for sex. This, of course, made my life a hell of a lot easier.
The day Kalan Alexander Ashford was born was one of the best days of my life. I had no idea the multitude of feelings one tiny little person could evoke inside me. His mother and I may not have loved each other, but we sure as shit loved him. At least, I did.
“Look what we made, Caswell? Isn’t he perfect? Isn’t he perfect? Isn’t he perfect?”
“Cas, wake up.” I felt someone shaking my arm. Slowly, I lifted my head from my desk and blinked the sleep from my eyes. Bobby was staring down at me with a concerned look on his face. “You need to go home and get some sleep. This is what, the third night you’ve been here this late?” My clock read nine forty-three PM.
Damn, I’ve been out for over an hour.
“Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Is it because of Sarah?”
Was it because of Sarah? Maybe. Stretching my arms over my head, I stood from my chair. “I really could use a beer right now.”
“Patterson’s or Dragonfly?” he asked.
“Dragonfly is closer to my place. I’m just going to have one and then I’m hitting the sack.”
In February, a townhome I had been eyeing came available. It was a stretch to buy it, but I knew I would be dumping the house in Wilmington the second the divorce was finalized. I could afford two mortgages until then. The first weekend in March I moved into my new place. That same weekend, Garrett took me and Bob to Dragonfly and introduced us to Kurt and Dillon. We had been trading off between the two bars ever since.
On the drive over, I thought back to my conversation with Alexandria two days ago.
“I’m done with rehab, Caswell.”
I hated when she called me Caswell and she knew it. Not surprisingly she was still playing games. “You have one more month to go, Xan.”
“I can’t be here another month. This place is nasty. The food is horrible and I haven’t had my hair done or a mani-pedi in weeks.”
“You either finish rehab or go to prison,” I told her.
“I am better. I haven’t thought about taking a drink or pills in weeks.”
“Just think how great you’ll feel in a month?”
She let out a loud sigh of exasperation. “Fine, but only for one more month.”
“And then you are going to stay with your dad, right?”
“Yes, but I only agreed on a few weeks. I will go crazy in that house if I stay any longer than that.”
I need to call Sterling tomorrow and warn him.
I pulled into Dragonfly’s parking lot and waited on Bobby, before exiting the truck. As we hit the bottom step of the bar, the door flew open and out spilled a mass of people, the last of which was a giggling Sarah.
“Well if it isn’t old Cas,” the blonde standing next to her crudely slurred. I recognized her from when I met Sarah at Patterson’s back in January.
Sarah instantly sobered. “Cas, what are you doing here?”
“The last time I looked, this was a public bar,” I clipped. Hurt skittered through her eyes and I felt like an ass. “I’m going to have a beer with Bobby.” I added, in a softer tone. Bobby shot me a warning look, before slipping inside the bar. Now probably wasn’t the time to clear the air between us, but when was I going to get another opportunity? “Hey, can we talk for a second?”
Sarah told her friends she’d call them tomorrow. Then she turned back to me with a hesitant smile. I felt it all the way to my toes. Confusion swirled within me. She was Max’s little sister and I didn’t want to want her, but she looked so damn good. She wore her hair curly tonight, just the way I liked it, and a short dress that showed off her long, sexy legs. I curled my fingers into fists to keep from touching her hair to see if it was as soft as it looked. The gloss that tasted of berries shone on her deliciously full lips and I was so tempted to take another taste.
“I didn’t know who you were. If you had given me a chance to speak the other day, I would have told you. I would
The day Kalan Alexander Ashford was born was one of the best days of my life. I had no idea the multitude of feelings one tiny little person could evoke inside me. His mother and I may not have loved each other, but we sure as shit loved him. At least, I did.
“Look what we made, Caswell? Isn’t he perfect? Isn’t he perfect? Isn’t he perfect?”
“Cas, wake up.” I felt someone shaking my arm. Slowly, I lifted my head from my desk and blinked the sleep from my eyes. Bobby was staring down at me with a concerned look on his face. “You need to go home and get some sleep. This is what, the third night you’ve been here this late?” My clock read nine forty-three PM.
Damn, I’ve been out for over an hour.
“Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Is it because of Sarah?”
Was it because of Sarah? Maybe. Stretching my arms over my head, I stood from my chair. “I really could use a beer right now.”
“Patterson’s or Dragonfly?” he asked.
“Dragonfly is closer to my place. I’m just going to have one and then I’m hitting the sack.”
In February, a townhome I had been eyeing came available. It was a stretch to buy it, but I knew I would be dumping the house in Wilmington the second the divorce was finalized. I could afford two mortgages until then. The first weekend in March I moved into my new place. That same weekend, Garrett took me and Bob to Dragonfly and introduced us to Kurt and Dillon. We had been trading off between the two bars ever since.
On the drive over, I thought back to my conversation with Alexandria two days ago.
“I’m done with rehab, Caswell.”
I hated when she called me Caswell and she knew it. Not surprisingly she was still playing games. “You have one more month to go, Xan.”
“I can’t be here another month. This place is nasty. The food is horrible and I haven’t had my hair done or a mani-pedi in weeks.”
“You either finish rehab or go to prison,” I told her.
“I am better. I haven’t thought about taking a drink or pills in weeks.”
“Just think how great you’ll feel in a month?”
She let out a loud sigh of exasperation. “Fine, but only for one more month.”
“And then you are going to stay with your dad, right?”
“Yes, but I only agreed on a few weeks. I will go crazy in that house if I stay any longer than that.”
I need to call Sterling tomorrow and warn him.
I pulled into Dragonfly’s parking lot and waited on Bobby, before exiting the truck. As we hit the bottom step of the bar, the door flew open and out spilled a mass of people, the last of which was a giggling Sarah.
“Well if it isn’t old Cas,” the blonde standing next to her crudely slurred. I recognized her from when I met Sarah at Patterson’s back in January.
Sarah instantly sobered. “Cas, what are you doing here?”
“The last time I looked, this was a public bar,” I clipped. Hurt skittered through her eyes and I felt like an ass. “I’m going to have a beer with Bobby.” I added, in a softer tone. Bobby shot me a warning look, before slipping inside the bar. Now probably wasn’t the time to clear the air between us, but when was I going to get another opportunity? “Hey, can we talk for a second?”
Sarah told her friends she’d call them tomorrow. Then she turned back to me with a hesitant smile. I felt it all the way to my toes. Confusion swirled within me. She was Max’s little sister and I didn’t want to want her, but she looked so damn good. She wore her hair curly tonight, just the way I liked it, and a short dress that showed off her long, sexy legs. I curled my fingers into fists to keep from touching her hair to see if it was as soft as it looked. The gloss that tasted of berries shone on her deliciously full lips and I was so tempted to take another taste.
“I didn’t know who you were. If you had given me a chance to speak the other day, I would have told you. I would
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