DOORS Coming Home Series Book 2

Hey Y'all,

When I started writing Doors, over two years ago, I quickly became flustered with Danny and Tara’s story.  No matter how hard I tried, I could not develop their story the way I wanted.  I wrote, deleted, wrote some more and deleted again.  Finally, after months and months of frustration,  I decided to make it a mini-novella and give it away to my fans as a gift.  I did that last month and posted the links on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.  Still, readers were asking for me to upload it onto Amazon.  I did that last night.

I attempted to make it a perm-free book, but Amazon would not allow me to price it under 99 cents.  So, I placed it in Kindle Unlimted and priced it at 99 cents.  Since then, many of my readers have been upset about the short length of Doors. For the first time in my career, I am receiving more bad reviews then good and nearly all of them are complaining about the short length.

It kills me to disappoint my fans, so I have decided to remove Doors from Amazon.  I will put it back up, as soon as Amazon changes the price to free.  Until then, you can read it for free here or download the mobi file and send it to your kindle.

Thanks, Emily   

Download Mobi File Here

Doors

A Coming Home Novella

Emily Minton

Copyright © 2016 Emily Minton

Published 2016

Cover by Quirky Bird Designs

Doors is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book either are from the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, establishments, events, or location is purely coincidental and not intended by the authors. Please don’t take offence to the content as it is FICTION.

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Doors

By

Emily Minton

Six years ago, Daniel Abbott bailed on his fairytale life and walked away from his ideal job, his best friends, and Tara, the girl of his dreams. No stranger to pain, he had never been one to take the easy way out, but the thought of Tara’s betrayal-- a thought confirmed by her unexpected pregnancy-- was more than he could endure.

Tara Dupre had her fairytale life ripped away from her when Daniel walked out of her life. She knew she would never be over him. He was her one true love. After he left, she closed off her heart, moved on, and tried to make a life for her and her daughter. But she never got over the love they once shared.

Now, Daniel is home, and he's fighting to get his family back. When Tara sees him, she realizes the love they once shared never died. She has to ask herself if love is enough, though. She’s not sure she can trust him not to hurt her again, or to be the father their daughter needs.

With danger lurking, Tara is forced to let Daniel protect her. He realizes that this could be his only chance to get his family back, but knows that sharing a home is not the same as having her heart. Will Tara open the door to her heart and allow Daniel back in? 

DEDICATION

To my mother-in-law. 

Love you, Rhonda

PROLOGUE

Danny

“Danny, wake up!”

I slowly open my eyes and roll onto my back; I have to fight back my smile when I see my girl staring down at me. She’s sitting on her knees, bouncing up and down. Tara’s happy as hell about something, but right now, I’m too damn sleepy to care. I look over to the clock then back to her. “What the fuck, babe? I don’t have to be up for another two hours”

A brilliant smile spreads across her face, and she pulls a white stick out from behind her back. “I’m pregnant.”

It takes a minute for the words to make sense to my sleep-addled brain. As soon as they do, my heart skips a beat and a smile crosses my face. A baby. We’re having a baby. 

I reach for her, but stop just as my hand brushes her arm. A baby… there’s no way. There’s no damn way it could be mine. The realization hits me, and my insides start to churn. I had to have heard her wrong. There’s no way my Tara would do this shit to me. “What did you just say?” I whisper, unable to hide my shock.

She bends down, still smiling huge, and places her face just inches from mine. “We’re having a baby, Danny.”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, she moves closer and gives me a soft kiss. “I know it seems quick. I just went off the pill last month, but I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby!”

I stare up at her smile as my heart rips in two. Without taking time to think, I roll out of bed and walk straight to the closet. I jerk on a pair of jeans and pull a t-shirt over my head, then grab my duffle bag and start filling it up. 

“What are you doing?” she asks from the bed.

Looking over, I see that her smile has faded, the happiness draining away from her face. “What in the hell does it look like I’m doing?”

“It looks like you are packing your stuff,” she whispers, shock and confusion filling her voice.

“Well, aren’t you just the fucking brilliant one this morning?” I growl out as I grab my bag and walk to the dresser. 

I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe she would do this to me. It never even crossed my mind that my girl wouldn’t be true.  

She scoots off the bed and walks toward me. “Why are you packing?”

Ignoring her, I open my dresser drawer and start grabbing the rest of my shit. After tossing it all in the bag, I walk over to the bed and sit down. Dropping the bag on the floor, I start putting on my socks. 

“Why did you pack your stuff?” Tara yells, tired of being ignored.

I look up and shoot her a sarcastic smile, trying to hide the pain I feel. “Because, I am leaving your ass.”

She places her hands on her hips, gearing up to have a Tara showdown. “What in the hell do you mean, you’re leaving?”

Surprised she’s playing this game with me, I shake my head. She’s the one who fucked around. What did she expect me to do, just sit back and take it? “Did you really think you could tell me you were having another man’s kid, and I would stick around?”

She lets out a strangled gasp and takes a step back. “What?”

“You heard what I said. I’m not stupid. I know you’ve been fucking someone else.”

“How could you say that?” she asks, her voice filled with shock and more than a bit of pain.

“Don’t fucking pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about!” I shout.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Then, she looks back at me with tears in her eyes. “I would never cheat on you. I love you. This is your baby, and you know it.”

“No! The one thing I know for sure is that it’s not my baby. There is no way in hell it could be.” I pull on my boots. 

“Danny, we talked about this. You told me you wanted a baby, and we agreed that I would go off the pill. What did you think was going to happen?” she screams, sounding nearly hysterical. 

“I know what the hell I said, but that doesn’t change a fucking thing. That kid is not mine.”

I get up and walk out of our bedroom, determined to get the hell away from her. But, she has different plans. By the time I reach the living room, she’s right on my ass. I walk over to the table and grab my keys then head toward the door. 

“How can you think I would cheat on you? You’re really leaving?” she whispers, pain lacing through her voice. 

I turn around and look at her. What I see nearly brings me to my knees. She has tears falling down her face, and her eyes are filled anguish. I want to hold her and tell her that everything is going to be all right, but all I do is nod my head.

Her pain turns to anger in instant. “Fine, Daniel! When you walk out that door, don’t ever come back.”

“Not a problem,” I say as I leave the only woman I will ever love behind.   

Chapter One

Six Years Later

Tara

“Tara, you got a new patient in Room 109,” Bess says, handing out all of our patients for the day. 

I grab the patient file and walk into the room, without even looking at the name. As soon as I make it through the door, I freeze. Daniel’s aunt Cora is lying in the bed. I haven’t seen her since months before Daniel left, and I don’t want to see her now. It’s been six years since he walked out of my life, and it stills hurts as bad as it did the day he left. 

Taking a step back toward the hallway, I’m planning to hand her file off to another nurse, but she notices me before I make it out the door. “Tara, honey. It has been ages since I’ve seen you.”

Oh shit! Now, I have no choice. I can’t just ignore her; it’s not her fault Daniel is an ass. I paste on a fake smile and walk to her bed. “Yes, it has. When did you get back into town?”

“I came home a few weeks ago. I decided that I would rather die at home than at some retirement village in Florida,” she explains, reaching out for my hand. 

I wrap my hand around hers and give her a real smile this time. “Don’t be saying things like that.”

“You haven’t looked at my chart, have you?” she asks. 

I shake my head. “I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet.”

She gives me a sad smile, almost apologetic. “I have advanced heart disease. I’ve had three surgeries and take enough medicine every day to make an elephant overdose, and I’m still not getting any better. There’s nothing more the doctors can do. My old ticker is just worn plum out.”

I give her hand a gentle squeeze, doing my best to reassure her. “You never know what will happen. Only God does.”

She nods her head. “That is true, but I’m going to live every day that I have left like it is my last. I’m starting with you coming to my house for dinner, as soon as I get out of here. The doctor says that could be as early as tomorrow.”

The last thing I want to do is eat dinner with Daniel’s aunt. I start to tell her no, but when I look at her frail face, I nod my head yes instead. 

She pats my hand. “Good, I will make you some of my shrimp gumbo. I remember how much you used to like it.”

I am about to tell her she doesn’t have to cook for me, when the door to her room opens. Another nurse walks in and looks toward me. “Sorry to interrupt, but the school called. Christina is running a fever again.”

I forget that Cora is even in the room, when I pull out my phone. I hit Lindy’s name and place it up to my ear. 

“She’s okay,” she says by way of greeting.

“How high is her fever?” I ask.

