Page 140 of Fierce-Baker

How dare Baker involve himself in this when she was trying to keep him out of it? When she didn’t want him to have anything else on his plate.

“That’s all he said?” she asked.

Shane smirked, as if he had the hammer of knowledge and she was the nail he was going to decide when and how hard to hit. “What, you didn’t know he did that?”

There was no reason to lie. She wasn’t sure she’d believe anything he told her anyway.

“No. I didn’t. My guess is he was standing up for us. For Micah. He loves my son.”

“That is how it came across. But it got me thinking that I don’t want any part of this. So I had to decide and I did. I called Morgan and told her I missed her and tried to see if we could work it out. She wants to give it another try, so that means this situation with Micah has to go away. At least for now. But you’ve never once said what you were after.”

She had to push aside that Baker went behind her back on this.

The anger was there, but maybe what he did nudged this along more.

“What I wanted out of this was not to hold on to the secret any longer. Whether you stay or go, people are going to ask about Micah’s father and have for years. I’ve never answered. I told you to get it off my chest. It’s legally documented for my son to decide what to do with that information when he’s older. If you want out, if you want no part of his life, then we’ll draw it up legally. I’m not going to make you support a child you don’t want. That was never what this was about.”

“Draw up the papers,” Shane said without hesitation. “He’s yours and I can move on with my life.”

The tears flooded her eyes. Not in frustration or annoyance that Shane was casting their child away, but in relief that he was out of her life for good.

Or at least for now.

She stood. “Then we’re done here. I’ll contact my attorney to get working on them and let you know.”

Shane’s eyes moved over her body again. “We were good together, but sex was all it was.”

She laughed. “I know that now. Your wife is welcome to you. Men like you, you don’t change. You just get sneakier and more sly. I don’t need or want that in my life nor around my child.”

“You wanted plenty of it for two months,” he shot back. “You know it so don’t lie to yourself.”

She turned and walked away.

What she wanted was to be loved. Was to be put first.

To be cared for.

All those things Baker did, even when she gave him a reason not to.

There was no way she was throwing it away now.

42

OFF HIS CHEST

Friday afternoon, Baker went back into his office and pulled his phone out.

The damn text from his mother earlier in the day was still eating through his stomach.

As if he didn’t have enough on his mind with Tasha and not hearing from her in a few days, his mother wanted to talk. She said it was important.

He’d put it off as long as he could because he was busy, and if it was an emergency, then Brittany would have followed up.

His mother answered on the second ring, “Baker. Thank God you called.”

He blew out a breath. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Dad. He’s depressed. I’m not sure how to handle this.”