Ruthless Bastard (Dangerous Love 3)

“I can guarantee neither are okay with this, but they love me,” Kinsley countered. “They’ll support me, no matter what.” That’s what her brother and father did for her. Probably since they’d had to band together after her mom left. She knew she and the baby would be okay, with or without Rhett. It was only her heart that needed to get that memo.

After Peyton ate a small bite of the cake, she handed the fork to Remy, who dug in and said, “I’m sure they’ll have some words for Rhett when they see him next.”

Kinsley accepted the fork back and cut off an even bigger bite for herself. “They’re not talking to him now?”

There was a long pause. Then, “He just took off,” Peyton said solemnly. “Your dad told Boone to go find him.”

Of course her father would want someone to go after Rhett. Everyone knew that Rhett didn’t want the family, the kids, or the happily-ever-after. He wanted the military and his life as a soldier that had been stripped from him. It didn’t take much to know that this would affect Rhett; the only lingering question was how he would respond to it. Truth was, as a teenager, Kinsley had thought that she and Rhett were a possibility. But once he came back from the Army, Kinsley knew Rhett couldn’t love her, not in the way she needed or deserved. Being a soldier had changed him, and he came back distant and noncommittal. In the tropics, she just wanted one taste. This, having his child, was never part of the plan.

But one thing was certain—she hoped this news wouldn’t send him to the dark place he’d been in when he first came home. That day she’d looked into his vacant eyes, and her heart shattered at the emptiness there. It took months for Rhett to even spend time with anyone. Slowly, he’d come back to them, piece by piece, but she still missed the old Rhett. The guy with the cute smile, the bright eyes, and all the charm in the world. The one she’d fallen in love with during high school. The guy she could still see sometimes…even now.

Silence again settled in the room as they shared the cake, until a good dent had been made.

Remy finally groaned, waving off another bite, and said, “If I can put in my two cents, I just hope Rhett does the right thing and thinks of you and the baby in all this before himself.”

Kinsley’s stomach churned and she placed the cake on her bedside table. “We’ll see what happens.” Because that was all she could hope for. This was complicated. Rhett didn’t do serious anything. In fact, since he’d come home, she’d never seen him with a girlfriend, only lovers. And those lovers never lasted longer than a night.

Peyton slowly cocked her head, seeing the certainty on Kinsley’s face. “What do you think he’ll do next?”

Kinsley didn’t even have to consider her words. “He’ll sleep his way through every pretty tourist in a miniskirt that crosses into Stoney Creek like he always does.”

Remy reached for Kinsley’s hand. “And you’re okay with that?”

She paused to mull it over then shrugged. “Rhett is who he is. I knew that the night I slept with him. I knew waking up after that night, everything would be different. I knew we would never be a couple. I was perfectly fine with just a fling.”

Both her friends just stared at her.

Until Remy said, “Okay, I’m gonna say it. If you’re good with Rhett being Rhett, then why do you look so sad?”

Peyton took Kinsley’s other hand. Kinsley stared down at their entwined fingers. “Having a baby this way, it’s just not the dream, you know.” She swallowed the emotions rising in her throat, making her voice squeaky. “With my mother…the way she was and how she left us…I wanted to do everything right when I became a mom.” Her voice hitched on the last word.

Remy’s arms wrapped around her tightly, followed very quickly by Peyton’s. “Just stop that right now,” Remy said sternly, her head resting on Kinsley’s shoulder. “You’re going to make an amazing mother, whether Rhett steps up or not.”

Peyton squeezed tighter, with emotion raw in her voice. “She’s right. Your baby is going to be so lucky to have you.”

“And,” Remy added, holding on just a bit tighter, “you’ve got us, Kins. That’s like having two nannies around to help you whenever you need it.”

“Plus, you have Boone and your dad too,” Peyton added.

Remy finally let go and took Kinsley’s face in her hands. “You’ve got this.”

Peyton gave a firm nod. “One hundred percent got this.”

Kinsley smiled, and the smile felt more honest now. “You say that now, but will you both have my back like this if I murder Rhett and bury him in the backyard?”

“I’ll bring the shovel.” Peyton grinned.

“You know I’m really good with gardens,” Remy added. “We can make it so no one will suspect anything.”

Kinsley laughed and sank back against her pillows, Remy and Peyton snuggling into her. “Well, if that’s the case, I do totally have this.”

Chapter 4

The next morning, Kinsley exited her house to start her day, wishing she had a hangover. That would have at least dulled her runaway emotions. Rhett stayed heavily on her mind all night and she barely slept. Part of her still wanted to throttle him for being such an arrogant idiot. The other part of her wanted to see him to make sure he was okay. None of this could have been easy. Rhett…wasn’t an easy guy. And coming to terms with both

those sides of herself left her head spinning and her heart bleeding. Because her problem now wasn’t that she loved a guy she shouldn’t love. Her problem was that that guy was the father of her baby.

She sighed heavily, her breath a fog in front of her, as she locked her front door.