“It’s just barely over a hundred, but she says that her throat hurts again. I gave her some children’s Tylenol and have her lying down on a pallet in the back of my classroom right now.”

“If she keeps getting sore throats, they’re going to have to take her tonsils out.” I take a deep breath and blow it out. “I’ll be there as quickly as I can. Just tell Chrissy that her momma loves her.”

“I will. See you in a few,” Lindy says and hangs up. 

I stick my phone back in my scrubs and turn to Cora. Her once pale face is now red. There is no doubt in my mind that she is angry, but I have no idea why.

“You have a daughter?” she asks with an edge to her voice.

I nod. “Yes, I do.”

Her eyes narrow. “How old is she?”

“She will be six in August,” I tell her, still confused by her tone.

Her entire face fills with anger. “That is why you two split up, isn’t it? Danny would never tell me, but you cheated on him, didn’t you?”

I always thought the world of Cora, but she has just crossed a line that I cannot ignore. I took this shit from Danny, but I’m not taking it from her. Sick or not, I refuse to put up with it. I pull my phone back out my pocket and begin scrolling through the photos until I find a close-up of Chrissy’s face. Then, I hand my phone to Cora so she can see.  “I want you to look at her and tell me she isn’t Daniel’s daughter.”

Chrissy is the mirror image of her father. Her hair is blond, but it has a hint of red in it, just like Daniel’s does. They both share the same deep dimple on their right cheek. She has one green eye and one blue eye, exactly like him. The only thing she got from me is her attitude. 

As soon as Cora looks at the picture, the anger drains from face. She looks up to me with tears in her eyes. “Oh, dear Lord. Has Danny seen her?”

“No, and that is the first and only time you’ll ever see her,” I say as I grab the phone from her hand. 

I turn around and head out of the room. As I reach the door, I hear her calling out that I don’t understand. I just ignore her and go to get my daughter. 

Chapter Two

Danny

The sound of my phone ringing wakes me up. I have to reach over the woman I picked up last night, to answer it. “Hello.”

“Daniel?” Aunt Cora asks.

Clearing my throat to rid the hoarseness from sleep, I say, “Yeah, it’s me.”

I can hear her tsk. “Please, do not tell me you were still lazing around in bed. It’s past noon.”

I’m about to answer when I feel the woman next me start to move. The last thing I need is for Aunt Cora to hear some slut in my bed. I get up and walk toward the kitchen. “I didn’t have to work today.”

“It doesn’t matter what the day holds. You still need to get up when day starts. If not, you will waste your life away in bed,” she says, repeating the same words she said every day I lived with her. I wonder if she even realizes that I’m a grown man.

“You’re right,” I agree, just to get the conversation moving along.

“I need you to come home,” she states, finally getting around to the reason she called.

I knew this shit was going to happen as soon as she told me she was moving back to Warrington, but she can just forget it. I left that town and all it holds behind six years ago, and I’m not about to walk back into it now. “I can’t. You know I have to work.”

“Do you think you will be able to get some time off for the funeral?” she asks with an edge to her voice.

Oh Fuck! “Who died?”

“No one, yet. The doctors say I probably have a month or two left, so you’ve got a little time to schedule the day off,” she’s explains sarcastically. 

I feel my legs start to give and have to lean against the wall. “You’re sick?”

“No, I’ve been sick for nearly three years. You would know that if you ever came around anymore. Now, I am dying.” The disappointment and irritation are clear in her voice.

Aunt Cora has been the only one there for me since I was twelve years old. She took me in after my parents died in a car wreck. No one else wanted me. My grandparents weren’t willing to take care of a sick kid, but Aunt Cora never even batted an eye. She held my hand through each treatment, never leaving my side. The thought of losing her is like a knife to my gut. “I’ll be on the first plane out in the morning.”

We talk for a minute more, then say our goodbyes. I walk back into the bedroom and kick the bed. The blonde moves, but she doesn’t wake up. I kick it again, this time hard enough to make the whole bed shake. She rolls over and looks up at me. “What’s wrong?”

“You need to get your ass up and get out of here,” I state matter-of-factly as I walk toward the closet. 

“Are you really kicking me out? After the night we shared, you’re gonna make me leave?” she asks. 

I turn back to the bed and shake my head at her stupidity. “I met you at a bar last night. Within an hour, I had you in my bed. I’ve had my dick in every hole you’ve got, and I don’t even know your name. You were easy and that’s all, so get the fuck out.”

She looks shocked, but she doesn’t say a word. She just gets up and gets dressed. Within minutes, she’s out the door. A moment of regret flickers through my brain. Hell, if Aunt Cora heard me talk to a woman like that, she’d kick my ass, but I don’t give a fuck anymore. After what Tara did, I won’t let myself give a fuck.

I walk into the closet and grab my duffle bag. It’s the same fucking bag I packed six years ago when I left my world behind. Tara’s face flashes in my head, and I toss the bag across room and send my fist flying into the wall. 

Chapter Three

Tara

“I cannot believe that old bat said that shit to you,” Lindy says as she grabs a pop out of the fridge. 

I shrug my shoulders. “It isn’t anything I haven’t heard before. Same old shit, just another day.”

Lindy takes a drink then looks toward me. “You should have told her to go screw herself.”

“I wanted to, but I couldn’t. She looked so sick. There was no way I could scream at a dying woman,” I try to explain. 

Lindy scrunches up her forehead. “I just don’t get why she would automatically think you had cheated on Daniel.”

“I don’t either, but then, I didn’t understand it with Daniel, either. It didn’t make sense when he left, and it doesn’t make sense now.” I shrug, trying to hide the pain in my voice.

Even after all this time, I just can’t wrap my head around it. We were happy, really happy. Then, all of a sudden, it all blew up in my face. 

Megan huffs. “There was no reason for it to be said then, either. If Daniel was stupid enough to think you would cheat on him, his ass didn’t deserve you anyway.”

I look at my sister and smile. “Did you just say ass?”

Megan is absolutely nothing like me. She’s quiet and polite, where I can be loud and a little over the top. She reminds me a lot of Lindy, back when we were in high school. Only now, Lindy is every bit as outgoing as I am. Sometimes, even more so.

Megan’s face turns a deep red before she answers. “I may not have a potty mouth like you two do, but I’ve been known to say ass a time or two.”

“Twice, and both times were in the last five seconds,” Lindy adds with a giggle. 

I hear the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hallway and brace myself. I know what’s coming, and it’s not gonna be pretty. 

“Momma, Chrissy bit me,” Jess whines, running into the room and heading straight to Lindy. 

“He tore Sally’s head off,” Chrissy screams as she runs in behind him. She is holding the head of her doll in one hand, and the body in the other. 

Looking at Lindy, I raise a brow. “Do they remind you of anyone?”

She laughs and looks out the window, to where Luke is working on his bike. “Yeah, they’re just like Lucas and me at that age.”

Shaking my head, I walk over to Chrissy, squatting down to look into her eyes. “You’re supposed to be watching cartoons with Jess, not playing. I know you’re feeling better, baby doll, but you were sick yesterday. I don’t want you overdoing it.”

“I was watching Dora the Explorer, but Jess broke my doll,” she explains, using her whiney voice. It’s the same voice she uses when she wants to get her way. “I couldn’t just let him hurt Sally.”

I place my hands on her cheeks. “I don’t care what Jess did. You still shouldn’t have bit him. We’ve had this discussion before. No more biting,” I say, stressing the last three words. 

Her eyes well up with tears as she raises her doll in the air. “But, Momma, Jess broke Sally.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Jess says from behind us.  

Turning around, I see him looking just as sad as Chrissy. He looks at her and lifts his stuffed doll toward her. “I will share my Sponge Bob, with you.”

Within minutes, Chrissy and Jess are running back to his room and giggling. I look back to Lindy and Megan and smile. “So much for her not running.”

Megan smiles. “Leave my niece alone. She’ll be fine. The doctor said her throat is just a little red. She didn’t even need any antibiotics this time. Let her play.”

I nod, even though I’m not convinced. She’s been sick a lot lately. Everyone keeps telling me it’s normal, but Sammy and Jess are never sick this often. “I know. I’m just worried about her. I don’t want her missing any more school.”

“She’s doing great in school. Chrissy’s teacher told me she is the best reader in the entire class. Now, let’s get back to talking about Cora and what she meant when she said you just don’t understand,” Lindy says.

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know, and I don’t care. As far as I am concerned, Daniel Abbott is nothing but a memory.”

