Page 7 of Rockstar Daddy's Second Chance

The disappointment resurfaces an empty feeling that settles in my chest, one that I don’t fully understand.

“No, I… I don’t think so.”

There’s a moment of silence before Sam rests a hand on my shoulder, his voice low. “Cass, maybe we should take them both home. Make sure this one gets back to her mom safely. There’s something about all this…”

I nod, unsure of what I’m feeling but trusting Sam’s instincts. “Alright,” I say, trying to keep my voice light. “Let’s get you home, Cassidy.”

Derrick just shrugs when we ask him to have a limo brought around. Neither Sam nor I feel the need to explain our request.

After a quick, tense ride, we drop off Cassidy’s friend, Holly, and watch her disappear safely inside. Next, the limo pulls up to a much smaller house nestled in a quieter, shabbier neighborhood. Cassidy gives me a worried look, her earlier confidence nowhere to be seen.

Cassidy suddenly confesses, “My mom doesn’t know I went to the concert. She disapproved. And we didn’t have the money… so, I, um, snuck out the window.”

Sam and I exchange a glance, but I try to keep my expression neutral.

“I see,” I tell her, not knowing what else to say.

Looking at Cassidy’s young face, I feel something twist inside me. Part of me wants to reassure her, to protect her, but the feeling is so new that I don’t understand it. So, I remain silent but place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

We walk Cassidy up the path to the front door, and just as I raise my hand to knock, Cassidy speaks up. “Maybe I should go in by myself,” she whispers, looking up at me with a flash of uncertainty. “My mom doesn’t like you very much.”

Before I can answer, the front door swings open; the woman who stands in the doorway is tall and slender, with brown hair pulled back in a loose bun and an oversized sweater hanging off one shoulder. She’s about to say something, but the words die on her lips as her gaze locks onto mine in shocked disbelief.

I take in the curve of her face and clear gray eyes. The familiarity hits me like a punch to the gut. My mind races, piecing together memories I thought I’d buried. It’s her.

My pulse races, and I feel like the ground is shifting beneath me. Everything I thought I knew about my life—about my past and future—shifts in an instant.

I whisper her name, barely believing it. “Kendrick?”

Four

Kacey/Kendrick

The door swings open, and my heart heavily pounds as I take in the scene on my doorstep. Cassidy stands there between two men. I barely register the tall one beside her; all I can see is him.

Cass Wild.

He’s older, his features more chiseled, his presence somehow even more intense than I remember. But it’s unmistakably him. The man who used to be my entire world, the one I was forced to leave behind because of the tiny life growing inside me. Now, he stands on my doorstep, and in his eyes, I see confusion, recognition, and a dawning realization. He’s frozen, his eyes locked on me like he’s just seen a ghost.

I swallow hard, trying to find my voice, but it barely comes out as a whisper. “Cass?”

He blinks, and his stare shifts from me to Cassidy, then back again. The look on his face is a mixture of anger, disbelief, and something raw and dangerous–like betrayal.

“Kendrick?” His voice is rough, as though he’s grappling with the weight of my name on his tongue, a name he once spoke with so much love.

I shake my head instinctively. “Not anymore,” I murmur, but the correction sounds hollow, even to me. “I go by Kacey now.” I automatically step back, allowing them to enter our home. Feeling numb, I stumble toward the living room, and they follow silently behind me.

When I swing around, my eyes land on the tall figure, and I give a weak smile.

“Sam,” I say in a soft voice, my lips curving upward in greeting.

“Kendrick!” He strides toward me and engulfs me in a warm embrace. Stepping back, he says, “My God, it’s good to see you after all these years.”

“Wait… you all… know each other?” I hear Cassidy say, her hands gripped together tightly as she glances between us, her forehead creased in confusion.

I feel a tremor in my chest, the words struggling to form as I look into Cass’s eyes, his gaze as piercing as it was the day I left. “Yes,” I say, fighting to keep my voice steady, as I look at the two men, “This… this is my daughter, Cassidy.”

Cass’s blue eyes narrow on me, and then move to her. I can almost see his thoughts racing as he looks at her—her blonde hair, her gray eyes. Eyes just like mine, but her determination, her stance—it’s all him.

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