by SJ McCoy
When she stopped twirling, Steve glared at her. “What’s she talking about?”
Elle met his gaze. Shit. She didn’t want him calling her mom. Not today of all days, and that was exactly what he’d do. He’d call her mom and bitch her out. That was the way he worked.
She shrugged. “Nothing.” She smiled at Skye. “We’ll see Grandma later, sweetie. For now, we have to say goodbye to Papa Steve and Nana Maddie.”
Maddie popped her head out of the living room. She was nice enough. Elle didn’t have anything against her. She had poor taste in men, but Elle could hardly hold that against her. She smiled as she realized that she could now say that she used to be that way herself. Now, she knew better.
Skye gave them a little wave. “Bye, bye.”
Steve put his hands on his hips. “You haven’t answered me, Elle.”
“What?”
“What’s she talking about? Who does she think her Grandpa is?”
Skye smiled at him. “Cal’s my grandpa. Soon he’ll be a fishal. He’s going to be Mommy’s daddy, too. When he marries Grandma.”
Elle closed her eyes and waited.
“What the fuck? What’s she talking about?”
“Don’t!” She opened her eyes in a hurry. “Don’t you dare use that language in my house, in front of my daughter.”
“I’ll say whatever the fuck I want, Elle. What’s she talking about? Is your mother getting married?”
Elle shrugged.
“Yes.” Skye’s eyebrows knitted together, and she glared at him. “I said. Grandpa’s going to marry Grandma.” She turned back to Elle. “Can we go to Grandpa’s house now?”
Elle checked her watch. “Yes. We need to get going. Go and put your shoes on for me?”
She was grateful that Skye trotted off to the kitchen without a word.
Her dad was still fuming. “And that’s why you don’t want us here this afternoon? You’re going to see your mom and this old fart she’s got her claws into?”
“Don’t!” Elle held her finger up in his face. “Don’t you dare talk about Mom like that. And yes, that’s where we’re going. It’s been arranged for a while. And unlike you, Mom and Cal keep their commitments. I told them we’ll be there, and we will.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “We should probably give it some time, huh?”
“Give what some time?”
“Before we talk again.”
He grabbed her arm, but she shook him off. “We’ll do no such thing. I can see that I’ve left you under your mother’s influence too long. We’ll be coming up here more often to see you both. And I’ll tell Tristan that he needs to do the same.”
“What?”
Steve nodded angrily. “Yeah. That’s what we should do. We’ll bring him up here so that we can both make sure that our daughters—”
“Get out!” Elle lost it. “Just go.”
He gave her a sly smile. “We will. But we’ll see you later.”
“You won’t. I told you …”
“I know. That you’re going to this Cal’s place. I think I should show my face. Congratulate them—and let the old fart know that he doesn’t get to step into your lives. You’re my daughter, and Skye’s my granddaughter. She needs to stop calling him Grandpa,”
Elle opened the front door gestured for them to go. “Just get out. But I tell you now, I think you’ll regret it if you show up at Cal’s.”
He laughed. “What? I’m supposed to be scared of Grandpa?”
Maddie gave her an apologetic shrug as she followed Steve out. He turned back to say something, but Elle closed the door before he got the chance.
~ ~ ~
Donovan hurried to the door when he heard a car a pull up in the driveway. He knew something was wrong as soon as he saw Elle’s face. He met her as she opened the door and got out.
“What is it?”
“Grr! Steve! I hate him.”
“What’s he done?” He glanced at Skye who was strapped into her seat in the back. She held her arms up to him. “Should I get her?”
“No. Are you ready? We need to go.”
“Sure. Just let me grab my phone and my wallet.”
When he hurried back out, she was still standing by the car with her phone to her ear. She blew out a sigh. “She’s not answering.”
“Your mom? Is everything okay?”
“No. Steve told Skye to come downstairs and see Grandpa. She thought he meant Cal was there. She told him that Cal’s her Grandpa and he’s going to marry Grandma. Steve’s pissed and he’s gotten it into his head that Mom’s with some old fart. He says he’s going to come over to the party and set him straight.”
