His daughter was observant, perceptive, and very subtle when she needed to be. He appreciated those qualities in her at such a young age.
“That has nothing to do with you.” Moose shook his head.
“How do you not like each other but made me?” Tiara tilted her head, resting it against her hand as she studied Moose and awaited an answer.
“Believe it or not, we was cool once upon a time.” He dragged his hand down his beard and played with a few hairs before chuckling. “A lot has happened. Your mama kept things from me. She lied, and that’s not something your daddy can accept.But I know you love her and she loves you. I wouldn’t take that from you. You get to feel however you want to feel about her.”
“I’m going to miss her,” Tiara admitted. “Do you think she’ll ever come back?”
“I don’t know,” Moose told her. “I want you to know that you got me, though. I’m not going anywhere. We got this whole big old, crazy family too.”
“True.”
“Tomorrow we can swing by the house and grab whatever you want to take with you. You can redecorate your room at our place however you want. How does that sound?”
“Can I get glitter paint and a big mirror on the wall so I can dance?” Her eyes grew wide, and Moose smiled.
“Whatever you want,” he assured her. “I gotta finish up with my client. Tonight, there’s an event for Ayla, so most of the kids are going to Bee’s house. You cool with that?”
“I like Bee. She’s nice, and she always has the best snacks at her house.”
“Okay, well hold tight. Inari’s going to be here soon. If you need anything, just come find me. If you got homework, you can go ahead and handle that.” He pushed his chair from the table and strolled back down the hall to his suite.
He still had artists working, but they had their doors closed. Trini moved on a few weeks ago when she saw that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with Moose. Since he’d dropped that monkey off his back, there was no reason for them to spend any time together outside of the shop. Moose was focused, and his priorities had shifted significantly. Not being on the same page was one thing, but now Trini no longer held any kind of power over him if they weren’t running to the same vice to escape life. Instead of sticking around, she thought it was best if she moved on, and Moose didn’t argue with her when she told him she was leaving. He simply posted for a new artist and kept it moving.
He applied the finishing touches on his client when Inari arrived. Out of breath, she dropped her purse on the counter, and he looked her over in the sexy two-piece business suit. She looked good as hell in her professional attire.
“I’m here. What’s wrong?”
“Hey, Inari,” Tiara greeted her, and Inari spun to face her with surprise.
“Hey, sweetie. What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling her into a hug and kneeling to kiss her little cheek like she always did.
“I get to live with Moose now. All the time.”
Inari’s attention immediately swung to her man. He stopped in the middle of shading and shrugged.
“What happened?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute. Let me finish up here and give these post care instructions.”
“Okay, I could use something to drink. Why don’t you come tell me all about your day at school?” Inari left her briefcase and purse in Moose’s suite and followed Tiara to the break area.
Moose walked his boy to the front so they could take care of his payment, and as he was leaving, a messenger let himself inside, gripping a big yellow business envelope.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
Inari slid up behind him at the counter, arms tucked over her chest as she looked the messenger up and down too.
“I’m looking for Morgan Blackmoor.”
“That’s me.”
He handed him his tablet to sign off on the letter before releasing it to him.
“Have a nice day.”
“What’s that?” Inari asked, coming up behind Moose as he tore the envelope open and yanked the papers out. “Birth certificate, social security card, and medical and dental recordsfor Tiara,” he informed her. There was also a separate handwritten letter.
