“Well, no. But…”
“Has anyone ever manipulated you to try to get you to go against everything you ever wanted?”
“No, but…”
His wording, however, stopped her.
“Wait…try to get you to go against everything you ever wanted?” she repeated. “What exactly does that mean?”
“I didn’t want to have kids yet, Fallon! I didn’t want to settle down!” Pushing his dinner plate away, he growled with frustration. “Somewhere down the road, sure, maybe. But it wasn’t something I wanted right now and it certainly wasn’t something that should have been forced on me! And now…here I am! Forced to be a father and have everyone tell me how I have to change pretty much every aspect of my life and how I’m supposed to settle down and get married! My life isn’t my own anymore!”
Everything in her went cold.
“Is that why I’m still here?” she asked numbly. “Because people are telling you to settle down and…I’m here, so I’m convenient?”
His laugh bordered on maniacal. “Oh, that’s just great,” he commented sarcastically. “Heap a little more on me, Fallon. Why would you even think of something like that? You know me better than that!”
“You know, I thought I did. But listening to you right now has me second-guessing if I ever knew you at all.”
Jamie got to his feet and started to pace. “Really? Now this I’ve got to hear.”
“Right now, you sound like you resent Asher and that worries me because for the last several weeks, you’ve been this fantastic father to him. I’ve watched you bond with him and I could tell how much you love him. But listening to you talk right now is like listening to a stranger. And on top of that, after listening to your little comment about all this pressure everyone’s putting on you, I can’t help but notice how the timing of our relationship falls into that timeline. Putting all of that together, the man I’ve been living with—sleeping with—and the man standing before me are two very different men. And I don’t particularly care for this one.”
His eyes went wide. “Are you shitting me right now? I’m telling you how messed up today was and how everyone is pressuring me, and you choose now to talk about our relationship? Do you really think now is the right time to throw that into the mix?” he demanded. “What’s next? You tell me you’re pregnant? Or…or…how you’re in love with me and want to marry me, or how we should get married for Asher’s sake?” He laughed again and mumbled several colorful curses under his breath. “Or maybe my sister orchestrated this whole thing by choosing you of all people to come and help me!”
“Me of all people? I…” Stopping herself, she simply shook her head. It would have been easy to continue to fight with him—he was definitely primed for that, and they were more than halfway there—but she refused to give in to it. Asher was sitting right there and even though he was far too little to understand what was going on, she didn’t believe in exposing him to this much negative energy.
“Laurel Bay’s not that big, and yet out of all the people living here, Ryleigh called you.”
“I’m not doing this with you. You’re angry and honestly, you’re being a jerk. I’m not going to upset Asher by continuing with this conversation.”
“He’s a baby, Fallon! He has no idea what we’re even saying!” His voice raised with every word and, sure enough, it startled Asher, who began to cry.
She gave him a smug look before picking the baby up and carrying him out of the room.
That’s when she heard something crash to the floor in the kitchen.
In Asher’s room, she carefully put him in his crib with shaking hands and then prayed her phone was close by. It was, and she quickly typed out a text to Ryleigh.
Fallon: Hey, I know it’s short notice, but we’ve got a bad situation here
Fallon: Jamie saw Jenn today and he’s freaking out and scaring me
Fallon: Can you please get everyone over here?
Ryleigh: Holy crap!
Ryleigh: Scaring you? Are you okay?
Fallon: For now, but I don’t want to be here alone with him
Fallon: He’s really upset and everything I say is making it worse
Ryleigh: Ryker and I are on our way!
Ryleigh: And I’m texting everyone else
Ryleigh: Be there soon!
Fallon: Thanks
And while she knew the only people in the world to help in this situation were Jamie’s siblings, she also knew that she couldn’t stay and see how this played out. She needed to step away from the situation because she was upset too. Maybe some time alone would help her put things into perspective.
Everything he shared with her was definitely a bombshell, but it all didn’t only affect him.
She was a part of this and hearing him talk about being forced to settle down just hit a little too close to home. And if she stayed, she’d tell him in front of his entire family that just like he didn’t believe Jenn was fit to be a mother, his words and his behavior didn’t make him fit to be a father either. Honestly, Asher would be better off if they let him be adopted by two rational and loving people.
Tears streamed down her face as she packed up her things and when she heard car doors slamming in the driveway, she knew that was her cue to leave.
Walking over to the crib, she picked up Asher and kissed him. “Be sweet, little boy. Aunt Ryleigh and Aunt Arianna will be here to take care of you. I love you.” Slowly, she put him back down and turned on his mobile.
Grabbing her bag, she looked around the room with a sad smile. Maybe she’d be back, maybe she wouldn’t, but if she did, it would only be as a nanny—a temporary one. And not one who spent the night. There were too many things tainted by this situation, and Jamie’s attitude was too much for her to deal with.
But God, did she hate that she was so wrong about him…
Quietly, she walked out of the room and then out the front door. She met Ryleigh and Ryker in the driveway walking toward her. Ryleigh took one look at her and her expression fell.
“Don’t go, Fallon. Please. Let’s go inside and talk this out.”
Shaking her head, she said, “I can’t.”
“Obviously I have no idea what specifically happened, but you have to know he’s upset and out of sorts,” Ryleigh pled. “And you know he’s a total jackass who speaks first and thinks later. You know how he can be.”
“That’s just it, Ry. He’s had a lot of time to think and he still said a lot of hateful stuff. I get that he’s worried and freaking out, but…he’s just not in a good place right now and I’m making it worse.”
“No. It’s not like that. He just needs some time to cool down. Just…please!”
“Babe,” Ryker said, touching Ryleigh’s arm. “She’s got a right to leave. You don’t know what went on or what was said, and if Fallon’s standing here with her suitcase in her hand, you can be damn sure there’s a good reason for it.”