Most Eligible Baby Daddy (17 page)

*

Forrester Snow,

The very sound of your name still makes my stomach turn. You’re scum, boy. You’re a no good, piece of shit, son of a bitch. You killed your mother, you know.

People say you’re not to blame. You didn’t know what you were doing. You were just a baby.

I say, all that’s fine. You were a baby. You didn’t ask to be born. But you still killed her, and for that I’ll always hate you. You’re no more guiltless than the bullet that strikes its mark. The bullet doesn’t know what it’s doing, but it kills its target all the same.

That’s you, Forrester Snow. You killed your own mother, you killed my wife, and I curse the day you were conceived. If I could go back and not fuck your mother the day I made her pregnant, I’d do it. I’d erase your very existence.

I was never the perfect husband, but I loved that woman more than I could ever love you.

You’re worthless to me. You would have been worthless to her too, if she’d survived your birth. No one could love you when you were born. The truth is, I didn’t want to raise you. I tried to give you up to the county, I tried to get rid of you, but they wouldn’t take you. No one wanted you.

You were truly born alone, Forrester. You were born alone, and mark my words, you will die alone. The words of a dying man must be worth something. The curse of a dying man must be worth something.

So hear this, for this is my curse. No one will ever love you, you little piece of shit. You will destroy anyone you ever try to love. You will find no happiness, and you will give no happiness. If you ever think you’ve found the girl who’s won your heart, you run. You run away from her as far and as fast as you can.

Because if you don’t, you’ll destroy her, just like you destroyed your own mother.

Curse you.

Abraham Snow.

*

It was then that she cried. She wasn’t crying for herself, but for Forrester, and for what the letter meant. She knew all too well what a letter like that could do to a man’s heart. Even someone with the best of intentions might not be able to think or act correctly after receiving something like that from a parent. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to bear it.

Was this the reason Forrester had run out?

If it was, she’d forgive him. She wouldn’t forget him, she wouldn’t ever forget what they’d done together, but she wouldn’t hate him. He’d done what he had to do. If that meant heartbreak for her, so be it.

As the tears ran down her cheeks, she knew what had happened. Forrester was broken. He’d been broken by his own father.

Who could possibly commit to a girl, a girl he’d asked to bear him a son, after reading a letter like that from his own daddy?

He was gone. He was gone forever.

She walked down the street and she cried. She cried for Forrester, and she cried because she was heartbroken, and the worst part was, there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t even tell Forrester that she forgave him, and that she still loved him, and that he didn’t have to fall for the cruel games of his dead father.

Chapter 30

Elle

E
LLE WENT TO BED QUIETLY
that night. She tried not to cry but she could feel the tears as they soaked into her pillow. She lay there motionless, almost like someone dead, and then suddenly she punched her fist into the mattress.

“Damn it,” she cried.

She was mad, and she wasn’t even sure what she was mad about. Was she mad at Forrester for disappearing? Was she mad at herself for allowing herself to fall for him?

No. She was mad at life. She was mad at the world. She was mad at God.

Why was she cursed to always spend her life alone? Why was it that no matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried, nothing ever worked out. She’d thought she’d found love with Gris. She’d told herself that if she just kept loving him, if she just kept treating him better than he treated her, that God would take care of the rest. God would bring her love. God would look after her.

But that hadn’t happened. Not with Gris, and not when she was a child.

She punched the mattress again. Who was she to hope for any better? Her own mother had sold her into slavery. Most people wouldn’t even believe that sort of thing was possible. She’d actually gone through it.

If it wasn’t for the strange string of murders that wiped out the entire
Los Lobos
gang when she was a little girl, she’d be in some dingy whorehouse right now, forced to pleasure men for money.

She’d always thought that God had saved her from the hell of the
Los Lobos
gang. Out of nowhere, the gang had been wiped out, and the gang members didn’t even know who was doing it. It felt like divine intervention.

