Page 10 of York

“Yes, he’ll be nice to me too.”

It wasn’t like I’d been keeping Denali from him, after all. I hadn’t been able to find him. And, hey, maybe part of that was on him for sneaking out in the middle of the night. It wasn’t like he’d left behind a way to contact him if the condom hadn’t been effective.

“Okay,” she agreed, giving me a hopeful little smile.

“We’re going to go at ten, but I think we need to be in the car at nine to get there. So, we’re going to have to get up early to eat our breakfast.”

“So we need to go to bed early.”

“Exactly.”

“Right now?”

“Not right now. I think maybe you should take your shower tonight, so we have an easy morning.”

“And a little TV?” she asked, hopeful.

“Sure. A little TV.”

“Can I wear my princess shirt tomorrow?”

I was going to need to hand-wash it in the sink and then maybe use my blow-dryer to get it dry in time.

“Of course you can.”

“And my unicorn shorts?”

By “unicorn,” she meant they were pastel sequin-looking shorts.

“Yep, those too.”

I was, and had always been, the epitome of a tomboy. I’d grown up on a ranch, spent all my free time in nature, in the dirt, climbing trees, ripping clothes, plucking leaves and brambles out of my hair. That love of the outdoors simply never faded, just transformed to hiking and camping as I got older. And hiking and camping and full-glam or pretty dresses simply didn’t mix.

Somehow, though, I’d produced the girliest girl known to mankind. She loved picking out her outfits, buying clothes, putting on accessories, and occasionally playing dress-up with makeup.

“Finish up your apple so you can take your shower.”

While she was in there, I loaded all our food into the mini-fridge in the room, glad to have a small freezer to re-freeze our ice packs. Then I cleaned all our plates and cutlery in the sink while dreaming of having a real sink again. Or, in a dream world, a dishwasher. And after brushing out Denny’s hair and putting her in bed with the TV on, I dreamed about a washing machine that didn’t require quarters.

Once the clothes were hung up, I made my way back out to find Denali had already passed out in the middle of her show.

I double-checked the locks before going into the bathroom to lean against the wall and sigh.

I really needed the trip to the zoo to go well. I needed York to be charmed by his daughter and want to do whatever he could to help her. Because I didn’t know what the hell to do if he decided to wash his hands of us.

CHAPTER FOUR

York

A child.

I had a child.

A whole human being that was walking and talking and experiencing the world for the first time. And I had no idea.

I had to keep clearing my throat, like something was lodged there. My heart, maybe.

I was a father.