Page 64 of Ghost

When she finally gets the soccer ball into the net, she spins around and smiles. “I got it, Uncle Marcus.”

“Good job, Honey Bea.”

She’s as sweet as her nickname and always buzzing around.

Being an uncle suits me. We watch princess movies, put puzzles together, and build things. I get to spend time with her without having to worry about balancing the responsibility of being a parent with being a member of an MC. I don’t know how Legacy does it. Most of the time, he makes it look easy, but since Margaret, his nanny, started getting sick, I can tell it’s weighing on him.

Legacy steps through the glass sliding door at the back of his house, waving a water bottle in the air. “Beatrice, come drink some water. It’s hot out here, and you’re going to get dehydrated.”

I can’t help but chuckle at him, even though he’s just looking out for his daughter. Compared to the cocky playboy he is at the clubhouse, he’s the opposite at home. Sometimes, it still catches me off guard when he’s domestic.

Bea runs across the yard, jumping into his arms and giving him a big hug. He kisses the top of her head as he sets her down, and she takes the water bottle.

“Tempe will be here in just a few minutes.”

“Will you be back before bedtime?” Bea digs her toe into the turf.

“If I can.”

She frowns, knowing that unless he says he will, it’s probably a no. Legacy would rather disappoint her now than give her false hope like his dad always did.

King, Legacy’s father, was revered by the club. He’s remembered for his loyalty, from his patching-in ceremony to the day he took three bullets to the chest protecting one of his brothers. But he was a better Twisted King thanhe ever was a father. He didn’t spend much time with his family, and he was more focused on forcing Legacy to follow in his footsteps than raising him. It’s a wrong Legacy is determined to right with his daughter.

“You okay watching her for a few more minutes?” Legacy asks me as Bea runs to meet me at the lawn chairs.

She drops into the one at my side.

“We’re good. Finish what you need to.”

He’s been on the phone with the hospital half the morning, getting everything situated for Margaret to return home. She’ll need a nurse to stop by daily, and there are special instructions for her medications.

Still, Legacy’s going through all the trouble of taking care of her, just like she’s helped take care of Bea. When Legacy unexpectedly became a father, he didn’t know what he was doing. And as a member of the Twisted Kings, he didn’t trust anyone to help him.

The only reason he finally caved and let Margaret help was because she was good friends with Jameson’s grandma, Pearl.

Margaret moved in with Legacy when Bea was two months old, and she’s here whenever he can’t be. She cares for both of them and, amidst her medical struggles, I’m starting to see just how close Legacy is with her.

He’s paying all her medical bills, and he moved her into a room downstairs to make it easier for her. If she doesn’t get better, I don’t know what my brother is going to do. He doesn’t trust people, especially with his daughter.

Legacy disappears back into the house while Bea takes a drink of her water. She taps the toes of her pink cowgirl boots together, never sitting still.

It’s a warm day, but we’re in the shade of the house, so it’s bearable.

Bea swishes her feet back and forth, watching the gate to the side yard.

“Waiting for Austin?”

She nods, smiling big. “We’re playing super spies. He’s got a new spy tracker, and he said I can use it if I’m careful.”

“That so?” I chuckle, knowing she’s probably talking about the broken old phone I gave Austin.

He was convinced it could be used to track bad guys, and I figured there was no harm in letting him have fun since it doesn’t work anymore.

I’m not sure why kids gravitate toward me when most adults avoid me, but since Austin moved onto the compound, I’ve noticed it is becoming a trend. Bea and Austin constantly follow me around, and whenever they’re at the clubhouse, they sneak into my office because they want to mess with all the buttons.

They don’t know it yet, but I’ve been working on a laptop for them. I’m writing a fake crime-fighting program that they can mess around with. I figure the kids can put it to good use when they play in their new mini clubhouse.

The kids.