Page 3 of Starcrossed Colorado

“Who wouldn’t like Maisie? She’s a doll.”

“Exactly. We don’t know.”

Dixie tutted. “Emma has family over in Hartley and comes well-recommended. But you’re missing my point. She already signed her lease, and it starts the first of the month. The deal is done. So stop being an overgrown baby and accept it, Ashford O’Neal.”

Groaning, I tipped my head back and glared at the low ceiling of my tiny office. This sucked. Because deep down, I knew Dixie was doing me a favor. She’d been charging me below-market rates for years. Now she’d found another way to cover the rent increase until I could make it work myself.IfI could ever make it work.

I rubbed a hand over my beard. “Okay. I’ll give it a try. But I’ll have the higher rent for you soon. I’ll figure it out somehow. Just in case this summer person is unreliable and falls through.”

“Works for me.”

“I appreciate you giving me a deal on the rent for so long.”

“Oh, don’t even mention that.” Dixie glanced at the huge rose-gold watch on her tiny wrist. “Is it about time for those tykes to do their kickboxing? I want to stay and watch. It’s so stinking cute.”

“It’s a grappling art, not kickboxing, but…yeah. Sure.”

Still reeling from Dixie’s news, I left the office and went down the hall to where the kids had gathered in the lobby. My gaze went straight to Maisie, as if drawn by a magnet.

My little girl. I loved my family and friends, and I’d do anything for them. No matter how much they might get on my last nerve. But always,always, Maisie was my number one.

She had my chestnut-brown hair. My straight brows, which usually looked more worried than a six-year-old’s should. And she had Lori’s delicate nose, heart-shaped face, and emerald-green eyes.

The memory of my best friend twanged a hollow place in my chest.

Maisie made a beeline in my direction. “The big hand on the clock is close to the top, Daddy. You were almost late.”

“Almostdoesn’t count. I was just chatting with Miss Dixie.” I leaned down to smooth Maisie’s hair and kiss the top of it, sneaking a quick whiff of her strawberry-soap scent. Same thing Lori used to do. It calmed me like nothing else.

Standing, I raised my voice and said, “Let’s go, class! Who’s ready to rock?” I opened the door to the training room, and the kids flooded inside. “Ollie, hands to yourself. Quiet down, everyone. Who remembers what we talked about last week? What’s the best kind of fight?”

“One with a flying spin kick!” somebody shouted.

“No. Especially not in jiu-jitsu. Who knows the real answer? What’s the best kind of fight?”

“One we can stop before it starts,” Maisie recited.

“Exactly.”That’s my girl, I thought. “We only fight if we have no other alternative.”

Except life had a tendency to knock your feet out from beneath you with a flying spin kick just when you thought things were okay. I wasn’t talking about rent increases, either.

Bad shit happened, and good guys didn’t always win.

I wanted to keep that harsh reality away from my daughter for as long as I possibly could.

TWO

Emma

“Come on,baby. Don’t do me like this. Haven’t I always been good to you?”

I caressed the steering wheel of my 2001 Nissan Altima. She’d been making weird noises for the last several miles. Clanking. Then some kind of grinding. None of it good.

“You can do it,” I cooed. “We’re almost there. Baby, please.”

Stella whimpered from the passenger seat. Then leaned over to lick my cheek. I appreciated the moral support.

The drive had been going so well until now. I’d left West Oaks, California, yesterday morning. Stopped in a secluded area on the Nevada/Utah border to get a few hours of sleep overnight. Stella had cuddled up with me to keep us both warm. Maybe sleeping in my car in the desert wasn’t the safest idea, but it had worked out fine. What my overprotective father didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

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