her on the couch.
“What does your brother do for a living?” I ask, falling into the seat next to her. The cushion depresses straight to plywood.
And she’ll be sleeping on this? A casket would be more comfortable, and judging by the atmosphere, it might be an option if she’s not careful.
“He…” She bites down on her finger and pulls it out of her mouth slowly, as if she were teasing me. Ally leans in tight and her cleavage moves in just under my face. Her sweet perfume grabs me by the balls and gives a gentle squeeze. Damn, she smells good—vanilla and strawberries, my favorite combo. “They rob liquor stores for a living.”
“Very good.” I straighten. Ally just affirmed the fact there’s no way in hell I’m letting her stay. “So they spend a lot of time running—from the law. That would explain the fatigue.”
“You think you’re funny, don’t you?” She rubs her hand over the book she’s cradling as if it were a pet.
“I think you’re funny for wanting to stay.”
She bites down over her cherry-stained lip and lets it out nice and slow by way of her teeth. Her entire person sags as she crosses her butter-smooth legs, and my dick feels the sudden urge to stretch to life.
“What’s with the book?” I ask before my hormones start rooting for another home run.
“It’s a scrapbook.” Her eyes glitter with tears as she blinks them away. “It’s of my daughter.”
My stomach drops like a stone.
Ally has a daughter. I don’t know why this makes her look different, feel different to be around, but it does. It makes me want to protect her twice as much from Derek’s pharmaceutical felony in the making.
“Look,” I say, shaking my head, “if you’ve got a little girl, I can’t let you stay here. You said this guy is knocking down liquor stores? That means he’s got firearms and bullets and all kinds of safety hazards kids shouldn’t be around.” Honestly, I have to tell her this?
“I don’t have her.” Ally’s voice stills to nothing. “I gave her up when I was seventeen. It’s an open adoption.” She nods as if she couldn’t push out another word. “The Christies are real nice people. Ruby is their middle girl.” She wipes a tear from the side of her face, and my heart breaks for her. “Anyway, I get to see her once a month. Ruby knows who I am, and she’s fine with everything. In fact, her fourth birthday is coming up this summer, and I’m saving up to get her something special like a bike. I’ve already cleared it with Janice, her mother.” She swallows the word mother down as if it hurts to say it.
I brush the hair from her cheek and hook it behind her ear. My chest pounds like I just ran a marathon. Life usually isn’t fair, but it doesn’t have to be this hard either.
She opens the book and a cherub-faced infant stares back at me. My stomach clenches. It makes me think of Paige back in Oregon, who might be carrying my child. Case in point why I’d sworn off one-night stands, or week-long flings as was the case with Paige. She was taking a break from her then-boyfriend, and I was just letting the general and two colonels I keep tucked in my boxers have a little fun. Of course Clint, her fiancé, wants her to have nothing to do with me—said he’d pay me to stay the fuck out of their lives. But I won’t. If those paternity tests point in the direction of a Jordan then I’m stepping up to the plate. There’s no way in hell I’ll do to my kid what my dad did to me.
I offer up a quiet smile.
I’d tell her all that, but I think one deep, dark confession is enough for now. Besides, I don’t want to turn this into something about me. This is about Ally and the little book she’s holding as if it were her baby.
“And this is her now.” She brushes her thumb over an eight-by-ten photo of a beautiful little girl, blonde curls, big green eyes—she’s Ally’s doppelg ä nger in every way.
Something in me galvanizes when I see Ruby’s picture,
“What does your brother do for a living?” I ask, falling into the seat next to her. The cushion depresses straight to plywood.
And she’ll be sleeping on this? A casket would be more comfortable, and judging by the atmosphere, it might be an option if she’s not careful.
“He…” She bites down on her finger and pulls it out of her mouth slowly, as if she were teasing me. Ally leans in tight and her cleavage moves in just under my face. Her sweet perfume grabs me by the balls and gives a gentle squeeze. Damn, she smells good—vanilla and strawberries, my favorite combo. “They rob liquor stores for a living.”
“Very good.” I straighten. Ally just affirmed the fact there’s no way in hell I’m letting her stay. “So they spend a lot of time running—from the law. That would explain the fatigue.”
“You think you’re funny, don’t you?” She rubs her hand over the book she’s cradling as if it were a pet.
“I think you’re funny for wanting to stay.”
She bites down over her cherry-stained lip and lets it out nice and slow by way of her teeth. Her entire person sags as she crosses her butter-smooth legs, and my dick feels the sudden urge to stretch to life.
“What’s with the book?” I ask before my hormones start rooting for another home run.
“It’s a scrapbook.” Her eyes glitter with tears as she blinks them away. “It’s of my daughter.”
My stomach drops like a stone.
Ally has a daughter. I don’t know why this makes her look different, feel different to be around, but it does. It makes me want to protect her twice as much from Derek’s pharmaceutical felony in the making.
“Look,” I say, shaking my head, “if you’ve got a little girl, I can’t let you stay here. You said this guy is knocking down liquor stores? That means he’s got firearms and bullets and all kinds of safety hazards kids shouldn’t be around.” Honestly, I have to tell her this?
“I don’t have her.” Ally’s voice stills to nothing. “I gave her up when I was seventeen. It’s an open adoption.” She nods as if she couldn’t push out another word. “The Christies are real nice people. Ruby is their middle girl.” She wipes a tear from the side of her face, and my heart breaks for her. “Anyway, I get to see her once a month. Ruby knows who I am, and she’s fine with everything. In fact, her fourth birthday is coming up this summer, and I’m saving up to get her something special like a bike. I’ve already cleared it with Janice, her mother.” She swallows the word mother down as if it hurts to say it.
I brush the hair from her cheek and hook it behind her ear. My chest pounds like I just ran a marathon. Life usually isn’t fair, but it doesn’t have to be this hard either.
She opens the book and a cherub-faced infant stares back at me. My stomach clenches. It makes me think of Paige back in Oregon, who might be carrying my child. Case in point why I’d sworn off one-night stands, or week-long flings as was the case with Paige. She was taking a break from her then-boyfriend, and I was just letting the general and two colonels I keep tucked in my boxers have a little fun. Of course Clint, her fiancé, wants her to have nothing to do with me—said he’d pay me to stay the fuck out of their lives. But I won’t. If those paternity tests point in the direction of a Jordan then I’m stepping up to the plate. There’s no way in hell I’ll do to my kid what my dad did to me.
I offer up a quiet smile.
I’d tell her all that, but I think one deep, dark confession is enough for now. Besides, I don’t want to turn this into something about me. This is about Ally and the little book she’s holding as if it were her baby.
“And this is her now.” She brushes her thumb over an eight-by-ten photo of a beautiful little girl, blonde curls, big green eyes—she’s Ally’s doppelg ä nger in every way.
Something in me galvanizes when I see Ruby’s picture,
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