But since then, her faith had been shaken and tested, over and over. Nothing was easy. Nothing went according to plan. She worked her butt off, she gave everything to the man she thought she loved, and all she’d gotten in return was abuse.

And then Forrester came along, her knight in shining armor, and for just a brief moment she thought things were going to change. Things were going to be different.

And then he was gone, taken away from her as quickly as he’d come.

She slipped into a dreamless sleep and when she woke in the morning she felt exhausted. It was like she hadn’t slept at all. In fact, she had to check her watch to make sure it was really morning because it was still dark out.

She got ready as quickly as possible and the only good thing that happened was that the shower water was hot. Dennis had been good to his word and gotten the heat and hot water running. She tried to feel positive about it. She might be alone, but at least her life in Stone Peak was comfortable. Her apartment was cozy. She had good friends in Kelly and Grace.

I can do this,
she told herself.

She grabbed her coat and made her way through a light snow to the diner.

“Elle,” Kelly said when she saw her. “Are you all right?”

Elle shrugged. “What choice do I have? Life goes on.”

“That’s the spirit,” Gracie said from back in the kitchen. “Now let me make you some pancakes before you start your shift. I’ll bet you could use a meal.”

There were no customers and Kelly, Elle and Gracie all sat at the counter together and enjoyed a stack of pancakes with bacon and real maple syrup.

“Thank you,” Elle said, to both of them at the same time.

They looked at her and smiled. “We’re in this together, Elle,” Kelly said. “Whatever happens, we’ll all help each other through it.”

“You better believe it,” Grace chimed in. “You’ll get through all of this, Elle. And don’t worry about that creep ex boyfriend of yours either. We’ve got your back.”

Elle hugged both of them and struggled to hold back yet more tears.

“You two will think I’m a real crybaby if I cry again.”

They hugged her so tightly she felt for the first time in her life that she might be a part of something. She had friends. She had support. She was only just beginning to realize how much that meant to her.

She allowed herself to think of Forrester just for a moment. She pictured his face, his beautiful eyes, his lips, his strong hands, and the way she felt when he plunged himself into her, and then she forced herself to stop. She was okay. She could get through this.

Chapter 31

Forrester

F
ORRESTER ACHED ALL OVER.
The prison mattress couldn’t have been more than two or three inches thick. He pulled up his shirt and examined his ribs. They were purple with bruises. He tried to sit up and winced.

He called out.

“Guard? Sheriff?”

The door leading out to the police station opened and the sheriff appeared. He looked like he’d a good night’s sleep in his own bed. He was showered and shaved. In his hand was a mug of fresh coffee.

“What is it, Snow?”

Forrester looked at the man. His uniform was crisp. He took his job seriously. Forrester could respect that, even if he hated the fact that he was being locked up without due cause.

“What are you guys doing with me?”

The sheriff shrugged.

“This can’t all be because I caused trouble with your son and his buddies. You know they’re the ones who started that.”

The sheriff looked Forrester in the eye, and then nodded.

“I know the kind of kid my son is,” the sheriff said.

“I’m sure he’ll grow out of it,” Forrester said.

“I hope so, for his own sake.”

“You can’t just lock me up in here for defending myself. You at least have to charge me with something. Let me see a lawyer. Let me make a phone call.”

The sheriff looked behind him back toward his desk. There was a phone right on the table.

“And who would you call?” he said.

“My girl. Elle.”

The sheriff nodded. “I thought you’d say that.”

“I’ve got to call her. She’s going to be going through hell thinking I skipped town on her.”

“I know it, son,” the sheriff said, and Forrester could hear the sympathy in his voice.

“So are you going to let me call her?”

The sheriff sat on the seat facing Forrester.

“You know,” he said, “you sure don’t seem much like your old man.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Forrester said.

“Good. That’s how I mean it. You remind me more of your mother.”

Forrester eyed him. “What happened between you and her?”

The sheriff sighed. He pointed to a wedding ring on his finger. “I’m long married, son. That’s all ancient history.”

