Page 33 of Kent's Honor
Ding-dong.
“Hello, you guys in here?” Dixie called out.
“In the kitchen.”
Nicky’s feet hitting the floorboards as he raced through the house sounded like sweet music.
Kent pushed his chair back, waiting for the little boy to see him and jump on his lap. “Hey, little man.”
He stopped, raising his arms, making fists and flexing his nonexistent muscles. “I’m a big man,” he said in a deep voice.
“That you are.” He helped the boy up, who glanced between him and the plate of food. “Have at it, kid.” He pulled back the chair next to him for Dixie.
She shook her head. “I need to speak with you for a minute. Alone.”
“All right. Elle, watch Nicky, okay?”
Elle nodded as he set Nicky in the booster seat he’d picked up. Poor kid didn’t need to eat on his knees every time he came over, even if he didn’t seem to mind.
“What’s wrong?” Resting his hand on the small of her back, he guided her into the family room, his concern growing as her gaze darted from the door back to his face.
“There was a car outside Jackie’s house this morning.”
He balled his fists. “Whose car? What kind of car?”
“It’s your basic small SUV, dark blue, older model, but well taken care of with tinted windows. I didn’t think anything of it at first until it pulled out behind me. Now it’s parked down at the corner.”
“Stay here and keep the kids inside,” he said with a stern tone, one that he normally reserved when training new firefighters.
“What are you going to do?”
“Have a little chat with whoever is in the car.”
She grabbed his biceps, squeezing hard. “What if it’s—” She gasped, covering her mouth. “It’s Daniel,” she whispered, pointing to the picture window behind the dark-brown sofa.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Stay in the house,” he said behind gritted teeth. “I’ll take care of him.” Reaching out, he fanned his thumb over her cheekbone and cupped her face. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let him near you or Nicky.”
“Is that the right thing to do? He’s never laid a hand on me or him. He’s not violent.”
“Maybe not, but he’s doing just as much damage to that little boy as if he were. It would be one thing if he was late on child support but tried to maintain a relationship. However, he hasn’t even tried to contact you or his kid. He’s no good.”
“You’re right. You’re right.” She nodded. “I should have listened to my aunt when Nicky was born. But I wanted so desperately for my son to have two parents.”
“Trust me, I can understand that thought. Now let me handle this.” He opened and closed his fists, pumped out his chest, and stepped through the front door. “May I help you?”
Daniel stood at the edge of the driveway. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He wore faded jeans, a black T-shirt, and his face was clean-shaven. He looked to be about six foot and muscular.
“Yeah. I want to talk to Dixie.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“I want to see my boy,” Daniel said, folding his arms and spreading his stance.
“You can take that up with the court system. Oh, wait. You won’t do that because you’ll get arrested for being a deadbeat dad. Now get the fuck off my property.”
Daniel laughed. “Tsk. Tsk. You didn’t do your homework. I don’t owe any child support because she dropped the ball on that one, setting me free and clear.”
“Perhaps, but you have no visitation rights, and you’re a drifter with barely two pennies to rub together.” Kent took three steps forward, keeping his eyes locked on Daniel.
