More than once they’d yelled my name.
But I’d ignored them all.
Staying in place, rooted to the spot, I stared at the alley across the street through narrowed eyes, relentlessly watching for any signs of movement as the waning sun set, cloaking downtown Toluca in an orange hue.
Unfortunately, I didn’t see a thing.
“Dammit,” I mumbled to myself, agitation setting in. “Where is she?”
It was a stupid question to ask myself because Carmen was supposed to meet me at the motel once night fell, not at the station as my shift neared its end.
Still, a part of me couldn’t help but hope that I’d find her watching me from across the street, her gorgeous eyes tracking my every move. It didn’t make a bit of sense considering I’d always hated being under a microscope.
But with her, things were different.
I knew exactly why too.
As twisted as it may sound, I wanted her as infatuated with me as I was with her. If she isn’t already. That way, no matter how scared she got or how unsure she was of her feelings for me, she wouldn’t leave.
“Pop-Pop!”
The tension that had been coiling inside me like a snake prepared to strike eased when Lucca’s excited shout echoed through the air.
Snapping my head to the left, I spotted him and Shelby right away. Seeing them here, coming my way, made my heart lurch, skipping a beat or two.
“Pop-Pop!”
Not wasting another second, I headed straight for a running Lucca, scooping him up into my arms the moment he reached me. “Hey, Buddy,” I said, lifting him into the air in a move that he loved. “Where did you come from?”
“Fire-tuck!”
I chuckled. “Did you come back to drive my truck?”
He nodded, then squealed. “U-ka dive!”
“Hope we’re not interrupting anything important.” Heart continuing to palpitate, I twisted him around and seated him on my shoulders. Holding his legs tight in case he leaned back too far, I then met my daughter’s eyes. “The Behemoth said we could swing by on our way home.”
I smiled at her nickname for Hendrix.
“You’re not interrupting anything. I’m glad to see you both.” I was. “You doing alright?”
Rocking back on the heel of her cowgirl boots, Shelby slid her fingers into the pockets of her shorts; ones that showcased far too much of her bare legs, I might fucking add.
Back teeth gritted, I barely resisted the urge to tell her to put on a pair of pants.
A knockout just like my ex-wife had once been, my little girl was beyond gorgeous. And every man within a twenty-mile radius had taken notice of that fact, too.
It pissed me right off.
Luckily for me, she didn’t seem the least bit interested in men. If anything, she seemed put off by their presence. It made part of me sigh in relief, but it also put me on edge.
Maddie and Hendrix had both remained tight-lipped about Shelby’s past, but my demons had taken notice of hers the moment our eyes first met, and I recognized who, and what, she was to me.
Without a doubt, my daughter had been hurt.
And considering the fact that Lucca’s dad wasn’t around, I had a feeling—a real bad one—that he had something to do with it. If I found out he’d laid a hand on her, then his soon-to-be-severed head would roll.
Guaranteed.
“I’m fine,” she answered, eyes searching mine. “How about you? Is Hendrix giving you too much trouble? If he is, you just let me know, and I will shove my foot three feet up his—”
“Come on now, Mouth of the South!” Shelby’s eyes narrowed as Hendrix, followed by Tuck, approached. “First, you try to steal Maddie from me by monopolizing all her time. You trying to steal my old man now too? ’Cause if so, you can’t have him.”
I froze as Hendrix came to a standstill next to me and smiled, making the fact that he was teasing crystal clear. “You can take Tuck though, he’s got a thing for blondes.”
He grunted as Tuck punched him in the arm.
Single brow arched, Shelby pulled her hands from her pockets and crossed her bare arms. “First of all, sugar, Maddie is as much mine as she is yours.”
And here we go…
Hendrix’s face dropped. “The hell she is.”
Unperturbed, my girl continued. “Second, Kyle wouldn’t be able to handle me.” She winked in Tuck’s direction. “Third, I don’t want a daddy. Especially not after the one God gave me bolted, leaving lil ol’ me in the hands of a woman so vile I’m convinced she’s part devil.”
Hearing her say those words confirmed every suspicion I had about her upbringing and my scumbag ex. I felt like I’d been stabbed right in the chest. Sharp and red-hot, the pain was unbearable. With the world around me slowing, I nearly swayed.
I can’t do this anymore…
My silence isn’t right.
Thoughts racing and with the need to fix what had been broken in both of my kids’ lives nearly eating me alive, it was time I spoke the confessions that gnawed at my conscience, demanding to be revealed.
Despite my nearly suffocating fears and not knowing what to say, the time had come. Like Hendrix, it was time Shelby knew a few of my truths, including the ones that involved her.
“Shelby, we need to talk.”
Ignoring me, she continued to glare at her older brother. “And even though I know you’re joking around about me stealing your daddy, Behemoth, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.”
The forced smile she wore was full of fire.
“If I ever come face to face with my own father, the first thing I’m going to do is slam my cowgirl-toed boot into his nuts so hard that they’ll become permanently lodged in his throat as a result. Then the worthless bastard, whoever he is, can choke to death on them, along with his cowardice, for all I care.”
At her words, Tuck looked ready to vomit.
So did I, but for a different reason.
Shelby’s threat of violence didn’t bother me.
It was the hatred that colored