Chapter Four

Danny

I walk down Main Street with my head hung down, hoping no one will try to talk to me. Being back in Warrington brings back all the painful memories of that day with Tara. It’s been over six fucking years, and every time I think of her and what she did, I feel sick from the betrayal. I loved her so damn much, and I thought she loved me, too. Some days, I still cannot believe she cheated on me. But, I know she did. When I found out she was pregnant, there was no doubt.  

Opening the door to Rylie’s Drug Store, I walk toward the back, planning to tell the guy to put a rush on it. I want to get Aunt Cora’s medicine and get the fuck out of here as quick as I can. The last thing I need is to run into someone from high school. I don’t need a high school reunion. I’m just stepping up to the counter, when I hear a voice from the past that nearly takes me to my knees. “You better get your little butt back here right now.”

Jerking around, I see Tara looking over her shoulder. My God, she is more beautiful than I remember. Something I thought was impossible, since she was already the most beautiful woman in the world. Her golden brown hair is hanging loose around her face. It’s not as long as it used to be, but it still hangs well past her shoulders. I remember how she used to spend hours trying to get it straight, but now, it is full of loose waves. She’s still slim but has definitely grown a few curves, and I want to touch every damn one of them.

I have the urge to walk over and pull her into my arms, but I know I can’t go through that shit again. No way could I ever touch her, knowing what she did. I’m just about to walk away, run away from the woman I will probably always want, when the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen runs up to her. “Momma, they’ve got the new green apple Twizzlers. Can I have some, please?”

Tara nods her head. “Yes, but only if you stay right beside me until I pick up your Granny’s medicine. Then, we’ll get you some candy.”

“Okay, Momma.” The little girl grabs Tara’s hand, and they both turn in my direction. The second I get a look at the kid, Tara’s kid, my head starts to spin. I’m in shock. She’s the spitting image of me when I was a boy. Same hair, same toothy grin, and she’s even got my fucked up mismatched eyes. Only, on her, they look beautiful. 

Her little lips are moving as she talks to her mom, but I can’t make out the words through the way my heartbeat is roaring in my ears. I shake my head, hoping to break the spell she has on me, then open my mouth to say hello, but nothing comes out. It’s like my vocal cords are frozen, or maybe I’m just scared shitless.

I look over to Tara, and her beautiful hazel eyes are as big as saucers. She looks like she’s just seen a ghost. I know the feeling, only I just saw a miracle. Tara continues to look at me for a few more seconds, before reaching down and pulling the little girl into her arms. Then, she rushes out the door without sparing me another look. As it slams behind her, I can hear the little girl cry out for her forgotten candy. I have the urge to buy every Twizzler in the place and rush after her. Instead, I just stand there and watch my family leave.

*****

I pull my bike into the parking lot of Roger’s garage, my second home for nearly seven years. I notice it’s now called L&L’s. Luke must have finally bought the place. He and I used to spend hours talking about buying Roger out and becoming partners. Now, it’s just another one of my dreams that didn’t come true. 

Walk through the door, I see two guys working on bikes. One of them looks familiar, but I’m not sure who he is. “Where’s Luke?”

One of them nods toward the office door, and I walk that way. I don’t even bother knocking before letting myself in, because I know he’d just slam it in my face. Luke is sitting behind the desk, talking on the phone. “I know he is. He just walked through the door.”

He sticks the phone in his pocket and gets up. He walks toward me, and I know what’s coming. I figure I deserve it, so I just brace and wait for the pain. When the first punch lands, I start to wobble. It hurts like a bitch, but I’m determined to take the punishment. I fucking deserve it. The second sends me to the floor. I lie still for a second, waiting to see what will come next, but Luke just turns around, walks back to his desk, and takes a seat. I make my way off the floor and sit down on the same shitty couch that has been in this room for more than ten years. I run my hand across it and say, “Figured you would’ve upgraded by now.”

He ignores me and growls out, “What the fuck are you doing here?” 

I use my shirt to wipe the blood from my face. “I need to talk to you.”

He shakes his head. “I ain’t got shit to say to you other than get the fuck out.”

I look into his eyes, hoping he can see my determination. “I saw Tara and her little girl. She’s my daughter.”

“I’ve known that since the day Tara said she was pregnant,” he says with a sarcastic smile. “Too bad your ass didn’t stick around long enough to figure it out for yourself.”

I close my eyes, trying to hide the pain I feel. “You don’t understand.”

He bangs his fist on the desk. “No, man, I don’t. Tara may not have been a virgin when she crawled in your bed, but she was awful damn close. Not to mention, when she was with your ass, she was fuckin’ devoted to you.”

I can do anything but nod, because I know he’s right about everything he is saying. I didn’t know six years ago, but I know now.

“But, you just walked away from her. Left her ass alone, pregnant, and scared out of her fuckin’ mind.” He sneers. 

I open my eyes and look over to him. “I just want to know my daughter.”

He shakes his head. “Hell no! If you wanted to know Chrissy, you should’ve been here when she was born.”

“Chrissy. Tara named her after her dad,” I say in a hoarse voice, repeating my daughter’s name in my mind.

The anger in Luke’s face turns to pure rage. “Yeah, man. Your daughter is named after her dead grandfather, just like mine is.”

Oh Fuck! “Chris is dead?”

“Yeah, Daniel! You left Tara, and four months later, her dad had a fucking aneurysm and died. He wasn’t even sick. It came out of the fucking blue, man. Then, her mom fell to pieces. Abbie fucking shattered. The twins were off at college, and Abbie didn’t want anyone but her children around, so Tara had to take care of her mom all by herself.” Luke blows out a frustrated breath. “If that’s not enough, she ended up having Chrissy nearly two months early. We didn’t even know if she was going to make it.”

I place my hands over my face and feel my eyes get damp. Fuck! I haven’t cried since my parents died. I run the back my hand over my eyes and look back at Luke. “Chrissy’s all right now, isn’t she?”

He nods. “She’s fucking perfect.”

“Thank God!” I whisper, more to myself than him.

“No! You need to thank Tara. She has worked her ass off to give that little girl everything she could. It took every penny she had to pay Chrissy’s hospital bills. It even ran through the money she got after Chris died. She was working two jobs, just to keep up with the mortgage on the fucking house that you talked her into buying. Two years ago, the twins used their part of Chris’s life insurance to pay off her house. She blew a fucking gasket when she found out they did it, but she was finally able to quit her second job.”

“What the fuck have I done?” I say to myself, but Luke answers anyway. 

“You left the woman you claimed you loved, to live a fucking nightmare all on her own,” he answers, then stands up and walks toward the door. “Get the fuck out of here, man. You make me sick.”

Chapter Five

Tara

 “And, they all lived happily ever after.” I finish the story and close book, then smile down at Chrissy. “Now, it’s time for all the little princesses in the kingdom to go to sleep.”

“But, I’m not sleepy,” Chrissy says through a yawn.

I run my hand through her strawberry blonde hair and smile down to her. “You don’t have to go to sleep if you don’t want to, but you have to close your eyes. If not, the sandman won’t have anything to do, and he will get in trouble with his boss.”

“Okay, I don’t want the sandman to get in trouble. Night, Momma,” she says sleepily. 

I give her kiss on the forehead. “Night, baby girl.”

After tucking the covers under her chin, I walk across the room. I am about to the door, when Chrissy calls out, “Momma?”

I turn around and walk back to her bed. “What, sweetie?”

“Was the man at the medicine place my daddy?” she asks.

I am so shocked that I don’t answer her quick enough.

“The one who had the pretty eyes, just like mine. He looks like the man in the pictures I saw in your closet.” Her eyes grow big when she realizes what she just said. “I know I’m not supposed to go in there, but you have a whole box of pictures in your closet. I wanted to see them.”

I feel my heart start to speed up, and my stomach rolls. I don’t want to tell her, but I know I can’t lie. Everyone in town knows, so she’s going to find out sooner or later. “Yes, Chrissy. He’s your father.”

Her little face grows sad. “Why doesn’t my daddy love me like Uncle Luke loves Sammy and Jess? Is it ‘cause I’m a bad girl?”

I shake my head, anger bubbling up inside me. I want to kick his ass for making her have such thoughts. I want to make him hurt, the same way his absence has made her hurt. “No, baby doll.”

“I know I fight with Jess, and I don’t eat my eat green beans even though they’re good for me, but I don’t like green stuff, and Jess fights with me, too. But, Uncle Luke still loves him.” She’s talking so fast that her words blend into each other.

I blink back tears. “You’re perfect, just the way you are, Chrissy. You’re the best little girl in the world.”

