Reed's Reckoning

“And you didn’t think to tell me that shit? You think the draft and the money means more to me than flesh and blood?!”

I can’t hold in the anger pouring out of my body. Luke fucking Adams went against his best friend’s wishes to tell me about my unborn child. He risked losing her because he felt I had a right to know. He knew her hurt and humiliation could be stopped if I claimed the baby.

But my best friend since I was three years old hid the news from me. He made a decision that I may never forgive. At that point in our lives, the damage wasn’t done. I could have gone to her and known the truth.

“What the fuck? I was protecting you. Are you even sure he belongs to you? I saw Luke and Ari together. They were definitely more than friends. The way I saw it, he knocked her up and they wanted you to take the hit. It was too coincidental that you were about to be rich and famous and suddenly she was pregnant? Don’t you think the timing is questionable? I didn’t know Ari well, but I knew she didn’t come from much. With the way y’all broke up, I was convinced she was looking for a meal ticket.”

“You motherfucker! You don’t know shit. Ari may not have had much, but she wasn’t a gold digging whore. You knew how much I loved her. I was gutted for months over her. It wasn’t your place to keep this information from me. And as for Davis being mine, there’s no fucking doubt. She got pregnant the night of the Sugar Bowl win.”

Jack’s face falls and he stares at me with guilt in his eyes. “She named him Davis?”

“Yeah, you sack of shit. She did. He’s the spitting image of me.”

“Is this why you needed the PI?”

I nod my head.

“Reed, I had no idea he was telling the truth. Why did she breakup with you if she was carrying your baby?”

“She didn’t.”

He looks at me waiting on an explanation, but I’m not giving him one.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you are a sorry son of a bitch and I want you out of my house.”

He gets up and walks by me. Before he can pass, I grab his arm and let my fist fly to his face. He stumbles back holding his jaw but doesn’t lift a hand to hit me back.

He stares at me with eyes full of hurt and pain. A part of me feels guilty, but then I think about the little boy down the road.

“I’m sorry, Reed.”

I jerk my chin and watch him walk out the door. As soon as it closes, I reach for the bottle of Jack Daniels. Tonight it’s going to take the place of my best friend.

Ari

“Are you mad at me, Ari?” Luke asks softly.

“No. You did what you thought was right. As always, you were looking out for me.”

“I can’t believe what a dick Jack Stark is. How could he keep that from Reed?” Sophie asks.

“I don’t know? But I can tell you Reed is pissed. I’m not sure what he’s going to do but I have a feeling it’s not good.” Luke answers her.

I reach over the table to pour myself another glass of wine. When Reed canceled our date tonight, I was hurt. Even though he assured me he would explain, my mind immediately filled with bad thoughts. Luke showed up a few minutes later with two bottles of my favorite wine and I knew something was going on. Sophie was already here to help dress me, so she stayed and we listened to Luke’s story. Relief washed through me when he told me the note on Reed’s car was from him.

“Well, I’ll find out in the morning. He said we’d make plans again tomorrow. Maybe try to take Davis to the beach again.”

“Let’s talk about you and Reed. How are you feeling about everything?” Luke looks at me with concern on his face.

“Confused, scared, overwhelmed because his idea of taking things slow and mine are completely different. He told me his mom wants to call me to learn about Davis. She’s driving up in to meet him.”

“That’s a good thing. He’ll love it.”

“Is this too fast? He found out who his dad was last night. Now, I’ll be introducing a whole new family to him.”

“It’s not too fast. From the impression he gave me tonight, I don’t think Reed is going anywhere. Davis will adapt.”

“You’re right.”

“Another thing, Ari, I told him our story. I could tell he still has questions about our relationship. I wanted to set him straight when you told me he thought I was your rebound in college, but waited to see how serious he was about you. If he’s going to be in your life, I thought he should know.”