Not Her Daddy

by Darcy Dawes

  “Because that’s cool.”

  “But of course. I don’t know why I never thought of that. Right, off up to your room. I’ll let you know when to put your shoes on.”

  Wyatt zoomed out of my study with the kind of energy you only ever saw in children. He was such a good kid. I couldn’t believe it had taken me this long to talk to him properly. Just because he was so young didn’t mean he didn’t understand what was going on. He was a sharp boy—my sister would be so proud of him.

  And Nat, too. She must always have known. Maybe Wyatt really is her true love.

  It struck me that my nephew was actually closer in age to Natalie. It was a bizarre thought. But I wasn’t about to get jealous of a five-year-old kid. If I lost to him then I deserved not to be with Natalie.

  Reopening my laptop I searched through my client database until I found the person I was looking for—a cancer specialist who’d published a series of books on the subject. She was one of my favorite authors, and we got on well. I hoped we got on well enough for her to help me.

  For Natalie’s sake, and her family’s, too.

  Chapter Twelve

  Natalie

  When I heard a knock on the door I almost didn’t answer it. But my mom and brother were making lunch, and I was doing nothing, so I dutifully stalked down the hallways and opened the door.

  Though he was the person I’d most wanted to see it still surprised me to see him.

  “…Daniel?”

  Why was Daniel Farthing at my door? And with Wyatt in tow, too! Enough time had passed that I figured he was really going to move on, even though it hurt me.

  Dan smiled, but it was awkward and nervous. He ran a hand through his salt-flecked hair. “I—ah—I know you didn’t leave with the best opinion of me and I…wanted to fix that. I miss you, Nat. Wyatt misses you.”

  “I wanted to say that!” Wyatt pouted. He stared at me with his gorgeous green eyes, which were achingly similar to his uncle’s. “I miss you, Nat-Nat! Won’t you come home?”

  I choked back a sob hearing Wyatt wanting me to go home, when I already was home. Or, at least, I was in a house that used to be my home. I wasn’t so sure now.

  Dan looked at me as earnestly as Wyatt was. “Won’t you let us in, just so I can apologize properly? And I have something to discuss with you,”

  For a moment I considered saying no. What would it do to hear Dan’s apology? We couldn’t possibly make whatever we had going work properly, even though it was what I wanted more than anything. But it had been a fling, really. Just a fling.

  So why did my heart hurt so much merely looking at the man in front of me?

  “Okay,” I said, quietly and carefully. “Okay. But be warned—my mom and brother are in.”

  He grinned. “I was hoping they would be.”

  When I allowed the two of them into my mom’s house Wyatt immediately grabbed my hand and didn’t let go. It was adorable.

  “Mom!” I called through to the kitchen. “Dean! We, uh, have a couple of guests.”

  I didn’t look at Dan. I didn’t know what kind of face to make.

  “What do you mean, we have guests?” my mom complained as I showed Dan and Wyatt into the kitchen. “I wasn’t expecting anybody—oh! And who is this handsome young man?” she immediately cooed upon spotting Wyatt.

  Wyatt, who I knew was not shy in the slightest, hid behind my leg and grasped my hand even tighter in the same kind of faux-nervousness he’d shown me for about thirty seconds the first time I’d met him.

  “Mom, Dean, this Daniel Farthing,” I said, indicating to Dan as he shook her hand. “And this is Wyatt, his nephew.”

  Dean nodded his head at Dan and smiled at Wyatt. “It’s lovely to meet you both. What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

  “Please sit down!” my mom exclaimed before Dan could explain himself. “Do you want some cookies, Wyatt? Some coffee, Daniel?”

  “Yes please!”

  “That would be lovely, thanks,” Dan said, taking a seat beside me while Wyatt happily sat on my lap. “And to answer your question, Dean, I owe your sister a massive apology. It was the least I could do to give it to her in person.”

  My mom raised an eyebrow. “An apology? Whatever happened?”

