Page 162 of The Forever Play

“Zoey!” Sienna frowns. “Do not talk like Carson. He uses bad words.”

Confused, Zoey stares up at Carson like she’s thinking,He wouldn’t do something bad, would he?

I fight my grin as he stares right back at my adoring daughter.

“Get off my foot. I’m leaving.”

“No.” Zoey shakes her head. “Stay. Pay.”

“I don’t want to play.” Carson lifts his leg and gives it a shake, but Zoey holds on tight, giggling like this is a fun ride. “Seriously, would you get her off me?”

His exasperation is hilarious, but I don’t want him accidentally hurting my little girl, so I grab her around the waist and help my buddy out. Pulling her against my chest, I give him a smile, but all he can do is narrow his eyes at me and growl, “This isn’t working, Donohue. Either you find some new digs or I will.”

I wince, hating that idea. Carson can’t leave. He’s too unpredictable, and he needs us to keep an eye on him.

But I don’t want to go either.

Unfortunately, that’s the better choice. Sienna and I will need to figure this out sooner or later.

“Sorry, man,” I mutter. “I’ll try and come up with something soon.”

“I still say we convert that garage out back into a studio apartment.” Wily walks in on our conversation. “You know Baxter’s thinking about starting up a reno business. Maybe we could give him some work.”

I hiss. “Not sure I can afford that, man.” Especially now that I have a ring to save for. I still have some funds left in my college account, but it won’t be enough for both.

“We can try pitching it to the landlord. Maybe he can cover the cost, or we can go halves with him. I’ve got the money.”

“Yourfamilyhas the money,” I counter.

Wily rolls his eyes and ignores my comment. “It’ll definitely up the resale value of the house. Right now, it’s just an empty, wasted space filled with junk. I’ll help empty it out and prep it.”

Wily’s getting all excited, and I look across the room at Sienna, who’s nodding with a little grin.

Yeah, that could be a fun project.

I move out of the kitchen with Zoey and start hunting for Baxter while Carson mutters, “Thank fuck,” behind me and heads for the front door.

It slams a few moments later, and then Zoey and I watch him rev his motorcycle and shoot out of the driveway.

Shit, I have no idea where he’s going right now, but I hope he doesn’t do anything reckless.

He’s been off for a few weeks now, and I put it down to Sienna and Zoey being here.

The problem is, when Carson’s off… trouble always follows in his wake.

“You okay?” Sienna’s arms wrap around me from behind. Leaning her cheek against my arm, she stares out the window with me.

“Yeah.” I nod, turning so I can put my arm around her. Giving her a reassuring smile, I kiss her head. “Come on. Let’s go talk to Baxter and see if we can’t make ourselves a little studio apartment out back.”

She gives me a happy grin, kissing Zoey’s chubby little hands before heading into the dining room. I trail after her while Zoey pokes my cheek with her little finger and asks, “Daddy pay?”

“Yeah, of course I’ll play with you. Let’s just have some food first. Hey, how about a hot dog. I bet you’ve never had one of those before.”

I grin, walking into the dining room while Zoey cheerfully shouts, “Ho dogs! Ho dogs!” making everyone in the room but her mother laugh.

Giving Sienna a little wink, I prepare lunch for our daughter and see how easy it’s gonna be to get used to this.

Marrying Sienna. Making babies with that beauty. Raising Zoey and however many other kids we have.

---