Commando (Rogue Rebels MC 1)

I opened

my mouth to answer, but no words came out. The truth was, I didn’t know exactly what to do. All I knew was that I loved Piper and Lilliana.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “We haven’t gotten that far yet.”

Mr. Prewitt nodded and stood up from the table. We took my untouched cup of coffee and dumped it out in the sink. With a meaningful look, he jerked his head toward the back door.

“Well,” he said. “That’s something you should probably go figure out.”

Without a word, I stood up and crossed the kitchen slowly. When I glanced back at him he was busy washing his own mug. I slipped through the back door and out into the early morning, my head spinning.

Twenty- Nine

Logan

As I walked around the back of the house that afternoon, Mr. Prewitt’s words were still echoing in my ears. I could still see the look on his face as he scrutinized me in the dim kitchen light. He didn’t trust me. That much was obvious. But, what was worse, was the fact that he was right. It was ridiculous that I hadn’t figured out some sort of plan for being in my daughter’s life. How could I have let the night pass without discussing the logistics with Piper? When were they leaving for New York? How often would they come back to Bradberry? How many times would Piper allow me to visit them in the city?

These questions and more whirled a destructive path through my brain as I stepped into the backyard. I glanced around until I saw Lilliana running toward me. She threw her arms around my waist and grabbed my hand.

“Come on,” she said. “There’s food.”

“Sounds great, kiddo,” I told her. “But I need to find your mom first. Do you know where she is?”

“She’s talking to her cousin or something,” Lilliana said. She pointed toward the back fence. I followed her finger and saw Piper standing in front of a young woman. They were talking animatedly.

“I’ll be right back,” I promised Lili.

“Okay,” she shrugged and ran off to play. I made my way across the backyard, nodding and smiling to people as I passed. I recognized a few people there, but most of them were strangers. It was a full-fledged Prewitt reunion. There were people everywhere, but I only had eyes for Piper.

“Hey!” she said when she saw me approaching. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I smiled and hugged her quickly. Her cousin was still standing in front of us and I didn’t want to talk with her there.

“Mel,” Piper said. “This is Logan, Lilliana’s father.”

“Oh my God, so nice to finally meet you,” Mel said. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she extended her hand to me. I shook it and smiled widely. Suddenly, everything began to click into place.

Hearing Piper call me Lilliana’s father made everything seem clear. There wasn’t anything I wanted more than Piper and Lili. I couldn’t imagine my life without the two of them in it. In that moment, I knew that staying in Bradberry wasn’t an option. I knew exactly what I needed to do.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said to Mel before I turned my attention to Piper. “Piper, can we talk somewhere?”

“Sure,” she said. She waved at Mel and led the way over to the garage. We slipped inside and she turned to face me with a worried expression. “What is it? Is everything okay?”

“It’s more than okay,” I smiled. “I just realized something.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

I took a step forward and grabbed her hands. I held them tightly and stared into her face, memorizing the way her blue eyes looked in that moment.

“I want to come with you,” I said bluntly.

“Come with me?” She asked blankly.

“To New York,” I explained. “I want to go with you. You and Lili.”

“Logan…”

“Just listen, okay?” I said. “After everything that’s happened this week, I can’t stand to be away from either of you. We already agreed that I would be in Lili’s life, but that’s not enough. I don’t want to see her on weekends or holidays. I want to be with her every day. I want to watch her grow up. I want to help raise her.”