She crinkles her nose. “Do you think if I eat my green beans and be nice to Jess that my daddy will come play with me?”

My heart rips in two, because I cannot give her the answer she wants. So, I slide into the bed with her. I pull her close and start singing her favorite song, tears running down my face the entire time. 

After I feel her drift off to sleep, I slip out of her bed and make my way to my room. I walk to the closet and take out the tattered box that Chrissy was talking about earlier, then crawl onto my bed and take out the pictures. I grab one of Daniel and me, right before he left. 

Daniel is smiling at the camera, with his arms wrapped around my waist. I stare at his face and think about the way he looked today. He has always been tall, and if I didn’t know better, I would swear that he has grown even taller in the last six years. He has to be close to six-feet five now. He is slimmer than he was before, making his face more angular. His hair is darker; it definitely has more red in it than there used to be. Even his eyes look different. They’re still as beautiful as ever, but the spark he used to have is gone. There’s no smile in them, no energy. The love I could always see in his eyes has disappeared. Now, they just look sad. I wonder if mine look the same way.

We looked so happy in the picture. I can’t help but wonder why it all changed. 

 

Chapter Six

Danny

 “You saw your daughter, didn’t you?” Aunt Cora asks as soon as I walk through the door. 

I nod my head as I make my way to her bed. “I did, but how did you know about her?”

“I was in the hospital the week before I called you. Tara was my nurse. We had some words, and she showed me a picture of her little girl.” She smiles a sad smile. “She looks just like you.”

“She does look like me, but how can she be mine?” I ask, sitting down in the chair near her head. 

She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know, but we both know doctors aren’t always right. They said you wouldn’t live past your thirteenth birthday, but you’re nearly thirty-three now. You’re a miracle, and so is that little girl of yours.”

I place my head in my hands. “What am I gonna do, Aunt Cora? I’ve fucked everything up. I’ve lost Tara and our daughter, all because I wouldn’t listen to her. I should’ve known she would never cheat on me.”

“I don’t approve of that type of language in my house,” she says, sounding just like she did when I was a kid.

When I look up, she’s glaring at me. I can’t hold in my chuckle as I answer. “I’m sorry. I’ll watch my mouth from now on.”

She huffs at my apology before answering. “I agree that you’ve lost them for now, but I think I can help you get them back. At least your daughter.”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Too much has happened and way too much time has passed.”

She lets out a soft laugh. “You’d be surprised at what a dying woman can get people to do.”

I grab her hand. “You’re not dying.”

She nods. “Yes, my beautiful boy, I am dying, but I don’t want you to worry about that. You need to be focused on fixing all the mistakes you’ve made. You do what you need to do to make amends, and I will do what I can to help you. I don’t want to die knowing you’re going to be alone.”

Bending down, I kiss her forehead. “I’ll get them back. I swear.”

*****

“Did I not make myself clear yesterday?” Luke asks as I walk into the shop. 

I place my fingers over my busted lip. “Yeah, you did. The problem is that I took the beating, but I still didn’t get what I came for.”

“And, what the fuck was that?” a man across the shop shouts. He stands up and walks across the room. It’s the same guy from yesterday that I thought I might know. As soon as he gets close, I see that I was right. It’s Tara’s brother, Clay; he is definitely not the teenage boy that he was when I left. Now, he is a full-grown man, and his hate-filled eyes are directed right at me. 

“I want to talk to Luke,” I answer.

Luke shakes his head. “Man, I told you already. I don’t have shit to say to you.”

“That’s fine, but I have something to say to you.” I look towards Clay. “Something to say to both of you.”

“If you don’t leave my shop right now, I am going to lay your ass out again!” Luke growls, taking a step toward me.

I take a step forward, letting him know I’m up for anything. “You’re welcome to try, but you need to know, I let you do that shit yesterday. Try it again today, and I will fight back.”

Clay steps in between us then looks toward Luke. “I would like to hear what this motherfucker has to say. Then, we can beat his ass.”

Luke shoots me a glare. “I’ll give you ten minutes, but then, your ass is out of here.”

I follow them to the office and lean against the wall. I look over to Luke.  “Are you ready to listen to me now?”

He lifts his chin, and I start my story. By the time I am done, Luke is shaking his head. “Fuck, man. We were friends for years. How in hell did I not know any of this shit?”

“Aunt Cora and I stayed in Kentucky until my treatments were over. When I moved here, I didn’t want to be known as the sick kid anymore. It was hard enough starting a new school, with everyone knowing that my parents had just died. So, we decided not to tell anybody the rest of it,” I explain.

“It sucks that you were sick, but that doesn’t have a fucking thing to do with what you did to my sister and my niece,” Clay says.

I nod my head. “Yes, it does. The doctors said the treatment would make me sterile. I was never supposed to have kids.”

Clay gets a puzzled look on his face. “Tara said you guys were trying to have a baby, before you ran out on her.”

His words send a chill down my spine, but they’re true. I did run; I ran, leaving her to take care of our daughter alone, and the thought of it makes me want to die. I left her when she needed me the most. How the fuck do I make up for that? How can you even ask someone to forgive you for being a coward?

I look him straight in the eye and tell him just how much of a bastard I really am. “I never told Tara about me being sick or what the doctors told me. When she kept on about wanting to have a kid, I told her to go off the pill if that would make her happy.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?” Clay asks, looking confused.

I start to open my mouth, but Luke answers before I can. “He was afraid of losing her.”

I look to Luke. “Damn right, I was. Tara was my fucking everything. I was afraid that if she found out I couldn’t give her a kid, she would leave me.”

Luke shakes his head. “If she was your everything, why the hell did you leave her? I understand you thought she cheated, but fuck, man, why didn’t you fight for her?”

I look toward my feet. “I didn’t leave her because I thought she cheated on me. I could’ve lived with that. I’m not saying it wouldn’t have gutted me, but I would’ve fought for her. I would’ve killed the motherfucker who’d touched her, but then I would have found out what went wrong with us and fixed it. What got me was that another man had given her what I thought I couldn’t.”

Luke nods and says, “I hear you.”

“You’re actually agreeing with this shit?” Clay asks in a roar. 

“What he did was fucked up, but I understand how he felt. No, I take that back. I don’t understand, and I hope like hell I never do. But, I can imagine how he felt. You both know me and Lindy tried for almost three years before we had Jess.” He runs hand through his hair. “Shit! This is so damn hard. After we had tried for two years, Lindy went to see a doctor. She thought something was wrong with her female shit, but she was wrong. There was nothing. According to the doctor, we just needed to quit worrying and let shit happen on its own. Only, nothing was happening, and I felt like it was all my damn fault.”

He walks over to the window and looks out. “Lindy said it didn’t matter. We had Sammy, and that was all we needed, but fuck! I knew she wanted another kid so damn bad, and it killed me to not be able to give her one. I’m her man. I’m supposed to give her what she wants, and I couldn’t. I was just about to try to talk her into adopting a baby, when she found out she was pregnant with Jess.  I have never been so fucking relieved in my life.”

“It’s not the same damn thing, and you know it. You didn’t walk out on Lindy, like this bastard did to Tara,” Clay shouts. 

“No, it’s not the same. All I’m saying is, I got a little taste of what Daniel felt, and it damn near killed me,” Luke says to Clay then looks toward me. “What in the hell do you want to do now?”

“I want to get Tara back. I want my family,” I tell them both honestly.

Clay shakes his head. “There is no damn way! You are not going anywhere near Tara or Chrissy. I cannot let you hurt my sister again. She’s been through too damn much. She doesn’t need you coming into her life and wrecking it again.”

I look him straight in the eyes. “I will never hurt her again! If she will let me, I will spend the rest of my fucking life making it up to her.”

“Are you sure that it’s Tara you want, or are you just using her to get to Chrissy?” Luke asks. 

“I haven’t taken a breath for the last six fucking years. I ate, slept, fucked, but I never took one damn breath. Then, when I saw her face yesterday, I was able to breathe again,” I explain, meaning every damn word.

I hear Clay blow out a low whistle, and I turn his way. He looks at me and says, “I still want to beat your fucking ass, but I won’t get in your way. You better remember, though, if you hurt her again, I’ll kill you this time.”

I look toward Luke. “What about you?”

“I’ll not get in your way, either, but you need to know that I don’t think you have a snowball’s chance in hell. Tara despises your ass,” he answers. 

“That’s why I need your help.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “What can I do?”

A smile spreads across my face. “I heard around town that you only own half the shop. Still want me as a partner?”

