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When she came back to the table, she was sporting a wide, beautiful smile. I tugged her onto my lap. “What’s got you smiling so hard, baby girl?”
She pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You, Daddy.” She looked up at me with those big blue eyes. “Ice cream?”
I grinned and lightly tickled her tummy, making her laugh and squeal. “I think you deserve it.”
The grin she shot me filled my entire soul up with happiness.
* * *
Once I got Raleigh home,she was completely tuckered out. I managed to get her bathed in the shower, braided her wet hair, and put her to bed. She was out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
And now that I was left alone to my thoughts while lying in bed beside her, I had anger bubbling in my gut. Anger at her mother.
How fucking dare she violate her restraining orderagain? And how fucking dare she throw a goddamn milkshake on Raleigh or make her feel like she was less somehow?
I knew sleep wasn’t going to come tonight, which really fucking sucked because I had to work tomorrow. People’s lives were relying on me to be on the top of my game. But one thing the military had trained me to do was work on little to no sleep.
Guess that was what I would be doing tomorrow.
With a heavy sigh, I rolled onto my side and tucked Raleigh into my arms. She whispered my name in her sleep, snuggling closer to me, but she didn’t wake up. I rested my chin on the top of her head and closed my eyes to at least rest them.
Tomorrow, I would take care of Rhonda Dennison.
* * *
I wasout of bed and dressed by six A.M., and after writing Raleigh a note and leaving it on her pillow, I headed out on an early morning jog that would take me right to Rhonda’s house. The place smelled horrible and was run down—an out-of-place object in a very nice beach town. I banged on the door, sweat running down my face and chest.
“Ah, fuck—you,” she sneered, looking half-drunk out of her damn mind. The smell of weed, stale cigarettes, and old beer wafted out of the house when she swung the door open. It took every bit of my restraint not to retch.
I yanked her screen door open and glared down into her face. “Youeverfucking come near my woman again, and I’ll make sure they’re the last steps you ever fucking take,” I warned her in a chillingly low voice. “Keep that restraining order in the back of your fucking mind, Rhonda.”
She waved me off. “Empty threats.”
I gripped her arm when she moved to turn around and slammed her against the door. Her eyes widened in shock. “I fucking mean it, Rhonda. Staythe fuckaway from Raleigh.”
With that, I stormed down the porch steps, leaving her speechless against her front door, her hand absentmindedly rubbing the arm I’d been tightly gripping. And I hoped it always served as a reminder to stay fucking far away from her daughter.
I’d go to the ends of this world to protect Raleigh, and her mother could choose to find that out the easy way or the fucking hard way.
My phone rang as I was jogging down the street. I answered the call and continued moving, nodding in greeting at a couple of people I passed.
“Daddy?”
A grin immediately spread across my face, my bad mood completely forgotten at the sound of her sweet, husky, half-asleep voice.
“Hey, baby girl.”
“I want pancakes,” she mumbled, obviously still more asleep than she was awake. More than likely, her stomach had woken her up.
I glanced down at my watch. I had a couple of hours before I needed to be at work. “I’m on my way, baby girl. Can you have the news on for me when I get home?”
“No,” she mumbled, making me laugh. “I’m gonna stay in bed.”
“You do that, baby girl. Daddy will be home soon.”
“M’kay. Stay on the phone with me? I want to sleep a little bit more.”
My heart melted. “I’ll stay on the phone as long as you need me to, baby.”
