Page 18 of No Love Lost

He had a daughter.

A bright, beautiful ray of sunshine.

So much like her mom, it took his breath away.

Smart and strong.

He loved her so much already. He wasn’t sure what would happen if she was ripped from his life again.

Losing Addy had been horrific. Losing her again, along with losing Nina, was unthinkable. He’d never survive the pain.

“You’re a lucky man, Heath Wilcox.”

He lifted his head to find Nimii watching him. He’d forgotten she was there. “I am.”

That brought a smile to her lips. “I’m going to assume you’re a genuine man and that what I saw in there wasn’t an act. If it was, you’d better start praying to whatever gods you believe in.”

She was in her car before he could even formulate a response, but her threat had him smiling. He was so damn glad Addy hadn’t been alone. Nimii was the exact kind of warrior she would have needed.

Heath got in his car and then realized it was long past the time for Phail General to close. That was the only address he had in town. He pulled out his phone to text Troy. I’m in town. Need a place to stay.

It was only seconds before he got an answer. We heard. The farmhouse is close. See you soon.

He plugged in the address Troy sent, and followed his GPS. The drive was short, and soon he was pulling into the driveway of a welcoming farmhouse, all lit up.

It shouldn’t have surprised him that Troy knew he was in town, but it did. He’d only spoken with Addy and Lia before arriving at her house. The doctor hadn’t known he was Nina’s father. If small towns were like the military, gossip spread like smoke.

He parked his SUV and grabbed his duffel. He’d brought enough for a few days but would need to go back to Boston soon to grab more.

And to confront his parents.

He shoved that to the side and started up the farmhouse stairs. The door opened, and Sean Falcone crossed the porch to greet him. No handshakes for Sean. His friend crushed him in a hug. “Welcome.”

Troy, Levi, and Marcus came out next, and he had to swallow back the emotion. Again. He knew that only Sean actually lived in this house, but they’d all come.

Troy slapped him on the back. “I bet you could use a beer.”

He nodded and followed the group to the kitchen, where they all sank into chairs around the large kitchen table that would easily accommodate double the number.

Troy handed him a beer, and they all clinked glasses. Just like in the video. Had that only been yesterday? His entire world had shifted in less than twenty-four hours.

Figuring if they’d known he was in town, they knew why, so he didn’t avoid the topic. “I’ve got a daughter.”

They all nodded solemnly and waited.

He took a sip of the beer. “She’s amazing. She’s twelve, and I missed her whole fucking life until now. I can never get that time back with her.”

The anger roared through him again, but he breathed it out. “You guys must know her better than I do, and that pisses me off.”

Marcus Ramirez, their military leader and current Phail deputy, leaned his elbows on the table. “Did Addison keep the baby from you?”

He heaved out a sigh. “No. She tried contacting me just as I tried contacting her. But it appears my father had someone rig my phone so that her number doesn’t work. Acts like it works, but the calls to her number don’t go out and they don’t show up coming in. Same with texts and emails.”

Wanting to beat the shit out of something, he shoved to his feet and paced around the room. “What kind of jerk does that? What kind of asshole cuts a grandchild out of their life? All because Addy was a foster kid and Ojibwe. They couldn’t see past any of that to see that she’s amazing. She had nothing. Nothing except what she’d saved up during high school. If she hadn’t been so smart and determined, their lives would have sucked. But she is, and Nina is incredible. She’s so much like her mom. And I missed twelve years of her life because I was born into a family of privileged snobs. They robbed me of so damn much. And worse, they robbed Addy and Nina of security. I would have done anything for them. They would have been safe and known they were loved. She wouldn’t have had to work herself to the bone just to get by. She didn’t say it out loud, but she had to have avoided the doctors during pregnancy because of the cost. Now, her asthma is so much worse and she has some kind of heart condition. She says it’s healed, but I don’t know. She could have died. She could have died and I would never have known.”

He doubted he’d ever said so much in one speech in his entire life. His chest was heaving, and he slammed his hands onto the counter and tried to find his breath.

Was this how Addy felt during an asthma attack? And she had a weak heart on top of it. All because he hadn’t been there to support her.

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