Page 40 of North
“Too hot.” He pushed his fingers through his hair and I studied the way the sun bounced off those russet strands tucked between the thick mahogany waves. “Elijah is coming over tonight with Mel for drinks and dinner. I need a distraction from you before you end up full of my dick.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“North,” he grumbled.
“Okay, okay. It’s fine. It’ll be like a dinner party. I have seafood lasagna in the fridge. Put it in the oven when I’m on my way back with Sierra. I’ll make the salad when I get home.”
“You sure? I can make it. How hard can cutting up veggies be?” He shrugged his broad shoulders and I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“If you mess up the salad I’m going to hurt you.”
“So you’ll let me do it?” He lifted an eyebrow at me and I swooned. How could I ever tell him no?
“Yes, make the salad,Dad.” His brows dropped to a scowl and I laughed before leaving the room.
…
CHAPTER 12
“I brought vodka,” Elijah said, proudly displaying the clear bottle of Beluga Vodka in his grip.
“And I brought the lime and ginger beer so we can have Moscow Mules instead of vodka shots like Elijah wanted.” She smiled big and bright then hugged me. Her relationship with Elijah had blossomed into an ongoing love affair that settled Melanie’s over the top personality. She even apologized for the obvious way she threw herself at me when we first met. Elijah liked to pretend none of it happened. In his mind, she always had eyes for him and vice versa.
After I spent weeks with Melanie completing her paintings, I learned a lot about her and found out she was actually a decent human being. She was lonely and scared after moving to a new town but finding friends helped mellow her out a lot.
“Where’s North?” Melanie asked on her way to the kitchen.
“Work, then she’s going to pick up her friend Sierra from Delta and bring her back to have dinner with us.”
“Aww, how sweet?” She paused after sitting her bag down on the counter. “Kane, did you make these lasagnas? They look amazing.”
Two pans of seafood lasagna sat on the stove waiting to go into the oven. “No, I can’t take credit for that. North made them. If it weren’t for her I’d still be eating pizza and Chinese food.”
Melanie stopped pulling things out of the bag and looked at me with a half-smile on her lips. “I thought maybe she finally taught you.” She snickered then drew in a breath. “You’ve got to let that girl teach you how to make all these amazing dishes. Oh, and if you can get her to teach you how to make the orange scones, pass me the recipe,” she laughed. “But seriously, Kane, what are you going to do when she moves out? She’ll be eighteen in a month I’m sure she has plans.”
The thought of North moving out tightened my chest and turned my muscles stiff. I knew that wasn’t Mel’s goal so I didn’t hold it against her. If I had my way, North would never leave. We’d get a chance to write our story without judgmental eyes and gossip.
I could hear everyone in town running their fucking mouths about how I manipulated and corrupted my own daughter into having a relationship with me. I hated how salacious and ridiculous it sounded in my head but I knew if word got out about us that’s exactly what would be said.
I had to shift gears before my tense emotions scribbled themselves across my features. I turned the oven on and had a seat at the kitchen table. Memories flashed in my mind vivid and bright of North’s crimson hair spilling over her shoulders and down her back while her eyes were shut in ecstasy. I saw her with a cherry Dum-Dum lollipop in her mouth, and me between her legs bringing her wave after wave of climax with my mouth until she cried.
“North made these right? Because I don’t want to spend the entire night in the bathroom over an experimental dish you tried.” Elijah pulled up a chair beside me and I cracked a smile, appreciative of the distraction. The longer I thought about North the more my dick stood at attention.
“Yes, she made them,” I sighed.
“Did Kane tell you North is having a friend over for dinner tonight? Is it the same girl she always goes to Delta to see?” Melanie looked from Elijah then to me.
“Yeah, that’s her,” I sighed. “Hey, Mel you’ve dealt with friends that were no good for you, right?” I quizzed. Elijah let out a knowing grunt. He’d spent countless hours listening to me gripe over this Sierra girl.
No matter how many times I told North she was bitter and jealous, she refused to listen. I didn’t know how else to get through to her but I refused to stop trying.
Melanie nodded and waited for me to continue.
“North’s friend is no fucking good. I can’t get her to see it for herself though. I was thinking maybe you could talk to her later tonight. Nothing I say about Sierra matters.
I think it’s because North needs a friend. She needs to be able to redeem someone since everyone has failed her or left her at some point…even me.” I dropped my gaze to the wooden tabletop and exhaled.
No matter how many times I sat in Dr. Allen’s office, I still couldn’t forgive myself for leaving North and not making her come with me after the divorce. It was a dark stain on my soul. I scrubbed at my beard when the sting of regret burned too hot.
