“King’s a good man,” I murmured, deep in thought. I wasn’t sure too many men I knew would do what he was for Jen.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around her body. “He is,” she said softly, her voice cracking a little. “I just wish things could have been different between us.”
“You’re not going to do anything crazy, are you?” I remembered the way King had said he wanted Jen to stay pregnant. Looking at her, all I saw was despair, and I had to wonder how her mental state was.
Sighing deeply, she said, “I’m not going to do anything crazy. I know King thinks I am, but I won’t. This baby may not have been conceived in love, but it doesn’t deserve to die because of that.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Fuck, what a fucked-up situation. No wonder King was on a rampage to find this motherfucker.
“I’m sorry to drag you into all this.”
Something told me that as much as she made that conversation about my opinion of her to begin with, what she really wanted was someone to talk to. I couldn’t blame her.
“King gave you my number, right?” At her nod, I continued, “Call me whenever you need to, okay?”
Her eyes widened a touch—in surprise, by the looks of it. “Thank you,” she whispered, and I noted the tears that leaked from her eyes.
I nodded before turning and leaving. I still didn’t understand the whole King-and-Jen dynamic, but like I’d said to her, I didn’t need to. But fuck, to carry a child who was the product of rape, and to say what she’d said about that child… Jen had my respect for that.
Saturday passed way too fucking slowly. I couldn’t get Hailee out of my mind, so to pass time until I saw her, I decided to head over to my sister-in-law’s and hang out there.
“Are you psychic?” Sonya asked when she opened her door to me mid-afternoon. “These kids are driving me crazy, and I think that uncle time is just what they need.”
I grinned, stepping inside her house. “You wanna go out for the afternoon?”
As I made the short trek into her kitchen, I noticed the messy state of the place. Strange, because Sonya was a neat freak. Lego, dolls, and other toys littered the living room, and dirty dishes were stacked in a chaotic fashion in the kitchen.
“No, can you just play with the kids for a bit while I clean up? Adam has been sick the last couple of days, so I haven’t had a chance to do anything.”
“Fuck, Sonya, you should have called me to come over. When does Campbell get back?” Campbell was my brother and worked away from home most of the time with the navy.
“Oh, God, he’s not home for another three weeks.” Exhaustion and stress filled her voice, and I decided it was way past time for me to step in.
“Uncle Dominic!” Kylie squealed when she caught sight of me and threw herself into my arms.
I held her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Hey, princess. What you up to?”
Her tiny mouth spread out into the biggest smile. God, she was precious. The last four years with her in my life had been some of the best years I’d known. When she was a baby, I used to lie next to her for hours while she slept. Just watching her. Making sure no harm came to her in her sleep. While they could be loud and demanding, children were so fucking peaceful. They didn’t yet carry the baggage of hate and fear and hurt and distrust and doubt. And while they often had a temper, they didn’t yet know anger.
Threading her little fingers through my hair, she gripped a few strands and said, “I wanna play on the swing!”
“Okay, we’ll take Adam and go outside to play while Mummy cleans up inside.” Sonya gave me a look of complete relief and thanks.
Kylie began kicking her legs in excitement. “Put me down! Put me down! I’ll get Adam.”
I let her go and watched as she ran out of the room in search of her brother. Glancing at Sonya, I said, “You do what you need to do here, and then I’m taking everyone out for dinner so you don’t have to cook.”
“Thank you, Dom. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you most of the time.”
“You’d get by.” And she would. Sonya was a strong woman. I just liked to be able to help her where I could.
“Yeah, but Campbell wouldn’t recognise me when he came home from sea. I’d be a messy, grumpy wife. Maybe even an alcoholic, too.”
“You wouldn’t be. You don’t have time to drink.”
She laughed. “True!”
Kylie came back into the kitchen, her brother in tow. Two years younger than her, Adam was often dragged around by his sister. He adored her, though, and never complained. She grabbed my hand. “Let’s go!”