Page 19 of The Voices are Back

“You’re not going to say hi to your dad?” Danyetta asked in confusion.

“I already did,” Bowie grumbled.

A purring car pulled into the driveway, and I looked back to see Wake’s daughter, Lolo, get out.

She took one look at me and grinned wide.

Lolo was a teenager now, and had changed so much from when I’d been put in prison.

“Uncle Aodhan!” she cried out.

Then I had her sweet self in my arms as she wrapped me up in a hug that I yearned for from my own kid.

“Hey, kiddo,” I said as I hugged her tight. “How are you? How’s Dayd?”

Dayd was her boyfriend, and a thorn in Wake’s side. Dayd was protective of her, and great for Lolo. But in the meantime, he was still a boy that was dating his daughter.

Lolo leaned her head into my shoulder, then turned slightly so she was addressing Danyetta, Bowie and me when she said, “He asked me to prom. I’m going to go. Now I need to tell my dad.”

I chuckled. “Sweetheart, your dad loves you. You telling him you’re going to prom with your boyfriend isn’t going to break him.”

“It will when I tell him that it’s out of state.” She scrunched up her nose. “We decided to do something different as a class this year. We booked a place in Alabama. But, mostly it was because we knew that it would piss off our rival football team, because that’s the date and time that they would usually hold theirs.”

I shook my head, knowing that probably wouldn’t sit well with Wake.

But it was actually somewhat funny.

“You’re gonna get him to say yes regardless,” I murmured, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “You mind keeping Bowie company for a minute? I need to talk to Danyetta.”

I looked over to see Bowie glaring at my arm around Lolo’s shoulders.

Lolo hugged me tight just as Bowie said, “I’m leaving, remember?”

“You’re not going anywhere with that attitude,” Danyetta snapped. “Head to your room and get it picked up. Then we can talk about why you’re so rude to your father lately.”

Bowie grumbled something dark beneath his breath, then stomped his way into the house.

I waited until the door closed behind him and Lolo before saying, “I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to do with that.”

“You don’t do anything, because he’s being a little shithead,” Danyetta grumbled. “Just ride it out. He’ll get over it. It’s the age.”

“It’s been a bit since I’ve been out,” I pointed out. “I don’t think things are going to get any better anytime soon. Not with the attitude he’s been throwing me lately.”

Danyetta scrubbed her hands over her face as she sighed. “I think he’s confused. He sees us as together, but we’re not actually together.”

I barely restrained myself from saying, “and whose fault is that?”

I might as well have voiced my words aloud, though, because she sighed. “I’ll fix it. I know that it’s my fault. Hell, even my brother is thinking we’re together.”

“Yeah,” I said. “But, Yeti, this isn’t going to work anymore.”

“Because of the woman at the coffee shop?” she asked.

Danyetta always saw way more than she should have.

“Because of her,” I confirmed. “I wasn’t aware that she was back.”

“She’s gorgeous,” she said. “And she’s the one.”

---