Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 118459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
“I told you I don’t want Everleigh to be suspicious. How would I ever explain this to her?”
My eyes instinctively roll. “Oh, I don’t know. That I’ve loved you my entire life?”
“Crew . . .”
“What do you want me to say?”
She turns her back to me and it amplifies my frustration. I fucking warned her. Less than twenty-four hours and she’s already done with me? Not happening.
“Look, I told you I’d give you space for this. And I will. But I’m telling you right now—”
“Are you arguing?” Her voice is small, yet it makes both of us jump. Our heads whip to the doorway to see Everleigh standing, purple towel wrapped around her, bald head shining, watching us.
Julia retreats from me, leaving me standing on my own. She goes to Ever and picks her up. “No, sweetheart. We aren’t arguing.”
“Good,” she says. She looks at me. “Families don’t argue.”
I laugh. “Sometimes they do, monkey. But we weren’t arguing.”
She twists her face, like she’s considering I’m lying to her. It makes me laugh.
“What? You think I’m kiddin’ ya?”
“Well, Mommy and I argued a little.”
“We did?” Jules looks at Ever, obviously confused. “When did we argue?”
“When you said Crew wasn’t my daddy.”
My jaw drops. I’m abso-fucking-lutely certain I heard that wrong. I had to have.
She’s watching me carefully while Jules watches her. “Are you?” she asks me. Her little eyes are wide, full of some emotion I can’t pinpoint. They’re bright, completely clear, and they remind me of her dad. And that isn’t me.
I plaster on a smile. “No, monkey. I’m not your daddy.”
Her bottom lip trembles and it breaks my heart. “But I don’t have a daddy.”
“Oh, baby, you do,” Jules says, her eyes filling with tears. “He’s just in heaven.”
“I know that. I know my daddy is in heaven right now. But I don’t have a daddy here.” She looks back at me. “Daddies protect the babies and the mommies. Daddies make sure there is food and they make sure everyone is happy. I learned that in school. We were talking about animals, but it’s the same thing.”
“Well—” Julia starts.
“But that’s what you do,” she says, ignoring her mother. “And I know you love me and my mommy. So why aren’t you my daddy? You don’t want to be my daddy?”
Julia gasps and I feel her gaze on me. But I don’t look at her. I just watch Ever.
I love this little girl with everything I am. I’d give anything for her, sacrifice it all to make sure she’s better off than I ever was. I will protect her and make sure she has food and that she’s happy. I twist my gaze to Julia. And I will do all those things for her, too.
I reach my arms out and Ever falls into them. I hold her in front of me. “Your daddy was my brother.”
“I know.”
“And he loved you more than anything in this entire world. Do you know that?”
“Yes.”
Julia is leaned against the wall, one hand over her heart. I know this is the bottom line for her. It’s important to her that Gage is always remembered by Everleigh, but hell, it’s important to me, too.
“I never want to take the place of him, Ever. Being someone’s daddy is a special thing. But I tell you what . . .” I look at Julia and her eyes grow wide. “I tell you what,” I repeat, looking back at Ever. “I promise you that I will always do all of those things for you. I’ll do any daddy thing you need me to, and I’ll always protect you and make sure you have food.”
I hoist her over to my hip and touch her nose. “And I’ll always love you. And your mommy, too.”
Ever’s head tilts to the side. “Told you,” she says to Julia.
Julia laughs, her eyes filling with tears. “You did,” she says, trying not to sound choked up but failing.
“So can I call you Daddy?” The hope in her voice breaks me in two. This little girl can call me whatever she wants, although I’m nowhere good enough to have that title.
“If that makes you happy, monkey, I’d like that, I think.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her head in my shoulder. “I love you,” she says, her little voice all muffled.
I rub her head with my hand, my eyes glued to the woman standing before me. “I love you, too.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
CREW
“Get off your back!” Sal shouts. “Damn it, Crew! Get off your fucking back.”
I try to burst through my sparring partner, using my legs to kick him off. I roll onto the top of my back and shove off, sending Victor tumbling to the other side of the ring.
“That’s it. You gotta stay off your back, damn it. If you let Davidson get you on the mat, you’re gonna have a helluva fight on your hands.”