Keeping Her (Savage Brothers Second Generation 2)

“Red? Baby, when haven’t you given me a piece of your mind?”

“Then, you shouldn’t be surprised, should you?” she huffs.

I bring my hand up and press my palm against the side of her cheek, looking down at her and wondering if it would even be possible to go back to a life before Jasmine was part of it. Somehow, I don’t think it is.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Red. You’re constantly surprising me.”

“Don’t try to be nice to me right now, Luke. I’m pissed and I need to direct that on you.”

“Why?” I laugh.

“Because if I don’t, I’ll probably kill your buddy’s old lady and I’m sensing that would be bad.”

“It probably would be,” I say with a chuckle and bend down to kiss her. “You ready?”

“As I ever will be, I guess,” she says, sounding like she’s getting ready for a firing squad.

“She’ll love you, Red.”

“Yeah, but how am I going to feel about you when all this is said and done?” she asks, and I can’t stop from worrying about that myself.29Jasmine“Daddy!”

I heard the little girl’s cry and there was so much joy in it that my heart squeezed in my chest. Then, I heard footsteps, obviously bare, padding over in the dark room toward the door. I frowned, looking around the room, but before I could piece it together, I watched as Luke lifted this beautiful little bundle in his arms. She was curvy, with strawberry blonde hair, and if she tightened her little hands any harder on her daddy’s neck, she might choke him.

“Hey, sunshine.”

“I missed you,” she responds, her voice muffled because her face is pressed tight into Luke’s neck. I feel around on the wall for a light switch and eventually find it. I give it a flick, but nothing happens. I do it again and get the same result. I’m concentrating on what I’m doing and therefore, my attention is focused completely on it and not Luke and his daughter.

“It’s blown,” the little girl says and my head jerks back around and thanks to light from the hallway, I see the prettiest brown eyes staring at me.

“What is?” I ask, kind of mesmerized by the little girl. She really is beautiful and looks so much like her dad that it’s almost uncanny.

“The light blowed. Auntie Gina is gonna get me a new bulb.”

“Oh. She may have forgotten because of the party,” I tell her, putting a smile on my face. I’m suddenly nervous being the primary focus of her attention.

What happens if she doesn’t like me?

Should it matter? Will it matter to Luke? Does he truly see me as something more than just a passing fling? Does he want me as part of his life?

Am I even ready for any of this?

Too late I realize that I should have asked all these questions earlier. I didn’t and now I’m stuck.

“It blowed last week when Daddy took me to McDonalds. Are we going to McDonalds Daddy?”

“Haven’t you had supper, Sunshine,” Luke asks, his voice gruff.

“Aunt Gina brought me cereal,” she says, and I grin—mostly because I like cereal for dinner sometimes too.

“Daddy has to meet with Uncle Ford,” Luke says, regretfully. “How about—”

“I could take her to get something to eat…” I suggest, feeling weird about asking, but not really wanting to stay here either. Luke just stares at me and I’m beginning to feel even more uncomfortable. “It doesn’t have to be away from here, I meant to the kitchen or somewhere,” I mumble.

“Who are you?” Daisy asks, tilting her head to the side to look at me.

“I’m a friend of your Daddy’s,” I answer, suddenly thinking I’d rather face down all of Luke’s club than this one small five-year-old. “My name is Jasmine.”

“Like the princess on ‘Laddin.”

“I guess so,” I respond with a smile.

“You don’t look like her,” she argues, her hand tentatively reaching out to touch my hair.

“I don’t guess I do,” I laugh.

“You look like Ariel,” she says, her fingers continuing to play in my hair.

“So do you,” I murmur, touching her hair gently which is lighter than my copper curls, but still similar. It would appear that Luke has a type.

“I want to be Merida,” she announces letting go of my hair. Luke lets her down on the floor and I crouch down so that we’re more eye level. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’ve always liked kids—my brother is still a kid, a big one.

“She’s my favorite,” I say with a sagely nod, appearing completely serious.

“Mine too! I have the movie! Daddy bought it for me. Do you want to watch it with me?”

“Jasmine has to—”

“I’d love to,” I tell her, interrupting Luke. I’m rewarded with his muted grunt, so I know I didn’t make him happy.

I lift my gaze to look up at him while he’s standing behind Daisy. “I can watch with her while you meet with Ford and the others,” I shrug. His eyes narrow, he’s clearly not happy. Sadly, for him, I’m all out of fucks to give. “You could take us to the kitchen first though.”