Page 14 of Kent's Honor
Nicky and Annabelle sat in the round plastic kiddie pool, pouring water over his knees and laughing. Nicky certainly wasn’t shy when it came to other kids and women, but he did tend to be reserved around men.
That poor boy. To have a father who popped in and out whenever he felt like it, but not care enough to be a real dad was something Kent couldn’t comprehend. It pained him every day that Eleanor only had a few brief moments in her mother’s arms. Eleanor had only been nineteen and had her entire life ahead of her. Kent might not have loved her, but he knew no matter what, he would have been the same kind of father he was now. The only difference would be he’d be sharing time with Elle’s mother.
“Kisses, Daddy!” Annabelle stood up in the pool, opening and closing her fingers.
Rex bent over and gave her a big kiss. “Hey, Elle, mind coming over and watching these two crazy lovebirds while I talk to Kent?”
“Not at all.” Elle climbed out of the pool, wrapping a towel around her waist, which Kent noticed was starting to change. On the way over, Elle had mentioned that one of her friends had gotten her first training bra, and she was thinking she needed one, too. Kent nearly died right there.
But he wasn’t so out of touch that he didn’t know that reality was right around the corner, along with all the other things that came with becoming a young woman. Tilly and Maren had both offered to help him in those areas. As did Jackie.
But no one could take the place of a mother. Something that Elle would never experience and that pained him in other ways.
He stood, Nicky holding on to his calf, looking up at him with sad blue eyes.
“You want a kiss, too?” Kent asked.
The little boy nodded.
How could Kent refuse? He scooped him up, planting a loud raspberry kiss on his cheek like he used to do when his daughter had been that age. Nicky squirmed and giggled, kicking his little legs. If Kent ever met the boy’s father, he’d punch him before he got the chance to say hello.
“Be a good boy for Elle,” Kent said.
“I will!”
He set Nicky down and followed Rex to a table near the deep end of the pool. It always amazed Kent how rich Rex and his wife were, yet for the most part, they lived a modest life. They could have a ten-million-dollar home, but instead, they lived in a middle-class neighborhood, drove middle-class cars, and both worked. The only real difference, besides their net worth, was that they put their money where it counted: helping peoplewho didn’t have the same luxuries. And Tilly actually made a difference in the world.
“I take it you heard back from Darius.” Kent had only met Darius Ford a few times, but he was a good friend of Arthur’s and had helped him and Rex with tracking down information about people over the years. Darius was the kind of guy that if you needed someone found, he’d be able to locate them with the snap of his fingers.
“I did.” Rex rested his ankle over his knee, tipping back his longneck. “Her ex isn’t a very nice boy.”
“Boy?”
“Well, he’s twenty-three, which is so young to be a father.”
“I was twenty when I had Elle, and Dixie’s only twenty-three,” Kent said, wishing he hadn’t sounded so defensive because Nicky’s father didn’t deserve defending. “Tell me what Darius dug up.”
“For starters, he has a record.”
Kent glanced over his shoulder. The second Nicky spied him, he waved frantically. Kent smiled, waving back. Damn kid was going to steal his heart.
“Please tell me it wasn’t for any kind of abuse,” Kent said, turning his attention back to his buddy.
Rex was a few years older, but they had gone through fire training together. Rex had been shocked that Kent had a kid, and Kent had been shocked Rex was loaded. Even more shocked when Tilly walked back into his life and bam, next thing you know, the dude’s married with babies.
Lucky man.
“Unlawful entry, larceny, and a few possession charges. He’s never done time, only a few nights in county lockup and probation.” Rex pushed his sunglasses down and peered over the rims. “His boss at the auto shop said he quit because he got some great new opportunity on the west coast.”
Kent tipped his beer, glancing up at the office over the three-car garage where Dixie was interviewing for a job as Tilly’s assistant. Good for her. She needed an opportunity like that.
“Do we know where, exactly?” Kent wasn’t the kind of guy that wished bad things on other people, even criminals, but he so wished this jerk-off was out of the picture, for good.
Rex shook his head. “His landlord said he didn’t pay his last month’s rent and just left one morning.”
“What the hell did she see in an asshole like that?”
“Not much, according to Darius’ sources,” Rex said, shoving his glasses back. “She broke up with him before she had Nicky. He claimed the kid wasn’t his. She did the whole paternity thing and nailed him for child support.”
