“IfI sell it. I think that’s what she wanted the most; for it to stay in the family. So she made it so that I at least have to think about it properly.” Lake sighed and looked out through the closest window. “My first instinct is to sell it, of course. What do I know about all of this.”
The dread that squeezed my heart at the words made me grind out the words, “Of course it is.”
Lake’s gaze snapped into mine, filled with fire. “I’m honoring her wishes. Even though I didn’t know her or if I didn’t want to, Ihave to. She didn’t leave me a choice.”
The dogs started to bark outside. The tone was so foreign, my instincts went on overdrive, and I was out of my chair and the door before I could register making the decision to move.
Chapter 3
Lake
I didn’t know what Theo’s problem was, other than the slightly obvious dislike of anything too queer.
The snarky grumpiness wassonot attractive, even if the man himself was pretty fucking gorgeous in that rugged, broke-my-nose-one-time-too-many kind of way. Hottie McEyebrows, indeed. While he’d been wearing a ball cap outside in the sun, he’d taken it off indoors, and his thick hair with a widow’s peak hairline did things to me for some reason. I fucking hated how attractive he was with his scruffy beard and his…everything.
I was gearing up for a fight, when the boom of the handful of dogs I’d seen outside carried into the kitchen, and Theo was off like a bullet.
I blinked, startled, and McMillan—Hudson—got out of his seat, too.
“What’s going on?” I asked, standing as well.
“I don’t know, but I’ve never heard the dogs sound like that before.” Hudson ran to the door with me at his heels.
The path to the parking lot next to the office was short enough that we could see the beat-up truck in the middle of the driveway.
The dogs were standing around it in a wide circle, their hackles up and even though I couldn’t hear them, I was pretty sure they were growling.
“What the fuck?” I breathed out, then continued after Hudson.
There was a man standing between the truck and the office door. Theo stood near the corner of the office building, looking stern. I had a feeling he would’ve called the dogs back if he’d felt safe enough to do so.
Hudson stopped behind the dog closest to the house and held back his hand to make me slow down.
“But you can’t take my kid like that!” the stranger yelled at Theo, who was standing like a statue.
“Andy, you know you came here and gave her to us, because you knew it was better for her,” Hudson spoke before I could make any sense of what was happening.
“But I want her back!” The guy moved his arm, and for the first time, I saw the gun he was holding.
“Holy shit,” I whispered, backing away slowly, staying behind Hudson.
“Andrew, look, this is what the paperwork was about, right? You said it yourself, that you might want her back but that it would be the wrong thing.”
Theo tilted his head slightly, and I realized he was listening.
When Theo cleared his throat, the man swung his gaze and his gun wildly.
“The cops are coming, Andy. You can’t come here with a gun, you know that. There are children around sometimes. What if your gun went off?” Theo spoke evenly, as if there wasn’t an unhinged man with a weapon ten steps away from him.
“How about this,” Hudson said calmly. “You go home, you sober up, and you come visit your kid on the weekend? We told you that was okay, you just can’t have her at home anymore.”
“It’s in the paperwork, remember?” Theo added.
Andy appeared torn as hell, and then deflated.
Theo snapped his fingers and all five pit bulls immediately stood down, backing away to the edges of the driveway and the parking lot, like they’d been earlier when we had arrived.
“Go home, Andy. Before the cops get here. None of us want any trouble,” Theo’s voice was almost kind now.
