to stack the deck in your favor. You need to be honest with him. He deserves that much.”

“I know. You’re right.”

I could tell she had more she wanted to say, but the conversation was cut short by the sound of car tires crunching across the gravel of the driveway.

“Now, who in the world could that be?”

I turned to see a shiny red Mercedes coming to a stop a few yards away from the house. My stomach dropped as icy dread filled my veins and wrapped around my heart like a fist and squeezing.

“Oh, no,” I breathed as the driver side door opened. Standing from my chair, I started for the steps, ready to head him off before he could talk to anyone else.

“Cass? You know who that is?” Milly asked, her voice laced with concern.

I turned and held my hand up, stopping her from following me. “Just…stay here, okay? I’ll handle this.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see that Carson and Bug had stopped goofing around, too busy staring at the flashy car that was so out of place on our quiet ranch. All I could do was pray they didn’t come over, or that I could get rid of Seth before they made it to us.

“What the hell are you doing here, Seth?” I seethed once I got close enough.

“Well, it’s wonderful to see you, too,” he replied casually, an unattractive sneer on his face.

Once I’d rounded the hood of the car to the driver’s side, I was able to take in the full effect of the man standing in front of me. He certainly had changed over the past four years. And judging by his paunchy belly and receding hairline he was already sporting at twenty-two, time hadn’t been all that kind to him. I couldn’t deny that I got some sort of satisfaction at seeing Seth’s good looks slowly circling the drain.

But despite the fact that he was no longer carrying around the extra muscle he wore in high school, he still had a self-righteous grin on his face. He honestly thought he was better than me.

“Cut the bullshit,” I bit out. “You have two seconds to tell me what the hell you’re doing here, or I’m calling the cops and having your ass arrested for trespassing.”

The bastard actually had the audacity to roll his eyes. “Still as bitchy as ever, I see. Some things really don’t change, I guess.”

“Seth…” I warned.

“I’m getting married.”

I paused for several seconds, trying to absorb what he’d just said. “You’re getting married?” I asked in confusion.

“Yeah. After you were shipped off to bum-fuck Egypt, I moved back to Sommerspoint…” I couldn’t suppress my cringe at the harsh reminder of what had led me to Texas. As if he didn’t see the pain he inflicted by letting me know just how dispensable I was, he continued on in a laid-back manner. “I started seeing Brynn, and we’re engaged.”

Brynn…my former best friend. Or so we called each other back then. Truth be told, I never really liked her. She was just part of the circle I’d engrained myself in to keep from being alone. Honestly, I didn’t give two shits about the fact that Seth and Brynn were getting married—hell, they deserved each other and the misery they were sure to live in once wed—but I couldn’t understand how that explained his presence at my home.

“Sorry if I’m not following, but what the hell does any of that have to do with me?”

Reaching into the back pocket of his pressed jeans—seriously, who the hell wore pressed jeans? And how had I ever found this man attractive?—he pulled out a document that was folded into thirds, handing it over.

“What’s this?” I asked as I unfolded the papers, befuddled by what I was looking at. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m signing away my parental rights to your kid.”

Not
our
kid, but
your
kid. He obviously didn’t realize that the
kid
in question was a little girl who was no more than a few yards away from him.

“You’re what?”

“You put my name on the birth certificate. With the wedding coming up, Brynn doesn’t want you popping back into our lives and demanding child support or some such shit. So I’m signing over all parental rights. I just need your signature on the document to make it official.”

“You really are a piece of shit, you know that?” I fumed. It wasn’t that I was mad at what he was doing; I was upset at how easily he was dismissing Willow. He didn’t even know her. He’d never taken the chance to discover what an amazing little girl she was before writing her off completely.
That asshole
.

“It’s been four years. Four. Fucking. Years!” My voice was growing louder and louder as I spoke, but I couldn’t control it. “I’ve never asked you for a single
thing
in all this time, and you’re going to show up here with this?” I lifted my arm, the document slightly crumpled in my clenched fist. “She’s your
daughter
, Seth. And she’s absolutely remarkable, but you wouldn’t know that, would you?”

Just as he opened his mouth to respond, I felt Carson’s warmth on my back as his arm snaked around my waist, pulling me against his solid form as though he was offering me support. I appreciated the gesture more than he would ever know, but at that very moment, those two men standing face-to-face was my worst nightmare. And to make matters worse, Carson was holding Willow’s little hand in his own.

“You okay, baby?”

