Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“Are you jealous?” I tip up an eyebrow, and Blake only laughs harder.
“Fuck no. I think it’s hilarious that you’re a sex symbol. Women have no taste.”
“He’s so pretty,” Holden adds, enjoying flinging me shit.
“Who is?” Millie asks as she joins us and sits in her husband’s lap.
“Bridger,” Holden replies.
“Beautiful,” Millie agrees, and I flip her off.
“Now, don’t make me kick your ass for disrespecting my wife.” Holden’s voice has no heat in it, and Millie’s giggling.
“You’re all a bunch of assholes. I’ll be keeping my shirt on, thank you very much.”
Suddenly, there’s a splash, a scream, and my heart thuds as I kick into action. There’s a second splash, and I run to the pool and take in what’s happening.
Birdie—God, Birdie—is in the deep end, flapping around, and Dani has her, pulling her to the side of the pool. I meet her there and pull Birdie out and into my arms. She clings to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“Hey, are you okay? What happened?”
“I wanted to swim where it’s deep.” Her voice is small, and I can tell that it scared her, but she’s not hurt.
I turn back to the water and see that Dani’s having a hard time, her clothes now soaked and heavy, and her eyes are wide in terror. Before I can pass Birdie off, several of the guys—Blake, Ryan, and Holden—have jumped into the water and are helping Dani stay above water, leading her to the shallow end of the pool and then out of the water entirely.
She sheds the sopping white shirt and lets it fall, but then her teeth are chattering, her eyes dilated.
Fuck. She’s going into shock.
Or having a panic attack.
Maybe both.
Why did she jump in? She’s terrified of water.
“Hey,” Blake says as he takes a towel from Ryan and wraps it around Dani’s shoulders, rubbing her arms briskly. We all know. We all saw what he did to her. It strikes me, again, that the way that bastard died was too good for him. “You’re okay, sweetheart. I know you don’t like the water.”
Jesus, she’s terrified of the water, and she jumped in to help my daughter.
“Can I swim some more?” Birdie asks me, and I kiss her cheek and then set her down, not taking my eyes off Dani.
“No, baby bird. Go wrap up in a towel and play with the other kids.”
“But—”
“I said no.”
She doesn’t argue, and I’m thankful she’s mostly so compliant. Yes, she loves to push my buttons—often—but she doesn’t fight me when she knows I won’t budge. Considering her mom’s selfishness, Birdie’s sweetness frequently amazes me.
My daughter runs off, and I cross to where Blake is consoling Dani.
Oh, kitten. I hate this for you.
“In through your nose,” he says perfectly calmly, doctor mode obviously kicking in. “Out through your mouth.”
“Sorry,” she mutters and closes her eyes, her teeth chattering. “I d-don’t like water.”
“I know,” Blake says grimly, and then his eyes find mine. He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything as he passes her to me.
I immediately wrap my arms around her and hug her close.
“Thank you, kitten,” I murmur into her wet hair. God, I haven’t hugged Dani in years, always careful to keep a safe distance, and I’m not sure that it’s a good idea right now, but she’s so scared, and she helped my girl. “Thank you for jumping in for her.”
“It was too deep,” she manages as she clings to me. “She scared the heck out of me.”
I grin. Dani’s always refused to swear. It’s probably a good quality to have in a kindergarten teacher.
“Me, too.” I rub my hands up and down her back. “You okay?”
She nods, and I look over her head to the crowd gathered around. “She’s okay.”
Holden’s eyes catch mine. Hands on his hips, his face is grim. He shakes his head, and I can read his thoughts.
This will be bad for her.
So, despite the fact that I want nothing more than to keep her with me, I let him hold her. Holden raised his sisters, kept them safe from a fucking tyrant, and she’s his baby girl.
She’s not mine.
Everyone resumes what they were doing before the fall into the pool. Birdie’s completely fine, laughing with some of the Wild kids as she warms up in a big pool towel and they eat ice cream from Beckett’s ranch.
About an hour later, when I’m about to get Birdie ready to go home, I spot Dani watching me from that same lounge chair as earlier. Someone gave her different clothes to change into, and her hair is mostly dry now. She doesn’t look away when I meet her gaze like she usually would.
I have to know that she’s okay.
So, I cross through the yard to where she’s sitting by the pool and tap her lightly on the shoulder.