"Right. I'm also putting her on birth control when she turns fifteen."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Let's get her something she won't have to think about too much, like the shot or an implant."
He leaned back to look at me. "We, huh? You gonna let me stick around that long?"
"This is home," I reminded him. "Luke, you belong here. You belong with us. I want you to figure things out with Cy and Ash. I want you to keep coming to my bed every night. I have every intention of making sure that Faith learns how to be just like me, since that's what you said you wanted." I palmed the side of his face. "And I can't think of a better compliment in the whole world than for a man to want his daughter to be like me."
"I do," he swore. "I want her to be so brave that she can hold off rowdy men with a garden hose, to make her heels and lipstick into weapons, and most of all, I want her to have so much heart that she can convince a stupid country boy that there's not a damned thing wrong with himself."
I had to glance away. I tried to blink, but that wasn't quite good enough. Those things were what I wanted, and to hear he felt I'd achieved them? That hit me right in the emotions. Giving in, I reached up to dab at the corners of my eyes, making sure the extra moisture wasn't going to start running.
"That's all I ever really wanted," I finally got out, looking back at him.
Luke just clasped the back of my head. "Violet, it's ok to cry. There's not a damned thing wrong with fucking up your makeup. So you know, dry eyes aren't what make you strong, honey. It's everything else. It's the fact that no matter how fucked up shit gets, you just put on taller heels, tighter jeans, and you take your fucking Audi through the pasture like it's a damned tractor. You break the rules, Violet, and that means you can make crying into a strong thing too, ok?"
"I don't cry pretty," I said, trying to laugh it off.
"Don't fuckin' care," he swore. "I bet that even if you had snot running down to your chin you'd still be the best-looking woman in Cat's Peak. If it's ok for me to fall in love with your best friends, then it's ok for you to cry like a train wreck. Deal?"
All I could do was jiggle my head in a nod. "Yeah. I hope you do, though. Fall in love with Cy, I mean, since you and Ash already admitted it."
"That's the hard part, though. The admitting it. Love is one of those things that doesn't work so well when it's one-sided." His thumb swept across the side of my cheek. "And I've been thinking about how I'm going to explain this to Faith. See, I'm going to tell her. I'm gonna get custody first, but then I'm going to tell my daughter and come out to this whole fucking town. I figure that somewhere in all that, I might cry, and I'm hoping like hell that you won't take it wrong. Figure there are three people who I trust enough to see that." He flicked up his brow, making his point clear.
I nodded. "I'm trying."
"No, you're winning," he assured me. "Pretty sure you don't know how to do anything else."
Chapter Thirty-Three
Talking to Violet - and making out with her a little afterwards - made me feel better about the last few days. The way I'd acted when Kindle showed up had surprised even me. For some reason, seeing Violet with Ash and Cy, or those two men together? It didn't bother me at all. I'd started to think that I just wasn't a jealous man - until that moment.
And the truth was that it still bothered me how easily Cy had made it clear that I wasn't his boyfriend. Not even a second of hesitation before writing me off. Then when I'd asked about it, he'd brought it up again. So what the fuck was I? A piece of ass? It didn't feel that way. A friend? No, this was more.
So when Cy's phone rang that evening, and I saw Kindle's name on the screen? That feeling came right back. He punted it to voicemail, then went back to what he was doing, but something didn't add up. He'd said the guy was blocked. Worse, the fact that Kindle was calling meant he probably hadn't gone back to Colorado where he belonged.
I tried to ignore it, but this whole thing bothered me. Violet said I should figure it out, and I was damned well trying. Thankfully, listening to Faith talk about her new friend over dinner was a good distraction. Evidently, he'd eaten lunch with her, and they both liked horses. He didn't have one, though. He and his mom lived in the trailer park, so it wasn't an option.
"You should invite him over," I said, trying to be casual about it.
But Faith perked right up. "Really? He could ride Cricket, right? And I have an extra helmet and everything." Then her face fell. "But his mom is always working."
"What about his dad?" Ash asked.
She shook her head. "He says he doesn't have one."
Which fit what I knew about Emily Harding. She'd gotten pregnant by some guy from Sherman, he'd bailed, and she'd had the boy on her own. That poor woman worked her ass off to make ends meet, too. Every year, the church raised some funds to help her get that boy presents. From Santa, we said, and every year, it made her cry because she was so thankful.
I knew how she felt, so I decided I'd figure this out. "Well, if he wants to go riding, then get his momma's number, and I'll work it out with her," I promised.
The smile my daughter gave me made that worthwhile. "And pick him up, and everything?"
"Yep, and you give him my number too, so we can work that out. He can text me about it."
Because I had a feeling that this boy wouldn't want his new friend to see the shitty place he lived. That trailer park was bad news. The place I'd had with Simmons would've fit in there. That Faith lived at Southwind? Anyone would be intimidated by that, and a young kid would only be worse. I knew how hard I'd worked to be cool at that age. Plus, this felt like something Violet would do. It felt like being the guardian angel or some shit.
"She may want to meet us," Violet pointed out. "I mean, I know how strict you are with who can take Faith."
Well, shit. I hadn't thought that out. Considering the rumors around town, Violet had a damned good point. Still, I knew Emily. Not well, but well enough. Yet after everything with Brody, the shit Meredith had been saying around town, and the crap being slung at anyone from Southwind, she might balk a bit.