Donovan raised his eyebrows. “He’ll soon find out he’s wrong about the old fart thing.”
“Yeah. But I can’t get hold of Mom. I want to warn them. Cal will kill him if he barges in and tries to spoil things.”
“No. I agree with you that we should try to warn them. But Cal won’t do anything stupid. He’s been so wound up because he didn’t want anything to spoil today for your mom. No matter how mad he gets, I just know he won’t do anything that would upset her.”
Elle nodded slowly. “You’re right. Thanks.” She drew in a deep breath and slowly blew it out again.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close. “Relax. It’s all going to be okay.”
She smiled up at him. “When you say it, I believe it.”
He smiled back at her, wanting her to know that he planned to do everything he could to make sure that he was right.
“Do you want me to drive so you can keep trying your mom?”
“Thanks.” She went around to the passenger side, and he got behind the wheel. “They’ve been up to Stanton this morning and the reception’s terrible on most of the road back down from there.”
“I missed you, Dondervan.”
He reached back and gave her foot a shake. “I missed you, too, Skye.”
“We’re going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.”
“That’s right.” He smiled at her in the rearview mirror as he pulled out into the street.
“They live by the beach. Can we go to the beach?”
He nodded as a thought struck him. “Maybe we should ask Grandpa later.”
Elle shot him a look as she gave up trying to get through to her mom. “I don’t think Grandpa’s going to be in the mood to go the beach.”
Donovan reached across and squeezed her hand before bringing his back to the wheel to turn onto Lakeside Drive. “I think it might be exactly what he needs.”
Elle gave him a puzzled look but was too busy scanning all the cars parked along the side of the street. “I don’t see Steve’s car.”
“Good. Maybe he won’t come. How would he even know where Cal lives?”
“Oh, he’ll find out. I know he will.”
Donovan was surprised to see so many people when they went inside the house. There had to be a few dozen of them. He recognized plenty of familiar faces. Ryan was standing with Manny by the bottom of the stairs and raised a hand in greeting.
“Do you mind if I go and have a word with them?”
“Not at all. I think it’s a good idea to warn them. I’m going to see if I can find Nina or Russ. They both know Steve. They’ll recognize him if he shows his face before Mom and Cal get back.” She reached for Skye. “Come on, sweetie. Do you want to help me find Uncle Russ?”
Skye shook her head and clung tighter to Donovan.
Elle looked worried. “It’s probably not a great idea for you to be carrying her. I mean …” she looked around at all the people who would see.
Donovan didn’t want to hide. He caught hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Even if Cal’s mad at me and thinks I’ve been sneaking around. That’s not going to be the thing that spoils his day, is it?”
“You’re right.” She reached up and kissed him. “There. That’s what I wanted to do. And letting you know how glad I am that you’re here wit
h me is way more important than keeping quiet about us.”
Skye wrapped her arm around Donovan’s neck and held the other one out to Elle. Donovan could only close his eyes and breathe it all in as he hugged his two cute blondes close. His family. He hoped.
He sobered up fast when Elle stepped away to go and look for Russ, and he turned to find both Ryan and Manny watching him. Ah, well. He’d wanted his relationship with Elle out in the open, and now it was.
When he reached them, Ryan greeted him with a smirk. “I take it you talked to Cal?”
“No.”
Manny raised his eyebrows. “And you’re doing that?” He waved his hand toward the spot where he and Elle had been standing.
“I plan to talk to him just as soon as I can. He’ll be angry at me, but that’s fine. What’s more important is that Elle’s dad—Teresa’s ex—told her that he’s going to come over here this afternoon and set Cal straight about a few things.”
They both stared at him. Ryan laughed. “Does he have a death wish?”
“No. He doesn’t know who Cal is. He’s gotten it into his head that Teresa is with some old fart. Skye told him that she has a Grandpa who’s going to marry Grandma.”
