The Buchanan's Baby(30)

“You think Nolan will make a good father?”

“I think he’s going to do his damnedest to try and honestly, what more can you ask for? Did you know you would be a good mother before the baby arrived?”

Fair point. Shannon hated the clear logic because it pierced through the emotional haze clouding her vision.

Penny glanced around, clearly looking for Aubrey. “Now, where is that beautiful niece of mine that I’ve heard so much about?”

“Sleeping but you can peek in on her if you like.”

Penny grinned with delight and lumbered from her seat, breathing a little heavier. Shannon smiled in memory of being that pregnant. Hard to believe but Shannon had carried an extra forty pounds on her lean frame while carrying Aubrey. Thankfully, breastfeeding had melted away the weight but Shannon had a feeling Penny was just fine with her curves as the woman radiated confidence.

Penny’s gaze lit up with pure joy as she gazed on Aubrey and her hand went instinctively to her rounded stomach. “Those Buchanan genes are strong,” she remarked softly, looking to Shannon.

“Yeah, I knew right away just by looking at her that she favored Nolan.”

“Luckily Nolan is almost too pretty for a man,” Penny said, winking.

Shannon chuckled and they left the room. “Does Nolan know you’re here?”

“Oh goodness, no. He’d have a fit if he did. He’s still licking his wounds and being a total ass. I’ve never seen him so agitated. Nolan is the cool kid who never gets ruffled but you’ve really turned his world upside down, which is a good thing. Nolan needed a little chaos in his perfect little world. My Papa used to say that certain people come into our lives to give us the opportunity to grow but growing pains are often painful, that’s the part that often gets overlooked. You and Aubrey did for Nolan what I wasn’t meant to do; challenge him to grow as a person.”

Shannon digested that information and marveled at Penny’s wisdom. Behind that merry smile and dimpled cheeks was the brain of a very smart woman. No wonder Dillon had snapped her up. She regarded Penny to ask in a quiet voice, “Do you think Nolan could love me eventually, not just as Aubrey’s mother, but as a woman and a partner?”

Penny’s eyes sparkled mischievously as she answered, “I think he already does.”

Shannon sucked in a surprised breath. Was it possible? Her eyes watered. She supposed it was time to make a difficult and emotionally scary phone call.

She could only hope it wasn’t too late.





-10-




Nolan’s phone buzzed on the table and he ignored it, choosing instead to finish off his tequila. He wasn’t even sure why he was still hanging around this town when he was clearly not wanted. He ought to leave. Pack his shit and go; let the lawyers hash it all out. Shannon was going to lose — he was going to pick her bones apart in court. But that didn’t give him a hint of satisfaction. He didn’t want to destroy Shannon. She’d pushed him to this place. He’d wanted to provide for her and Aubrey; he’d wanted to wake up with her in his arms.

Hell, maybe he’d even wanted to marry her.

But she didn’t want anything to do with him. Not that he blamed her. Who would want a perverted son-of-a-bitch like him? In his life he’d done nothing worth crowing about, but he certainly had enough to be ashamed of.

Isabel, Penny…now Shannon?

And that wasn’t counting the number of nameless one-night stands that he’d fucked and forgotten.

What kind of man was he? Why would Shannon want anything to do with him? What could he offer her aside from cold, impersonal wealth? He didn’t know how to be a decent person.

A loud banging sounded at his hotel room door and Vince hollered from the other side. “Stop crying in your beer and let me in.”

“Go away, Vince,” Nolan said, reaching for a fresh bottle of tequila. He planned to drink away this pain or die trying.

“Open this door, you pussy.”

“Fuck off.”

“C’mon, let me in.”

Nolan sighed and cast a sour look toward the door but climbed to his feet nonetheless. He opened the door and returned to his tequila.

“This is pathetic,” Vince remarked, taking in the general disarray of the room and the Nolan’s overall sense of self-loathing. “What is happening here? I can tell you what’s not happening — personal hygiene,” he said, waving away the stench of Nolan’s unwashed body. “Jesus, open a damn window. You could choke an elephant.”

Nolan smirked, unmoved by his twin’s disgust. “I’ve resigned myself to wallowing in my own filth because it’s where I belong.”