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“You need something, princess?” he murmured, not even looking my way.
“You said you’d drive me, so I want to go somewhere.”
“Now?” He glanced up.
“No.” I shook my head. “Tomorrow.”
He turned toward me then and leaned back in his seat. “I’m all ears.”
“Mitchelton Prison.”
One brow rose. “Your dad?”
I gave a quiet nod.
“What time?”
“Ten? That okay?”
“Consider it a date.” He turned back to the screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he punched in numbers and hit buttons. “You need anything else, Ryth?”
The way he said it made my pulse race. “No,” I answered quickly and left, closed the door behind me, and headed for the stairs. Creed was pouring himself a Scotch when I walked into the kitchen. I glanced around. “Mom’s not with you?”
“No.” He gave me a smile. “Apparently she’s at a wine and cheese night, so it’s just us to fend for ourselves.”
“She went alone?”
He glanced at me and frowned. “No, why would you say that?”
Because my mom didn’t have any friends, none that I knew of, anyway…until Creed.
“She went with some of wives of my friends.” He rounded the counter and pulled me into a hug. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, your mom’s well taken care of now.”
I winced at his words.She was taken care of before…well, I'd thought she was, at least.It seemed like she was desperate to leave that old life behind, but at least she was taking me with her. Creed pulled back and looked down at me. “You know what, fuck it. Let the boys fend for themselves, how about it’s just you and me, what do you say, kid?”
I’d say I'd had enough of his sons for one day. “Sounds amazing,” I smiled.
He gave a deep chuckle and hugged me a little harder before stepping away, and for the first time, I felt a deep yearning. I watched Creed as he made his way around the counter, opened a drawer, and pulled out a handful of menus. “Now, just decide what food you want.”
He was being nice to me and he looked like he really liked my mom. This…whatever this was, it feltgood.
I wondered what she'd been like, Creed’s wife. I wondered what kind of wife she’d been and if she’d been a good mom. Sadness gripped my heart at the thought. Tobias was hurting, the kind of hurt that didn’t come from an empty well. She'd loved them, and she'd loved them well.
I rounded the counter, feeling the aching loss the woman I hadn’t known had left behind and this time, I was the one who hugged Creed. I wrapped my arms around his waist. He stiffened for a second, then melted, pulling me against him.
God, I'd missed this.
I missed dad, even if he’d never really been like this, never been so affectionate, and had seldom even been home. Tears welled in my eyes and slid free. Creed seemed to understand and without speaking, held me as I sobbed.
I didn’t know why I cried. But I knew some of my tears weren’t for me. They were for the assholes upstairs. The assholes I was starting to care about. I found myself falling for them…them and this dysfunctional, damaged family.
“You okay?” Creed broke the spell.
I dropped my arms, wiped my cheeks, and nodded. “Sure, just tired I think.”
“Everything okay today?”
I met his gaze and those dark gray-blue eyes seemed to darken. His eyes narrowed as I looked away.
