Page 26 of Forbidden Vow

A glass filled with water appeared. Darius took the offering, gulping it down. Man, this kid would make for an excellent therapist or a small-town bar owner one day.

“I’m here now, Cai.”

“That’s great, too, ‘cause he’s the only kid in town without a daddy.”

In that moment, an overwhelming sense of gratitude flooded Darius. Thankful that his father had the forethought to provide for and nurture his grandson. Darius would spend the rest of his life making up for his four-year absence.

“Hi.” A big guy, blonde, same blue eyes, entered the bar from the rear.

“Daddy,” Cai beamed, jumping from his dais to help his father.

“Thanks for watching the door, big boy.”

Cai lit up under his father’s praise. Whoa. Would Lexi respond the same? With his stubbornness, he deprived his son of his praises, these tender moments that one took for granted until it was too late to acknowledge how much they impacted the boy, one day the man.

The new entrant took one look in Darius’s direction. “Lexi’s dad?”

Darius pointed to his hair. “Is it that obvious?”

Placing the four boxes of brew in the counter, the owner wiped both hands on a bar towel before offering one in greeting.

“Well, a single woman, alone, moves to town with a baby. A man is bound to show up.”

Sooner or later. Four years late, in Darius’s case. And Raven had been by herself, working to support their child, while he had more than enough to meet both their needs.

“Owen Tate.”

They shook. “Darius Kent.”

“Heard you were coming to town for Raven. Sorry for your loss, too.”

“She’ll have a ring by midnight.” Darius needed every man to know Raven was taken. It felt odd declaring his plans with a stranger, but Darius had a feeling there were not strangers in Endurance, California.

“Thanks.”

“You looking for a beer, a hot meal, or both?”

“Neither,” Darius said. “Need to find Pine Valley Hospital.”

Just then, a young woman, pretty, with a little girl Velcro-taped to her chest, strode in through a set of swing doors.

“Hey, babe,” Owen said.

She stopped when she saw him.

Owen waved her over. “And that would be the wifey.”

Cai took off at a run. “Angel mommy. You and Baby Grace are back.”

When he reached the woman, who looked just as excited to see him, he threw his arms around her legs and held on tight. Darius couldn’t look away.

He watched as Owen took the baby, kissing her cheek, before doing the same with his other half.

“Ivy, sweetheart, this is Darius Kent. He needs directions to Pine Valley.”

The warm welcome chilled to about thirty below freezing. Ivy looked him over. Her tight expression said she knew exactly who he was and what he’d done to Raven. Unlike Owen Tate, he hadn’t been there to help the woman he loved with the baby or to guide his son into manhood.

“Raven knows you’re coming?”