Page 61 of Melt For Us, Daddy (Big Daddy Energy #4)

Jacob

“ A re you sure I look okay?”

Tugging again at the pale-blue sleeve of his dress shirt, Jacob frowned.

Even though he’d picked the shirt out himself, with Cordelia and Ivy’s oversight, suddenly it just seemed wrong .

Too formal, not formal enough, too tight, too loose.

Nothing about it seemed right and as he tugged, he could feel a familiar pressure building in his chest.

A small hand came to rest right over his heart. Taking one of his hands in hers, Ivy laid it between her breasts, her dark eyes locked on his. “Breathe with me, baby boy. Just like I taught you.”

Over the past week, he’d been subject to at least one panic attack a day. Sometimes more, especially when the dreams came for him. Dreams where Zach wasn’t there to save him and he woke screaming and clawing at the invisible hands around his throat.

Each and every time, Ivy had been there. Teaching him how to breathe through the attacks, bringing him back from the brink of hysteria with her calm words and gentle touch.

Just like she was doing now. Keeping his eyes on her, he matched her breathing, in and out, and eventually the racing of his heart calmed to its normal beat.

“Good boy,” she murmured, rising on her tiptoes to brush a kiss over his lips. “Feel better?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Good.” A smile curved her lips, and the wicked glint sent his heart racing again for an entirely different reason. “And for the record, I don’t think you look okay. I think you look hot as fuck and I can’t wait to get you home to?—”

Whatever she’d been about to suggest was cut off by the opening of the door behind them. Cordelia stepped into the conference room they’d been ushered into nearly twenty minutes ago, her eyebrows raising when she spotted them. “Everything okay?”

“Just doing some breath work,” Ivy answered breezily. “Are they almost ready?”

Instead of answering, Cordelia looked up at him, her expression full of worry. “Breath work? Are you okay, Jacob?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Just a bad moment. But I feel better now.”

“You’re sure? We can take a few minutes if you need it.”

Love for them swelled inside him. He secretly enjoyed the way they fussed over him, though he’d never admit it to them. “I promise.”

“In that case...” The worry cleared from Cordelia’s face as she grinned. “They’re ready for us.”

For a moment, he couldn’t move. Could only stand, frozen in place as his mind raced with questions and unspoken worries.

But then his women were there, one on either side of him, each taking one of his hands in their own.

“Come on, baby boy,” Cordelia said, her voice soft yet firm. “They’re waiting for you.”

Dragging in a deep breath, he nodded and let himself be led from the room. The walk down the hall seemed both far too short and impossibly long. And when they stopped in front of a grinning Holden, he couldn’t even hear what the other man said over the roaring in his ears.

Then the door swung open, and the sound of his sisters calling his name finally broke through the trance.

“Jacob!” Breaking away from Hannah, Sarabeth came barreling toward him, and he just managed to brace himself for her to throw her tiny body into his arms. “I missed you so manies! You went away and then a bunch of scary men came and took our mamas away but Hannah told us it was because you were so brave and you sent them to rescue us and I don’t really know what she meant by that but if you sent them I knew they couldn’t be as scary as they seemed! ”

Looking over her shoulder, he met Hannah’s eyes, blazing with righteous fury.

There was a fresh bruise on her cheek, and his chest ached at the sight of it.

Had their father given her that, just as he’d given Jacob his?

“Hannah was the brave one. She gave me the courage to do what needed to be done.”

He stretched his arm out to her and Hannah immediately crossed the room to clasp his hand in hers. “We never would have gotten out of there without you, Jacob. Thank you.” Her gaze shifted slightly to his left and she stiffened. “Who’s that?”

Still gripping her hand, with little Sarabeth cradled in his other arm, he turned to the doorway and grinned. “Hannah, this is Cordelia and Ivy. They’re my…”

Well, hell. He still had no idea what to call them.

They were planning to buy a house, move into together, and he still had no name for what they were to him.

And he definitely couldn't introduce Cordelia as his Daddy.

No matter how ready Hannah had been to escape, there was no way she was ready for that conversation.

“We’re his,” Ivy said, stepping forward with her hand outstretched. “And he’s ours. I’m Ivy, and I am so, so happy to meet you. And you, sweet little Sarabeth. I’ve heard so much about both of you.”

