Page 3 of Daddy's Intern

Had I known what I do now, things would have been different, I’d still have left. I was young, and being with someone who has dementia is hard, I wasn’t emotionally able to do that. But had I known, I would have made sure that Anna-Beth wasn’t alone to deal with it. Something that I plan on rectifying. I’ve got my friend working on finding the details of the assisted care home and the price that it is, and I want to ensure that it’s paid until Belinda eventually passes. That shouldn’t be Anna-Beth’s burden to pay.

I arrive at Black Crow Brewing and immediately see Abel, his six-foot-three and built like a linebacker, you’d never guess that he was a slick attorney from New Longton. “Tate, man, it’s good to see you.”

I smile. “You too, how’s Sebastian holding up?”

Another friend of ours, he’s been building an empire for the last ten years. His father hurt his step-sister, beating her while she was unconscious. Robert Monaghan had been spying on Sabrina and her sister Carly while they changed, he made those girls feel uncomfortable, from what Sebastian has told us. He’s the reason that his father is in jail doing hard time. He sold Robert’s businesses and made sure that he had no money to pay for an attorney.

“He’s doing better,” Abel says. “He and Carly are expecting, so it solidified his actions. Sebastian wants his woman to be safe, as would any of us.”

That’s the fucking truth. I would do anything to ensure that Anna-Beth was safe, even though she’s not mine, I know that if something happened to her, I’d be a fucking wreck.

We have a few drinks and have some dinner, catching up on things we’ve missed. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve seen one another.

“So to what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask him, knowing that he’s not here to just shoot the shit with me.

He sighs, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “I need your advice,” he says.

Laughter fills the air, one that I know well. My jaw clenches as I turn to see Anna-Beth drinking cocktails with her best friend, Ruby Janis. Those girls have been thick as thieves for as long as I can remember. Even at the age of nine and ten, they’d be getting up to mischief.

“What’s up?” I ask him, unable to pull my gaze from Anna-Beth.

“It’s Alexis,” he sighs.

I raise a brow. “What about her?”

Alexis is his niece—she was fostered at the age of fifteen, and Abel is feeling all kinds of things for her. None of which an uncle should be feeling toward their niece—she’s twenty-one, and I haven’t heard Abel talk about her in a while.

“She’s vanished. She and Andrew had an argument, and she took off in the middle of the night, no one’s seen or heard from her in over a week.”

“Except you,” I say, and he sighs again. “What’s going on, Abel, this isn’t like you. You’re always the one that knows what he wants and has his shit together.”

“I found her, she’s staying in a resort in Oregon. I fucked up, though, Tate. I’ve tried, six fucking years, I’ve not once allowed my thoughts to surface, but seeing her in a tiny bikini was my undoing.”

“You fucked her,” I guess. “Now you want more?”

He nods. “Yeah. I want everything. But she’s dealing with some stuff right now.”

“Then make sure you’re with her while she deals with it. If I told you that I found the woman of my dreams, but there was something getting in my way, what would you say?”

His brows practically hit his forehead. “I’d tell you to go all in. Now, who is she?”

I turn my gaze back to Anna-Beth, and I know that Abel’s gaze follows my own, he lets out a low whistle. “The brunette looks familiar,” he says.

“That’s because she’s Anna-Beth.”

Silence surrounds us. “Shit, Tate, you want Anna-Beth?”

I grit my teeth as a fucking jackass slides onto the booth beside her. She shakes her head, telling him that she’s not interested, thankfully, he leaves her be. Other times, the asshole Murphy would cause a scene. He hates being pushed aside. It’s a trait that he got from his father.

“What are you going to do?” he asks me, the fucker has a big ass grin on his face.

“What are you?” I return, wiping that stupid smirk off his face. “Go to her, Abel, you’ve already blurred the lines between you. You may as well make your intentions clear.”

He finishes his beer and gets to his feet. “Fuck, you’re right. Thanks, man, I owe you.”

I shake my head as I follow him out of the bar, throwing down a tip for Viv. “Never,” I say honestly. “Just go and get your woman. If she is going through something, just be there for her.”

He nods. “Appreciate it, brother,” he says thickly.

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