AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I can and I am," Jake announced, holding his head high. "Take me to court and win your daughter if you think you can, but you better damn well be prepared for a fight, and if you happen to win, which I highly doubt, you can expect I won't be around to help you raise her when you try to drop her again."
It hurt just to think of living a single day without his daughter, but he needed Miranda to see the seriousness of what he was saying. He needed hope that she might not try. The last thing he wanted was another legal battle with such a selfish and vindictive woman.
"Do you really think a court would go against a woman and her daughter?" Miranda sneered. The way she looked at him, her eyes so full of hatred, mouth twisted in a horrid grimace, he couldn't help but wonder what he had ever seen in her. He was just glad that Sally had gotten the Silverdale genes.
"Do you really think you could go up against a Silverdale in court?" Jake demanded. "I'd have the whole of the pack behind me, Silverdale lawyers, the lot. Werewolf or human court, they'd see you for what you truly are."
It was then that Miranda's gaze finally faltered. Jake dared to be hopeful. Maybe he really had gotten through to her.
"You are going to regret this, Jake," Miranda snarled at him as she stormed past him, shouldering her way out of the door. "I was the best thing that ever happened to you!"
Jake laughed openly. "You have an awfully high opinion of yourself, Miranda."
And with that, he slammed the door shut behind her, listening hard for any sign that she might have stomped off next door to try and have another go at Melody.
It was only when he was certain he had heard her go to her car instead that he finally allowed himself to relax a little. It took more than a little effort to do so, and a good amount of pacing up and down the hall before he believed he was calm enough to face Melody and Sally again.
With a glance at the kitchen clock just through the hallway arch, he realized it was getting quite late. Melody had practically had Sally all day without a single complaint. He owed her a lot.
But for now, the best he could do was a bottle of wolf-berry whisky, the good stuff he remembered sharing that very first night.
As he left his house and hopped back over the fence, his heart started to hammer. Though this time it was not anger but anticipation, it was still irritating. He truly had no idea why the thought of seeing Melody again caused such a reaction.
I am just picking up Sally,he told himself firmly as he knocked on the sage-green door.
He was surprised when Melody answered halfway through the second knock.
"Shush," she urged him under her breath, pulling open the door as if she were trying not to make it squeak. She gestured him inside silently and pressed her index finger to her pink rosebud lips.
When she glanced over her shoulder into the den, Jake saw a small mound of blankets laid on the sofa. The sound of breathing and light snoring told him it was Sally.
"She fell asleep halfway through the movie and I didn't have the heart to wake her," Melody admitted, blushing. "I hope you don't mind."
Jake's face spread wide in a smile. The woman's caring for his daughter warmed his heart.Just how a mother ought to be.
The thought shocked him and he shoved it away. Sally had a mother, whether she was worth the title or not, and she couldn't be replaced. Jake would never try to force such a thing on his daughter. Though the image of a happy family had always been one he had longed for.
He nodded and asked, "Has she been okay?"
Melody dipped her head and snuck into the room to stand over Sally. "A little shaken, but nothing popcorn and a movie couldn't fix."
Jake looked at the television where it had been paused and smiled all over again. Somehow, Melody had managed to pick Sally's favorite movie,Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
"Here," Jake said, holding out the bottle of wolf-berry.
Melody took the bottle, her eyes widening with surprise. "You shouldn't have."
"It was the least I could do," Jake said. "Besides, I was kind of hoping it might butter you up. Sally will be staying with me for the foreseeable future, so I am going to be on the lookout for a full-time nanny. I was hoping you might be interested?"
The reminiscent look on Melody's face fell. Her expression became unreadable, and Jake's stomach clenched.
"I guess I'd have to think about it," she admitted, shrugging. "What with our history."
Though her words bit him, Jake nodded. "I understand. I should get her home to bed."
What was I thinking?He grumbled to himself over what an idiot he was. How could he have ever thought asking his one-night stand to be his nanny was a good idea?
Feeling embarrassed, he wandered to the couch and was about to pick Sally up when Melody whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "Why didn't you call me after that night?"
