Page 23 of Jackass

“Sorry, Charlie,” he conceded, then winked at my daughter.

Jealousy consumed me.

If I were capable of thinking rationally, I would be thrilled at the idea of my brothers treating my little girl so well. Though, it seemed in that moment, I could only think irrationally, because I wanted to break his jaw so he couldn’t talk to her.

Ignoring both Sammy and Tank, I asked Charlie again, “What do you say, Shortcake? Wanna spend some daddy/daughter time with me today?”

Charlie turned to Sammy without answering. I was an asshole for putting my daughter in the middle, but hey, I’d been afather for thirty-six hours. I knew I had a lot to learn. I also knew what I was doing was wrong.

“Samantha?”

“I don’t know, Jack. She doesn’t go anywhere without me.”

“She went for ice cream with Blade and Beck yesterday,” I pointed out.

“You pushed me to do that.”

“Who does she stay with while you’re working?” I countered.

“Auntie Carrie watches me when Mommy works, Daddy.”

I regarded my daughter. For a moment, I forgot she was there, although we were talking about her.

“Jack, we still have a lot to talk about,” Sammy insisted.

“I don’t want to talk to you right now. Right now, I want to spend some time getting to know my daughter.”

“She needs a car seat. She can’t ride on your bike,” she challenged.

Taking a deep breath, I needed to keep my anger in check.

“I have a truck. I can put her seat in my truck for now. I want to take my daughter to breakfast, and then take her shopping. I can pick up a seat for my truck then, and you can have yours back.”

“I don’t know, Jack.”

Why the fuck was she hesitant?

The kitchen doors opened, and Amber, one of the club girls, swept in.

“Hey, Sam.”

“Hi, Amber.” Sammy smiled at Amber.

“Hey, Amber, could you take Charlie out to the main room for a few minutes?”

“Jack,” Sammy objected as she stepped forward.

Amber stood there.

Her eyes swiveled back and forth between me and Sammy.

“Um, sure.” Amber walked over and gathered my daughter in her arms. “Let’s go watch some TV, Charlie. It’s a little cold in here.” She speared me with a look meant to scold.

It worked.

“Thank you, Amber,” Sammy said softly.

The door closed behind them, and I glared at Sammy. God, she was beautiful. Despite how angry with her I was, she still had the ability to make me hard. Standing up to me scared her. That much was clear. She did it anyway because it was for our daughter.

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