“But what was it? What was the story there?”

“What do you think? We were in love. Both of us. Not just me.”

“So how did she end up with my daddy and not you?”

“Good question,” the sheriff said, the regret in his voice palpable. “I guess I let him get the better of me. I knew your mother wanted to be with me. I knew I could have given her a good life. We’d have been happy, her and me.”

“But my father.”

“Your father put an end to all of it. I never found out what exactly he did, but he blackmailed your mother and her parents. Basically forced them to make her marry him. She didn’t want to do it, and for good reason. Everyone knew your daddy was going to put her through hell.”

“But they let it happen?”

“That they did.”

“They should have stopped it.
You
should have stopped it.”

“Don’t think I don’t think about that every day that goes by, son.”

“There are men in the world who try to take women against their will,” Forrester said.

“Like the men who took Elle when she was a baby?”

Forrester looked up. “How do you know about that?”

“Her friend, Gris, he told us the whole story.”

“And what else did he say?”

“He said you were working for them. He said you’re the last living member of
Los Lobo.
”

“Oh, shit,” Forrester said. “And you believed him?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Los Lobo is history. Everyone knows that. They’re all dead.”

“Gris said you slipped through.”

“I didn’t slip through shit. I know for a fact Los Lobo is dead. Gris is lying.”

“Well, Gris can be pretty persuasive,” the sheriff said.

“I bet he can. You know he’s the one who’s going to take Elle against her will, don’t you?”

“And what if I did? What could I do about it?”

“You could let me out of this cage. I’ll stop him. I swear to God you’d be doing the right thing. I love Elle, and she loves me. Gris is going to take her against her will, just like my father took my mother. I know it.”

“Son, even if I believed you, I couldn’t let you out of that cell. Gris would string me up like a pig.”

“Don’t make the same mistake with Elle that you made with my mother,” Forrester said. “Stand up for a woman for once in your life.”

“I’m afraid,” the sheriff said helplessly.

“You’re the sheriff of this town. You can’t let Gris tell you what to do. Can you?”

As if to answer the question, some men came into the police station. They came down the short corridor toward Forrester’s cell. It was Gris, with the sheriff’s son and his friends.

Gris did the talking.

“What have we got here, sheriff?”

“Nothing, Gris. I was just talking to the prisoner.”

“I thought I told you to stay away from him.”

“Yes, sir,” the sheriff said, uncertainly.

Forrester looked at each man in turn. He read the situation perfectly. Gris had come into town and intimidated the sheriff into doing what he wanted. Forrester wasn’t sure why Phil and his buddies were helping, but he guessed it wasn’t because they were too loyal to him. No. Either Gris had paid them, or he’d threatened them, and either way, they’d be easy to turn against him if the tables were turned.

“Sheriff,” Forrester said. “You don’t have to be afraid of this guy. I’ll take care of him for you.”

The sheriff looked terrified at the sound of Forrester’s words. The last thing he had in mind was standing up to Gris.

“You’ll take care of me?” Gris said. “I don’t think so, fucko.”

“Everyone knows the kind of creep you are, Gris. I know it, the sheriff knows it, and your friends here know it too.”

“They don’t know shit,” Gris said.

Forrester watched all the men at once. He couldn’t tell if the younger guys would turn on Gris now that he was standing up to him. He had to find out.

“Hey, Gris,” he said, trying to provoke him. “When I get out of here, I’m going to make you wish you’d never been born.”

Gris laughed. “Is that so, fucko? And when are you getting out of here?”

“Sooner than you think.”

Gris laughed again. He walked up to the sheriff and took a key from him. He put the key into a control panel on the wall and hit a green unlock button. Forrester heard the cell door clank open.

“Oh, look,” Gris said, tauntingly. “You’re free, fucko.”

Forrester forced himself to sit up on the bed. The pain in his ribs was excruciating but he pushed through it, refusing to allow himself to wince.

“Oh, you’re feeling better?” Gris said.