Page 16 of Playing With Forever

“How I raise my kid isn’t your business.”

I swiped my wallet and keys off the bench. I needed to get the fuck away from my friend before I said something I couldn’t walk back.

Echo waited until I was a few feet away before he hit me with the truth.

“I see I struck a chord. So while you’re nursing your anger, think on this, how the fuck would you feel if I was keeping my family away from you? If I was struggling and kept that shit from you because I didn’t trust you enough to land it at your feet?”

It had nothing to do with trust.

It had to do with a lot of shit, and some of it was pride, but mostly it had to do with me keeping my daughter safe—at all costs, including not sharing her pain.

I didn’t inform Echo of this as I walked out of the gym.

BY THE TIME I pulled into my driveway, I hadn’t unclenched my jaw, but when I saw Josie’s sporty white Audi at the curb, that clenching turned into grinding my molars.

Fucking hell, I couldn’t catch a break. I should’ve gone somewhere else and called first to make sure the coast was clear before I came home. Though, if I’d done that, Lindy would sniff out my play, and the inquisition would start.

I might’ve sheltered my daughter from the people in my life, but I hadn’t raised an unaware young woman. She was far from dumb, from the moment she laid eyes on Josie and my reaction to her, Lindy knew something was up. Hence, the invite to join us for dinner. Then it went downhill from there, and now Lindy was playing a game, not understanding the disastrous ramifications.

I certainly don’t want to disappoint her.

Her being Lindy.

And why the fuck couldn’t I stop thinking about how offended Josie sounded when I’d repeated her declaration and she’d taken that as me questioning her sincerity. Hell, the bigger question was, why couldn’t I put Josie out of my mind—period. Why hadn’t I been able to get her smile out of my head, or the way her hips swayed when she walked, or the way she looked at Lindy like she was hanging on her every word.

I shut down my truck, vowed not to look into the backyard at Lindy’s studio on my way through the kitchen to my bedroom, and promised myself I wouldn’t wander outside to check on the women and make sure my daughter was okay.

Or more to the point, that my daughter wasn’t drowning in the attention of a beautiful, smart woman who had the power to crush my girl.

Unfortunately, my plans were shot to shit the moment I walked into my house.

“You think so?” Lindy was asking excitedly.

“No question about it,” Josie returned with a healthy dose of animation in her tone.

I’d never heard Josie so vibrant. I had no idea what they were talking about whatever it was had my daughter excited and happy.

Fear immediately hit my chest.

“Hey Dad, you’re home.”

“Hey sweetheart, good day?” I asked, stopping in the kitchen to take in the two females sitting at the island, looking at something on Lindy’s laptop.

“The best!”

That fear turned into terror.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Josie had a great idea. I’m going to start an art program at the center. Just one day a week until I get the hang of it, then if there’s enough interest, I’ll open up more days. I was thinking I could do three days a week. But Josie said only if it doesn’t interfere with my schedule.”

Lindy didn’t have a schedule.

I glanced at Josie to find her staring at me with trepidation before she looked back at Lindy.

“Your art comes first,” Josie quietly told her.

Lindy nodded. “Dad’s always telling me I need to spend more time out of my studio.”