Alpha Billionaire Series
Coming Home Chapter 28

HOLDEN

Plans for leaving the island got jumbled in my head with emotions. Makenzie had been so hot and eager in my arms only weeks ago, how could she have forgotten to tell me about a boyfriend? Had the chemistry between us clouded her better judgement? At any time in the past few weeks, she could have mentioned the guy in any of the text messages she sent.

I should have turned right around and gotten on a plane back to Connecticut. But a nagging gut instinct kept me on the island. Maybe I wanted to run into her and not-so-passively but aggressively mention that I saw that man she was with and confront her about him being her daughter's father.

I was a f*****g chump, is what I was. I had convinced myself that Ainsley was mine. I had created an entire fantasy world where we ended up together, a happy little family. All the activities I would do to burn through this frustration had been taken from me. No weight training, and sure as hell no running. Instead, I punished myself by limping up and down the f drive until I was too exhausted to think at all. I ended my days by washing down a pain pill with whiskey. I saw no reason to fake being concerned about

mixing substances or avoiding dependency-like behaviors.

F**k it all.

I was a human ball of hate as I crutch limped up my drive and then returned toward the house. I stopped when an unfamiliar green sedan pulled in. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

I turned to see Travis Underwood storming toward me.

"Physical therapy a*****e. Go away."

"I'm not going anywhere until you understand that I don't want you anywhere near my sister, or anyone in my family. Ever."

"Fuck off, Travis." I was too tired to stand around arguing with him. I started to place the crutches so that I could turn around and finish limping my way back to my booze and pills and oblivion for the rest of the day. "When did you go from having any woman you wanted, to my sister? Even after I told you to keep your distance."

He took an aggressive step forward. I lifted my crutch to fend him off. "You're not my mother or my commanding officer, you don't get to tell me what to do. Maybe you should have told your sister to stay away from me." "Trust me, I did. You don't seem to understand the issue here, Holden."

It was too late by the time I saw Makenzie. The words were out of my mouth accusing her of being indiscriminate and sleeping around. I didn't believe them as soon as I said them. It didn't matter who the child's biological father was. I was in love with Makenzie. I wanted to be the father to all of her children.

The look of pain she gave me was enough to bring me to my knees begging for forgiveness. She was in "Makenzie!"

I took one pitiful crutch-assisted limp forward.

an and speeding down the street before I could take back my words.

With every fiber of my being, I hated that I couldn't run after her. I rounded on Travis to the best of my ability. I hated these fucking crutches, I hated my fucking leg, and I hated that incompetent airman who lost control of his plane. I really hated the man standing in front of me.

"You can't be seriously trying to run after her?"

"Get out of my way." If limping was all I could do, then damn it, I was going to limp my way to her house. She deserved an explanation more than I needed to know who Ainsley's father was.

Logically, what I should have done was pick up my phone and call the car service. Hell, what I should have done was finally call her back. But logic wasn't my friend at the moment, and I wasn't thinking clearly. Travis shook his head. "I told you to stay away from her."

"That's not something I can do."

"Oh, God, don't come up with some lame excuse and tell me that you love her. That's ridiculous. We're talking about Mak."

"I know we are talking about Makenzie, and I do love her. I have for a very long time. You wouldn't understand."

He thrust his arm out and pointed in the direction of their house. "You're right, I don't understand. Of all the people you could be with I will never understand. Man, you always had your choice of women."

I shook my head. He was wrong. "There has only ever been one woman for me. I don't know why you think I was some kind of playboy. Have you ever seen me with anyone? No. You were the one sleeping your way through the student body. Not me."

I took a limping step away.

"You ruined our friendship."

Leaning heavily on my crutches, I turned back around.

"How? Explain it to me. As far as I know, we were friends right up to the point where I announced I joined the Army. And then you went south on me. You ruined our friendship."

"You were dating my sister! Mak is, has, and will always be trash. I don't know why I'm the only one who can see that."

"Don't ever call her trash." If I wasn't so fucking weak, I would have planted my fist in his face.

"I can't believe you are standing there defending her to me now when you were just whining about needing a paternity test, so she didn't saddle you with paying for some other guy's brat."

He ran his hands through his hair and walked in a tight circle.

"She's playing you, Holden. She has been the entire time. You were my best friend, you could have had anyone else, and I wouldn't have said a thing."

"What the hell is your problem with her, Travis?"

"You have got to be kidding me. You were there. Every fucking birthday party had to have a princess. She was always trying to insert herself into everything I ever did."

"She's your sister, she wanted you to like her. You're seriously still mad that you share the same birth date? As if she had control over that. Grow the fuck up."

"No, you grow the fuck up. She ruined my life."

"How?"

"She was born."

I let out a heavy breath and shook my head. "Jesus Travis, do you ever listen to yourself? Seek therapy. Seriously. You have issues, and I'm done letting them get in my way. So, what if I was dating Makenzie? We were together for years before you found out. It never affected our friendship."

"You were sneaking around and didn't tell me?"

"Because we knew you would act like a little bitch if you found out."

"She's not fucking good enough for you. She wasn't some innocent little girl you left behind when you went off to play Army man."

A growl started low in my throat.

"You weren't even gone more than six or seven months before she went and had some other guy's baby."

"What did you just say?" I tried to wrap my head around the numbers he said.

"That kid of hers was born the February after you left. She didn't waste any time hooking up with some guy who knocked her up."

I spoke slowly because I needed to maintain some level of control. I felt like I was going to burst out of my skin.

"I left in August. And you're saying the kid was born in February, and you think it's some other guy's child?"

"Not unless you were f*****g Mak, and I know that wasn't happening."

I blew air out in a long low whistle.

"What's your fucking problem this time?"

I laughed. "You're an idiot. How long does it take to make a baby? Do you even know? Because unless Ainsley was born prematurely, she is definitely mine. Look, I don't know what you said or did to Makenzie to keep her away from me but f**k you. I've lost years with her, and my daughter."

"How do you even know that kid is yours? Weren't you just demanding a paternity test? Make up your fucking mind."

"Really Travis? Did you skip basic biology in school? Babies take nine fucking months. And if Ainsley's birthday is in February, she was conceived in..." I closed my eyes and ran a fast calculation. "Sometime in June. Trust me, that means she's mine. I could maybe understand you being pissed off because I knocked your sister up and ran away, but this other shit you're talking about is one for the books, it's so ludicrous it's almost funny."

Travis visually deflated in front of me.

"Mak refused to tell anyone who the father is. I guess I never really thought about it. I got it in my head that she wasn't good enough for you. Having someone else's baby proved my point. F**k!" He punched the air and stomped around.

I was too tired to keep arguing with him.

"Your sister has always been the only one for me. And you were better than a best friend. You were my brother from another mother. You've hurt too many people with your pettiness. Get off my property."