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Hannah shook her head, ignoring me. “Doesn't matter, we have to get her
out of here.”
“I'm on the clock for another three hours,” I said, scratching my head. “And a bar is –”
“No place for a child,” Hannah finished for me. “I'm off tonight. I'll keep her at my place until you got off. Stop by later, we'll figure something out.”
She looked up, and the anger and frustration that had marked her face earlier was gone. Hannah was just Hannah, but happier than I'd seen her in a long while. I reached out and squeezed her arm gently.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I'm not doing it for you, Eli,” she scoffed. “I'm doing it for Aubree.”
She grabbed the diaper bag from the bar and headed for the door. Before she left, she turned and cast a dark look around at everybody in the bar.
“If anyone sees my dad, tell him to return my calls, please,” she yelled. “And Eli, you better get your ass over right after work, I'm not babysitting while you get drunk with the guys.”
There she was. The Hannah I'd known since we were both teenagers was back. The smart-mouthed, don't-take-shit-from anyone attitude that I knew so well. I couldn't help but smile as I saluted her.
“Yes, boss,” I teased.
She rolled her eyes at me and exited the bar as quickly as she'd entered. As soon as she was gone, everyone seemed to let out a breath at the same time and the atmosphere in there was decidedly less tense.
“Damn, Roy has some good genes,” one of the guys at the bar said. “It's a shame she's off-limits.”
“She wouldn't date you anyway,” I grumbled.
“How the hell do you know that, boy?” the man asked, his beady eyes nearly black and set deep within his face, behind a rat-like nose.
“Because my stepsister has high standards,” I laughed. “Like, impossibly high standards that no one here in Yora could possibly meet.”
“She seemed to like you well enough,” the man said with a wink.
“Pfft,” I scoffed, running a hand over my face as I poured him another drink. “She puts up with me, that's about the best I can hope for.”
It hadn't always been that way though. Not when she'd been younger and more open-minded. Back when she was a hormonal teenager and I was the badboy her mama warned her to stay away from. Back then, she'd let her guard – and her standards – down and we'd had some fun. That was a long ass time ago now though, and a lot had changed.
Like the fact that I had a daughter I didn't know about until a few minutes ago. Christ. What a mess.
Chapter Two
Hannah
Aubree was a tiny little thing, smaller than most two-month old’s I was used to seeing. Seeing her and hearing her mother talk about not being able to care for her, hurt something deep inside of me. It made me react without stopping to think about what I was doing. I wanted to protect her, to care for her. But, staring down at the sleeping baby on my bed, I wasn't sure I'd done the right thing.
Her mother was an addict and was clearly using again. Eli was healthy, not on drugs and at least had a job – but was he father-material? I wasn't so sure. In fact, I had some serious reservations and doubts. My stepbrother was a lot of things, but nurturing? Hell, no.
“Good thing you have me, huh?” I said softly, sitting beside her on my bed.
I was nervous to leave her alone, even for a second. My bladder was full and screaming for me to pee, but the idea of leaving this fragile little girl on my bed, all alone, terrified me. She could roll off or roll into a pillow and suffocate.
All kinds of horrible scenarios filled my brain. I would just have to hold it for now. Eli was supposed to be getting off soon, and hopefully he came straight over. He'd never been very good at taking orders or listening to anyone, but this was his daughter – his responsibility. As shockingly and suddenly as it had been dropped into his lap.
I was just doing him a favor by watching over her. Well, not really for him – but for Aubree. I couldn't let that woman leave with her.
Aubree's chest rose and fell softly, and it was a relief to see the little girl breathing. We'd have to pick up a bed for her as soon as possible. I wasn't a mother, Eli wasn't a father, and neither one of us could be trusted to co-sleep with something so small and fragile. I knew how to care for children in the emergency room, not so much in my own home.
My phone rang, and I jumped from the bed. I looked down at Aubree, afraid it might have woken her, but she slept through it. Probably exhausted, or maybe just a deep sleeper.