 

Chapter Seven

Tara

“I don’t understand why Daniel decided to come back after all this time,” Megan says.

“Like I told y’all the other day, Cora is dying. You know she’s like a mom to him. If I would’ve thought about it, I’d have known he’d come back to take care of her. I just didn’t expect to run into him at the drug store,” I say again for the third time, hoping they can’t hear the pain in my voice. Seeing him nearly killed me, and talking about it is just making it worse.

Lindy comes over and pulls me in for a hug. “Are you sure you’re okay with Daniel being back?”

“I’m fine. I just have to get used to having him in town. Hopefully, he won’t be here for too long.” At least, I can hope that’s true.

“I think he’ll be here for a while,” Luke says as he walks through the door. 

“Why do you say that?” I ask, praying that he is wrong. 

He shakes his head. “The asshole bought half of my fuckin’ shop.”

“What?” I whisper.

Megan looks confused. “I thought you owned the bike shop?”

Luke shakes his head again. “No, I only own fifty-percent. Up until a few hours ago, Roger owned the other half. He was just a silent partner, and I was able to do what I wanted. He let me have complete control over it, but it was still his shop, too.”

Lindy walks to him and wraps her arms around his waist. “But, Roger said he wouldn’t sell it until we came up with the rest of the money. We’ve been saving for years, and we almost have it now.”

Lucas nods, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I know, Lindy Lou, but the old bastard changed his mind.”

I can see tears forming in Lindy’s eyes. “We worked so hard to save that money.”

He bends down and gives her another kiss, doing his best to comfort her. “It’ll be fine, baby. We haven’t lost a damn thing. We just didn’t get what we thought we were going to.”

“It was always your dream to own the motorcycle shop, and I wanted you to have it,” she whispers to him.

He smiles down at her. “No, Lindy Lou. My dream is right here in my arms.”

Lindy gets on her tiptoes and gives him a kiss. Then, she looks back to me. “That means Daniel is in Warrington to stay.”

I shrug my shoulders. “It doesn’t matter if he lives here or not. He’s no longer a part of my life either way.”

An odd look crosses Luke’s face, and I swear I see guilt flash in his eyes. He gives me a crooked smile. “Everything will work out just fine.”

Megan looks up at me. “What about Chrissy?”

“I honestly don’t know. Chrissy asked me about him. She found his pictures in my closet. She wanted to know why her daddy didn’t love her.” I have to swallow a sob as I remember the look on my baby’s face when she asked about Daniel. 

“Oh my God,” Lindy gasps out. 

“I know she wants to have a daddy, but I’m terrified he will hurt her like he did me. Or worse, that he won’t even want anything to do with her, and I’ll have to explain why he’s here but doesn’t want to see her. God, it’s such a clusterfuck,” I answer, hating how weak I sound.

Megan starts to say something else, but she’s cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I pick it up and see a blocked number. “Hello.”

“Tara?” I hear Cora’s voice, and I want to hang up right away. But, when I picture her frail body lying in the hospital bed, I know I have to at least listen to what she says. 

“Are you there, sugar?” she asks hesitantly. 

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“I know I don’t have the right to ask you this, but I would love to meet my great-niece before I die.” I can hear her struggle to breathe as she talks. “I’m sorry about the way I acted when I was in the hospital. If I could take it back, I would. I’m begging you. Please, bring her to meet me.”

Looking around the room, I know that whatever I say, I am going to make someone upset. Lindy and Megan will be mad, or Cora will be sad, but only one of those people are about to die. “I’ll bring her over to your house tomorrow.”

I can hear her choke back her tears. “You will never know how happy this has made me. Thank you, honey.”

Before I even hang up the phone, Lindy and Megan are asking me who was on the phone. “It was Cora.”

Lindy places her hands on her hips. “I guess the ‘her’ you were talking about taking to her house is Chrissy?”

I nod my head. “Yeah, she asked me to bring Chrissy to meet her.” 

“Why would you agree to take her over to that woman’s house? You have to know Daniel will be there,” Megan asks in a shocked voice.

“I know he will. I also know that it is going to be hard, but I have to do it,” I answer.

“Why the hell would you have to do something like that? You know it’s only going to lead to heartbreak. I don’t want to see you hurt again,” Lindy says, trying to understand.

I look right at her and give her a sad smile. “Dad never got a chance to meet Chrissy. I would bet my life that he would bargain with the devil, just to see her once. Cora has that chance, and I refuse to let the anger I feel toward Daniel take that away from her. I can’t keep Chrissy away from her, just because her nephew broke my heart.”

Lindy walks over and grabs my hand. “It’s not the anger that worries me. It’s the love that is still in your voice every time you say his name, and it’s the pain that I know he could cause you.”

“There’s no way Daniel could cause me more pain than he already has,” I say, meaning every word.

“What about Andrew? What is he going to think about all this?” Megan asks. 

I look toward her and shrug. “I don’t really care. Drew and I are not in a relationship. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that.”

She nods her head. “Yes, you are. You just don’t realize it. He’s around all the time, been in your bed off and on for the last year. He even came to Christmas dinner at Mom’s. That is my definition of a relationship.”

“He’s not around that much, and the only reason he was at Christmas dinner was because I felt bad that he had nowhere else to go. Most importantly, he’s only been in my bed four times, and those weren’t that great. Drew is too in love with himself to ever love anyone else. Believe me, a relationship with him is the last thing I would ever want,” I explain, trying to get her to accept the truth. 

She keeps pushing Drew at me; everyone in the family does. The only ones who see the real Drew are Lindy and Luke. Sure, he’s good to cut through my loneliness, but he’ll never be anything more.

“Thank God for that. Daniel may be a piece of shit, but Drew just gives me the creeps. I have no idea how you even let him near your coochie,” Lindy adds, cutting through the tension in the room.

I turn toward her and smile. “He may be a so-so lay, but he’s better than having to buy new batteries every week.”

“I’ll buy you a lifetime supply of batteries, if you promise to never bring him to my house again,” she says with a smile of her own.

I giggle at her. “Throw in a new BOB, and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

When Luke grunts, I turn to look at him. 

“I’m not listening to this fucked up shit! I’m going to work on my bike,” he says, walking out the door. 

Lindy watches Luke walk away, then turns toward me and Megan. “Oh shit! I forgot he was in the room.”

I look at Megan, and we burst out laughing.

Chapter Eight

Danny

“I’m telling you, man. If you fuck this up, I’m going to kill you. I love Tara, but she is a fucking lifeline for Lindy. If you hurt her again, and Lindy finds out that I had anything to do it with it, she’ll murder my ass,” Luke shouts into the phone.

“Believe me, I know. I won’t hurt her again. I promise you that,” I tell him.

Luke starts to say something else, but I hear a knock on the door and cut him off. “They’re here. I’ve gotta go.”

I slide the phone into my pocket and head to the door. When I open it, I almost fucking roar. My woman is holding another man’s hand, while he has his other hand on my daughter’s shoulder. The anger inside me is about to boil over, but I have to remember that I did this to myself. I take a second to get my shit together then stand to the side. “Come on in.”

As they walk past me, I look down at Chrissy. She is staring at me with her mouth hanging open. I don’t know what to say to her, but she doesn’t have the same problem. “I told Momma you had my pretty eyes, and you do.”

I squat down, bringing my face level with hers. I take a minute just to look at how beautiful she is. “I don’t know if I have pretty eyes, but you sure do, Little Bit.”

She giggles. “You’re silly, Daddy. Your eyes look just like mine.”

I am so shocked to hear her call me Daddy that I almost fall on my ass. “I guess they do.”

She is about to say something, but then turns her head to the side, to watch Aunt Cora walk into the room. “You’re here!”

Chrissy turns her head back to me. “Is that my aunt that doesn’t feel good?”

I nod my head. “Yeah, she doesn’t feel great, but she’s really excited to see you.”

Chrissy walks right to Aunt Cora and gives her hug. “I’m sorry you’re sick. I get sick sometimes, too, and my throat hurts really bad. My momma can make you some chicken soup. It almost always makes me feel better. If that doesn’t work, Drew will fix you. He’s a doctor.”

As soon as Chrissy says the name Drew, I jerk my head toward the man standing beside Tara. I finally get a good look at him, and it’s Andrew motherfucking Poole, the biggest douche bag I have ever met. I cannot believe my woman is holding hands with that stupid motherfucker. This same asshole kept asking her out the whole time we were together.

I feel a tug on my hand and look down. Chrissy is standing there with a sad face. “I think my aunt is bad sick, because she’s crying. I only cry when my throat hurts really, really bad.”