Ryan let out a low chuckle. “Oh, this is going to be fun to watch.”
“No.” Manny blew out a sigh. “Think about it. Cal’s going to want to kill him. But he’s not going to want to upset Teresa.”
“So, what do we do?” asked Ryan. “Can we take him out before he gets anywhere near Cal?” He looked at Donovan. “Have you seen him before? Would you be able to point him out? We can wait outside.”
“Sorry. I’ve never met him.” He looked from Ryan to Manny and back again. “My idea seems kind of lame compared to you two taking him out but …”
“What?” Manny grasped his shoulder. “Say it. It might work.”
Donovan felt pretty dumb. They were both ex … he didn’t know what, secret, undercover, some kind of covert ops guys. But he still thought his idea was a better option. “I planned to launch Skye at Cal the minute Steve gets anywhere near him.”
Ryan and Manny exchanged a look and then both laughed.
Ryan nodded at him. “That’s a way better idea.”
Donovan grinned back. “You think?”
Manny nodded. “Yeah. That’s the way to go. All we need to do now is make sure that you’re close by with her whenever this Steve arrives.”
“I don’t think that’ll be too difficult. I’ll be with Elle and she’ll go straight to Steve or Cal as soon as she sees them.”
He found Elle standing in the middle of the huge great room. She was scanning the crowd and alternately watching the front door and the door in the kitchen that he guessed led in from the garage.
“Did you find anyone?”
She shook her head. “No. Apparently, Russ is on his way over. I can’t see Nina anywhere. What did Manny and Ryan say?”
“They …” Donovan stopped when he saw Cal striding through the crowded room. The look on his face made Donovan’s blood run cold. He turned to Elle and saw her mom coming toward them.
Elle saw her, too.
“Mom! I’m so sorry. I don’t know if he’d really do it but …”
Her mom wasn’t even looking at her. She was glaring over Elle’s shoulder, and a second later, Donovan understood why.
A man appeared at his side and he knew he’d finally met Elle’s dad when Teresa spoke to him in a low angry voice.
“Steve! I told you not to come here!”
The way he smiled made Donovan want to punch him. “And I told you I’d see you here.”
“Get out, Steve.”
A woman who Donovan guessed must be his wife, appeared beside him and gave Teresa an apologetic look. “Come on, Steve. Let’s just say goodbye to the girls and we can go.”
Donovan’s heart leaped into his throat. The last thing anyone needed was for them to set Skye off by saying goodbye to her.
Steve shook her off. “I want to meet this Cal before we leave.” He made a face at Teresa. “I need to set him straight about a few things.”
“What things?”
They all turned to see Cal scowling down at Steve. He was flanked by Manny on one side and Ryan on the other—as if he needed them!
“That’s none of your business.” Steve looked nervous when he spoke.
Cal glared at him. “You said you want to set me straight.”
“You’re Cal?”
He nodded.
“Well, I err …”
“I’m Cal. This is my house.” He looked at Teresa. “Our house. I told you that if you came here, I would consider that to be trespassing.”
Donovan spotted the holster on Cal’s hip and his mind started to race through the California penal code. There’d be no way to prove that Cal believed his life was in imminent danger against this intruder—and that would be the only reasonable grounds for the use of deadly force. He shook his head slightly and came back to the moment when Skye tightened her arms around him. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
He leaned closer to her and whispered. “Maybe Grandpa will take you to the beach now. You should ask him.”
She looked at him doubtfully, but he nodded his encouragement. “Go on.”
“Grandpa!”
All eyes turned toward her as Skye wriggled to get down from his arms and ran to Cal.
Cal glared at Steve one more time before he scooped her up and sat her on his hip.
Steve noticed the holster on Cal’s other hip and turned white. “I don’t want any trouble,” he told Cal. “I just want to say bye to my girls. Skye …”
Donovan’s heart restarted with a thud when Skye rested her head on Cal’s shoulder and snuggled against him. “Grandpa, that’s Steve. Do you know Steve?”
