Page 27 of More Bite than Bark

“How?”he asked when he’d regained enough of his wits to form words.

“I have connections.I don’t know where you plan to come up with the money to pay off Harry, but it won’t be from Elle or her family.And you better not try.I’ll be watching.You should run along home and get on with your life.”

Anderson seemed to deflate.He stepped around Hex and headed for the elevator, but Hex wasn’t done.

“I’ll know if you contact Mrs.Williamson too.”He didn’t say how or that he’d been given permission to call her Sandy years before.Though, if he had his way, she’d be telling him to call her Mama instead soon, like Elle did.She wasn’t a bad woman, just a little old fashioned and set in her ways.

Anderson didn’t say anything else, just got on the elevator and left.

“That was impressive,” Nathan said once Anderson was gone.

“What?”Hex scowled.He hadn’t done anything remarkable.

“That you got him to back down and leave without having to throw a single punch.”

Hex shook his head.“Hitting him would only give him a reason to try to get revenge or go to the cops.”Hex shrugged.“He wouldn’t get far, but he’s the type who would try.Now he doesn’t have any ammunition.”

It wasn’t that Hex hadn’t wanted to show the little fucker the right way to treat a woman, but he was old enough to know better, and for Elle’s sake, he would do this right.

Chapter Sixteen

Elizabethwanderedthroughthehouse that Kevin insisted was now hers too.He’d told her to make herself at home, and that he had no secrets from her.

She couldn’t help but wonder if that was true, but she wandered from room to room thinking about it.Since she was going to be living here, and he’d told her to change whatever she wanted, what did she want?

Elizabeth moved from room to room noticing that Kevin’s furniture might not be what she would have chosen, but it looked good in the space.And who knows?If she’d been there, this might have been what she would have gotten.The sofa was comfortable and dark colored.

Mama had always had pale or white furniture.Elizabeth had hated it growing up because you couldn’t just LIVE on it.Even as a small child she’d been constantly reminded not put her feet on the couch, not to eat on the couch, to be careful with every drink she’d ever had so she didn’t stain the couch.As a teenager she’d sworn to herself that she would never be like that.

Mama could have her show place of a home, always ready just in case Dolly Parton or Paula Deen happened to knock on the front door.Elizabeth wanted a home that was comfortable.That she could feel at home padding around barefoot or in her socks, that she wouldn’t panic if she spilled a few drops of her morning coffee.

Looking around the room, at the Harley Davidson and musician posters, there were a few things she might change, but Kevin had managed to make the place feel homey and comfortable.She would likely add a few things rather than change a lot, she didn’t want Kevin to feel like she was taking over and changing his whole world, though, now that she thought about it, she guessed she was.

She rubbed one hand over her still flat belly and knew that this baby would change both of their lives, forever.But somehow, she knew it would be for the better.They just had to get through the drama she’d created with Michael.

Deciding she needed to at least see the room that would become the baby’s room she wandered down the hall and started opening doors.She found the bedroom Kevin had been using for storage on the first try and understood why he’d suggested this room for the baby.

This room was the closest to their bedroom.It would be easiest to come and go in the middle of the night.And later, if they wanted more privacy, they could move them to a bedroom farther away when the kid was older.

That reminded her, she needed to schedule an appointment.She’d taken a home test and she had no doubt she was pregnant, but she knew there were tests her doctor would want to run.

She found her purse where she’d set it on the table beside the door when she’d come in and dug out her phone.She powered it on for the first time since she’d shut it off at the hotel the night before.

Knowing it would take a moment to boot and connect to a tower, she headed for the kitchen.Did Kevin have any tea bags?A glass of sweet tea sounded like heaven right now.Setting her phone on the counter, she started going through cabinets.

Elizabeth hadn’t made it halfway through the first cabinet when her phone chirping and vibrating like crazy drew her attention.She couldn’t help but shake her head.She’d known Mama would try to get ahold of her, but she’d warned her she was turning off her phone so who else were the messages from?

The notifications still hadn’t stopped.With a shake of her head, she went back to looking for tea bags.Those messages had waited this long, they would wait for the five minutes it took for her to get tea started.

It took her a little longer than she anticipated to find the tea bags and get the tea started, but it was no surprise when she picked up her phone and found that there were over fifty text messages waiting for her.She shook her head and opened the app to see who all they were from and what they had to say.

Mama had sent five, the little number across from Michael’s name was almost thirty, and the rest were one or two messages each from different members of her friends and family.She started with those first.She typed up a generic message.

##Elizabeth: Thank you for reaching out.I’m well.I’m not sick or hurt and I walked into and out of the wedding under my own free will.There is a lot to be handled right now and I’m not sure when I’ll be in touch, but thank you for your patience.

She copied it and sent it out to nearly all of the single message friends.A couple got that and a little more, but only that she would be in touch soon.

With that done, she stared at the screen showing Michael’s twenty-eight messages and Mama’s five, debating which she wanted to deal with first.It only took her a moment to decide not Michael and open the messages from her mother.