Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
“You need to call your dad, baby,” I tell Bre, and her brow furrows.
“Why?”
“He needs to know what happened, so he can keep an eye on things, especially if I’m gonna be out on the water.”
“Jack wouldn’t do anything to me or Lyra, Denver.” She sighs, grabbing a soda from the fridge and opening it.
“I watched him.” Her eyes meet mine. “I watched him grab you, baby, watched you wince in pain. And I don’t want to see right now, because I’m barely hanging on to my control, but my guess is you got bruises from him on your arm.”
“Denver.”
“Call your dad and tell him he needs to come over.”
She studies me for a long moment then nods and grabs her phone. Dialing, she then puts it to her ear.
“Dad, I need you to come to the house,” she starts, but she goes quiet and her face pales. “Yeah, see you soon.” She hangs up. “Dad’s on his way.”
“Okay, but what’s that look on your face?”
“Dad said he was already on his way over, because he has something to talk to me about.”
“Talk to me,” I urge when she drops her eyes to the counter.
“Dad got a call from Maxine, who works at the airport. She told him that if Lyra is still leaving with Jack and Patrice tomorrow, they need to have a notarized letter from me along with her birth certificate.”
“Pardon?”
“She said they might not have in issue leaving town with Lyra, but coming back with her, the airlines will want to see that letter before they let her get on a plane.”
I stare, trying to wrap my mind around what she’s saying. “Are you telling me that after you told them you didn’t feel comfortable with her leaving with them, they were gonna just fucking take her?”
Fear fills her eyes, and my jaw clenches along with my fists. “They were going to take my baby from me.” She covers her mouth with her fingers.
Fuck.
I go to her, gathering her in my arms. I hold her tightly against my chest, trying hard not to crush her. I’ve never been as pissed as I am right now. “Need you to breathe, baby.”
“I can’t. They were going to take my baby, even after I told them they couldn’t.”
“I know, but you need to pull it together. We need to check on Lyra and make sure she’s good. Then you need to get ready to talk to your dad. You need to press charges or get a restraining order against them.”
“What the hell is wrong with them?” she whispers, looking into my eyes as hers fill with tears.
“I don’t know.” I rest my forehead to hers. “I do know it didn’t happen, that it will never fucking happen.”
“Denver.”
“Go sit with Ly and wait for your dad, baby. I wanna call my mom and dad to give them a heads up. I also need to call Lincoln to tell him I won’t be going out on this opener.”
“But you have to—”
“I need to be here.” I press a light kiss to her mouth, cutting her off. “I’m not leaving.”
She drops her forehead to my chest. “Okay.”
“Okay.” I lift her head, touch my mouth to hers, and give her a squeeze before I let her go. When she’s gone, I pull out my phone from my back pocket and call my dad and mom to let them know what happened. After I hang up the phone with them, I call Lincoln to tell him I won’t be going out on the opener, and then I head to the living room to be with both my girls.
Chapter 13
_______________
Aubrey
SITTING ON THE COUCH, CURLED into Denver’s side with his fingers moving soothingly under the edge of my tee, I watch my baby, her eyes on the TV as her head rests against Denver’s chest. I close my eyes and silently thank God. If we didn’t live in such a small town, and if Maxine didn’t call my dad to give him a friendly heads up, I might not have known about Gabe’s parents’ plans until it was too late.
I don’t even want to think about what I would have done if they had gotten on a plane with Ly. I know I would’ve lost my mind. I also know I would’ve stopped at nothing to bring her home. When my dad drove out to their property with two other officers, neither Patricia nor Jack tried to deny they were planning on kidnapping Ly to take her with them to Nevada. Though they didn’t consider it kidnapping. They told my dad, in their words—they were her grandparents; it was their right to spend time with her, and they were tired of me keeping them from their grandchild.
When my dad told me what they said, I was pissed—or more pissed than I already was. I never shut them out of Ly’s life. Even after some of the crap they pulled, I didn’t try to keep her from them. They have always been welcome at my house and invited to every family event I’ve planned. It hurt that I had to file a restraining order against them, and I pray to God we are able to find a way to work things out in the future. Not for me, but for Ly.