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“Sometimes.” He shrugged. “But we all kind of live near each other. How old is Matt?”
“Five.”
“Five. Wow.” Wes calculated and assumed that Ryan had to be Matt’s father. Time had flown. Wes had joined Titan Group a little more than five years ago. Almost six years since he and Bailey had gone their separate ways. Which meant she was pregnant when they were working together. Bailey had a kid. Damn.
Wes wasn’t sure what he had to show for the same amount of time. He’d lost a good job and a bad fiancée, restarted a career that kept him on his toes, but nothing as incredible as raising a child. Had she done that alone? Was it wrong to ask?
“He’s Ryan’s, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Wow, um. Yeah. That sounds like a lot of work.” He cringed. That wasn’t what he was supposed to say. He didn’t exactly know what, but that couldn’t have been right.
“Single parenting isn’t for the weak.”
Thank God Bailey could finesse awkward conversations. He semi-relaxed. “I was twelve when my parents split. It never looked easy, and I was more or less self-sufficient. I can’t imagine how hard it is when it’s just you for the little guy.”
“I’m lucky. I had resources. What Ryan left behind helped.”
A clearer picture formed in Wes’s mind. Kimbra and Angus Cosgrove were Grandma and Grandpa. Erick was Uncle Erick. Bailey had said it was complicated. That one thousand percent made sense now.
“Part of the reason I tracked you down,” Bailey said, “and hired Titan had to do with Ryan’s family. Angus and Kimbra have asked me to move to their estate for years. I always said no.”
“I’d say no,” he muttered.
Her lips tipped up. “They’re a lot, and they honestly don’t even realize it.”
“I bet they do.”
“They threatened to sic their attorneys on me if I didn’t move in with them or do something about security.”
The shock of Bailey having a kid was immediately replaced by the Cosgroves’ audacity. “I’m sorry, what the fuck?”
Bailey shrugged. “Ultimatums and litigation are all they know. It’s how they show their version of concern. Like how Erick and Martin did what they did for Peter.”
Erick and Martin pulled strings and used power plays to protect their guilty friend. That was different than Angus and Kimbra—though threatening custody? That actually wasn’t that different. “Fun people. Do you have yourself covered with the custody?”
“Yes.” Bailey waved her hand, unconcerned. “Without a doubt. They have no leg to stand on, and they don’t even realize it’s such an aggressive move. It’s just how they live. They absorb so-called problems into the family no matter what situation pops up and carry on.”
“Like Erick filing for a restraining order against me and showing up today at lunch.”
“Exactly.”
“And the way Erick and Martin pressured me out of a job.”
“That too,” she confirmed.
“The thing is, Bailey. That worked. I wouldn’t act like Angus and Kimbra are harmless. They have no qualms about converging on problems to make their lives easier.”
“I know they’re not harmless, which is why I hired Titan Group and off-duty police. You’re with me while I work. I have eyes on my house twenty-four hours a day. No one can say I’m not taking the threats seriously.”
“What about Matt?”
“What about him?”
“What does he do while you’re at work?”
“He attends day camp.”
“Is it safe?”
