Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
I winced.
“I’m not like him,” she whispered so softly that I could barely hear her words.
“I know.”
She was nothing like him.
Then she lost the fight she was having with her tears, and the first one fell.
“I can’t be with you.”
I resisted the urge to go to her, to pull her into my arms and tell her everything would be okay.
Her father wasn’t going anywhere. Despite him being a bad person, and a shitty father to not one but two girls, he was free to spread his assholenness to everyone that he felt like it.
“I’m not Ariya’s daughter’s father,” I told her, knowing that if I didn’t tell her, that I could possibly lose the fight that I didn’t know I was having.
Her eyes widened, and another tear fell.
“Well, then who is?” she cried out.
I grimaced. “Your father.”
It took her a few seconds to realized—to really comprehend—what was going on, but when she did, she gasped in outrage.
“You’re shitting me!”
That was another thing about drunk Hennessy. She had the mouth of a pirate. It was as if all those words she didn’t allow herself to say when she was sober came out when she was drinking.
“No, I’m not joking,” I promised her. “I’m being a hundred and ten percent serious right now. Ariya didn’t want me to tell you, but considering I plan to make you mine, I didn’t want to start this off with a lie.”
Her mouth fell open. “You can’t make me yours. I’ve already transferred your patient care to someone else.”
I started to laugh. “I won’t be seeing your recommended psychologist, either.”
Her mouth twisted into an angry line. “You will be if I have to take you there myself!”
I started to chuckle. “I reached an agreement with the judge. My twenty hours has been fulfilled. I don’t have to do any more.”
Her mouth fell open. “How did you do that?”
“The judge wasn’t going to give it to me in the first place, but since it was recommended by the prison psychologist, and I wanted to make sure it was done right, I agreed to do it until it wasn’t needed anymore.”
She started to laugh. “That’s not something that a person gets to decide who’s been in prison. Why are you so special?”
“Because the cops, prison guards, judges, and my probation officer like me. Because I watched over their own quite a few times. Because I get what I want.”
“And what do you want?” she whispered, hope starting to fill her voice.
“You.”
She looked down at her glass of wine, then picked it up and downed the contents in one swallow.
“I can’t be with someone who thinks that I am worthless.”
That’s when I moved.
I pushed the dining room chair that she was in until only the back legs were holding it up. Her eyes were wide, and her face was frozen in surprise.
“I do not think you are worthless,” I growled.
“You said that I couldn’t do what you did in boot camp.”
I stared into her eyes. “Maybe not right now, no. But give it six weeks and you’d be able to, under the right training.”
She bit her lip.
“I also know for a fact that you’re smarter than me.”
She bit her lip.
“You’re beautiful, and smart,” I continued, my words hopefully penetrating whatever she was thinking. “I couldn’t ever do what you do. Couldn’t listen to what your patients have to tell you about every day.”
Her lip trembled.
“There’s nothing that you couldn’t do if you put your mind to it.”
“How do you know?” she challenged.
“Because you’re you,” I whispered. “Nobody that couldn’t handle it all could manage to get through eighteen years with your father.”
She closed her eyes. “I have a sister, and I didn’t even know it?”
And we were back to the important words that she’d conveniently not gone into much detail about.
“Yeah,” I said. “But at this point, I’m not sure that it would be best for her to meet you as her sister. I’m sure you could introduce yourself, say hi.”
She shook her head. “I think that Ariya might need me to stay away. Maybe if she were healthy, I’d pursue it, but from what I’ve heard, the little girl isn’t doing well.”
I shook my head. “They don’t expect her to make it much more than the next week.”
The words hurt to say.
I didn’t even know the girl and it hurt. Children were so fucking innocent. Their view on life wasn’t jaded like an adult’s view was.
“I’ll talk to Ariya,” I cleared my throat.
“She’ll be mad at you for telling me,” she countered.
I shrugged and let her chair thunk down onto all four legs.
Her face came to a stop next to my crotch.
Before I could step away, though, her arms threaded around my waist, and she buried her face into my belly.
“We’ll figure it out, baby.”
She breathed out. “I know.”