Page 69 of Daddy's Pursuit
The matronly woman was wearing a smile as Iris watched her approach on the patio. “You’re tired.”
Iris nodded to agree with the statement.
Jack, holding Iris on his lap as he sat on the outdoor couch, kissed her head and then said, “I best get this cutie home and into bed.”
“She is home,” Athena teased with a smirk.
“Are we going to have to fight over her?” Jack replied with a smile of his own.
Iris just giggled.
“Oh, all right. Take her. But she has to come over all the time. Every day.” Athena looked determined.
“We already discussed that,” Jack said, standing while still holding Iris. “You get to babysit her while I work.”
“I’m curious if that will change,” Athena said. There was something knowing in her eyes, and Iris wondered what she meant.
So did Jack, because he said, “What are you talking about?”
Athena just smiled wider. “Do you have a couple of minutes? This won’t take long.”
“Sure,” Jack said. “I guess this cutie can hold off going to bed for a few more minutes. That is, if it’s okay with her.”
“I want to see what Auntie is up to!” Iris declared.
The Bigs laughed.
“Then follow me,” Auntie said. “There are some friends I’d like you to meet.”
Curiosity was eating away at Iris as Daddy carried her into the mansion and to the kitchen. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long, as her eyes quickly landed on the three men who sat at the table in the breakfast nook.
She recognized two of them.
“Harrison Trent!” she yelled. “Grant Baker!”
The actors smiled and waved.
“That’s Stryker,” Harrison said, pointing at the man next to him. “Don’t worry about not recognizing him. He’sjusta director. Nobody knows them.”
Stryker laughed, and Iris could tell the ribbing was congenial.
“Y’all want to have a seat?” Stryker asked, his eyes falling to the chairs across the table from him. “It’s late. But we had an idea we wanted to run past you.”
“We won’t take much of your time,” Grant Baker said.
Iris had seen a few of Grant’s movies, too. He usually played in action films, though every now and then he snuck another genre into his filmography. But thanks to his bulging muscles and chiseled good looks, he fit those action roles perfectly.
The same went for Harrison.
Stryker was handsome, too, and he had plenty of muscle. But he was a bit leaner. Even sitting down, though, it was evident he was taller than the other two men.
Which was saying something, because Grant and Harrison were tall!
He also had dark-blond hair, while his friends had black.
“We can spare a few minutes. It’s not every day we’re in the presence of Hollywood royalty,” Jack told them.
Athena sat down with them, on the other side of Iris. The Auntie gently rubbed the Little’s back as they sat there. Iris couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly her life had changed. She used to feel so alone and hopeless. Now, though, she had a family. She had a Daddy. Life was almost… perfect.