  “I…made light of her circumstances,” Daniel said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “When she explained what was going on at home I…didn’t react as sensitively as I could have. I offered to pay for your medical expenses, Dean, but I realize now that it wasn’t my place to do such a thing. Natalie didn’t tell me about your circumstances in order for me to pity her—she’d told me because she needed to go home. I didn’t see it like that.”

  He turned to face me, and his expression was earnest and intense. It was all I could do not to spontaneously combust beneath his gaze. “Natalie, I am so sorry. You didn’t deserve to be spoken to the way I spoke to you. I had grown too dependent on your help and was using it as a crutch not to be a responsible adult myself. I’m trying to do better now.”

  “We’re seeing mommy on Saturday!” Wyatt piped up, looking up at me with excited eyes. I almost cried.

  Dean was looking at me like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing—as was my mom.

  “So you—excuse me, Mister Farthing,” Dean began carefully, “but why would you pay for my medical expenses? That’s…a lot of money.”

  “Because I love your sister.”

  I couldn’t believe it. Daniel spoke the words as if it was the easiest thing in the word to confess. I knew I was staring at him with my mouth hanging comically open. I didn’t dare look at my mom.

  “You’re in love with my daughter?” she asked quietly. Daniel nodded, watching me carefully as if hoping I’d respond to his confession through facial expression alone.

  “And how does my sister feel?” Dean asked. “Natalie?”

  It was now or never. I could bury my feelings forever and hope to find a nice, normal boy my age at college and carve out an ordinary life. Or I could take a leap of faith and reach out for what I actually wanted.

  A slow smile curled my lips. “I love you too, Daniel.”

  Wyatt banged his head against my chest. “And what about me, Nat-Nat?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course I love you too, Wyatt.”

  Daniel was staring at me in amazement, as if he could believe what I’d just said. “Really?” he uttered. “You actually mean that?”

  I nodded, not trusting my voice.

  And then my mom chuckled and handed Daniel a cup of coffee. “Now my daughter’s behavior makes much more sense, I suppose.”

  Daniel raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

  “She was so mopey! And absolutely useless around the house.”

  “Oh my god, Mom, that’s so embarrassing!”

  Daniel laughed. “Nice to know I was missed.”

  “Shut up.”

  He fired me a look that only I understood.

  Where are your manners, little girl?

  My insides squirmed entirely pleasantly.

  He looked at my mom. “I have something else I came here to discuss.”

  “Oh?”

  “I…know I probably shouldn’t have done this without your permission, but I spoke to a specialist I knew about moving Dean up the bone marrow transplant list. She’s, ah, found a match already, as it happens, so if you were wanting to take it…”

  We all stared at him in disbelief. I couldn’t fathom how Daniel could possibly have known the right people to do this. And, for the first time in a long time, I saw a flash of hope in Dean’s eyes that was mirrored in my mom’s and, I knew, in my own.

  “That’s…incredibly generous,” my mom said, her voice barely a whisper, “but we can’t possibly afford it. It’s just—”

  “That brings me to the next thing I wanted to discuss. If—”

  “Please don’t say you’ll pay for it,” I cut in. “We can’t accept that.”

  Daniel s
hook his head, smiling slightly. “I’ve learned my lesson. I had another idea. Mrs. Jones, Natalie mentioned to me once that you worked as an accounts manager for a small law firm.”

  She nodded.

  “How would you like to work for Farthing Publishing, instead? The job is pretty much the same but with a pay rise…and health insurance that will cover all the expenses for Dean’s transplant.”

  Okay, if I’d been staring at Daniel in disbelief before it was nothing to how I was looking at him now. What he was offering was—everything. It as something my mom could accept.

  She glanced at me, then Dean. “We’d have to move, of course.”

  “I wanted to go to Nat’s college, anyway. May as well bite the bullet a year early—it’s not like I can live away from home until I’m given the all clear, anyway,” Dean said, a slow grin sliding up his face.

  Daniel took this as a very good sign. “You’ll take the job, Mrs. Jones?”

