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He sighed and pressed his eyes closed as his finger and thumb went to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Alesha sobbed harder and I hugged her close. “It’s okay, Leash.”
“I’m just disappointed, Alesha,” he continued, opening his eyes again. “I’m not mad. But I wanted better for you. I wanted you to finish high school, college, get settled, fall in love, get married, and then have a baby.”
“I know, Daddy.” Her sniffles petered off and I loosened my grip on her. “I can still go to school and get married and all those things.”
I nodded my agreement.
“How far along are you?” Dad asked, his voice evening out. He was starting to accept the news.
“Fourteen weeks…” Alesha answered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Dad nodded, clearly doing some mental math. “All right. Well, Kelli and I can fly home as soon as the end of the month. I can wrap up some things here and come back early.”
Alesha cut a desperate glance at me. “But I want to stay with Carly.”
“Not up for debate, Alesha. You’ll come back to Phoenix so we can make a plan to get you through school. We’ll hire a tutor and then we’ll need to find a nanny so that you can complete your senior year as planned…” he continued to tick off the items like a to-do list and I tuned out. Alesha sank into misery as she realized there was no way out. As soon as she got back home, Dad was going to completely take over and she’d spend the next year battling him to get control back over her own life.
My heart broke for her. Dad wasn’t mean, but he was strict and had very high expectations. He wasn’t going to let her out of his sight once he got home. I knew it wasn’t what she wanted, but I didn’t know what I could possibly do to help her either.
25
Nick
* * *
“I can’t believe she’s really leaving this weekend.”
My fingers stilled on their way down to Carly’s stomach under the thin cover of the sheets. I’d woken up ready to pick up where we’d left off the night before, but clearly her mind was elsewhere. “I’m sorry, baby.”
Life in Holiday Cove had been on some kind of fast forward mode for the last three weeks. I’d been so busy getting the F-4 ready for the air show I’d barely had time to come up for air. And whenever I did, it was to spend time with Carly—most of which was spent burning off our excess stress in my bed. Carly and Alesha had been busy preparing for their dad to come to visit, afterward, Alesha would be going back with him and his wife by the end of the long weekend.
Carly rolled over to her side so she could face me. Her eyes were dark and distracted. “Do you think I should let her stay with me?”
It was a question she’d asked me half a dozen times over the past few weeks. I’d never been able to come up with a good answer. It wasn’t my call to make. Selfishly, I wanted Alesha to go home because it would free up what little time Carly had left after running her business seven days a week.
With things set to slow down at the Rosen Air Museum—at least in the shop—I was looking forward to spending more time with her. That wouldn’t be possible if her sister and soon-to-be niece or nephew were living with her full time. I wanted to tell her—to be honest with her—but now wasn’t the time.
“You know I can’t answer that for you,” I replied, tucking a strand of her pink hair behind her ear, fingering it before letting go. “How’s Alesha taking it?”
“She’s been quiet lately.” Carly chewed at her lower lip. “I know she’ll be okay. My dad’s already got everything figured out as far as renovating one of their bedrooms into a nursery and then the practical stuff, like a bigger, safer car for Alesha to drive that will fit a car seat. Knowing Dad, he’s probably already got the kid a college fund set up.”
I chuckled as I reached for her, my hands skimming over her warm skin. “Mmm, come here. In five minutes, that damn thing is gonna ring,” I said, looking over her shoulder at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
“Well five minutes is not enough time for that,” she said, giggling as she snuggled against me.
“Can’t help it, baby. You’re too damned sexy. I can’t keep it in line.” I laughed as I pressed my hard cock against her to prove my point.
“Yeah, yeah,” she scoffed, giving me a playful roll of her eyes.
“You know what I think?”
“Hmm?”
“I think you need to hire a part timer to help out so in a few months, we can go on a vacation together. I’m tired of alarm clocks and early mornings and passing out on the couch at nine-thirty. We’re too fuckin’ young to act so old. We need a little more fun in our life.”
