Rascal (Edgewater Agency Book 2)

by Kyanna Skye

  The jaws of the vices across her body clamped shut. Every last drop of resolve that had been in her body had been removed. Tears began to form in her eyes and that seemed proof enough for him as the hurt that seemed to wash across his face grew. But the silence that endured was proof enough for her that he wouldn’t let the silence stand as confirmation.

  She summed up her courage, feeling her stomach tie into an uncomfortable knot. “Yes…,” she said softly, her voice less than a whisper, “she’s yours.” The silence that endured following the comment was so pronounced that she could almost hear Chad’s heart beating… or maybe it was her own.

  He turned his attention forward, almost like it was poisonous just to look at her. The feeling made her feel alone and vulnerable. He shook his head with disbelief. “Why?”

  The question was so simple and yet it carried tremendous weight. With all of her resolve already gone from her, she didn’t have it in her to lie any further. “Because… I wanted you to have a future.”

  He didn’t interrupt. He just waited for her to speak her piece.

  “You were going to places, Chad. College ball… the NFL… we all knew that you were going to make it. And you did. Having a baby, that changes everything, doesn’t it? Would you have stayed here to take care of her… of us? Could you have done that if you’d stayed? What would everyone else think? Chad Cinch, the star of the team, suddenly trades a successful career for the life of a family man? That doesn’t sound at all like you. How many girls did you fuck in school? How many have you fucked since then? You’re still in that life, Chad. And you obviously like it.”

  The words felt good to say, but at the same time they felt like she was only poisoning herself. His attention remained fixated ahead. She knew that they were already nearing her apartment and with those few precious seconds left she knew she had to say one last thing… something that could affect her life forever yet again.

  “I never wanted to hurt you,” she said, her voice breaking. “I just wanted you to have everything that meant something to you.”

  He didn’t respond. He was silent until he pulled up to the door of her apartment building. He turned his head sideways to look at her. “You shouldn’t have made that decision without me. I think that I do have some say in it, don’t I?”

  Now it was her turn to remain silent. No words came to mind that would ease the pain that she had obviously filled him with.

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning for the wedding.”

  The words were final… and curt. He’d said everything that he wanted to say and he’d heard everything he wanted to. Unable to endure his company a second longer she quickly scrambled out of the truck, but she paused when it came time to close the door.

  She had felt this way once before. It wasn’t long after she had learned that she was pregnant… when her own parents had disowned her for her pregnancy… and she had felt like she was entirely alone. And the only person she could have thought to turn to was about to leave… to move on to bigger and greater things.

  But she could see the hurt on his face. She hadn’t protected him… she had played on his ignorance. And if there was one thing that she knew, having tutored him before, she knew that Chad Cinch didn’t like to feel stupid.

  She closed the door.

  And she watched him as he slowly drove off into the night. She watched his tail lights as they were absorbed by the darkness. And though she knew she would see him tomorrow, it felt as if she would never see him again.

  She sobbed openly, not caring if anyone saw her.

  Chad put on his tuxedo with slowness that was not good for an NFL star to have. It took him ten minutes to tie one shoe, almost twice as long just to put his cummerbund and jacket on. Combing his hair had taken him just as long, though on a normal day it would have taken him thirty seconds.

  Fuck.

  When his look was complete he looked at himself in the full length mirror. His tux was fit and neat, he looked so unlike himself that it was almost comforting. None of his tattoos were visible, nor were any of his scars. He reminded himself of his high school days, before tattoos and scars were meaningful things. If he had not known better, he would have thought that he wasn’t Bad Chad. He would have thought that he was just Chad… a simple boy from Holy Oaks.

  He stood looking at himself for a long time. Underneath this tuxedo he knew what he really was. A star athlete with a promising career… money… fame… women… all of the usual perks that came with being what he was.

  That’s what I am… but it’s not who I am, he thought wryly.

  He thought about that. What was he, really? Take away the fame and the fortune, what was he? He was just an asshole who bedded a different woman every time he literally went to town… somewhere else. He had never allowed any of those other women to attach themselves to him. He’d burned them, like he was pulling leaches or ticks from off his body. He’d even learned to check their phones and purses and make sure that they weren’t trying to get a digital memento of their trysts with him.

  But he hadn’t done that with Kelly.

  Shit, he’d smiled and posed for some of the pictures that she had taken of him with Ellie on her phone. And that he should try and erase them hadn’t even entered into his mind. Kelly could be posting them online right now… they would go viral… and then he would be the joke of the NFL. What would his teammates think? What would every sportscaster and commentator think? What would the other women he’d fucked think?

  Fuck if I care, he thought easily. That was strange, too. It really was that simple. He didn’t care. One of his oldest rules was finally coming into play and for the better. He didn’t care what anyone would think if those pictures would surface. He knew the truth now: he had been playing with his daughter.

  Ellie is my daughter.

