Page 139 of Fierce-Baker

And she hadn’t heard from Baker either. Not in a few days.

That was on her too. She knew it.

She’d started that conversation thinking it would be calm and reasonable. It hadn’t been. It had turned into the exact fight she’d been trying to avoid. And if she was honest, she couldn’t fully blame him.

She’d thought she was protecting him.

Instead, she’d pushed him away.

If her heart felt fractured all over again… that was also on her.

“I’ve had a lot to process and I’m working,” Shane snarled.

This wasn’t going to be a peaceful conversation either. She didn’t know why she thought otherwise.

“So what’s the next step?” she asked, trying to manage the situation as best as she could.

“Morgan wants to get back together and give it a try,” he said flatly.

She snorted, not surprised about that either. “Glad you could convince her of that.”

Her ex shot her a look that he didn’t appreciate her comment. She didn’t really care.

That he was returning to Atlanta could mean a few things. He’d rarely see Micah, or she’d have to give up her son for periods of time...at some point.

“She doesn’t know about this situation. I want to keep it that way.”

“That’s on you,” she said, shrugging. “Not sure how you plan on doing that.”

“If you want money, we can figure it out. I’ll have it taken right from my check and sent to you. She’ll never know or see it. I talked to my uncle. I’ve got a raise coming. Morgan doesn’t need to know that. It shouldn’t change her lifestyle any.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out to make your other life work,” she said sarcastically.

“I don’t know what you want from me, Tasha. This is a lot. I’ve made mistakes and I’ll own them, but I never thought I had a kid out there.”

“One you don’t want?” she asked.

He threw his hands up. “Not right now. I can’t. I’m not ready for it. Hell, I barely see my own kids and right now they hate me. Your son is just a stranger to me.”

She wouldn’t be hurt that he didn’t consider Micah his child either. It would only make it easier in her mind.

“That’s right, he’s mine. He always has been. I don’t like the way he was conceived. Not through the lies, but when it happened, I thought it was love. Or it felt like that. And that is what I choose to remember. I’m not letting him be less than he is because of what happened to us.”

Shane leaned back and crossed his arms. “You tell me what you want then,” he snapped. “Because I’m getting mixed messages.”

“How is that?”

“To me, you brought Micah into my life because you want money. Plain and simple. I saw an attorney, I know roughly what I’ll have to pay for the next eighteen years and I’ll do it.”

She snorted. “That’s it? It’s all you want, to just cover that?” She wasn’t even upset to hear this.

“Right now, it’s all I’m willing to do. If there is more in the future, we’ll see. But I can’t be bogged down by this. Your boyfriend threw a bunch of shit in my face and it actually made me open my eyes.”

Her hand came up. “Wait? What?”

“I didn’t catch his name. I didn’t ask for it, but I remembered seeing him on the bench next to us last week. I saw him move over to hold you when I walked away. He showed up on Tuesday night at my place and told me to decide. Be all in or get the hell out. Seems to me he wants to be Micah’s dad. Is that true?”

Her mind was reeling right now.