Twisted Fate by Summer Cooper
10
Keily
“Iknow he means well, but seriously, Violet, he paid my bills. In advance. There are credits on my power bill, water bill, and that’s on top of paying for the car and a year of insurance on it.” Keily blew air out of her mouth to move her hair out of her eyes and looked over at her sister.
They were at Keily’s, sitting on the floor with baby Alice. Keily couldn’t make herself stop thinking of Alice that way, even if she was growing up. She’d always be baby Alice. At least until she got old enough to insist her aunt didn’t call her that, Keily thought with a sentimental smile. The day would come, she knew that, but hoped it was years away.
“He’s just doing what real fathers should, Keily. Don’t complain.” Violet said without a hint of malice and softened the words even more by clasping at Keily’s bicep with a gentle hand. “Don’t get your heart broken but do let him be a dad if that’s what he wants. Alice doesn’t have anyone as a father figure.”
“What about your doctor?” Keily inquired with a gleam in her eyes.
“Maybe, but I’ve learned my lesson.” Violet rolled her eyes and looked over at Alice. “I put my trust in someone before and all I have to show for it is Alice.”
“That’s not such a bad thing,” Keily replied, rubbing at her own belly. She’d learned her lesson too, she hoped.
“I’m just glad he finally talked you into quitting that job, it wasn’t good for you, being on your feet all the time like that.” Violet’s attention turned to Alice as the little girl toddled over to the coffee table to pick up the sippy cup Keily kept on hand for her.
“I didn’t want to but even the doctor said it was putting my health and the babies at risk, so I had to give in. I just didn’t want Logan taking it upon himself to pay my bills for me. I’m not his woman anymore.”
“You might not be my woman anymore, Keily, but I do want what’s best for you,” Logan said as he came back in from turning the steaks he’d put on the grill outside. She’d decided to have everyone over when the sun came out that morning, warm and full of the promise of spring. It was New Year’s Day and what better way to spend it than with the people that mattered the most to her?
Besides, warm days in winter didn’t happen often, but every now and then the sun came out and they could have nice times like this. Keily had invited Rosa, but it was Saturday, and she was with the couple that took up so much of her time now.
“Rosa’s with her couple,” Keily said, to change the subject. Neither Violet nor Logan had asked, but it was a good way to take the focus off of what she hadn’t meant for Logan to hear.
“She might be, but that’s not the topic at hand.” Logan waltzed over to the sink to wash his hands before he came back to the living room and sat down on the couch. “You’re not a kept woman, you never were, and you never will be. You are however mine, I mean, my children’s mother. I will take care of you.”
Keily’s heart wanted to pound in her chest with pleasure over the way he’d played off that slip of the tongue, revealing his thoughts that she was his, but she told her heart to shut the hell up. She could not afford to let him into that sacred place ever again.
This was going to be difficult, she thought as she absently rubbed at her stomach, lost in her own world, even though he was clearly waiting on an answer. She was his, he’d said. If only that were true.
“You can’t fault the man for accepting his responsibilities, Keily,” Violet said with a wink in Keily’s direction. “Even if that’s making sure you have water, power, and a way to get around.”
“Stop bullying me, both of you.” Keily looked over at Logan and glared at him, her tongue out for a second.
He just winked at her too, and smirked with pleased self-satisfaction.
Bastard, she thought and looked away.
“We aren’t bullying you, Keily, we’re telling you what’s best for you. Even if you don’t want to hear it.” Violet answered unapologetically. “I’ve been through this with one baby, I couldn’t imagine doing it with three. I don’t even know how you’re breathing with all those babies in you.”
“I know.” Keily was glad to let the subject change and leaned back on her palms, her legs out in front of her. “I feel like a beached whale, and they’re constantly kicking each other in there.”
“Have you thought of names yet?” Violet turned her eyes to her sister for a moment, before she looked back at her daughter, now playing with a child’s puzzle on the floor. Alice hadn’t quite figured out the object of the game, but she was enjoying banging each large puzzle piece onto the board they fit into.
“Zara, Zoey, and Zinnia, if they’re all girls,” Keily revealed and was pleased when she saw Logan nod in approval. “I know they’re all Z names, and the poor kids will be last in everything that goes in alphabetical order, but I like them.”
“What if the bottom baby is a boy?” Logan asked but didn’t offer any suggestions.
“Zane?” Keily replied with a questioning look on her face.
“That works,” Logan answered with another approving nod.
“I’m glad you like them,” Keily said dryly, but with a slight smile.
“I like them too.” Violet piped in as she wiped Alice’s mouth. She was getting a bit drooly lately, but Violet didn’t seem to mind.
“I’ve got to check the steaks,” Logan said suddenly and got up. He left the sisters to carry on talking, the front door open to let the warm air come in.
“You’re spending a lot of time together, it seems, but not talking about things you should, I take it?”
“If we did that, Violet.” Keily began. “We’d have to talk about things neither of us wants to talk about. Well, things I don’t want to talk about.”
“Like what?” Violet prodded, her brows together as she looked over at her sister.
“Like why I won’t move back into the apartment, and why I don’t want to move in with him either. Like what we are to each other, and whether we should be a couple or not.”
