Side Hustle (Dawson Family 3)

“Yeah.” I blink and shake my head. “Shocked, that’s all.”

“You knew about her, right?”

I move my head up and down, unable to force out more words. Owen gives me a gentle nudge, leading me away. My feet don’t want to cooperate, and part of me knows that if I walk away, anything is fair game.

She’ll tell Weston what she overheard.

He’ll know the truth. Know what a horrible person I am.

And he’ll hate me for it.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the noise. My mind races, going into self-preservation mode. There’s no reason for Weston to believe a word this bitch says, right? I’ll tell him she made it all up. I’ll admit to some of the less terrible things I did, like steal a few bucks from assholes who got a little too handsy at the bar.

And then we can go on like nothing happened, because it has to go on like nothing happened. I love this man so much. And I love Jackson.

I can’t lose them. I won’t lose them.

But maybe I should.

I’m obviously not the woman Weston thinks I am. I love him. I really, truly love him. I don’t want to live the rest of my life lying to him.

“I’m not your husband anymore,” Wes says, and hearing his voice makes me feel sick, because I’m already thinking of losing him, of never hearing his deep voice again. Daisy whips around, and I see the remorse in her eyes the second she looks at Weston.

She messed up big time, and she knows it.

We already have one thing in common.

“What do you mean?” she asks.

Wes sidesteps Daisy and puts his arm around me. “I mean I filed for divorce.”

“But I didn’t sign anything.” She smiles again, trying to look victorious. Really, she’s terrified that she just lost the one angle she thought she could play.

Which is bad news for me.

“Doesn’t matter. The papers are already being processed. It’ll be official soon enough.”

“Why, Wes?”

“I haven’t seen you in three years, Daisy. What did you expect?”

She lets out a breath and shakes her head so fast it looks like a nervous tic. “I want to see my son.”

“No.”

“You can’t keep my son from me.”

Wes’s grip on me tightens, and I know he’s working hard to keep calm. I can’t imagine how pissed he is. “You can take it up with the court. You haven’t seen him for over three years. You haven’t provided any sort of support for him since he was two months old.”

“He’s my son.”

“He is. And he’s a fucking awesome kid. It’s a damn shame you missed out on him.”

“I want to see him.”

Wes slowly shakes his head. “He doesn’t even know who you are.”

Daisy’s eyes fill with tears that she angrily wipes away. She looks at me. “There’s a lot of that going around.”

Feeling like I might puke, I turn in toward Wes. “She’s not worth it,” I whisper, unable to make my voice any louder. We need to get away. Maybe she’ll disappear again, and we can go back to how things were before.

Because things were perfect.

“Let’s go,” I tell him.

“Yeah.” Wes brings his arm down and takes my hand. “Let’s.”

“Wes, wait. Please,” Daisy pleads.

“You heard him,” Dean says through gritted teeth. “He doesn’t want to talk to you. None of us do, so do yourself a favor and get the hell out of here. And don’t stop until you’re out of Eastwood.”

“I have a right to be here.” Daisy pushes her shoulders back, trying to hang onto what’s left of her dignity. There isn’t much to hold onto. “And I have a right to see my son.”

“You forfeited that right when you abandoned him,” Logan interjects. “As my brother said, take it up with the court if you want to see him again. Though if you really care about Jackson at all, you’ll stay away. He doesn’t know you. Best to keep it that way.”

“He can get to know me,” Daisy pleads. I watch her body language, breaking her down as if she were a potential client to scam. She’s desperate all right, and I think some of it is genuine.

“For how long?” Wes spits. “How long before you take off again? It won’t be any different than the last time.”

“It might be,” Daisy goes on. “I deserve a chance.”

“Not with me.” Wes shakes his head and squeezes my hand. “And not with Jackson. We’re leaving, and if you even think of coming to the house and seeing Jackson, I’ll arrest you for trespassing myself.”

“Wes, stop! Let’s just talk.”

Wes turns, pulling me with him. Logan and Owen move in, blocking the way so Daisy can’t chase after us. Wes storms out of the bar, letting go of my hand the moment we get outside. He’s upset, and I should comfort him.

Better yet, I should tell him the truth. It will sound better coming from me than from that crazy bitch. All I need to do is open my mouth and confess. Just get this over with.