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“I’ll drop back tomorrow to get a proper look at it.”
“Thank you, Cameron.” Amanda sets Grace up with a helmet, but she still looks miserable as sin. We all move into the indoor school where there are other children being assisted on horses.
“Bye bye, Cam,” Grace says, grabbing Holly’s hand. Whoa, what the hell!
“I'm not leaving, Grace. I'm going to watch,” I say and take her other hand, glaring at Holly over my goddaughter’s head. She slips her hand free and smiles demurely at Grace.
“But it's girls only!” Grace sniffles.
“Anyone can watch, Grace. There is even a boy on a horse. Stop being rude, otherwise we’re going home,” I say under my breath. That does it; she has a full-blown tantrum and screams the damn place down. Holly looks at me expectantly. Fucking hell, how am I supposed to deal with this? I try to pick Grace up, but she wails and kicks out, and I honestly want to turn to the blonde beauty and tell her this is all her fault, that even my goddaughter is hating on me.
My phone rings. Relieved, I answer and hear Dan whistle down the phone. “Fuck me, you sound like you’re at a zoo.” He laughs.
“That zoo just so happens to be your child,” I mutter.
“What the fuck? What’s going on?” he demands.
“She was pissed that I was taking her, pissed that I'm staying because, apparently, it’s girls only, and now she is having a mammoth fit in front of the entire riding school,” I hiss, embarrassed.
“You poor bastard.” Dan winces. “Look, leave her with Holly. I will grab her later, then we can unwind with a beer.”
“No.”
“Cam, don't be a baby. Leave her with Holly, go get some work done, and I’ll see you later.”
“I'm not fucking leaving my god?—”
“Cam. She’s my daughter and I'm telling you to leave her with Holly. Trust me, she is not going to get out of that tantrum with you around. She’s too stubborn.” Dan sighs.
“I'm not giving her the satisfaction.”
“Who, Holly or Grace? Go home, man.” Dan sounds weary. “My appointment is here. I’ll text Holly. Catch up later.” He’s got her number? I feel savage.
I glare at Holly from across the room and drop down beside a crying Grace. “I'm going, Grace. Holly will look after you,” I say with a thick ache in my throat. I'm gutted she doesn't want to hang with me. No sooner are those words out does she stop crying, the little shit. She jumps up and runs towards Holly, who gasps, then looks straight at me. I shake my head and stomp off.
“Cam, I?—”
“Not interested, Holly.” I cut her off and get in my car, leaving all three behind.
Chapter Eight
Holly
Cameron leaves me to fend off multiple accusatory glances. I approach Grace now smiling freely at Beau and not displaying the same level of hysteria from moments ago, cheeky madame. “Grace, I'm looking after you now.”
“Okay!” she chirps. Crouching down, I give her a kind smile. “Grace, sometimes we have to do things we don’t always want to, but getting upset about it and shouting doesn’t make us feel better. And shouting at people isn’t a polite way, do you understand?” I say gently. Grace blinks at me, and I can see the guilt swimming in her eyes.
“Your unky will be sad,” Beau points out. I wink at my daughter and inwardly smile. She is so cute in the hat. The little girl looks thoughtful.
I don't want to upset Grace, but I felt I needed to say something. “Let’s have fun,” I say excitedly and rub her little arms. She gives me a small nod and wipes the last of her tears away. “Let me take a picture for your dad.” Grace smiles widely, showing a missing tooth, and I snap a few images, then quickly text them to Dan and tell Beau to smile for her photo. The phone gets yanked out of my hands, and I stumble back in shock. “What on earth!” I cry.
Cameron shakes in front of me, my phone in his hand. “Did you just take a picture of Grace?” he snaps aggressively. “You better not have posted them on social media, or so help me god, Holly!” He looks through my phone with an angry groove carved in his forehead.
I snatch the phone back. “How dare you!” I spit, then check over my shoulder to find everyone watching. “I sent it to Dan. I don't even have social media, and if I did, I wouldn't assume to think it was okay for me to share images of someone else's child!” My phone pings, and I see Dan has replied with a thumbs up, thanking me. I twist the phone to show Cameron and he clears his throat. Shaking my head, I pull in a deep breath. “I can't keep doing this, Cam. Please stay away from me.” My voice croaks. Everyone is staring at us, and I can feel the heat burn through my face. “Come on, girls, you’re up next,” I whisper, trying to keep my voice in check.
“Mummy, your hand is shaking,” Beau worries.
“Forgot my coat.” I nearly crack. “I'm cold.”