“I get that,” Violet said with a nod of her head. “But, I do wonder if he’s not serious this time. The way he talks, I think he might, well, maybe he’s in it for real this time.”
Violet whispered that last part and leaned over towards her sister, her eyebrow raised in question.
“I think he might be, but after last time, when he left, I just can’t go through that again, Violet. It hurt too much and I’m about to have three babies that will take up most of my time. All of my time, really, and where can he fit into all of that? I won’t have time for a broken heart or hurt feelings.”
“I get you.” Violet sighed and tilted her head a little. “I’m thawing towards him, though.”
“You would.” Keily grinned at her sister and leaned into her to nudge at her. “He’s fucking hot.”
“Careful.” Violet hissed, a smile in her eyes. “Alice is picking up on words now. I’m letting cuss words slip every now and then, and she’s picking them up, but I’m trying to stop.”
“Oh dear, sorry.” Keily sent her sister an apologetic look before she went on. “Anyway, he’s hot, nice, respectful, and generous. I’m just not in a place where I can think straight most of the time. My hormones are raging and I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. It’s not the time to make life-altering decisions.”
“I remember that brain fog, it was awful.”
“It is. So, I’m leaving decisions until my brain is at least all mine again.” Keily struggled to roll over but finally managed to get up to go to the fridge. “Want something to drink?”
“No, I’ve still got water.”
Keily grabbed her own bottle of half-frozen water out of the freezer and sprawled out on the couch.
“Outside, Mommy.” Alice insisted and looked up at her mother with hope in her eyes.
“Yes, honey, we can go outside.”
“I hope you don’t mind if I stay in here, I can’t get up again now.” Keily closed her eyes and took a drink of the water. It was unseasonably warm, but she wasn’t about to complain, not when it was going to be freezing again by the middle of the week.
“Alright, we’ll be back in a few minutes then.” Keily took Alice’s hand and led her out of the door and down the steps.
Keily could hear Alice exclaiming over the things she found in the small patch of grass outside the door. Keily had put some plastic decorations, bumblebees with whirly wings and a few dragonflies with the same, in the now-empty flower bed that ran down the length of the trailer.
It had been a week since that almost kiss at Christmas and things hadn’t changed much. Logan had to go to a function a client held for New Year’s Eve the night before and Keily had spent the evening alone. It didn’t matter if she did want to go, she couldn’t stand for long now anyway, without a massive amount of pain in her back and hips. She wouldn’t have been comfortable at the party and so it wasn’t that much of a big deal when he didn’t ask her if she wanted to go.
That was also why she’d finally quit her job three days ago. That and her boss was especially awful the last day she went in. She’d told him to shove his shitty job where the sun don’t shine when he made a snide comment about how she walked, and left him without wait staff for the evening. Not that it would matter to him, he’d replace her soon enough, but it was satisfying to tell the idiot off. And to not get up knowing she had to go to work.
All in all, it was nice to know that Logan had and would take care of her. It was nice to relax again, kind of. As much as she could with three tiny humans in her, at least. She wasn’t on bedrest yet, though her doctor had threatened her with it if she didn’t quit working.
That was another reason she’d quit the job; she didn’t want to be confined to a bed for the next couple of months. The doctor said she could get up and move around, but not stand on her feet for too long at a time. Keily had finally given in and even though she was glad she had that luxury, thanks to Logan, it also twisted her up inside.
Logan was always giving - the car, gifts, paying her bills, but he never asked for anything in return. He always said it was for the good of the babies, but she knew that wasn’t all of it. He just used that as an excuse to get her to accept the things he gave.
Keily was glad when her phone beeped, happy for a distraction from the same old thoughts that always led back to…should she give in to her own heart and let Logan back into her life the way he wanted to be?
Sorry I couldn’t make it today. Have you managed to get Logan back into your bed yet? Rosa’s text asked.
Keily rolled her eyes at the half a dozen emojis Rosa had added to the text. One was an eggplant and even Keily knew what that was - the stand-in emoji for a penis. The text made her laugh anyway.
No, and since you’re the one that told me not to let him break my heart again, I’m not sure why you’re asking me that. Keily sent back.
I know, but he is hot, and some sex might calm him down at work a little. He’s walking around glaring a lot lately. Rosa answered.
Not my circus, not my monkeys, Rosa. You have sex with him. Keily sent the text and immediately regretted it. No, wait, I take that back. Don’t have sex with him. I’d have to hate you both and I love you too much for that.
Then you’re going to have to take one for the team, Keily. Rosa added even more eggplant emojis and a few grins.
Piss off, Rosa. Aren’t you busy? Keily added an eye-roll emoji and then a grin before she hit send.
I will be, don’t you doubt it a bit.
Keily didn’t and, not for the first time, wished she wasn’t the size of a house. She’d love to get Logan back into bed, or on the couch, up against a wall, wherever she could. Especially as the sex dreams had ramped up since Christmas. She spent most of her nights tossing and turning because Logan featured in every single dream she had, naked and ready for her.
He walked in the door and she felt her cheeks heat up, even though he couldn’t read her thoughts. But maybe that wink he gave her, as if he knew what she was thinking about, meant he did. She glared at him as he turned away, but that only made it worse. Even the smell of the steaks couldn’t distract her from how tight his round ass was. Or the mark there that meant she could never be with him.
