Until Talon (Until Him 4)

“Let me get this straight.” I turn to meet Mia’s gaze as I start to take our burgers off the grill. “Mike wouldn’t let your sister and her parents take the girls away for the weekend, but he’s still not going to see them until late Saturday evening?”

“Yep,” she agrees, rolling her eyes. “And Cece is nicer than I am, because I would have told him to shove it. It’s not like he sees them all week, when he could if he wanted to.”

“He doesn’t see his girls at all during the week?” I carry the burgers I just took off the grill to the table.

“Nope, he works Monday through Friday, then Saturday afternoon he plays softball with his friends, so he picks them up after that and then drops them back at the house Sunday after they have dinner.”

“Babe, you gotta know that’s fucked up, right? I get that he needs to work to provide for his girls, but he also needs to spend more than twenty-four hours a week with them.”

“I’m not disagreeing with you.” She loads up her burger while I do the same with mine. “It’s just how it is, and now that he’s dating someone, I doubt that’s going to change. I just hope it doesn’t get worse.”

“Worse than it is?”

She sets down the fry she’s holding and wipes her fingers on the napkin in her lap before taking a sip of her tea and clearing her throat. “My dad did the same thing when him and Mom got divorced. He married the woman he had been having an affair with, and then he stopped showing up to see me and Cece. Then eventually he forgot about us all together.”

Witnessing her pain, it takes everything in me not to pick up the table between us and toss it over the deck.

“Thankfully—” She lets out a breath. “—we got Chaz, who was willing to put in the work and earn our trust.” She smiles a sad smile. “I don’t know what my mom or my sister and I would have done without his strength during that time.”

“You don’t have any contact with your dad?” I question, already knowing the answer.

“None, and I don’t know my siblings either.”

“He had more kids?” My jaw clenches. I know it happens, but growing up like I did, seeing the love between my parents and other members of my family, divorce and secondary families are a foreign concept to me.

“Two boys. He always wanted boys, so I’m sure he’s happy.”

“It’s his loss, baby. You gotta know that. He’s missing out on knowing you, your sister, his grandkids.”

“I’m not sad.” She reaches out, grasping my hand. “I’ve had a lot of time to get over the anger I felt when it comes to him, and you’re right; it’s his loss, my gain. When he left, my mom became a better mom, and when she got with Chaz, Cece and I got a dad who wanted to be a father. It might have taken me some time to realize that, but I know that now, and I don’t take him for granted.”

“You love him.” It’s not a question. Her devotion to him is written all over her face.

“More than anything.” She picks up a fry and dips it in some ketchup on her plate before meeting my gaze once more. “I know you might disagree, but I’m praying my sister finds a Chaz for her and the girls.”

“I get why you want that for them, baby,” I tell her quietly, and I do, given her history and Mike’s lack of involvement in his kids’ lives. It’s understandable why she wants that for her sister and her nieces. It’s not about having a man around; it’s about having someone willing to step up to be what each of them needs. “Your sister will find someone, but I hope Mike pulls his head out of his ass and becomes the dad his girls need right now.”

“Me too,” she agrees then shakes her head. “Enough about that. Tell me about the house.”

“I’ll take you over there Sunday before we have lunch with your parents.” I grin when the look crosses her face that states she is clearly still nervous about that introduction. “We’ve had a full crew in there all week, so if things keep moving like they are now, we’ll be back where we were before the break-in in a couple weeks ago and should be on track to finish the build by our deadline.”

“I’m sure you and Bax are both relieved about that.”

“We are, but until we have a buyer, I don’t think we’ll relax. But I am thankful things are flowing in a direction that will lead us to putting a For Sale sign on the front lawn.”

“Well, I can’t wait to see it.” She smiles, dunking one of her fries into some ketchup before tossing it into her mouth, and I follow suit.