Second Hand Waitress

Twisted revenge

“Legal documents being pushed at you without warning? That sounds very familiar,” Kira said pointedly. “It’s not fun when you’re the one experiencing it, is it?”

“So is this some kind of twisted revenge? Punishment because I dared to treat you like any other woman in my life? Because you think you’re so special, right? Not like all the other—”

She raised her hand to stop him, and he immediately closed his mouth.

“Let me stop you right there, Tesah. I don’t need to hear any more of this. Stop trying to make yourself sound like some kind of victim. I offered you the perfect solution to a problem I knew you didn’t want.” She stepped back and crossed her arms stubbornly. Her eyes dared him to disagree with her.

“No, you presented me with a done deal. And why would I argue? I could have continued to live my life as if none of this ever happened. But I can’t. This baby exists, and I can’t ignore that.”

His words were so strangely similar to the thoughts that had made her decide to have the baby that they made her pause and then feel panicked. Her stomach dropped and then rose into her throat until she had to fight the urge to throw up on his expensive shoes.

“You can’t have him,” she whispered. “He’s mine.”

“He’s mine too.”

“No, you signed those papers. He’s not yours; he’ll never be yours.” Her hand went to her stomach protectively, and his eyes darkened at the movement.

“I don’t want to take him from you, I just . . . I want to be there. I want to see him. I want to know him, and I want him to know me.”

“What changed? How could everything just change overnight?” Her voice rose almost hysterically, and she felt Jake’s arm wrap around her shoulder protectively.

“Maybe you should leave, buddy,” Jake warned.

“This has nothing to do with you, Mr. Jake. It’s between Kira and me.”

“I want to know what changed!” she yelled, wanting to be heard and not caring about the people who stopped on the street to look at what was happening. If Tesah Clover insisted on doing this in public, then he would certainly get a scene.

“I have!” he snapped. “I’ve changed. I can’t stop thinking about this baby. In my head, she’s a dark-haired, green-eyed little princess in a pink tutu and white leggings, and she’s been appearing in my dreams since Monday.”

That made her pause and look at him. Really look.

His tie was crooked, she noticed absently. One white cuff stuck out slightly more than the other, one of his shirt buttons wasn’t done up, his hair looked like he had run his fingers through it all morning, and he had cut himself shaving. Tesah Clover looked . . . disheveled. He looked like a man who had lost control of his life.

“In my mind, he has dark hair, your golden eyes, as well as your mouth and jaw, and he’s wearing the world’s smallest little sheriff’s uniform. He can’t walk yet, but he’s grinning a big, drooly, toothless grin.”

They were both silent for a moment, and her shoulders relaxed slightly.

“What do you want from me?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, which was quite a confession for the usually confident Tesah Clover to make. “I don’t think I’d be a great dad. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ll be terrible at it.”

It was so similar to her own fears about the kind of mother she would be that she was surprised by the lack of confidence from a man who always seemed to know exactly what to do.

“But I was hoping to be . . . someone she knows?”

“This is such a huge change of heart, Tesah, and it’s not at all what I want.”

“I know that. I’m just asking that you allow me to properly take care of her, and that I get to see her sometimes.”

“What does ‘properly take care of her’ involve?”

“Trust fund, private schools, good living conditions.”

“No. You’re trying to control my life and how I raise my child.”

He just stared at her, his face frustratingly expressionless.

“Does this have to happen right now?” Jake asked pointedly, and they both looked at him in surprise, having completely forgotten he was there. He rolled his eyes. “It’s starting to rain. And you, miss, have an appointment that you’re going to be late for.”

“Oh, crap,” she muttered, before glancing sideways at Tesah, who looked back at her with an unusually sad expression.

“Tesah, you can’t just show up here, tell me you’ve changed your mind, and expect me to be okay with that,” she said. “I don’t want you at my ultrasound. I don’t think I want to share something so . . . personal with you.”

“You’re having my kid, lady,” he reminded her, and Jake snorted. “It doesn’t get much more personal than that.”

“Jake’s going in with me,” she insisted.

“I don’t have to.” Jake shrugged. He looked at his fingernails and ignored the angry glare Kira gave him. “I’m squeamish. Blood makes me nauseous.”

“Blood?” Now Tesah looked a little pale, and Kira wanted to scream in frustration.

“There’s no blood involved. Jake, you’re coming with me.” She pointed firmly at Tesah. “You can wait for us, I’ll . . . I’ll see if they can give

you a copy of the DVD or something.”