Sawyer (Alluring Indulgence #7)(27)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Sometimes he missed the place.

“What’s up, man?” Sawyer asked Jared when he stepped into the single room that still held three desks, although Jared only used one of them.

“Hey, I just tried to call you.”

“Which is why I’m here,” Sawyer told him. “You didn’t think I’d stop by to see your ugly mug just because, now, did you?”

“Well, I was hopin’,” Jared joked. “No, seriously, I need a favor.”

“Of course you do. Can’t just call me up to shoot the shit or ask if I wanna get a beer. Always gotta want somethin’.” Sawyer could give Jared a hard time because honestly, he usually only did call because he wanted to hang out, grab a beer at Moonshiners, sometimes get a bite at the diner. They were the same age, and aside from being family, they had quite a bit in common. Although they were close, Jared rarely asked for a favor.

“You know me. Always lookin’ for the easy way.”

Sawyer watched his cousin, the way his eyes hardened as he stared back at him. Shit. This wasn’t good.

Since the day Jared showed up in Coyote Ridge nearly a year ago, he’d been working through a ton of shit. Some serious shit at that. He’d actually hightailed it there in order to escape a load of problems, including his ex-wife, who had managed to get him fired from his job with her crazy bullshit. On top of that, she dropped a whopper on Jared when she informed him that the little boy he’d raised as his own since birth wasn’t actually his.

So, Jared had done the only thing he knew to do. He had come to Coyote Ridge for a new start, leaving behind an eighteen-month-old little boy who had been the light of his life, the only ray of sunshine in Jared’s dark and gloomy world, according to Jared. Finding out that the boy wasn’t his had cut Jared off at the knees and through numerous discussions, Sawyer had seen the devastation firsthand. Based on the conversations Sawyer’d had with him, it had been a death blow as far as Jared was concerned.

“What’s up?” Sawyer asked, curious as to what Jared needed from him.

“Sable called.”

Sable.

The ex-wife.

Jared said the words as though that explained everything. In a way, it did, but Sawyer still needed a little more to go on. “And?”

“She wants me to pick up Derrick.”

Sawyer lowered himself to the desk behind him, watching his cousin intently. “I’m confused. I thought Derrick wasn’t your son?”

“According to her, he’s not.”

“But?”

“She’s gettin’ a divorce,” Jared said matter-of-factly.

“What the fuck? She just married that asshole,” Sawyer retorted. “And I thought he was Derrick’s father?”

“So did I,” Jared said, his voice cold. “Apparently, she’d lied to him, too. When the guy left her, he insisted on a paternity test.”

“Holy fuck.”

“My sentiments exactly. Turns out, Sable doesn’t know who the father is.”

“Are you shittin’ me?”

“Nope. And she’s gettin’ hitched again. This new guy doesn’t want kids.”

“So, what? She just called you up and asked you to take him off her hands because she doesn’t want him anymore?”

“Pretty much.”

“Man, no offense, but this chick’s a fucking basket case.” Sawyer had heard all sorts of crazy shit in his life, but seriously, this had to take the cake.

“I told her I’d come get him but only if she allowed me to adopt him. She has to relinquish all her parental rights.”

“She agree?”

“So fast it was kinda scary,” Jared admitted, glancing down at his desk and the picture of Derrick that still sat there. Sawyer looked at the picture of the brown-eyed little boy with the happy grin. This last year had been hell on Jared, Sawyer knew. And even though the situation was fucked up, he had to believe that Derrick would certainly be better off with Jared. After all, he’d been the kid’s father for the first eighteen months of his life and Jared had actually gone back to visit several times through the year, despite Sable’s repeated attempts to refuse him.

“So, you’re goin’ to El Paso?” Sawyer prompted.

“My flight leaves this evening.”

“And you need me because?”

“Can you keep an eye on things around here while I’m gone? I should be back by Wednesday, at the latest. But we won’t meet with the lawyer until late Monday afternoon.”

“Yeah, sure. What about Jaxson? Do you think he can give me a hand?”