Page 9 of Wild Forever
My mouth drops open, because I tried to call him several hundred times.
“You could have picked up your phone. I left you messages.”
He grunts again, and I know I’m right.
“I didn’t think you were going to just turn up.”
I fold my arms across my chest as anger simmers in my bones. “She’s my niece, Grant. I’m entitled to see her.”
Well, not technically. The courts said I can’t see her, but that was when I was sick. I’m better now. I just can’t afford the lawyer to make it official.
A woman gets out of the car and opens the back seat. There are two baby seats in there, and she unbuckles one and takes the cutest little girl out.
Her hair is dark and curly, just like Karen’s, and her smile is as mischievous, which is always what was getting Karen into trouble. My sister loved the wild life. She was wild, good-natured, fun, and pretty, a lethal combination for attracting men.
My eyes shine as I think about Karen, and I wipe a tear away.
I catch Grant looking at me, and his expression softens.
“I don’t like that you’re here,” he says. “But since you are, you can see your niece.”
My heart soars, and before I know what I’m doing I throw my arms around him. Grant’s as solid as the mighty trees that cover the mountain. He smells like baby milk and pine needles and beard oil, and it’s so distinctive that I want to bury my nose in his shoulder and breathe him in.
But it’s a stiff hug from his side, and I pull myself back before I embarrass myself by doing something stupid like sniffing him.
“Thank you,” I say.
“But you can’t stay here.” His voice is firm, and my good feeling evaporates.
Whatever connection me and Grant had going on, it’s been severed. He’s the father now, protecting his daughter, and it breaks my heart that the thing he’s protecting her from is me.
There’s a knock at the door, and it opens before Grant reaches it.
“Hey, princess.”
Bailey holds out her arms when she sees Grant and giggles. “Dadda,” she says, and my heart breaks. She’s talking now, and I missed it.
I missed all of it. The walking, the talking, her first smile. I wasn’t there for any of it. Grant’s right; what right do I have to be here now?
But all my doubts evaporate as I watch my niece, her easy smile and intelligent eyes as she tugs on Grant’s beard.
“She went down after lunch for two hours,” the woman says. She gives Grant a rundown on Bailey’s day and is about to leave when Grant stops her.
“Are you going back to HQ, Danni?”
“Yeah,” the woman says. “I need to close up the shop before I head home.”
He glances at me, and the woman looks inside for the first time. Her gaze meets mine, and she smiles.
“I didn’t know you had company.” She raises an eyebrow at Grant, and he shakes his head with a scowl.
“She’s not staying,” Grant says. “This is April, and she needs a bed for the night. Can you drop her at the clubhouse? I’ll call ahead and let the Prez know.”
I look between them with my heart sinking fast. I’m this close to my niece, but I’ve not been able to even touch her yet, and now I’m being sent away.
“It’s safe there,” says Grant. “There are rooms upstairs. You can get something to eat and stay the night, and I’ll drop you back in Hope tomorrow.”
He’s going to drop me back tomorrow. I stare at him, my heart heavy. All this was for nothing. But what did I expect? That he would just hand Bailey over?
