“Yeah, I know. Piper. I’m just a little wound up. So my dad . . . of course he knew about her, the slimy fucker. He finally admitted to paying you a visit, and said he was working on things, so I didn’t need to worry about my little problem. That’s what he called Piper . . . the fucker. He actually said he was working on making it so Piper wasn’t my concern.”
Grimacing, Aston went on. “I almost punched him, but I’m working on remaining calm, so I didn’t. I had plenty of harsh words with him, like threatening I would walk into every CEO’s office on the Strip and tell them what a cocksucker he is, disparaging Federal along the way, until they took their business to the cheaper outlets with less customer service and quality, but I didn’t care.”
“Take a breath, Aston. You’re going to faint. Slow down. You don’t need to defend me to your dad. He’s not going to make any problems go away, because I don’t do business the way he does, with payoffs.”
Aston ran a hand through his thick hair and then dropped it to take my hand in his. “Don’t worry. He’ll stay away now, especially after I brought up his wife and her tennis pro. He’s so fickle. The business, Nan, he doesn’t want his legacy disrupted. Well, he’ll have to accept a granddaughter born out of wedlock and kept a secret.”
Then Aston actually winked, like this was fun. Like telling a teenage girl she was a long-lost secret daughter of your teenage love affair . . . was fun.
“This isn’t my life,” I said, staring out my window as he pulled out, cocky and confident. “You don’t even know what school we’re going to . . . oh, wait. Of course you do. Anyway, you can’t just keep threatening people. First me, and now I got involved with Seth after your threats, and now you and your dad. Oh, and by the way, you’re still being investigated.”
We sped along the correct route while I ranted and Aston let it roll off of him, staying calm as he drove.
“Bexley, I’m protecting what’s mine. Get used to it,” he said, but I didn’t respond. “And before you go down the whole path that I didn’t protect you back then . . . I wasn’t a man yet. But now I am.”
“I’m going to need some time alone with Piper to sit down and explain everything. I did some reading on how to break sensitive topics to teens. I’m going to be as honest as possible with her. I thought about how I may leave your dad’s part in this out of it, let him save face—”
“Absolutely not!” Aston turned his head for a second to glare at me. With his eyes back on the road, he spoke firmly. “No, he doesn’t get to be absolved of the role he played. I’m never going to be close with him, and I doubt you will. Piper will know the truth.”
As we neared the school, I moved on. “I’m not sure whether Tyler should be around or not. I would ask Seth, but he barely had time for me when I called about Piper. He was thrilled you’re stepping up—”
Aston interrupted again with a quick flash of his smug expression. “More like me letting him off the hook financially.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” I said, trying to reason with him.
“It does, and don’t defend him.”
“Listen, I wronged him first.”
“No, you wronged me first—”
“Aston! That’s not fair.”
Glancing at me, he sighed. “You’re right. Listen, why don’t you let me take Tyler to the arcade with Little A? And you can have time with Piper.”
As we pulled up to the school, I asked, “How would we pull that off?”
“Simple. I need a helper.”
My eyes rolled on their own. Aston had an answer for everything. As usual, he ruled his world.
I opened the car door and walked toward where I met the kids when I picked them up. The lower school and junior high shared a campus, which was great for a single mom like me. They took the bus when I couldn’t be here on time, but I tried to pick them up one or two days a week. Today, I wished it had been a bus day. As the kids ran out of school from all directions, I wondered how I would explain Aston’s presence.
“Hi, Mom!” Tyler called to me first.
Piper came up shortly after. “Hey, Mom, why are you out of your car?”
“Hi, guys. Um, actually, I met Aston—you know, from the other day? We had coffee and we ran late, so he brought me over here.”
“Aston?” Piper waggled her eyebrows at me.
It was a little startling. I didn’t think she’d be doing that until she was much older.
“What kind of car does he have?” Typical Tyler.
“You know what? I don’t even know. It’s an SUV, but I don’t know what kind.”
Tyler gave me an annoyed look. “Mom, you need to pay attention to these things.”
“You’re right. Totally right,” I said as I slung my arm around him. When we stopped next to the black beast, I said, “Here it is.”
“Mom, it’s a Range Rover,” Piper whispered. “That’s a fancy car.”
I nodded, letting her know I heard her.
Was I shocked it was fancy? Of course not.
“Hi,” Tyler said, jumping in the back seat.
“Mr. Prescott,” I said quickly, correcting my son, and Aston gave me a quick glare.
“It’s Aston, just Aston.”
“Hi,” Piper said with less excitement, sliding in next to her brother.
As soon as I was seated, Aston pulled away from the curb and drove toward my house.
“What about your car, Mom?” Piper asked, never one to miss out on details.
“I’m going to send someone to get it,” Aston said, answering for me.
I watched Piper’s brow furrow in the rearview.
“Who?” she asked. “Who would do that? Get our car?”
“One of my guys, someone who works for me,” Aston said matter-of-factly. He was going to have to adjust
