Page 26 of Montana Falls
Rika laughed. “You have a boyfriend, bro.”
My jaw tensed, eyes narrowing. “I’m not, nor will I ever be, yourbro.”
She snorted hard enough to choke on her beer and make me spitefully smirk. “Okay,bro. Do you want me to call you daddy instead?”
The urge to strangle her came back in droves and it was only through sheer willpower – and the fact I was desperately trying to keep my attention on Rika and not other things – that I refrained from doing so.
“Only if you want me to cut your throat.” I huffed.
“But youarea daddy. Both with your energy and legally.” She laughed harder. “You have six daughters. It’s not even one anymore, it’ssix.”
Sapphire, Yeva, Delilah, Henley, Yumi and Diamond. Biologically one was mine. Legally, all of them were mine.
Fucking hell.
“Shit.” I leaned against the chair again, needing to relax and stop the sudden wave of nausea engulfing me. “I didn’t even think of that. I just signed a bunch of paperwork because Sapphire wasn’t here to do it.”
“Right. So,daddy Beau, you really ought to listen to me. I’m good with girls. I can help you work out how to be the best dad in the universe and not wind up hanging yourself in a week when they all make you so angry you hate life.”
Rika kept talking and all I could think about was that I wanted to kill her. A bullet between the eyes. A knife kissed across her throat. She was lucky her cousin belonged to Sapphire or else I would have done it. Because I wasn’t happy. Not at all.
I missed Ford. I missed Sapphire. I missed Luciana and my parents and being in my family home.
I missed being able to wake up without an anxious ball of energy burning away in my chest, forcing me to take a momentlike now, just to step away from everything in the universe that had decided to overwhelm me and be a bitch.
I missed being able to control myself well enough that when a naked and sopping wet woman stumbled out of the pool and almost landed on my lap; I didn’t reach out to grab her and stop her from hurting herself.
“Are you drunk or just being stupid?” I snapped at Ruby as she barely restrained her giggles and I caught an eyeful of her…generouschest.
“No, sugar. I’m just havin’ fun. You should try havin’ it sometimes.” She shrugged out of my hold and hurried to grab a towel from the nearest deck chair. “Oh wait, I forgot you don’t have fun. You’re allergic to it.”
“I do have fun.”
Aiden headed inside with a shout about grabbing her some pyjamas to change into instead, as she said, “Jump in the pool, Beau.”
I scoffed. “No.”
“Exactly.”
“Do a shot.” I retorted with a huff as I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the chair and offered her my whiskey bottle.
“Not the same thing. But you can pass me a can of lemonade; sugar free if you have it. I ate so much sugar tonight I’m about to start bouncin’ on the walls of this pretty house.” She sat down on the edge of Rika’s chair, entirely oblivious to the heady stare being sent her way. Or more importantly, toward the large handfuls of cleavage that were still on display in her towel.
I was aware of it though. And I cut that shit right off.
“Rika, go to bed. You’re basically a kid and it’s late.” There was not a single ounce of bartering in my tone, and luckily for her, she understood and listened.
She got to her feet, offering Ruby a pleasant goodbye before she turned to me with a wicked smirk.
“Goodnight, daddy.”
“Fucking brat.” I huffed, more to myself than anything, as she hurried to run into the house, laughter trailing behind her.
My glare almost burned through the walls as I did nothing but seethe and wonder if it was too late to shoot her.
“You know, Rika is on to somethin’” Ruby snickered suddenly and I turned to glare at her instead, finding her as she tried and failed to tame all her curls into two braids. “You have daddy energy.”
“Excuse me?” My lips parted on a sharp exhale.