I look over to Aunt Cora, and she is wiping tears from her eyes. But, she has a big ass smile across her face. “I think those are happy tears, Little Bit.”

Aunt Cora claps her hands together. “We can talk in the kitchen. The gumbo is done. There’s no reason to let it get cold.”

“Thank you for the offer, but Drew and I are going to give you guys some time alone. I want to give y’all a chance to get to know each other. We’ll just go out and sit on the porch swing,” Tara says.

I want to scream that she is not going anywhere with that dick, but I keep my mouth shut. I know I’m going to have to work to get Tara back, and I don’t think whipping his ass will help.

“There’s no need for that. I made some of my shrimp gumbo,” Aunt Cora says then looks toward Drew. “There’s even enough for your friend.”

A fake ass smile spreads across the dickhead’s face. “That’s nice of you, ma’am, but Tara and I have plans to go to Catalina’s later.”

Aunt Cora looks toward me and gives me a little wink. Then, she looks back to Tara. “That’s fine, honey, but I’m still going to pack you a bowl to take home for later. I don’t know how many more pots of gumbo I have left in me.”

I look toward Tara and watch as her face softens, and I can barely hold in my chuckle. “Well, maybe we could eat just one bowl, before we go outside.”

“Well, come on then.” Aunt Cora turns and walks into the kitchen. 

As we all start to follow, I hear a phone ring. I turn toward Tara and Drew and see the dickhead pulling a phone from his pocket. He says a few words then turns to Tara. “There was a pile-up on Highway 202. They’re bringing in four trauma patients right now, so I have to get to hospital right away. I’m sorry, but we’ll have to cut this visit short. I’ll have to take you and Chrissy home on the way.”

Tara starts to respond, but Aunt Cora cuts her off. “Danny can use my car to take the girls home after we eat. No sense in letting good gumbo go to waste.”

Tara shakes her head. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. We should probably just come back another day.”

Chrissy runs over to her and wraps her arms around her legs. “I want some of Aunt Cora’s gumbo.”

Tara runs her hand over the top of our daughter’s head. “Drew has to get to the hospital, and he’s our ride. I really think we should come back another time, sweetheart.”

“Please, Momma,” Chrissy begs, but she is looking toward me. “I don’t want to leave yet.”

Tara looks at me then takes a deep breath and smiles down at Chrissy. “All right, baby girl. We can stay and eat gumbo, but then we’re going home.”

“Tara, can you please come outside with me for a minute?” Drew asks, frustration clear in his voice. 

She looks up and nods her head before following him to the front yard. I can’t stop myself from walking to the window and watching them say goodbye. When I see him take her into his arms, I want to rush out there and tear his fucking arms off. Instead, I walk into the kitchen to talk to my daughter.

As soon as I enter the room, Chrissy smiles up to me. “Aunt Cora said that if I eat all my gumbo, she will give me a big piece of chocolate cake.”

I sit down beside her and smile. “She makes some really good chocolate cake, but you’ll have to get her to make you some of her coconut cream pie. It’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

She looks up at Aunt Cora. “I love coconut cream pie! Will you make me one, next time I come over?”

Aunt Cora nods her head. “I’ll make you whatever you want, honey.”

“I’m going to make Momma bring me over here all the time.” She looks toward me. “I’ll even come for a sleepover sometimes. My friend, Tonya, goes to her daddy’s house for sleepovers every weekend.”

I place my hand on her shoulder. “I would love that Little Bit, but we better ask your momma before we start making plans.”

“I will, but I know Momma will let me. All I have to do is stick out my bottom lip and try to look really, really sad.” She shows me her sad face. “Then, she’ll give me whatever I want.”

I chuckle. “I bet she does.”

She smiles and starts to take a bite of her gumbo, but she stops and looks at Aunt Cora. “Do you have any green beans?”

Cora nods. “Sure, sugar. Do you want me to make you some?”

Chrissy smiles and looks back to me. “Yeah, I’ll eat them.”

“You like green beans that much?” I ask with a smile. 

Her eyes grow big, and she starts to whisper. “Not really, but I’ll eat them for you.”

“You don’t have to eat green beans if you don’t like them,” I say and look toward Aunt Cora to see if she’s as confused as I am. 

She shrugs her shoulders and smiles at Chrissy. “If you don’t like green beans, why did you ask for them?”

Chrissy looks down at her bowl, and starts to whisper. “I know that daddies like their little girls to eat yucky stuff. So, I’m going to do it, so my Daddy will start to like me.”

As soon as I the words leave her mouth, I feel like I’m going to be sick. Fuck! My daughter thinks I don’t like her, and it’s my own damn fault. I have to fix this.

“Darlin’, you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want. I already love you,” I say as I place a kiss on her forehead. “I will always love you.”

I know my words don’t mean shit, but I plan to spend the rest of my life proving to her what I say is true.

She looks up to me and starts to smile. “So, you’ll still love me even if I bite Jess every once in a while? ‘Cause, he really deserves it sometimes.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “I don’t think you should be biting anyone, but I’ll love you no matter what you do.”

“Even if I don’t clean my room?” she asks.

I grab her sides and start to tickle her. “Even if you’re sloppy as a little pig.”

“How about when I accidently use my crayons on the wall?”

I start to answer her, but stop when I hear yelling coming from outside.

Chapter Nine

Tara

“What in the world are you thinking, Tara? You and Chrissy don’t need to be alone with that man, not even long enough for him to drive you home,” Drew says, clearly angry. 

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know, but I do know that Chrissy didn’t really want gumbo. She just wants to get to know her father. How could I say no to that?”

He blows out a frustrated breath and says, “Well, you need to learn how to say no to her. You can’t keep letting that girl get her way about everything. She’s going to grow up to be a spoiled little bitch.”

“Did you just call my five-year-old daughter a bitch?” I say through clenched teeth. I’ve known this man most of my life. Granted, I’ve always thought he was self-absorbed, but I never thought he was a complete douche.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he says as he pulls me into his arms. I try to pull away, but he brings me in closer. “You know that I care about you and Chrissy. I only want what’s best for both of you.”

“Let me go, Andrew,” I tell him, shaking with anger. 

He shakes his head. “Don’t be mad, Tara.”

“No one talks about my child like that.” I finally work my way out of his arms and take a step back. “You no longer need to worry about Chrissy’s behavior. In fact, you never did.”

He tries to reach for me again, but I step back before he can touch me. “You need to leave, and I don’t want you calling me anymore. From now on, we’re co-workers. Nothing more.”

Drew looks at me with tears in his eyes, actual tears. “You can’t mean that. You know how much I love you.”

I laugh at his words. “You don’t love me, and I don’t love you. We’ve never been anything but occasional bed partners, and you know it. The only reason you’re here today is because I wanted to have a buffer between me and Daniel, and you wanted to stake your claim.”

“No, that is not true. I do love you. I have since the first day I saw you. Please, don’t do this,” he pleads. 

“You need to leave,” I say and turn to walk back into Cora’s house. 

He grabs my arm and starts to say something, but I cut him off. “Andrew, you can either leave now, or I’ll yell for Daniel. I may not be able to count on him for much, but I can almost guarantee that he would jump at the chance to kick your ass.”

“No!” he shouts as he pulls me to him. “You will not walk away from me. I have spent years dealing with that brat of yours, just to be with you. I’ll not lose you now.”

I cannot believe my ears. This cannot be the same man I have called a friend for the last few years. How could I have been so blind? “Let me go now!” I shout.

“You’re mine, and you better not forget it,” he screams. I try to pull away, but he won’t release me. He brings his lips down to mine and gives me a brutal kiss. I’m struggling to get away, when suddenly, I’m free. I stumble back a step and look over, just as Daniel punches Andrew in the face. 

As soon as Andrew hits the ground, Daniel starts to yell at him. “You better not ever fuckin’ touch her again. Tara is mine, and if I see you near her, I’ll stomp your ass into the damn ground.”

Andrew sits up and wipes the blood from his nose. “Tara is not yours. You made sure of that. I worked like hell to get her away from you, but she wouldn’t give me the time of day. Then, you walked out on her, and I was the one there to pick up the pieces. She’s mine now.”

Daniel starts to grab him, but stops when I pull on his arm. “Just let him go, please.”

His eyes narrow. “He deserves to get his ass kicked!”

I nod. “I know he does, but Chrissy’s inside. She could walk out here at any moment. She doesn’t need to see her father beating on a man who she thought cared about her.”

