“I was mad, too.”
Both men turned to look at him, twin looks of misery on their faces.
“When Bailey told me she was pregnant,” he went on.“I was so fucking pissed.That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Jesse swallowed hard.“Yeah.”
“And now she has to go through all this shit, and it was my fault.”
Relief and gratitude all but beamed out of Jesse’s brown eyes.“Yeah.”
“How did you deal with it?”Knox asked quietly.
Okay, Nash thought.Okay.
And he told them.
* * * *
Two hours later, the three of them walked down the back steps to the parking lot.
“Well, she didn’t tow my car,” Nash said after a quick scan of the lot.“That’s something.”
Jesse clapped a hand on his shoulder with a grin, his earlier anguish long gone.“I’m telling you, she likes you now.”
“‘Like’ may be a little strong,” Knox put in, amused.“But she doesn’t want to see you castrated and hung by what’s left of your balls anymore.”
“I’ll take it,” Nash decided.“If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
Jesse clapped a hand on Nash’s shoulder.“Thanks, man.You want to join us for lunch?”
It was temping, but Nash shook his head.“I’ve got somewhere I need to be, but thanks.”
“Raincheck?”
Nash nodded.“I’ll take that, too.”
“We’ll hold you to that,” Knox said, then jerked his head at Jesse.“Come on, let’s go see our girl.”
“I’m for that.Later, Nash.”
They turned to the back door to the pub, disappearing inside, and Nash walked to his car.He was going to hit a fast-food joint, get some food in his belly, then find a quiet spot to relax for a few minutes before he met with Sawyer.The last two hours had been intense, and he needed to reset.
An hour later, fed and refreshed, Nash pulled up to the address Sawyer had provided.It was a small house on the north side of town, with a tidy lawn and flowers blooming along the hedge.A bright yellow door glowed like sunshine against the dark gray siding, and a white sign to the left of the door proclaimed in simple script,Carolina Consulting, LLC.
Wondering if he’d gotten the address wrong, Nash pulled to a stop along the curb and took out his phone to double check.It was the right address, so he got out of the car just as an SUV pulled up behind him.
Sawyer got out of the passenger side in navy shorts and a white T-shirt, his eyes hidden behind dark shades and a baseball cap on his head.He lifted a hand to whoever was driving—Nash couldn’t see through the glare of the sun on the windshield—and joined Nash on the sidewalk.
He held out a hand.“Nash.Good to see you.”
“You, too.”Nash took it as the SUV pulled away with a cheerful toot of its horn, then gestured toward the house.“I wasn’t sure if I had the right place.”
“Just a bit of camouflage.This is the in-call I told you about.”
Nash took another look around as they started up the walk.The neighborhood was quiet and well-tended, full of small houses on big lots, built at a time when space was plentiful and privacy the goal.“Your friend’s, right?”
“Right.”Mounting the short three steps to the front door, Sawyer gave a perfunctory knock, then opened the door and walked in.