I stared after him.What the fuck?
When the song finished this time, I left it alone. The silence in the room was deafening. I heard soft voices coming from the front of the building. I ignored them, still recovering from mymoment with James, but frowned when I heard a familiar—if slurred—voice. I left the kitchen, hurrying toward the bar area.
“Your eyes look weird,” a thick voice was saying as I entered.
Not just any voice.Hannah’svoice.
I rounded the corner. James was standing in front of Hannah, who clung to her boyfriend like a life preserver—and she was drunk.
Kian looked at me with pleading eyes. “I’m sorry, Ryder. She begged me not to take her home. I didn’t know where else to go.”
“You know these two?” James asked, dragging my attention away from the couple.
“Yeah.” I sighed. Guess my secret was out now. “She’s my daughter.”
James’s brows shot up. “Yourdaughter?”
I nodded, attention returning to Hannah. She was slipping farther down Kian’s arm. In less than a minute, she’d be a puddle on the floor.
“Sit her down, Kian,” I said, indicating a bar stool. “I’ll get her some water.”
“I can finish cleaning up,” James said. I opened my mouth to object, but he cut me off with a gentle shake of his head. “She can barely stand. Besides, I don’t want anyone thinking we served her. Get her home.”
I regarded him. He still avoided direct eye contact with me, looking clear over my shoulder. “Are you sure?”
“We can talk tomorrow. Take care of your kid.”
With that, he walked away. I didn’t chase after him, or even worry about what’d happened in the kitchen. My daughter needed me. I reached out to steady Hannah with an arm around her waist as she stumbled in the other direction, away from Kian.
“Haveyoubeen drinking?” I asked him. Thankfully, he shook his head. “Come on, then. You two can stay with me tonight.”
Chapter 12
As Kianand I wrestled Hannah into the house, helped her get changed, and poured her into the bed I’d set up for her, I discovered a newfound appreciation for my parents. Considering the number of times I’d stumbled home drunk from field and garage parties, I decided they deserved a medal.
By the time I closed Hannah’s door and retreated to my own bedroom, I was exhausted. Though as I undressed and climbed into bed, my mind went a million miles an hour. Whatwasthat with James in the kitchen? I should’ve kept my mouth shut and let him kiss me.
I tossed and turned, dozing while Hannah slept. When I heard noises from her bedroom, I checked the time and reluctantly decided it was time to get up and start making breakfast. I doubted she’d want it, but I knew she needed it.
I was toasting bread when footsteps padded down the hallway and Kian bashfully poked his head into the kitchen, dark hair wet and eyes hopeful as he scanned the room. “Do I smell food?”
I smiled. “Come sit down. Is she all right?”
“ConsideringI’dbe hugging the toilet if I drank what she did, she’ll be just fine,” Kian said, taking a seat at the table. “She’s showering now.”
“Whatdidshe drink last night?”
“They were passing around a bottle of cheap vodka that my friend stole from his brother. I tried to get her to slow down, or at least mix it, but she’s so stubborn.”
I chuckled as I set a plate down in front of him. “I guess she gets that from me. I was always a bit of a show-off—and I paid for it more than once too.”
“I think, um,” Kian swallowed a large bite, looking uncomfortable. “I think all of this…” He trailed off, seemingly unable to find the words he wanted.
“Me stuff?” I suggested.
He laughed. “Yeah. I think all of this ‘you stuff’ is getting to her, as much as she’s not showing it. She wasreallymad at her mom when she found out.”
I shifted uncomfortably from where I leaned against the counter. “Can’t say I blame her.”
