going to do right by her when I was killing myself working two jobs. Next fall, she’d head off to
school, and I’d be damned if she stuck out as the kid from a broken home whose parents didn’t have
their shit together.
I carefully shifted her in the bed so I could sneak out undetected. I turned on the night light and left
the door cracked open in case she woke and needed me. I was just about to my bedroom when I
remembered the art mess in the living room. I could leave it until morning, but I wouldn’t. Morning
was bound to be chaotic, and then I’d be thinking about the mess all day at work.
As I sat on the floor between the couch and the table, I scrubbed a hand over my face. Today had
been one of those days that seemed to drag on forever. Maybe Lisa was onto something. Maybe it was
time for me to think about what I wanted to do with my life. But how could I, when every ounce of
energy I had went to making sure Willow never wanted for anything?
I didn’t immediately put away the coloring books and markers. Instead, I went back to work on the
image I’d been filling in. I needed another dose of quiet mind if I had any hope of getting to sleep. As
I worked on shading, using different colors to make the cartoon dog’s fur look life-like, the self-
recriminations fell away.
When I woke up on the living room floor, with my tiny tyrant looming over me, I knew it was
bound to be another long ass day.
3
WILLIAM
HOW JACK DIDN’T LOSE HIS SHIT ON A DAILY BASIS WAS BEYOND ME. I’D BEEN KEEPING AN EYE ON
things at the bar for him less than a week, and everywhere I turned, shit was out of place. Of course, it
didn’t help that Sam had recently convinced Jack to completely renovate part of the club, meaning I’d
lost access to the room where we typically hosted the bi-weekly “toe in the water” night, as I liked to
call it.
Jack had an interesting vision for The Lodge. He wanted it to be a place that was exclusive, yet
welcoming; a safe haven for those who wanted to explore their sexuality and kinks without diving
straight into the deep end. And now, my job was even harder thanks to Sam’s vision.
I flung the doors to the other meeting room wide open, frustrated that I was running behind—
thanks to yet another well-meaning lecture from my sister about needing to figure out what I wanted to
do with my life. She didn’t realize I was exactly where I wanted to be. My shoulders tensed and I
