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2
Kane
Ileaned back in my chair and thought back to that morning at the diner. Winnie standing next to our table in those sexy as fuck cut-offs she wore, laughing at Roe’s stupid story. She had an amazing laugh and it made my balls tighten every time I heard it. Her wild curls were pulled back from a stunning face that held a genuine smile, not the fake one she gave customers when they were annoying her.
She was a tiny thing, more than a foot shorter than my own 6’5”, but every inch of her turned me on. She had toned legs, probably from working on her feet all day, and perky breasts that would fill my hands perfectly. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and kiss that beautiful mouth every time I saw her lately. But when her brother’s voice broke through the spell, I’d had to sit quickly before he noticed the hard-on I had for his little sister.
I had known them both since I was twelve and my father moved us to Little Falls after my mother died. Mom had fought bravely for two long years against the cancer that eventually took her from us and our family was never the same. Dad was devastated and couldn’t stay in the old house where every room had a memory of the only woman he had ever loved. I hated him at first for taking me away from my home and my friends but meeting Winnie and Gray that first day changed my life.
The Jameses opened their home to me immediately and it became my haven against the grief that permeated the Rodriguez household. Being with them reminded me of what it was like to be a part of a happy family. My dad tried his best and I knew that, but some days it felt like I would drown in the sadness.
When Gray asked me what I thought of the Marines, I signed up without a second thought. I knew college wasn’t the path I wanted to take and I needed to get out of that house and be my own man. Gray and I went to boot camp together and when our training was complete, we were assigned to the same unit. I thrived under the structure and purpose, and thought we would both be career military.
Until one day, Gray burst into the barracks losing his mind because he received a letter from Kim. He had met her the last time we were on leave at some bar. It clearly wasn’t more than a drunken hook-up for both of them, but six months later she was writing him to say she was pregnant, the baby was definitely his and she didn’t want anything to do with it. Gray was terrified because there wasn’t shit he could do while we were deployed.
After making a plan with his parents to find Kim and the baby, it was pure luck that our enlistments were up in the next few months. We got home as soon as we could and started Falls Security. Roe, Gage and Sam came onboard when their own enlistments were up and now four years later the business was running in the black and we had a list of regular clients.
Gray’s parents and Winnie helped him with Daisy, babysitting when necessary and getting her to and from school. When someone they loved needed them, there were no questions asked, that was just the kind of people the Jameses were. Winnie even left college to move back to Little Falls and help with the diner.
I admired the hell out of her for that. She never complained and didn’t resent Gray for needing the help. That little girl was loved so much that she never questioned why she didn’t have a mother. Every time I saw her and Daisy together, I could see the bond they shared.
I could imagine Winnie with a couple of kids of her own, laughing at the chaos they’d bring. Stroking my beard, I pictured her smiling face looking over her shoulder at me, blue eyes sparkling. She was wearing one of those little dresses that always got me hard, the kind that I would just have to gently tug on the straps with my pinky fingers and her juicy, pink nipples would be exposed for my mouth. She was rubbing her round belly, feeling the baby move, the baby I put inside her. Fuck, the image was so realistic it made my dick thump painfully against my zipper and my chest ache.
Shaking myself out of the fantasy, I dropped my booted feet from the desk and got back to work. She wasn’t mine and the day would come when some other man saw her for the gift she was and took her for his own. I just hoped I would be able to let her go when it happened.
3
Winnie
“Aunt Winnie!” I heard squealed as a tiny explosion of pink and purple barreled up the steps, making me brace so that we both didn’t tumble right off the front porch.
I knelt down to wrap my precious girl up in a tight hug, “Hey there, my little sweet potato, are you excited for a fun day of doing all the things your daddy won’t let you?” I smiled up at my big brother devilishly.
“Maybe don’t let her eat all the sugar in the house this time? I couldn’t get her to sleep for hours after your last day of fun. Thanks for doing this, though,” Gray said, handing me Daisy’s sequin-covered backpack.
I had bought it for her last birthday, if you brushed your hand across the sequins one way you could see Elsa, and if you brushed the sequins the other way you could see Anna. My niece was obsessed with everything to do withFrozen, I was pretty sure the child did not own a single pair of pajamas that didn’t have one of the characters on them and Daisy had been Elsa the last three years for Halloween.
“You know you don’t have to thank me for taking care of her, Gray. I love our aunt/niece alone time.” I looked down at Daisy adoringly. “In fact, today is the perfect day for a visit because I have a very special surprise waiting in the kitchen.”
“What is it, what is it, what is it?” Daisy bounced around excitedly. I giggled as I got a good look at her outfit. Daisy was wearing a pink glittering leotard and a fluffy purple tutu, on her feet were her coveted pink cowgirl boots with the silver stars and fringe. Two lopsided pigtails with sparkly pink ribbons were in her hair, clearly she chose today’s outfit.
“Not a what, but a who,” I said, winking. Daisy made a beeline past me for the kitchen squealing.
Gray’s muscles tightened and he shot me a disapproving look, “Do you have a boy here, Winnie?”
I punched him in the arm. Ouch. Stupid muscles. His smirk said he knew I hurt my hand but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of rubbing the sore skin. “First of all, butthead, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a grown ass woman. If I didin fact have someone in my home who I was interested in romantically, it certainly wouldn’t be aboybut a man since I’m an adult and that just sounds icky. Secondly, no, it’s my friend Lily. Her oven went out in her apartment and she has cupcake orders to get out to clients so I told her she could bake here.”
“Lily? I haven’t ever met a friend named Lily.” Gray was pretty overprotective when it came to his daughter. I supposed it came from not meeting her until she was six months old. It gutted Gray to know that Daisy needed him but he hadn’t been there for her. That fear led to him being distrustful of people in general, especially women. I was pretty sure he had background checks run on Daisy’s teachers before she started school.
“Why don’t you go and introduce yourself? That’s the best way to meet her.” I stepped back and gestured for him to go inside. “She’s still pretty new in town and I’m sure she would love to become acquainted with your grumpy ass.” Gray stalked into my home after his daughter, grumbling about annoying little sisters. I laughed to myself as I let the screen door fall closed behind us.
My home was a small one-bedroom cottage close to the diner and downtown Little Falls. I had a cute little porch with a hanging swing, and the front door and shutters were a cheerful blue. The living space and kitchen were separated by a brick pony wall and I had just enough room for a small couch and bookcase without overcrowding the space. My miniscule kitchen could only hold a small table and two chairs but I didn’t mind because I didn’t have much time or desire to cook for myself anyway. A short hallway off the den led to my bedroom with the double bed from my childhood and a postage stamp-sized bathroom. It was small but I loved every tiny inch of the home because it was all mine.
I could hear Daisy asking Lily questions in rapid fire succession and when I glanced at my friend, she was biting her lip as her gaze bounced between Gray and his daughter. Maybe I should have given a warning before I unleashed half my family on her.
“Lily, the talkative rainbow in front of you is my niece, Daisy, and the tall, grouchy one is my brother, Gray,” I introduced them.
Lily smiled at Daisy and her nervousness disappeared, “It’s nice to meet you, Daisy. I’m actually really glad you’re here because I have this whole tray of cupcakes to decorate and I sure could use some help.”
