Page 97 of Broken Halo

“Ellie’s an adult. I can’t tell her what to do,” he adds.

That, I can’t and won’t ignore and cross my arms to mirror his stance. “She was an adult ten years ago when you basically blackmailed her.”

His jaw goes hard. “She was barely eighteen.”

“But she was. And by strong-arming your own daughter, I almost went down for shit I didn’t do. Then you tried to pay me off to leave her. My mother would have my ass for not forgiving. But trust? That’s a whole other beast I’m not ready to take on yet.”

“It’s not easy,” he goes on. “When you have kids, you’ll understand.”

My face, my gut, and hell, my soul, hardens. “Fuck, Kipp. Did you really just say that to me?”

He exhales and runs a hand down his face. “I came here to make peace.”

“You mean, you were forced to come here and make peace?”

He stuffs his hands in his pockets and drops his eyes to the wood floor in front of him. When he looks up, his tone is different and I finally learn what desperation looks like on Kipp Montgomery. “Miss my daughter and grandson. Hattie’s madder than a wet hen and told me not to come home ‘til I made this right. You know me and know that I don’t apologize. But hindsight is a bitch and it kicked my ass this time around. I made a mistake with you—hell, with my own daughter. I set her on a course that hasn’t only been bad, it’s been deadly, and has only given her heartache.”

I want nothing more than to tell him to fuck off for what he’s done. To me, to Ellie … and for what we should’ve been.

“It was my father who’s at fault for what happened to her and our child. But it was you who took me away from her at a time when she needed me more than she needed anything. You did that because of my last name and you know you did.”

“Your daddy—”

“Don’t fucking call him that,” I bite out.

He takes a beat before he continues. “I blame Ray for the road my sister went down. He might not’ve ushered Silvie down it, but he sure as hell gave her a shove. I did your mama a favor, gave you a job, and you stabbed me in the back—stole my baby right out from under my nose.”

“No, Kipp. I did no such thing. She fucking stole me. And she’s had me ever since.”

He says nothing.

I take advantage of his silence because I’m sick of listening to him. “Never loved anyone but her. I’m going to marry her, make Griffin my own, and give him some brothers and sisters—sooner rather than later. He’ll carry my name as soon as I can draw up the papers.”

Kipp stays mute but I see something working in his eyes. Something I can’t read. Finally, he gives me a single nod.

“Ellie hasn’t said it but she doesn’t have to, Kipp. She’ll pick me over you. I know she will.” I pause, making him meet my eyes. “I’m willing to set our past aside—but know I’m only doing it for Ellie. She deserves everything and I want to give it to her. She needs me but she also needs her family. Don’t make her choose because you’ll lose your baby. Trust me, you do not want to experience that. I have and it fucking hurts more than anything in the world.”

He shakes his head and answers in an instant. “I won’t lose her. I can’t.”

“No.” I agree. “You can’t.”

He looks around the mostly empty, vast space that Ellie will never walk into again if I can help it. “Jen tells me Ellie and Griffin are moving into your mama’s house with you.”

I lift my chin because there’s nothing else to say. I don’t give a shit what he thinks.

“Jen told me Ellie’s happy.”

“She is,” I confirm. “So is Griffin. He and I are getting to know each other, which is not a hardship. The way I see it, it’ll be an honor to be his dad. You stop being an asshole, you can come by and see for yourself.”

He looks at me a beat. “Just like that?”

I nod. “For Ellie, just like that.”

He drops his head to stare at his feet. When he looks up, his dark eyes, the color of dirt, catch mine. He says nothing more but takes the three steps separating us and offers me his hand.

For no other reason besides Ellie and Griffin, I take it.

And just like I said, all the shit he put us through is done.

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