Page 244 of Broken Daddy
That was awful.
“And now?” she asked, scared. “Are you . . . is this goodbye? It’s not goodbye, is it?”
“Hey, of course not. Even if I was staying here it wouldn’t be goodbye. You are my sister. You’re always going to be part of my life. But you have your own life now and I’m not sure if I fit into it.”
She let out a sob.
“Do not upset her,” Hayes demanded.
Rohan actually grinned. “He’d be annoying if he wasn’t protecting you.”
She grinned back at him. “Yeah, he has his uses.”
Hayes just shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “She’s mine to protect now.”
“Which is why I feel so confident leaving, knowing you’ll take care of her.”
“You’re going back to them?” she whispered.
“No, little sister. Although they want me to. And Lucan isn’t happy that I’m leaving. So I need to get out of the state for a while. I’m going to go . . . find myself. As ridiculous as that sounds. But I need to just get out of here and be by myself for a while. I have a few things to work through.”
“I understand that,” she said. “But you will call, right? And message? And you’ll come for Christmas, right?”
“I’ll definitely call and message. Maybe for Christmas.”
She nodded and leaned her forehead against his chest. “I want you to be happy.”
“I want that too. But I want it more for you than me.”
“I want it for you more than me,” she replied stubbornly, glaring up at him.
He grinned and tapped her nose. “Everything is going to be all right, Dee-Dee.”
She sighed and nodded. “What about money, though?”
“Ahh, well, see I have this lawyer and she’s working to get me some reparation for the time I spent in jail. But I also received a payout from Lucan.”
Devi hated that but she understood why he took it. “We can also sell the trailer and you can have that money.”
“Use that to pay the bill for Derick’s . . . remains,” he said. “I hate leaving you to deal with that.”
“It’s all taken care of,” Hayes said.
“Thanks, man,” Rohan told him. “And thanks for taking care of my sister. Now, let’s find some champagne and toast how fucking amazing you are.” He moved away to get some drinks and Hayes drew her close.
“I hate that he’s leaving,” she said.
“I know, baby.”
“But I also love that he’s leaving, because he’s getting away from Lucan and that life.”
“I know, baby.”
“I’m just really going to miss him.”
“I know, baby.”
She sighed. “I’m glad I have you, though. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