  She beamed and held out her hand, which he dutifully shook. “Call me Kathy. And it would be my pleasure to take the job, Daniel.”

  “Ew, sis, you’re crying.”

  I turned away from the group at the table in embarrassment, though Wyatt was still in my lap. He reached up his hands to wipe my tears away.

  “Don’t cry, Nat-Nat,” he murmured. He pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper from his pocket. “I drew you a picture.”

  I unfolded it as I ran a palm over my face, desperate to clear away the tears that simply wouldn’t stop falling. It was clearly a fight between dinosaurs and dragons, colored very enthusiastically with what looked like every hue from Wyatt’s crayon set.

  “Very cool, Wyatt,” I said, smiling at him. “The velociraptor is my favorite.”

  He beamed. “I knew it would be. It’s defending its eggs.”

  “Of course it is.”

  I glanced up when I realized everyone was looking at me. “What?” I asked, a little nervously.

  Dan ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t suppose you would…consider coming back to live with me? Not immediately, of course!” He looked at my mom and brother. “Just…when you’re ready, whenever that is. If you’d like.”

  “God, no, take her now,” my mom said. “I don’t need a miserable daughter around. Though you can come back and help us pack up the house once I’ve given my notice at work and found an apartment to rent, you hear me?”

  “I—Dean?”

  He smiled softly at me. “Once we’ve moved you won’t be able to get rid of me, Nat. Enjoy your peace and quiet while it lasts.”

  I giggled, then turned to Daniel. “I guess that’s my decision made for me. I’d love to come back to your house.”

  Wyatt cheered. “Hooray!”

  It wasn’t long before I was being bundled out of the house with Dan and Wyatt, giving my brother a crushing hug and my mom a kiss on the cheek.

  “I’ll be back next week for your appointment,” I told Dean. “You’re gonna smash the treatment.”

  “Of course. And then we can watch the rest of the Lord of the Rings trilogy when I’m recovering.”

  “It’s a promise.”

  “Now you look after my daughter,” my mom told Daniel, who nodded dutifully. She bent down to Wyatt’s level. “And you, too!”

  He nodded seriously, imitating his uncle. “Of course. We’re going to get married, after all!”

  “We need to talk about that, actually,” Dan murmured into me ear as everyone chuckled at Wyatt’s comment.

  “Why, you jealous?”

  “Insanely so.”

  “You need to grow up.”

  “…is that so?”

  I grinned. I was looking forward to paying for my comment—I could tell by Daniel’s expression that he was looking forward to making me pay too.

  We couldn’t get home quickly enough.

  THE END

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  READ ON FOR SAMPLE OF LITTLE ONE

  Chapter One

  Valentine

  I keep my gaze focused on the road. The leather steering wheel stays steady in my hands. The traffic is light, the road cast under golden beams of light. I’m travelling fast—too fast I suppose—but not fast enough for my liking. A car swings out of a junction and I swerve around it.

  A squeal from next to me draws my attention.

  To her.

  The reason I’m driving like a maniac. Not that you’d ever know it from my expression. I know Gray probably thinks I drive like this every day, like a fucking getaway driver racing from the cops. But I don’t have the most precious cargo in my car every fucking day.

  I risk a look at her and regret it. Against the large leather seats, she’s so damned vulnerable. All pale skin and shaking limbs. She’s not even dressed for a cold night like tonight, wearing a strappy top and short denim skirt.

  “There’s a jacket in the back,” I grunt.

  I hate speaking to her. In the ten years I’ve worked for her brother I’ve kept talking to a minimum. We both know I’m not worthy of a second of her time. Not a criminal asshole like me.

  She remains curled up in the seat, her arms wrapped around her legs. Those goddamn legs that make me forget everything. Even now, when I’m meant to be concentrating on getting her to safety, I can’t resist stealing a look at those endless limbs.

  I hate her sometimes. Hate her for growing into a woman. If she’d have only stayed that young, sweet little thing, I’d never have these thoughts. Never think about those thighs and how fucking perfect for wrapping around my hips they are. Or wonder about the scent between them. I’d never imagine the sounds she might make as I nipped my way up the soft flesh of her inner thighs.

