The Lyon's Cub Caitlin (Lyon The Next Generation 1)

I didn’t answer him right away so he went fishing. “I thought for a long time like everyone else that the reason you won’t let her come to me is because you thought we were too young. But the more I think about it, that alone isn’t enough to make you disappoint her.”

“What are you saying?” He cleared his throat and sat up in his chair.

“I’m saying that the man I’ve come to know, though he loves his daughter beyond measure, wouldn’t just crush her dreams because of me. If keeping us apart was all you were after, you would’ve let her go somewhere else; even Harvard, your old alma mater.”

His look now was expectant while I kept my poker face in place. Is this kid telling me that he knows me? “Let me ask you this. What if what you suspect is true? What then?” His face fell a little and I understood. It’s one thing to suspect something, and another to have it confirmed. Though I didn’t come right out and tell him that he was right, the boy is obviously not dumb. Thank fuck because my wife already has these two damn near married already.

“Sir, I never told you this and you never asked, but my family isn’t exactly poor. We’re not as wealthy as you are I don’t think, but we’re doing okay. I received part of my inheritance when I was eighteen…”

“Same here!”

“What I mean to say sir is that to ease your mind I am more than capable of hiring a security team for Caitlin after we get married.” The fuck did he just say?

“Come again? Did you just say married?” The little shit didn’t even flinch this time when I gave him ‘the look’.

“Yes sir, I’m going to marry her, it’s what you do when you’re in love.” I stayed in my seat and didn’t give shit away, not even when I saw Mengele’s shadow slither away from the door. “Do you think she’s going to tell her sister what we talked about?”

What…the…fuck. “You knew she was there?”

“Not the whole time sir I’m not as good as you…yet. I didn’t hear her approach.” Okay now, this kid is starting to confuse the fuck outta me. When he left here years ago he was just some snot nosed kid who used to sniff around my daughter.

They were both too young back then to get into too much shit, plus I’d put the fear of hell fire in his ass and wasn’t too worried about him crossing the line with my Caitiebear.

Kat seemed to think even back then that the kid had it in him to hang in there for the duration, but as a father I didn’t pay too much attention to that shit, I was just glad that he was gone.

The fact that my kid never even looked at another boy had crossed my mind a time or two, and the way these two stayed on the damn phone for hours everyday was something to take notice of; but when had the kid become a man?

When had he become someone I could look across my desk at and think, this is my future son in law? When exactly did that shit happen? Was it when I watched him body slam that kid in the schoolyard? When he put that necklace with the tracker on my kid? Or was it what Mancini had said about him and how far he’d come in the last few months working with him?

It’s been one day, the kid’s been back one day and already he’s turning my life upside down. “What if I don’t give you permission to marry her?”

“Then I won’t stop trying to convince you that I’m the right guy for her. Look at it this way sir, you’ve already trained me, how long is it going to take to train someone else?” This fuck!

CAITLIN

I sat in my room on pins and needles. Todd had gone to daddy’s office while I went to my parents’ room to give aunt Cierra her ice cream after putting away the case of baby food mom had wanted. I tried to talk him out of it but he said it was the right thing to do. Now he’s been in there going on twenty minutes.

Catalina had been with uncle Hank when we walked in and the boys were in the garage as usual tinkering with their bikes so I’m left alone with my thoughts. Even Cody had deserted me seeing as it was way past his bedtime.

I heard the knock on my door and sat up thinking it was Todd. “Come in.” Catalina peeped around the door before stepping in and walking to the bed. She had that look on her face like she was up to something she shouldn’t be. It was only then I remembered the piece of paper and reached for it under my pillow. It was gone.