Page 35 of Redemption

Kelsey

My eyes are dry andswollen from crying all morning, but holding Lily is dulling some of the ache inside my chest. Her chubby little cheeks are the bright spot in an otherwise crappy morning. I don’t even care that she’s drooling all over my yellow camisole. The tips of my fingers brush along her soft skin as I coo at her. Those green eyes and dimples of hers ease the storm brewing inside of me, if only for a moment.

Asher and Zane are in the kitchen helping themselves to a cup of coffee and the mound of pancakes Charlee’s cooking. When she cooks, her Mexican heritage comes through loud and clear. She makes enough food to feed an army. While it smells good, my stomach’s in too many knots to even attempt food, and I don’t even have a damn hangover to blame it on.

Movement from my side catches my attention and I know who it is even before he speaks. “Smells good in here.” Axel speaks to Charlee, but his gaze is fixed on me and there’s no missing the heat behind his eyes as he takes in the scene in front of him.

My body tenses up at the sound of his voice. Images of him holding me while I cried last night has my heart speeding up. I’m not sure where we stand now. Have I forgiven him for lying and using me as a way in to get to Charlee—not completely—but I’m getting there. And that’s a thought that has me on edge.

Where do we go from here?

He kisses the side of my head and whispers in my ear just loud enough for me to hear. “How are you feeling, Wildcat?”

“I’m okay.” My voice cracks, but I force as much strength into the words as I can.

“You sure?” His thumb traces the side of my face in small, soft circles, mimicking a similar motion to the one I was doing to Lily.

A flush rises to my cheeks as his gaze holds mine. It’s soft and warm, different from the arrogant bastard I’ve forced myself to believe he is. His blue eyes deepen as they drop to Lilly and back up to me. He presses a kiss to my temple while my eyes drop down to his gray sweats that are giving me an eyeful of his package. My throat goes dry as I remember how talented he is with that piece of equipment.

Lily’s cries break me out of my trance causing me to put all indecent thoughts aside. I rock her gently in my arms to soothe her much like my mom used to do with me and my heart breaks even more that I’ll never feel her love ever again.

“I’ve got her.” Asher takes her from me and props her over his shoulder as he rubs her back. His tattooed hand is so big it covers her little body. “Daddy’s here, Lily pad.”

I watch the whole thing unfold with my mouth hanging wide open.

“Don’t worry. You get used to it,” Axel whispers next to me making me jump in my seat.

“Used to what?” My eyebrows pinch together and brush it off like I wasn’t just caught staring at his brother like a crazy person.

“Seeing a scary fuck like him go soft like that with a baby.” A smile flashes across his face as he leans in and plants another quick kiss on my mouth. The warmth of his touch lingers on my lips long after he pulls back, taking the open seat next to me. His fingers hook around my neck, massaging any tension away. He can’t stop touching me and I’m not afraid to admit that I love every bit of it.

Asher clears his throat a couple of times gaining our attention. “Does the last name Donnelly mean anything to either one of you?” He glances between Charlee and myself.

Charlee leans her hip against the counter and twists her lips to the side as she taps the corner of her mouth with a fingernail. “It might.” She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip as she thinks harder.

A vague sense of familiarity comes over me as I wrack my brain for a face or name. It isn’t long before one pops in my head. “Didn’t we go to school with a Kennedy Donnelly?”

“Yes! That’s it.” She snaps her fingers at me. “I think my dad did business with hers. She had like a handful of older brothers that were so hot.” Charlee bounces on her feet as we laugh and fall into a trip down memory lane.

“Really, Charlee?” Asher makes a growl that comes from deep within his throat, but there’s no malice in his tone.

“Well, I mean…they were okay looking.” Charlee back tracks as red colors her cheeks.

Axel snorts and bends down until his lips brush against my ear. “How about you? Is that what you think too, Wildcat?”

I shiver from the feel of his lips against the shell of my ear and it takes everything I have to keep my voice coming out in a smooth, controlled tone. “Maybe.”

The corners of his eyes crease as he lets out a laugh. “But we both know that I’m the better option and I look forward to reminding you later who you belong to.”

I squirm in my chair and squeeze my thighs together to keep from letting out a moan that’s begging to be set free. Instead, I focus on the conversation at hand. “Why are y’all asking about the Donnelly’s?” My head bounces from brother to brother, suspicion replacing my Axel fog. It doesn’t escape my attention that through this entire conversation Zane has remained in the background as an observer. I can’t tell if that makes him the smart brother or the scary one. My money is on a little of both.

“No reason.” Axel rubs his thumb along his bottom lip and looks away from me.

“You are a terrible liar, Axel.” I yank his thumb away from his lip and grab his face to make him look me in the eye. “You want me to trust you, to forgive you, then you need to start trusting me with the truth.”

He presses his mouth together in a tight line, working something out before he finally lets out a breath. “We have a lead on who might be responsible for…” His words drop off, but there’s no need to finish. I know exactly what he was going to say.

“Then I’m coming with you.” I sit up straighter in my chair as emotions threaten to overpower me.

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