a chance to finish. Dropping down into the driver's seat, I slam the door, closing me off to whatever he was saying. His hand is on the passenger’s side door handle, giving it a tug, but it’s still locked.
“Shelby, open the damn door.” He knocks on the window, meeting my eyes through the glass. “I get it, you’re pissed, but I’m pissed too. I’m pissed about so many things right now, and I don’t have a fucking clue how to ignore it until we find Hayden. But I’m trying, okay? Which is more than you’ve ever allowed me to do before.”
Starting the engine, I grip the steering wheel as he talks. And then, my own thought from a few minutes ago comes floating back through my mind like a taunt. A parent needs to swallow down those feelings and do whatever it takes to be the best they can be for their kids.
“Fuck,” I growl as I jab my finger down on the button to unlock the door.
Once inside, he mutters, “Thank you,” not sounding very thankful at all.
“Sitting here arguing with each other isn’t getting Hayden home any quicker.”
Wyatt stews in his own frustrations most of the way home, but even I can’t be so lucky as for him to stay quiet the entire way.
“How could you keep this from me, Shelby?” His voice is filled with both raw pain and anger. “You knew I wanted a family. You knew I wanted to have kids someday. You knew I wanted to do all of that with you.”
I turn onto Lorna’s street, trying to restrain myself from going any faster. “Wyatt, don’t.”
“Don’t what? Don’t ask questions? Don’t wonder? Don’t expect a fucking answer?”
My jaw’s clenched so tight, pain radiates throughout it, and my blood feels like it may boil over at any moment. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want truthful answers to.”
Throwing his head back, he belts out the most humorless laugh I’ve ever heard, but I ignore him as I pull up in front of Lorna’s house. I need to get away from him. I need to put an end to this discussion.
As soon as the car comes to a stop, I throw it in park and get out, speed walking toward the front door before Wyatt can even put one foot on the ground. “You wouldn’t know truth if it jumped up and bit you on the ass!” he hollers at my back.
Those words stop me in my tracks. This man is preaching to me about truth? The same man who knocked me up and had a threesome with a pair of skanks? Fuck that.
Turning slowly, I make sure his gaze is locked with mine before I speak. I speak slowly and clearly, my words like a sharp sword, aimed and ready for battle. “You want to know the real truth, Wyatt? You want to know why I didn’t tell you about Hayden?”
He stands frozen in place, his eyes never leaving mine. I think back to the day I’d tried to call him. Hayden was only three days old, and I hadn’t slept for any of it. My conscience had gotten the better of me, and I had picked up the phone.
But it wasn’t Wyatt who answered—it was Layla. We all grew up together, and I knew her voice. I never left a message. Hell, I never said a word. I just hung up, unable to believe what had happened to the life I’d so desperately wanted.
“You made your choice before I ever left. You chose that club, that family. You chose to live a life I never wanted.”
“You supported me while I was prospecting. What the hell changed?”
“You,” I snap back. “You changed. You changed into the kind of man who should never have a child. The kind of man who would make a terrible father, and an even worse partner. You’re the last man on earth I’d want helping me raise my child. Hayden deserves better than someone like you as a father.”
My words hit their mark. I know it the instant his shoulders drop that I’d struck a mortal blow. He stares at me with so much hurt and confusion, I almost want to take my words and stuff them back into my mouth. But once something like that is spoken, it can never be unheard.
“I’ll let you know what I find out,” he says, his eyes dropping to the ground in front of me. “You let me know if you hear anything.”
With my lips