Daniel looks toward the house then back at Andrew, finally taking a step away from him. “Get the fuck out of here.”

Andrew slowly stands up and starts to walk to me. I step back and shake my head. “Just go.”

“Is that what you really want?” he asks. 

I nod, but don’t say a word. At this point, I’m too angry to say anything. I don’t trust myself to say something I won’t regret later on. 

He blows out a frustrated breath. “I’ll leave, but you know where I’m at when you figure out what’s best for you.”

Huh! Best for me, my ass. Any man who would put his hands on me and call my daughter a bitch is definitely not best for me.

I watch him walk to his car then turn to Daniel. “Thank you. I have no idea what got into him.”

“He was always a prick,” Daniel says with a shrug of his shoulders. 

I shake my head. “Not like that, though. He was always kind to me and Chrissy. I knew he was a jerk, but not a complete dick.”

“If you knew he was a jerk, then why the fuck were you with him?” Daniel asks. 

I look up at him and give him an honest answer. “I knew that I could never love him.”

He raises a brow, looking more than just a little confused? “What?”

“I fell in love once, and I got my heart broken. I’m never going to let that happen again. I thought Andrew was perfect for me, because I knew I could never love him, so he could never hurt me,” I say as I walk back to the house. 

“I’m sorry,” Daniel says as he starts follow me. 

I stop and turn toward him. “What exactly are you sorry for? Do you regret leaving me, or is it abandoning your daughter that’s causing your guilt?”

He walks right to me and leans his forehead against mine. “Everything. I regret every fucking thing I did, since the moment you told me you were pregnant.”

Just the thought of that morning makes my stomach churn. I take a step back, but he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. I stand still, refusing to feel the relief of being in his arms again. “Please, Tara. Please, give me a chance to explain.”

“There’s no explanation. There is no way to explain why you did what you did,” I whisper, barely holding back my tears.

“You’re right. I’ve fucked up my entire fucking life. I’ve hurt you and Chrissy, but I need to tell you why I did it. I need to tell you everything,” he pleads, his voice full of anguish. 

I shake my head. “There’s nothing you have to say that I want to hear.”

He places his forehead on mine once again. “I know, but I am begging you to listen. I have to tell you why I left.”

Hearing the door open, I look at the house. Chrissy and Cora are standing there smiling, like they both won the lottery. Shit! I am still in Daniel’s arms. I try to pull away, but he doesn’t let go. “Please, Tara.”

I look into his eyes and see them filled with pain. I know that I have to do this. A part of me wants to, the same traitorous part that still loves him. I have to remember that this is not for me; it’s for Chrissy. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. “Fine, but not right now. You can come over tonight, after Chrissy goes to sleep.”

He smiles at me, and some of the pain leaves his eyes. “Thank you, babe.”

“I’m not your babe. I’m not your anything. I am only willing to listen because Chrissy needs her dad.” I then jerk away and walk toward the house, doing my best to believe my own words.

Just as I reach the house, Daniel lays his hand on my shoulder. “Tonight.”

I nod as I walk through the door. “Tonight.”

Chapter Ten

Danny

I cut off my bike and swing my leg over, trying to work up the courage I’ll need for our conversation. As I walk toward the house Tara and I bought together, the house that was once my home, I do my best to push my pain aside. I know I have to tell Tara the truth, everything I hid from her for all those years we were together, and I’m scared shitless. She’s going to hate me for lying to her, but I have to be honest with her now. If not, I won’t stand a chance of ever getting her back.

I am just about to knock on the door, when Tara opens it and steps onto the porch. 

She walks past me and sits on the top step.  Then, she looks up at me and motions for me to join her. I walk to her and sit down so close that our shoulders are touching. As soon as my ass hits the step, Tara starts to talk. “Just say whatever it is you think I need to hear, then go. I hate leaving Chrissy inside by herself, even if she’s asleep.”

“We could go inside,” I suggest, hoping she’ll invite me in.

She looks at me and shakes her head. “Hell no. I told you when you walked out the door that you would never walk through it again, and I meant it.”

I can still hear her saying those words to me when I left, and they hurt as much now as they did then. Fuck! How can I make up for all the shit I’ve done to her and Chrissy? I run my hands through my hair and blow out a frustrated breath. “I hope I can change your mind.”

Tara shakes her head again. “Not gonna happen. Now, tell me what you need to talk about that’s so damn important.”

I look at her face and have to fight myself to keep from kissing her. Even after all these years, she’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She still makes me hard, just from being near her. But, I can’t think about that right now.

I have to think of my little girl. I want to move forward and get my family back, but I have to tell Tara everything first. It’s so fucking hard to admit that I lied to her for years. “I don’t even know where to start.”

She shrugs her shoulder. “I don’t care. I just need you to get it over with. I have to work in the morning, so I can’t be out here all night.”

Shit! Luke’s right. She despises me, and I earned every bit of her hate.

“Okay.  I’ll start at the beginning.” I run my hands through my hair and look her in the eye. “When I was eleven, I was diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia.”

“You had leukemia?” she asks in a strained voice, shock filling her voice.

I nod my head. “I went through three years of treatment, and I have been cancer free for nearly twenty years now.”

She stares at me with a look of utter betrayal on her face. “You never told me.”

“I never told anyone,” I say, trying to explain.

“But, we lived together for five years. How could you hide something that big?” she asks with both pain and anger in her voice. 

I take a deep breath and lay it out for her. “I didn’t want you to know. I was so fucking afraid that you wouldn’t want me if you knew. I couldn’t take the chance.”

Tara’s head jerks as if I had just slapped her. “How could you even think that? Why would you having cancer change the way I felt about you? You know how much I loved you.”

Loved. That one word cuts me to the quick. 

“If I’d told you about the leukemia, I would’ve had to tell you about all the shit the doctors said,” I spit out. The words taste like poison on my tongue. 

A puzzled look crosses her face. “What are you talking about? What did they say?”

I look straight into her eyes and say the words I should have said years ago. “They told me I would never be able to have kids.”

Tara jumps up and starts to pace. “Oh my God! That is why you left?”

I nod and whisper, “Yeah, it is.”

She stops and turns to me. “You thought I cheated because I got pregnant. But, you told me to go off the pill. You told me we could try for a baby, even though you thought you couldn’t have kids. You lied to me.”

I stand up and walk toward her, grabbing her and pulling her into my chest. She tries to pull away, but there is no fucking way I’m letting her go. “I would’ve told you anything to keep you with me. Any fucking thing.”

She grows still in my arms then looks up at me, tears streaming down her face. “Anything but the truth.”

Her words hit me right in the gut. “I couldn’t tell you the truth. Don’t you understand? I was afraid I would lose you.”

She tries to pull away again, but I pull her even closer, bringing her body flush with mine. “I wasn’t willing to take the chance that you would leave me. I loved you so much, and I was afraid if you found out, you wouldn’t want me.”

Tara pulls her arms away from me and places her hands on my face. “You were so scared you’d lose me that you pushed me away,” she says, but it sounds more like a question. 

I wrap my arms around her waist and place my forehead on hers. “Yeah, baby. I was so fucking scared that I walked away to keep from being torn in two. When we were together, I would wake up every morning thinking it would be the day you’d find out and leave me. Then, I’d go to sleep every night thanking God for giving me one more day with you.”

“I loved you so much, Daniel. I would’ve done anything to be with you. I didn’t need a child to be happy, because I had you. Don’t you get it? All I needed was you.” She takes her hands away from my face and places them on my chest, then pushes away from me, causing me to take a step back. “But, you lied to me. You pushed me away. No, you threw me away. More than that, you turned your back on our daughter. You may think you have an excuse for your behavior, but you’re wrong. Your so-called excuse just makes it worse.”

She turns to walk away, but I grab her arm and pull her back to me.  

“Tara, baby. Please, talk to me.” I’m not sure what I want to say, but I know I don’t want her to go back in yet. 

She shakes her head. “I can’t do this. You hurt me too much.”

“Please, don’t say that. I love you, darlin’. I always have, and I always will.”

“I love you, too, but I don’t know if I can do this again.” She tries to pull away again. “Please leave.”

I look into her eyes, and I see the determination in them. I know if I leave, she’ll never give me another chance. I should’ve fought for her last time, but I didn’t. This time, I will. “I’m not going anywhere but inside our home and getting into bed with you.”

Her mouth drops open in shock, and she starts to shake her head. 

I smile at her and pull her body flush against mine. “I’m not leaving again. I did that once, and I refuse to do it again. You’re mine, and I’m about to prove it,” I say before placing my lips on hers.