Seth scoffed and Carson narrowed his eyes, but I ignored both, turning to address the man holding me. “I’m fine. Can you take Bug back to the house?”

“Mommy, who’s dis guy?” Willows asked from Carson’s side.

“No one, baby girl,” I answered her with a quick smile before turning back to Carson. “Please, just take her inside.”

“Hey, Mistew!” Willow shouted, addressing Seth to my dismay. “Do you gots a baby in youw belly? I seen a pictuwe of my mommy when I was in her belly, and it looked jus like youws.”

A typical response from a parent when their kid asks an overweight person if they’re pregnant would be to pray for a hole to open up beneath their feet and swallow them. But it was Seth…and I was holding papers in my hands that declared he wanted nothing to do with my little girl, so I couldn’t help but let out a little snort of laughter before covering my mouth with my hand.

Thank God for Milly and her impeccable timing, because she scurried up to our little group and took Bug by the shoulders, ushering her away with a, “Come on, baby girl. I need your help making cookies.”

“COOKIES!” Bug shouted as she skipped off toward the house.

Once the front door closed firmly behind them, I turned back to Seth.

“Was that her?” he asked, looking off in the direction of the house.

“Don’t worry about it,” I ground out.

“Like mother, like daughter, I guess. Looks like I’m getting out of this shit just in time if you’re raising her to be anything like you.”

I barely had time to process the slice of burning pain his words caused before Carson was in Seth’s face.

“What the hell did you just say, asshole?”

“Who the fuck is this guy?” Seth scoffed at me.

“I’m the guy about to beat the shit outta you if you keep disrespecting my girls.”

“Carson, please,” I begged, tugging at his arms. “He’s not worth it. Just let me handle it.”

“Yeah,
Carson
. Just run along like a good little boy so we can take care of business. I’ve been in this Hell-hole long enough.”

“Seth, stop!”

“Seth?” Carson asked, stunned as his eyes darted back and forth between us before landing squarely on Seth. “You’re the asshole who knocked Cassidy up then just bailed on her and your child? What kind fucking bastard abandons his own kid?!”

“Carson!” I shouted. “Please, just go!”

“I see she’s already got you playing daddy. Not that I blame you; Cass always was a tight little piece of ass.”

With that, Carson snapped.

The punch he landed to Seth’s face was so brutal I could actually hear it when his nose broke.

“Son of a bitch!” Seth’s voice was muffled by his hands as blood oozed from his face. “What the hell is your problem?!”

“Don’t you
ever
talk about her like that again! You understand me?” I’d never seen Carson so furious before. It was like I was looking at a different person. His nostrils were flared, his breath coming out in ragged pants as he stood over Seth’s hunched form.

“Jesus Christ,” he hissed, wiping at his bloody nose with the back of his hand as he stood up. “She’s really done a number on you. You poor bastard.”

“Seth, shut up!” I screamed as I threw my body in front of Carson’s, struggling to keep him from attacking again. It was like trying to hold back a raging bull.

“I’m gonna kick your ass!”

Seth took a step back and held up his hands. “Don’t make me the bad guy. I’m the victim here. See how quick you are to jump to her defense when she intentionally gets pregnant to trap you, too.”

“Shut up!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, turning to shove Seth to his car. “Just get the hell out of here!”

“Holy shit!” Seth laughed. “You never told him?” He looked over my head at Carson. “Dude, this is classic! We weren’t even together; we just hooked up every once in a while. She tell you she’s on the pill? Don’t believe her, man. That’s how she got me.”

Tears trickled down my cheeks as I continued to push him. From behind me, I could sense that Carson had gone completely still. “Just stop!
Please.
”

But of course, he didn’t. “I told her I was done, that I didn’t feel like dealing with all her drama anymore, then BOOM, she winds up pregnant after swearing up and down there was no need to wear a condom. She’s been a fucking headcase all her life, man. She even blackmailed her ex-boyfriend to try and get him back. Take my advice, and steer the fuck clear. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with this bitch.”

All of a sudden, I was shoved out of the way just as Carson launched himself at Seth. The two of them hit the ground in a heap of grunts and punches. I couldn’t even tell who had the upper hand as I scrambled to pull Carson off Seth to no avail.

“Carson, stop! STOP!”

I tried pulling on his arm only to stumble and fall when he landed another punch to Seth’s face. They rolled back and forth in the dirt and grass, delivering blow after blow as I screamed at them. By the time Kal and Zeke came running over to break them up, both men were a panting, bloody mess.