Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
She snatched her hand from mine, making me scowl, and crossed her arms over her chest, sort of tucking into herself.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“It’s Darren,” she whispered.
Rage exploded inside me, turning the edges of my vision red. But I wasn’t about to scare my daughters by starting anything in front of them. So I continued driving forward, hitting a button on my steering wheel as I approached the house.
“Hey, Roan. What’s up?” Prentice answered.
“I might have a problem. Can you come take the girls to your house?”
“Sure, be there in five. You need backup?”
“Maybe,” I replied, my eyes still watching the car inching onto my property behind me.
“I’ll call around.”
“Thanks.” I hung up as I pulled into my garage.
Ava was practically curled up in her seat, sitting as far away from me as possible.
I reached over and took hold of her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Hey. I won’t let anything happen to you or the girls, baby.”
Instead of looking relieved, she was staring at me warily, almost as if she were expecting me to…then it clicked into place.
“Ava, nothing your brother does will change how I see you, how I feel about you. He’s an as—” I broke off and peeked back at Cassidy, who was once again singing to the music—“a jerk, a money-hungry addict who made my cousin’s life miserable and neglected his children. You are nothing like that. You are all love and sunshine. The girls and I adore you. He can’t change that.”
Finally, I got the reaction I was going for. Some of the tension left her shoulders, but tears welled up in her eyes. “I-I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about. Now, stay here until Prentice comes to pick up Cassidy and Daisy. I’ll deal with your brother.”
“But—”
“No buts,” I interrupted. “I won’t be able to be at my best if I’m worried about you three.”
Ava’s face softened, and she nodded. I gave her a quick kiss, then blew kisses at my daughters before hopping out of the car.
Darren was standing in front of his car, leaning against the passenger side door, and smirking. “Seems my sister got here before me and got herself a really sweet deal,” he said slyly, as if he knew something I didn’t.
“I’m only going to ask this once, and then you’re going to get the fuck off my property,” I growled. “What the fuck do you want?”
He tried to look offended, though the effect was ruined by his naturally smarmy presence. “I just want my daughters. They just lost their mother, and they need me.”
I nearly gagged from the bullshit he was trying to feed me. “You barely saw them when Carrie was alive, so why are you so interested in them now?”
“They're my kids,” he snapped, his relaxed façade cracking for a moment. “I love them,” he finished with another greasy smile.
“Bullshit.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a large, black SUV. Prentice parked directly behind Darren’s junker and hopped out. He scowled at Darren as he approached, making the other man squirm a little. But he walked right past the asshole and went straight to the garage. When he came out with Daisy on his hip and holding Cassidy’s hand, he walked toward his car, doing his best to shield them with his big body.
“Cass!” Darren took a step toward Prentice, but he froze when the quarterback looked at him as if he was blocking the next touchdown.
Cassidy tensed and peeked around Prentice’s legs, her nose scrunched up. She hated being called Cass, and Ava was the only person she ever let call her Cassie. When she spotted Darren, her expression filled with confusion. Then her eyes strayed to me, and the terror in them broke my heart.
“Daddy?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, Cass?” Darren responded, despite the fact that she was clearly talking to me.
“It’s okay, sweet cheeks. Go visit with Naomi and the baby. I’ll pick you up later.”
“You can’t keep—” Darren started, outraged. I threw him a look that shut him up real fast.
Cassidy nodded and didn't spare Darren a glance when she whispered, “Love you, Daddy.”
“Love you, too, sweet cheeks.”
Prentice scooped her up into his other arm and hurried back to his car. As he was leaving, two more cars drove through my gates. They parked in front of Darren’s vehicle, and three of my teammates climbed out. Surprisingly, Darren failed to notice their arrival, probably too busy spending my money in his head.
A hand slipped into mine, and my skin tingled from the presence suddenly standing beside me. I glanced down at Ava and gave her a reassuring smile. She returned it, then switched her focus to her deadbeat brother, her beautiful face twisted in a disgusted expression.
“Cassidy and Daisy are my kids. And Ava is my sister. I have every right—”