“I don’t, sunshine. And I don’t think I’m going to either.” His smile for Skye disappeared as he looked over her head at Steve. “Am I?”
Steve shook his head.
“They have to leave now,” Cal told Skye.
She lifted her head and gave a little wave before turning back to Cal. “Can we go down to the beach now, Grandpa?”
Ryan caught Donovan’s eye and winked at him. Donovan smiled. His hands were shaking, but he was thrilled that it had worked.
Cal planted a kiss on Skye’s forehead. “In a little while, sunshine. Will you keep an eye on Donovan for me while I take care of something?”
Cal held Donovan’s gaze for a moment as he handed Skye back. He still looked like he was ready to commit murder, but he gave Donovan the slightest nod before he turned back to Steve.
“You were just leaving.” Cal put his hands on his hips.
“Elle?” said Steve.
Donovan stood closer to her, wanting to support her, but she didn’t seem upset in the least. “Yeah. See you, Steve. I told you not to come here.” She turned away from him.
She sounded so strong, but she sagged against Donovan when he put his arm around her shoulders.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Let’s just leave them to it.”
“Can we go to the beach?” Skye smiled as he led Elle away.
He looked back over his shoulder and saw Steve scurrying for the door, closely followed by Cal, Manny, and Ryan.
Donovan kept going through the dining room and out onto the patio that overlooked the lake. Once they were out in the fresh air, he hugged them both to him. He was glad that Skye was oblivious to everything but the fact that she wanted to go to the beach. But he was worried that Elle wasn’t as unaffected as she seemed.
He tucked his fingers under her chin and made her look up at him. “You okay?”
She smiled. “I’m great. Really. I think I’m better than I’ve ever been. I’m done with him. That would have been great in itself. But to be done with him and to have Cal in our lives instead is wonderful.”
She held his gaze for a long moment.
“What?�
�
“I hope I don’t scare you off. But I’m as happy for Skye as I am for myself. We each got rid of an …” she glanced at Skye. “An A-hole of a father and got the most amazing guy in his place.”
Donovan rested his forehead against hers and smiled.
She laughed and touched his cheek. “That dimple!”
Skye looked up and touched his cheek too. “What’s a A-hole?”
He shrugged. He’d let Elle figure out how to explain it. His mind was already working on how to make sure that she was right. Cal had seen off Elle’s asshole of a father. Now he had to try to do the same with Tristan.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Come on, Skye.” Elle held her arms out to her daughter, but Skye just clung tighter to Donovan.
“I don’t want you to go!”
Elle blew out a sigh. After everything that had gone down yesterday with Steve and then the rest of her mom and Cal’s party, she’d asked Donovan to stay the night. He was determined to tell Cal about them today anyway. He’d said he was going straight to Cal’s office to talk to him as soon as he got to work. So, she hadn’t seen any reason for him not to stay.
What she hadn’t thought about was Skye’s reaction to seeing him this morning. She was thrilled, but she didn’t want to let him go. She wanted him to stay. Wanted them all to go to the beach.
Donovan kissed the top of Skye’s head. “I don’t want to go, but I have to. I’ll finish as early as I can and come straight home to you, okay?” He looked at Elle, and she knew what he meant. She loved the sound of it, too. Come home to them? Yes, please!
Skye wasn’t impressed, though. Her bottom lip slid out. “I don’t want you to go!”
“I have to, sweetie.” Donovan looked almost as heartbroken as Skye did. Elle felt bad for him. So far, he’d been able to talk Skye around to just about anything. But this was different. This was where things got tough. It wasn’t so easy when you had to juggle real life and going to work and everything else alongside Skye’s wants, needs and … if the way her face was turning red right now was anything to go by, tantrums.
“You know, the sooner Donovan goes, the sooner he’ll get back. And if you like, we can go over and see Grandma, maybe she’ll want to come down to the beach with us.”
