Page 134 of Vegas Baby!

“I’m a big girl, Bryce. I can handle your dad being a dick if it means sparing you. I know how much harder it is coming from your own parent.”

“If you really want to read it, you can.” I located the envelope and passed it over to Ava. “Have you heard from your mother and brother?”

“Mom wants to come visit, but I’m going to schedule that with Nathan so he can keep her on a short leash if she’s going to make herself a problem. At least Andrew is waiting for his trial without bail possibilities so she can’t surprise me with him again.”

“Do you want her to be part of Lucy’s life?”

Ava shrugged and sat down on the couch with the envelope. “It’s a weird thought process since I’d already accepted she wasn’t going to be when I decided to move to New York originally. At best I’d have seen her a couple of times a year. We’re physically closer now that I live in Vegas, but I can’t imagine she’ll make that drive very often, or take a flight. I’m willing to give her a chance to prove she deserves to be in her granddaughter’s life.”

“That’s generous of you.”

“My generosity has limits. I’ll protect myself and Lucy if I need to, and there won’t be second chances when it comes to my baby. I made that clear when she called me.” Ava carefully ripped open the envelope and pulled out the papers, her eyebrows scrunching together as she read.

“He’s…opened a trust for Lucy?”

“He did?” I sat down next to her to read over everything. Sure enough, my father had created a five-million-dollar trust fund for my daughter, the first million to be accessed when sheturned eighteen to cover whatever school and travel she wanted to pursue, and the rest at whichever milestone came first: her twenty-fifth birthday, her becoming a parent, or forming a pack.

I could see what this was: a first step. My father didn’t know how to reach out on an emotional level, but financially? That was where he shone. I didn’thave totalk to him because of this, but I was going to anyway. Maybe he really did want to make amends. He certainly had plenty to apologize for, and I wouldn’t allow him into my pack’s life without a sincere one alongside actions proving he meant it.

“Is this a sweet thing or a manipulation thing?” Ava asked.

“Hard to say. Could be both. I can’t claim I’ve ever fully understood what’s going on in my father’s head.” I smoothed a hand over Lucy’s tiny head. “You don’t have to accept it if you don’t want to. We can set up our own trust for her.”

Ava sighed softly. “If I’m giving my mom another chance, it’s only fair we give your dad one, too.”

“If he’s out of line, I’ll remove him immediately,” I promised.

“I know you will.” She kissed my cheek. “You’re protective of us, even when it hurts.”

That was certainly an accurate way of putting it. “Of course I am. I’m never going to letanyoneor anything come for my girls.”

It felt surreal to say it.Mygirls. Ava and Lucy were mine,ours, and I still couldn’t fathom how I’d gotten so damn lucky for that to be my truth.

“Mom,” I said with a laugh. “You’re making enough to feed an army.”

She and my aunties hadn’t pushed to move in to help like they’d done for one another since Ava had a pack to meet her needs, but she had been particularly insistent about providing meals. Between my family and Micah’s, we were stocked up. Mary and her squad had made sure our freezers were loaded,and my mom had warmed Ava up to the idea of coming three evenings a week to make us dinner.

“Your mate needs extra calories to feed our grandbaby,” replied Mom while she shoved the remnants of some roasted chickens under the water to make a batch of homemade broth for her caldo de pollo. The actual meat was being put toward enchiladas. I hadn’t lived with my mom for years at this point, but I was getting some serious nostalgia, having my kitchen smell like home. “Come help me, mijo.”

I helped my mom slice bell peppers—in lieu of chilis while Ava was breastfeeding since Lucy was not a fan—and onions for the enchiladas.

Ava wandered into the kitchen in her nightgown, Lucy at her breast, her sense of modesty abandoned since the birth. “It already smells so good in here.”

“Hey, sweetness.” I leaned down to accept her kiss before she took a seat with the baby.

“How are you feeling, mija?” Mom asked.

“Healing up,” Ava replied.

“Is the baby still cluster feeding?”

“Yep. This has been my whole day.”

“My Jesse was the same. My sisters were living with me so I didn’t need to get anything done, but I wouldn’t have been able to if I had been on my own. Where are the rest of your alphas? They follow you around like little ducklings.”

“I sent them on a mission to find me some different flavors of ice cream I know they don’t sell at the same store.”

Mom laughed. “They are very dedicated to you and the baby, but space is good. Lucy will feel just as loved in your arms as if they are all hovering.”

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