“Oh, I’m so sorry about that!” I said as I stepped out of the way for them to enter. Country music blared from inside, and I strained to look in. The man held the door open for me.
“You coming in?”
“Oh. Um. No.” I took a step back.
He shrugged and let the door close. Glancing up, I stared at the neon sign.
I took in a deep breath and walked in. I was risking a lot by going into the bar Cord owned. After all, he was Steed’s younger brother. Even though it was a small town, I had done everything in my power to avoid the Parker family. Including Cord, who had been a good friend after Steed left town. But even being around him proved to be too painful.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Cord had really made this place into something amazing. I hadn’t been in here since he first opened it. The bar was beautiful. Wood covered the walls and a giant sign hung over the bar that read, Hey Y’all. Liquor bottles lined the wall behind the long bar. My eyes swung around and I noticed that a second floor had been added. People sat upstairs at tables that overlooked the massive wood dance floor. A large number of couples were dancing to a George Straight song.
“Paxton?”
Spinning around, I grinned when I saw him. “Hey, Cord.”
He seemed happy to see me as he pulled me in for a hug then pushed me back at arm’s length. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“He’s back. I didn’t know about her.” I said while peering into Cord’s blue eyes.
He nodded and placed his hand on my lower back, leading me to the hall that probably led to his office. The place had been remodeled and everything looked different. When we walked in, he shut the door to his office and the music was muffled.
Cord leaned on the edge of his desk while I took a seat in a large oversized leather chair. “You okay?” he softly asked.
My lips pressed together as I tried to keep my chin from trembling. Cord was the only other person who knew what had truly happened between Steed and me.
“No,” I answered honestly.
His brows furrowed. “There were so many times I wanted to tell you, but it wasn’t my place. I knew he had to be the one to tell you. Plus, any time I did see you, Paxton, you walked off in the other direction.”
I let out a slight chuckle. “I avoided you and the family, too afraid to find out anything about him moving on with his life. It was pretty stupid to block y’all out of my life, looking back now.”
Cord blew out a breath. “He didn’t tell any of us he was coming back to Texas. Only my parents and that was only a week ago.”
I shook my head in disbelief. How could I have been so stupid to think I could live in this town and keep pretending the Parker family and Steed didn’t exist?
“He was a mess at dinner,” Cord said.
My eyes swung over to him. “Dinner?”
“Yeah, our parents planned a welcome home dinner for him and Chloe. Steed was an emotional basket case, but was trying to keep things light for Chloe’s sake. He told me what happened. He feels awful. No one told him either, Paxton. He had no idea you would be Chloe’s teacher. I honestly figured my mother would have told you and Steed. But she didn’t say a word.”
“Yeah, he looked shocked to see me. Almost as shocked as I was to see him.”
Cord sighed. “I guess he laid into Mom about springing this on the both of you. He, um, he also told her the truth.”
I gasped and covered my mouth. What would Melanie think of me?
“She hasn’t said anything to anyone else, don’t worry. But Steed said she kept going on and on about the two you getting back together, and how you were meant to be. Steed kind of lost it and blurted out about the baby and what happened.”
I fell back in the chair, my heart racing. “Your mother’s going to think I’m a whore for getting pregnant in high school.”
Cord chuckled. “Hardly. But she isn’t talking to Steed.”
I sat up. “W-why?”
“She’s pissed. Disappointed. Angry. Sad. Guilty for not being there for you.”
My arms wrapped around my queasy stomach. I hadn’t thought about what it might be like for our parents to find out they had lost a grandchild. Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes. “When I saw him, I was so happy for about thirty seconds. Then every ounce of anger came rushing back. All I wanted to do was kick him in the balls. Then his little girl came running up and my heart broke all over again. I felt so angry that he had a child.”
Peeking up at Cord, a small sob slipped from my mouth. “How could I be angry about an innocent child? But I was, and in that moment I wanted to tell him how unfair it was for him to have a baby with another woman when he didn’t want ours.”