And that brought Ashton into the room. "Who?" he asked. "Whichher?"
"Faith." And I thrust my arm toward the front yard where Cy still had to be waiting. "First, he kisses me. Then he says Brody wants to fuck my daughter. There's something wrong with that man, and I don't want shit to do with it."
"Whoa," Ash said, lifting both hands as he made his way closer. "You're pissed. I get it, but slow down a little, cowboy."
I just looked at Violet. She was the one who made sense. That woman always had the answers, even when the question hadn't been asked yet. I didn't know what I wanted her to say, but I knew I needed her to say something.
"He has to be wrong, right?" I begged.
"We can hope," she said, flicking her hand for Ash to back off. "But since I don't know what you're talking about, why don't you come into my office and tell me? Let's leave all the baggage out here and see what we're working with, ok?"
Meekly, I let her lead me that way. "He didn't tell you?" I asked.
"He wouldn't," she said as she gestured for me to take the office chair. Gran's chair. "What he discusses in a session is confidential. I won't ask and he won't tell. That doesn't mean you can't." Then she pulled up a leather ottoman and sat just in front of my knees. "Luke? What's going on?"
I leaned forward and grabbed her hands. "Cy's trying to convince me that Brody's gonna molest Faith. He says he does things, but can't say what things. Says he doesn't think it's happened yet, but he thinks it will. But if it will, then why hasn't it yet? I mean, the man's been with Meredith for a year, and Faith's spent the night with him alone when Meredith had to leave for something. He picked her up from school sometimes." I pulled in a trembling breath. "Wouldn't I know?"
She lifted my hands to her lips. "That's the problem with little girls. They don't stay little forever, and they don't always tell their dads everything. Luke, it's possible she's trying to protect you just as much as you're trying to protect her."
"I just need my little girl to be ok," I breathed, looking into her pretty grey eyes. "I can't live if she's not."
"Then trust us to help," she told me, her voice wonderfully calm, sounding like it held all the answers.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Luke looked like shit. His skin was pale. His fingers trembled in mine. His pretty green eyes were just a little too wide. The problem was that I didn't know how to snap my fingers and make this go away. If Cy thought there was a problem, then there was probably a problem. He'd always been good at reading people. Almost as good as Ash, if I was honest. Cy also had his sessions with Faith to guide him.
But I'd heard them yelling out front. Cy still hadn't come in, but I'd heard Ash head that way. Something big had happened, and I had a bad feeling that Luke was throwing all of his panic at the man who seemed to be at the center of it all: Cyan. He'd kissed Luke, which had started the first spiral. Then this? It was too much, and this poor man was on the verge of breaking.
"So, what do you need?" I asked him. "Let's say, worst case scenario, what do you need, Luke? Just play this out."
"I need custody of her," he said. "But I can't get it."
"Ok..." I nodded to show I was listening. I was also thinking hard. "Why can't you get it?"
"I need an official lease. I don't have one where I am. The trailer I'm in is part of my job." He pulled in a breath but his eyes had lost focus. That was good; it meant he was starting to think again. "I don't know if my job is enough. I don't make as much as them, and Meredith's about to be married, but I'm not. I'm just a single man, and I don't have a place for her when I'm at work. I mean, I could take her with me in the evenings, and she's old enough not to worry about when I go out in the mornings, but the last lawyer said it looked bad."
"Ok," I said again. "So, a house and a job. Sounds like you need a good lawyer too, right?"
"I can't fucking afford one," he almost whined.
Thankfully, all of this was easy to fix. I had all the tools at my disposal, and Gran had taught me how to work the system when I had to. It was how she'd kept this place going. Knowing the right people, having the right connections, and following the right rules was the trick. So far, everything Luke had mentioned I could help with.
No, I didn't want to poke my nose into his life. I didn't even know exactly what we were to each other, but I knew I cared about this man. I was willing to take a few risks for him, even stupid ones. I also knew what it felt like to be the child whose parents were suddenly just gone. I never wanted anyone to know that feeling, let alone Faith. I had a funny feeling that both Cy and Ash would back me up on this.
So I caught Luke's chin, making him look at me. "I can afford it. Remember how we talked about you having a rich friend willing to help? Luke, I made a lot of money posing in underwear. I make enough to rebuild this place. I think I can afford an attorney."
"I can't take that," he said.
"You can if it's for Faith," I countered. "You will suck up your fucking pride, and I'll make you work it off if that helps, but you will."
He jiggled his head in a weak nod. "My trailer's a piece of shit. Only the one bedroom is worth living in, and only barely. I'd have to let her have that. Means I'd be sleeping on the couch."
"We'll figure it out," I assured him, deciding I wouldn't show my cards before talking to the guys. "But, worst case scenario, you have a backup plan, right?"
"Not much of one," he mumbled.
"Maybe not, but it's better than nothing." Then I reached up to smooth back his hair. "So talk to Faith. Don't ask her about it directly, because she won't understand. I don't think she's even kissed a boy, so she wouldn't have a clue what's going on, and you are not going to dump that on her. Just ask her about her home life. Shut up and listen when she talks."