  The words struck home as if they had been put there with a sledge hammer and a driving spike. It had a more profound impact on him than being nominated for MVP. Anything that he had achieved in his sports career suddenly seemed worthless compared to that. No trophy he could have ever hoisted could have amounted to holding his own daughter in his arms. No title he could have ever won would have likened to being called ‘Daddy’. And nothing could have amounted to how good it had felt sleeping beside Kelly.

  He looked at himself in the mirror again. He didn’t see Bad Chad Cinch staring back at him. He actually looked quite normal.

  “You look so handsome,” Susie’s voice said.

  He turned and saw his sister standing at the threshold of his room, watching him as he examined himself in the mirror. She wasn’t dressed yet, but the leisure garment she wore told him that she was prepared to get into her wedding gown at a moment’s notice. The ceremony was still two hours off and he’d seen her in her gown… there was no rush getting into it.

  He smirked. “Thanks, Sissy.”

  “You’re welcome, Stretch.”

  Together they shared a chuckle as she entered into his room and did what all sisters would do when surveying the appearance of their brother. Her hands went to his bowtie and she adjusted it slightly. “There. All better now.”

  If only things were all better now, he thought sadly. “Are you excited?”

  She smirked anxiously. “Yes… I am. Are you?”

  He furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh?”

  She smacked him across the shoulder in true sisterly fashion. “Don’t play dumb, Stretch. I saw you staring at Kelly last night.”

  He felt a sliver of fear inch its way into his heart. “I wasn’t staring.”

  “Yes, you were.” She shook her head at him, “Men… so clueless sometimes.”

  His look of confusion maintained itself.

  “I saw her watching you, too, out of the corner of her eye. You two were looking at each other.” She smiled. “I’ve seen that look too many times before now, Chad. I’ve seen it at dinners, business meetings, publicity functions… whatever.” She grew a wide smile on her face. “You two slept tog
ether and you don’t want anyone else to know.”

  His heart felt like it was about to bottom out.

  “That makes at least twice that you two have, uh, shall we say ‘taken the plunge’ now?” Susie said, her smile brightening.

  He stood, dumbfounded. “Uh… I…”

  “Oh, come on, Chad. I recognize two people who’ve fucked each other when I see it and when they try to hide it. It’s as much a part of my job as getting coffee every morning.” She put a thoughtful finger to her chin. “The first time was that night of my graduation party – and don’t deny it!” She poked him hard in the chest with her finger to accent her point. “The two of you disappeared for more than an hour and every girl at that party was looking for you… and I happened to notice that Kelly was missing too. It didn’t take much to figure out what you two were doing.”

  “Er… uh… I…”

  “Why do you think I asked her to be my maid of honor, stupid? It’s so that you two would have to talk to each other and maybe pick up where you left off. Why do you think I kept her number all of these years? It was pretty obvious. Way back when I had you, asking me how she was doing when you didn’t care about any of your other girls? That was my first clue. And there was her, feigning a casual interest in your life? That was clue number two. I’m not stupid, Chad. And then seeing how you two were watching each other last night? You obviously rekindled an old flame.” Susie crossed her arms, looking rather smug and satisfied with herself.

  He stood there, his mouth slightly agape.

  Susie put her hands on his face, much like she had when they were children and she was intent on embarrassing her big brother in some fashion. But they were alone here and her words were only for him. “Chad… stop being stupid. I know that Kelly didn’t go away to school. When Francis and I got engaged I happened to be in New York… I thought she was there at Julliard and I wanted to spring the news on her firsthand and surprise her. As it turned out I was surprised to find out that she had never been to Julliard… and I know she’s been lying to me all this time. That’s fine… I really have no problem with it. I’ve been lying to her since we were nineteen and pretending like I didn’t know that you and her had knocked boots.

  “Now I don’t know why she didn’t go, I’m not crazy enough to dig that deep into her life… and some things have to remain personal. But I’m guessing it had to be a damn good reason why she never left.” She paused, her tone becoming more serious. “And I’m guessing that it had something to do with you.”

  Chad couldn’t have been more surprised than if Susie had reached into his chest and pulled his heart out and shown it to him. He’d always known that his little sister was smarter than a lot of people… but he’d never thought that she could outsmart him. He had always thought that he’d been so careful.

  “Now,” Susie said, stepping aside. “Go and get her.”

  Though he felt like his I.Q. had just dropped sharply in the last twenty seconds, he knew that she wasn’t talking about just bringing Kelly here for the wedding.

  He smirked and grabbed his keys off the dresser and kissed his sister on the cheek before running out the door with all of the speed that his pro-athlete legs could muster. He dodged staff and waiters as they moved about the house, making their final preparations.

  He jumped into his truck and sped off. Everything that he had been brooding over… every negative thought… every lie that he had been trying to get past… it all seemed to go away. What was negative about the past was literally shit. He’d digested it and he was prepared to flush it into oblivion and never give it a second thought. All that really mattered now was the future. He had always thought that the future was something to be planned.

  And he had planned his future out with simplicity. College. The NFL. Successful career. Retirement. It had been that simple. And it all had been only about himself. That was about to change.