Chapter Eleven

Tara

“I know I should make him leave. Hell, I should be slapping him right now. Instead, all I want to do is fall back into his arms. As much as he’s hurt me, he’s still the man I love, the only man I will ever love. “You can come in and talk, but talking is all we’ll be doing.”

He releases me, running his hand down my arm to lace his fingers with mine. “Thank you.”

As I lead him into the house, my heart beats frantically. What am I doing? Am I really thinking about giving him another chance? Pulling my hand from his, I mumble, “I have to check on Chrissy.”

He follows me down the hall, watching while I crack open Chrissy’s bedroom door. She’s in her bed, with her favorite blanket keeping her warm. Even from this distance, I can see that she is sleeping. I stand there for just a few seconds, just watching my daughter dream. 

“She’s so beautiful. Thank you so much for giving me this gift, for making me a father,” Danny whispers from my side. 

Looking over to him, I feel the ice around my heart start to splinter, but it’s still solid enough to have me stepping back. Pulling the door shut, I head to the living room and sit on the couch. “I can’t let you hurt me again, Danny. I can’t let you hurt Chrissy.”

He sits down beside me, pulling me to him and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “I will never hurt you again. I promise. It may take the rest of my life, but I promise to fix this.”

Instinctively, I cuddle into his side. “I want to believe you can do that. I want to believe we can be like we used to be.”

Bringing his face down, and he places a gentle kiss on the top of my head. “We’ll be even better.”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

“I know it is,” he says before brushing the hair away from my face. He raises my face to his and brushes his lips over mine. “I missed you so damn much, darlin’.”

His kiss turns savage, and his hand moves up underneath my shirt. As soon as I feel his finger brush over my pebbled nipple, I give in. I want him every bit as much as he wants me. Doing this could break what’s left of my heart, but it’s worth taking the chance. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

Not giving him time to reply, I stand up and grab his hand. We’re in the bedroom a second later, and I’m pulling my shirt over my head. As soon as my breasts are bare, his lips are on them. His fingers work my jeans as his lips move from one nipple the next. 

After undoing my jeans, he steps away and pulls his shirt over his head. Working quickly, I toe off my shoes and push my jeans to the floor. Within seconds, we are both looking at each other’s naked body. His eyes finally meet mine, and he says, “You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”

Climbing onto the bed, I motion for him to follow. A moment later, he’s on the bed with me, pulling me into his arms, and his lips meet mine. His fingers explore my body, finding their way to my soaking center. I spread my legs, giving him better access, and moan out, “Yes.”

His finger works in and out of me, while he buries his face in my neck and growls out, “I forgot how you’re always so wet for me.”

“Always,” I whisper, gasping for breath. 

This is a mistake; it has to be. Still, I haven’t felt this good in years. Nothing, not one damn thing, felt right from the time he walked out, until this moment. Knowing this feeling won’t last long unless I put the past behind us, I reach up and cup his face. “Do you still love me, Danny?”

His entire body goes solid before he responds. “I’ve loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. I’ll love you until the day I die.”

With those words, he moves between my thighs and slides home. Yes, that is what this is. Danny is finally home. “I love you, too.”

He slides partially out before going deep again. The entire time, his eyes are locked with mine. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Tears fill my eyes as I lift my hips to meet his thrusts. “I want you here, too, but I have to know you mean it. You have to be in it for the long haul.”

“Forever,” he mumbles, bringing his lips to mine, as he continues to stroke in and out. 

I wrap my legs around his waist, letting him have complete control of my body. Each plunge brings me closer and closer to completion. He goes deep, thrusting with all his strength. When he hits my depths, a low moan slips out. “Oh God.”

My hips push up, wanting him even deeper. “Harder.”

He reaches down, bringing his fingers to my clit. Rolling it with his thumb, his strokes gain even more strength. “I need to feel you come.”

His words send me over the edge, and my pussy spasms around his hard length. A second later, I feel his cock jerk as he empties himself deep inside me. “I love you.”

Epilogue

Danny

“Are you ready for this, old man?” Tara asks as she opens the door.

Reaching out, I slap her ass. “I’m not that old, woman.”

I follow her laughter as we walk into our daughter’s house. The sound of a baby crying reaches my ears, and a smile spreads across my face. Walking straight to Chrissy, I grab her hand and pull her into my arms. “I’m so proud of you, Sweat Pea.”

She looks up at me, excitement dancing in her eyes. “I’m so happy, Daddy. I finally get to be a mom.”

Chrissy and Jess have been married for nearly eleven years now. For nine of those, they have been trying to having a baby. She went through years of fertility treatments, but nothing worked. Finally, they decided to adopt. Looking at her now, I know she wouldn’t be any happier if she had just given birth herself.

The sound of Tara’s gasp reaches my ear, and I turn just in time to see her taking our grandson from his father. A tiny fist reaches out of the swaddled bundle as she brings him to her chest and starts to cry. She turns to me and smiles. “Come see our little man, Grandpa.”

My heart thumps in my chest as I release Chrissy and walk across the room. With each step, memories from the last thirty years run through my mind. Returning to Warrington, meeting my daughter, earning Tara’s love again, watching Chrissy grow up, and now a grandson—what a beautiful life I’ve been blessed with.  

When I reach her, she starts to unwrap the bundle, allowing me to get my first glimpse of my grandson. His little head is covered in blonde fuzz that I can’t resist touching. “He’s a handsome little thing, isn’t he?”

“He’s not handsome, Dad,” Chrissy says, wrapping her arm around my waist. “He’s a baby, so he’s cute.”

Tara brings him to her face and places a soft kiss against his forehead, before trying to hand him to me. I immediately step back, putting my hands up. “I’ll hurt him.”

The room fills with the tinkle of her laughter as she comes toward me, forcing me to take our grandson. “You would never hurt him.”

When his weight finally fills my arms, my eyes start to sting. Looking down at him, I realize, once again, just how much I missed with Chrissy. “I’m always gonna be here for you, little man.”

“We can’t keep calling him little man.” Jess finally stands up and walks over to us. “Well, what do you think of Lucas Daniel?”

My eyes immediately jerk up to look at him. “You named him after Luke and me?”

“Sure did. Figured, if we want him to grow into a good man, the least we could do is name him after two of the best men we know,” my son-in-law says, pulling Chrissy into his arms. 

“Have you told Luke and Lindy his name yet?” Tara asks, still staring at our little man. “They’ll be so excited.”

“Nah, I wanted to wait until Mom and Dad got here to tell them,” Jess explains, rubbing a hand down Chrissy’s arm. “We’re gonna call him Luca.”

I can’t help but chuckle, thinking about how excited Luke will be when he finds out. He’s been on their asses, ever since he found out they were adopting a baby boy, to call him Lucas. “Luca, I like it.”

Before the words are even out of my mouth, Lindy and Luke rush through the door, along with their daughter, Sammy, and her husband. A second later, Luca is in Lindy’s arms, while she and Sammy coo at him. Luke just stares at the little bundle, smiling as he watches his wife and daughter breaking into tears. 

His eyes move to mine, and he gives me a silent chin lift. I do the same before turning to my wife and smiling. “How does it feel to be a grandma? ‘Cause, I gotta tell you, it feels pretty damn good being a grandpa.”

She doesn’t respond, just grabs my arm and pulls me into the kitchen. She goes right to her toes, bringing her lips to mine. Her kiss sends a wave of pleasure through my body, exactly like it did the first time I tasted her. I deepen the kiss, wrapping my arms around her. When we are both out of breath, I pull back and smile at her. “What was that for?”

“Thank you for keeping your promise,” she says, leaning into me. 

My brows go up as I look down at her. “What promise, darlin’?”

“You fixed everything. You gave me the life I always wanted.”

Closing my eyes, I take in a deep breath and silently thank God for this woman. “Thank you for opening your door and giving me another chance.”

The End

Acknowledgments

 Thanks so much to all of our beta readers.

A special thanks to Kendra Gaither and Emmy Hamilton.

Emily Minton

USA Today Best Selling author, Emily Minton is a Kentucky native. She is proud to call the Bluegrass State home. She claims she bleeds blue–Wildcat Blue! She has been married to her husband, David, for over twenty years. They share two wonderful children.

Emily loves to read and has more books on her kindle than most people could read in a lifetime, but she intends to read every single one. She has published nine books, but there are many more floating around in her head. She hopes to get them all on paper before long. She loves sharing her dreams with her readers.

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