Page 13 of Daddy in Disguise

My eyes narrow. “Have you forgotten to whom you belong?”

“No.”

“Then trust me,” I demand. “Trust me to keep your secrets and to protect you.”

“Carter, it’s not a big—”

My hands reach across the car’s console and grasp her cheeks, squeezing them firmly between my fingers. Her face is steady in my hand as our gazes meet. “Anything concerning you is a big fucking deal, Sparrow. Do you understand me? Your body isn’t the only thing I claimed last night. Everything about you, including your deepest, darkest secrets, belong to me.”

Her eyes water and a single tear slips down her cheek and onto my hand. I loosen my grip and let my hand fall away. Her bottom lip trembles. “I was going to keep her. I was going to raise her on my own, but I had a miscarriage.”

I don’t know what kind of secrets I was expecting, but a miscarriage? I’m stunned. “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “But that doesn’t make me love you any less, and I’m sorry you had to go through something like a miscarriage alone.”

“I wasn’t alone. Thatcher was with me.”

“But he acted like a dick last night.”

She nods. “Yeah, I know. I don’t really understand why he reacted so harshly.”

I have a theory, but I don’t say a word. Instead, I shift the car into drive and slowly back out into the street. When we arrive at her house, I navigate up the driveway and stop.

“Are you sure you want to go in there? I’ll gladly take you back to my house. I can think of a million ways to keep you occupied.”

“I have to face him sooner or later.”

“I choose later then, like after we’re married, and you’ve popped out one of my babies.”

She laughs at my sudden nervous energy. Facing Thatcher should be easy because we’ve been best friends for years, but the stakes are high. Going all in with Sparrow means risking important relationships, and while I’ll fight with everything I have to keep her, I’m not going to make Sparrow choose between me and her brother.

“You’re kind of cute when you’re worried,” she tells me with a wink before pushing her door open.

“Wait,” I call after her but it’s too late. She disappears into the house just as I manage to unbuckle my seat belt.

The moment I enter the side door and head into the kitchen, I feel the tension. Sparrow and Thatcher seem to be at a stalemate, each one standing on opposite sides of a large kitchen island. I notice the sheen of tears on her cheeks.

“What did you do to her,” I growl, rushing forward. But Sparrow intercepts me, placing herself directly in my path.

“Nothing,” he says.

“Then why the fuck is she crying?”

“Because I told her to choose.”

My nervous energy is quickly replaced with boiling anger.

“Please,” Sparrow whispers so quietly it’s barely audible. “Let’s just leave. This was a mistake.”

I reach out, pull her forward and slip my arms around her. “Don’t make her choose, Thatcher. It’s cruel.”

He barks out a laugh. “Cruel? That’s rich coming from a member of The Opal House. How many women have you whipped and tortured there?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never hurt a woman in my life, and if you think I’m capable of hurting Sparrow, then you don’t know me at all.” Sparrow is wrapped around me, her head buried in my chest to avoid the ugliness of this confrontation. “It’s time for us to go,” I tell her, loud enough for Thatcher to hear.

“You’re not going anywhere with her,” he tells me, his tone forceful. “I will not allow my sister to be abused.”

“Sparrow is an adult. You don’t have a choice.”

“The hell I don’t,” Thatcher barks as he lunges toward us, latching on to his sister’s arm and tugging her out of my grip. It’s like tug o’ war as we pull Sparrow between us, jerking her in every direction. There is pain and anguish written all over her face, and tears flow freely down her cheeks. I hate this and what it’s doing to her. I promised never to make her choose between me and her brother, so I let go. Thatcher doesn’t realize he’s won and when he yanks her hard toward him, his grip suddenly lighter since I released her, Sparrow flies, colliding with the island. Her head smacks the edge, sending her tumbling to the hardwood floor below and knocking her unconscious.