Page 31 of August 20

Learning about his relationship with Skye allowed her to see through the hardass persona he held onto so tightly.

Inhaling deeply, she wondered if his threat to kill her if she spoke to anyone about what he was doing to them was true. Would he allow her to leave by herself like he promised?

Cause she could run straight to the police department and have every law enforcement officer barge into the house and rescue Skye.

She rubbed her upper arms. In the process, she'd probably traumatize Skye for the rest of her life and ruin the relationship she was developing with her father. No amount of therapy would ever cure that trauma.

"Aunt Brooke, look," shouted Skye.

In the last several minutes, Skye had let all the string out and flew the kite as far as it could go. Brooke clapped. It was wonderful to see her niece happy.

Skye tended to lean toward the somber and shy side of life. It took a lot to coax her into a carefree mood where giggles and smiles escaped at will.

With Maverick, Skye bloomed.

He gave Skye what Brooke would never be able to give her.

She would only ever be an aunt to Brooke. Skye knew her mother was dead and never coming back. But Maverick was her dad. He was here. He was present.

Unable to sit and watch her life fall apart, she pushed to her feet, picked up the towel, and walked into the house, leaving them outside.

Aware that she had made a conscious decision to trust Maverick with Skye, she went straight to the bathroom and shut the door. Holding onto the counter, she hung her head and let the tears fall.

Her realization about Skye and Maverick's relationship felt a lot like losing. He might as well kill her because to go on without Skye in her life would be worse than death.

She was tired of losing everyone in her life. Every single one.

Sobs crushed her chest. She pushed away from the counter. What was she supposed to do?

Maverick left her no choice but to continue to fight over Skye. Legally, she had no idea where she stood. The judge granted her legal guardianship over her niece, but what did that mean? Could a birth father take custody of their child?

At the time, she only cared that Skye lived with her. Since there was nobody else related to Skye, Brooke was the only one who could take her, or she'd go to foster care.

Nobody told her what would happen when her father was released from prison, and decided he wanted to step back into her life. Would Maverick have a legal right to demand time with her? Could he take her to court?

He'd win. He was her father.

Even if she stood a fighting chance, she had no money to take him to court and hire an attorney.

A knock at the bathroom door jarred her out of her head. She whipped her gaze to the door, worried that something happened to Skye.

She opened the door and came face to face with Maverick. Her heart raced in fear.

Holding onto the doorknob, she said, "Skye?"

"Outside."

The tension left her body. She should've stayed outside. She should've held it together until after Skye fell asleep tonight.

He gazed down her body and back up to her eyes, clearing his throat. "Okay?"

She rubbed her hand down the front of her shirt. "I'm fine."

"Eat." He motioned for her to walk out of the bathroom.

She walked in front of him. As she hit the living room, she hesitated. Should she check on Skye or fix dinner?

Deciding Maverick had come inside the house to check on her, she went into the kitchen. Skye was okay outside by herself. She enjoyed time by herself on the swings and using her imagination.

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