  Even now…even fucking now, when our lives are on the line, I’m getting hard. This is what she does to me. This is how she tortures me every day of my life.

  “Little One, get the coat,” I order gruffly.

  Gray remains still, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.

  I sigh, reach into the back with one eye on the road and fumble for the coat. I pull out the battered leather jacket and fling it at her. She jolts and unfurls slightly to drape it over her shoulders.

  Another shudder wracks her. A pang of sympathy strikes me in the gut—or maybe not sympathy. Maybe regret. Maybe something more. It’s painful, pulling tight at my stomach. I hate that she’s involved in this life. She shouldn’t be. She should be out with her friends, doing whatever it is young women do. Shopping and gossiping and dating boys.

  No. Not dating boys. I can’t stand the thought of those horny motherfuckers near her. Thankfully Gray has never seemed interested in any boys or else I might have to make a few threats. The gossip surrounding her brother probably keeps them all at bay, the fucking pussies.

  Nothing would keep me away if I had a chance with her.

  Not that I do. Not that I want one. She’s a sweetheart. An innocent woman—just. She’s too young, too kind, too everything. And I’m not enough.

  I reach out to touch her arm. Fuck knows, I don’t know how to comfort someone. The last time I held a woman was years ago. When the last one ratted me out to the cops, I gave up on them. Not worth the time or the hassle. After Danny set his lawyers on the cops, everything was forgotten, along with the idea of me ever having a woman I could love.

  Gray flinches at the touch. I glance at where I touched her and curse aloud. I lift my palm and see the sticky blood there. Finn’s blood. I smack my hand against the steering wheel, making Gray jump again.

  She leaves the bloodied fingerprint there, in too much shock I think to even move. I can still feel the heat of the blood under my palms, how it pulsed out of Finn until he faded. Poor kid. Barely twenty and gone. He sure as hell didn’t deserve any of this.

  Gray’s brother will sort this. He’s ruthless. It’s why he has enemies. Though they’re fucking idiots if they think
killing Finn and nearly wiping out the rest of us including his sister would make him give up. No, Danny will scour the earth until he finds the guys responsible for Finn’s death and he’ll make sure they pay.

  In the meantime, I have to keep Gray safe. That means not touching her and not scaring the shit out of her.

  I’ve done a crappy job of both of those so far.

  I wipe my hand down my jeans and clear my throat. “It’ll be okay, Little One.”

  The nickname I’ve always used for her makes her snap her head around. I’ve known her since she was seven. I might not have had deep, meaningful conversations with her, but I’ve been there, watching her grow into a far too beautiful woman. Even now, with her face pale from shock, just looking at her hurts.

  It hurts because she’s so stunning and it hurts because I shouldn’t even be thinking of her that way. She’s Danny’s little sister. She’s everything I’m not. I don’t even feel worthy of being in her presence most of the time. And I know Danny wants to keep her as she is. Young, innocent, with a whole life ahead of her. Danny might be a scumbag criminal, but he’s always made sure she never got wrapped up in this shit. Until today.

  But I’m going to take her away from it all. We’ll hide out until I get word that it’s over and then Gray can go back to her sweet little world of looking forward to college and becoming whatever the hell she wants to.

  Whoever shot Finn and tried to take out the rest of us at Danny’s garage will pay. I know Danny will make sure of that.

  “V?”

  That one syllable is shaky and like a knife to the gut. Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to hear my full name on her lips. A name she doesn’t even know. V. That’s what they all call me.

  “What is it, Little One?”

  “Where are we going?”

  “My place.”

  I keep my attention on the road and swing a right, tearing through a red light. The sooner I get her away from the danger, the better.

  My neighborhood is a far cry from the one she lives in. I’ve got money but I don’t use it. I’m better off in a place like this anyway. A girl like Gray, however, wouldn’t stand a chance.