  When he pulled up to the building, he didn’t bother finding a proper parking space or even closing and locking his door. He just ran into the lobby and as if fate was on his side, some other person had just opened the secure lobby door. He caught the door like a one-handed interception and raced inside.

  He didn’t bother with the elevator, he ran up the stairs taking them three at a time until he reached the fifth floor. A couple of quick turns and he found Kelly’s apartment. When he arrived there, he resisted the urge to bang on the door like an invading army at a castle.

  This is big, he told himself. Do it right, goddamn it!

  He spared a moment to collect his breath and compose himself, his tux becoming a little loose and his carefully prepared appearance a little slighted. When he prepared himself he knocked gently on the door. His heart began to race. It wasn’t anxiousness that was gripping him. It was something else… something better… it was certainty.

  When the door opened, Kelly stood there. She was dressed in a scarlet red gown that he knew the rest of the bridal party would be wearing. Her shoulders were bare and her hair had been neatly braided, she wore elbow-length white gloves, a beautiful diamond necklace hung about her neck.

  She was gorgeous.

  “Hi,” she said, trying to sound cheery. “I was just–”

  He didn’t give her a chance to finish. He rushed past the threshold and drew her into his arms. He put his mouth on hers and all the dullness… the grey feelings… the anger and resentment he’d felt… it evaporated like shards of ice on a hot iron skillet.

  She didn’t resist him. Her hands in their silken gloves gently wrapped themselves around his neck. He sucked on her tongue and she moaned softly and delightedly as he did so.

  When the kiss finally broke he looked at her. Her eyes were not brimming with tears, but with joy, acceptance, and delight.

  “Ahem… ‘cough, cough’ said the uncomfortable young person,” came another voice.

  He turned and looked to who had spoken, finding someone that he did not expect. A young teenage girl sat in the living room with Ellie sitting squarely in her lap. Chad felt a little embarrassed. He hadn’t even stopped to consider that someone else might be in the apartment as well.

  “Oh, hi,” he said to the young teen. “I’m–”

  “I know who you are,” the young girl said, her face breaking into a wide smile. “I’ve seen you play… and your picture is on the wall of fame at school.” She looked to Kelly and gave a small look of approval.

  “Uh… this is Rachel,” Kelly said, “my babysitter.”

  “Oh?” Chad said, not relinquishing his grip on her until just that moment. A thought stuck him as he did so. “Uh… I hate to do this to you,” he said, reaching for his wallet and pulling out every last bill that he had in it. He counted three hundred dollars and passed it to the teen. “But, I don’t think we’ll need your services today, but here’s something for your trouble.”

  The young girl, Rachel, took the offered money and stared at it like she had never seen so much cash in her life.

  “But can I ask one last favor from you?”

  Rachel looked up at him eagerly. “Uh… sure.”

  He indicated Ellie who was excited to see the goofy and playful stranger from the day before once again in her home. “Can you put Ellie in her favorite princess dress? The three of us,” he said, indicating Kelly, Ellie, and himself, “have someplace to go.”

  He heard a barely audible gasp from Kelly behind him.

  Rachel nodded. “Sure… whatever you say.” She stood up and hefted Ellie in her arms. “Come on, sweetie… we have to get you in your favorite princess dress. Which one should we put you in?”

  Ellie squealed with delight as she and Rachel disappeared down the short hall to where Ellie’s room was.

  Alone for the moment, he turned to Kelly who stood with a look that he imagined was just as dumbfounded as his had been when Susie had hit him with the truth. He stepped slowly to her and took her gloved hands in his.

  When he spoke, he spoke softly, these words meant only f
or her. “I took a hard look at myself in the mirror this morning. I wasn’t that crazy about what I saw… and on the way over here I thought about what I – what we – could be.” He licked his lips with determination. “I liked that thought better than anything else.”

  Kelly’s eyes seemed to brighten, but now she held her silence, listening to him with rapt attention.

  He thought about telling her what Susie had told him… about knowing the truth. But he decided against it. Some things did have to remain personal and private. All he knew that he wanted to say was what concerned their future together.

  “I have a future… and I see it with you and Ellie as part of it. You… Ellie… it took all of a second for me to realize that you two mean more to me than anything. And I want you both in my life from here on out. I’m not letting another minute go by without the both of you with me.”

  Kelly remained silent and still, her gloved fingers closing tightly around his. “But… your career?”

  He shook his head dismissively. “Other players have families, too. I’ll just be joining the club.” He smirked a little. “And to be honest, it’ll be a welcome relief.” He looked at her intently. “You sacrificed your own future to give our daughter a life… you let her play princess while disgusting men grab at your ass all day.” He put a hand on her soft cheek. “That stops now. You’re going to quit that shit job… we’ll stop at the diner on our way to the wedding, and if I have to tell your boss that I’m taking you away then I will.” He smiled. “I’m going to let our daughter become a real princess… and you’re going to study music. You want to go to school for it, I can help make it happen. You want a tutor to come to you so you don’t have leave Ellie alone… I can arrange that too. But you’re getting back what you sacrificed for our daughter… and I’ll sacrifice anything I have to, to keep you with me.”