Taking Ivy’s hand, Hannah gave it a hesitant shake, the corners of her mouth dipping down in a frown. “So you’re… with Jacob? Both of you?”

“We are.” It was Cordelia who stepped forward now, her expression full of the kind of understanding only she could truly have. “And I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that. We chose him, and he chose us.”

“You don’t have the first clue what I’m thinking.”

Jacob winced at the venom in Hannah’s voice. “Hannah, I can explain.”

“No!” Tears shimmered on her lashes as she jerked away from him. “You can’t explain! I thought you were different , Jacob, but you’re just like them. Just like him .”

“Hannah. Stop.” Though Cordelia’s voice was quiet, there was no mistaking the authority in her tone. Even Hannah recognized it, instantly falling silent, though she still glared daggers in Jacob’s direction.

Sliding her hand into Jacob’s, Cordelia gave it a reassuring squeeze before returning her attention to his furious sister.

“I do know what you’re thinking, because it’s exactly what I would be thinking in your place.

Because fourteen years ago, I fled your grandfather’s home to make a life for myself far away from the prophets.

My name is Cordelia now, but back then I was known as Esther. ”

Hannah’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open in shock. “Esther,” she whispered, the name almost like a prayer on her lips. “Grandfather’s wife. The one who ran away.”

“Yes.”

“But you… that was all the way back in Arizona. How did you end up here?”

Beside him, Cordelia shrugged. “I was a bit of a nomad for a while. But something about Charleston just… called to me.” Glancing over, she smiled at Ivy, then Jacob.

“I don’t really believe in such things these days, but if I did, I would say something led me here.

That this is where I was always meant to be.

I’m grateful I didn’t know back then that the church had spread so far, or I might never have come.

Might never have met Ivy or Jacob, never built this incredible life for myself. ”

Fire flashed in Hannah’s eyes, burning away the tears. “And you’re going to help us, right? You’re going to testify? Help put my father and the other so-called prophets behind bars where they belong?”

“I am going to do whatever it takes to make sure they never hurt anyone again. You have my word.” Conviction rang out so clearly in Cordelia’s voice, he wondered how anyone could doubt her.

They stood for a while, silently staring at each other, and Jacob was left with the unsettling impression that they were having some kind of secret conversation the rest of them weren’t privy to.

And then, at last, Hannah nodded. “I believe you.” She glanced up at Jacob, then at Ivy, her brow crinkling. “But I still don’t understand how you can be okay with… this .”

“As I said. I chose this.” Cordelia’s lips curved upward, her expression shifting to a knowing smirk. “And once you get to know me, you’ll realize that I am not the kind of woman who does anything I don’t want to do.”

“I guess for now I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“I guess you will.”

With that tentative truce in place, Cordelia turned to Sarabeth, who was watching the whole thing unfold with wide eyes. “I’m so happy to meet you, Sarabeth. Your brother talked about you all the time. I know he’s very happy to see you again.”

“You’re really pretty,” Sarabeth whispered, reaching out to brush her fingers over Cordelia’s cheek. “I wanna be pretty like you when I’m big.”

“You’ll be pretty like you when you’re big, and that’s even better. But it’s more important to be kind and strong like your brother and Hannah.”

“Jacob is the best big brother ever .”

His heart twisted painfully in his chest at Sarabeth’s solemn statement. Most days he didn’t feel like the best big brother ever, but he was damn well going to do whatever it took to live up to that heroic view she had of him.

Meeting Hannah’s gaze, he felt another of those sharp jolts in his chest. Of all his sisters, she’d had it the worst, and it killed him to know he hadn’t been able to save her from it.

Even though he’d helped get them out, she’d still carry those emotional scars long after her physical bruises healed. Much like Cordelia.

Apparently sensing they needed a moment alone, Ivy slipped between them. “Why don’t Cordelia and I take Sarabeth down the hall to check out the vending machines?”

Worry flickered across Hannah’s face. “Oh. I don’t know…”

“Ivy is a teacher. She’s great with kids,” Jacob explained, bouncing Sarabeth on his hip as he forced a grin for her benefit. “How’s that sound, Sarabeth? You want to go with my friend Ivy and get a treat?”

“Okay!”

Taking Sarabeth from him, Ivy launched into an excited explanation of the delicious treats waiting for them in the vending machine. Cordelia hovered for a moment, her gaze searching his face.

“I’m okay,” he assured her, leaning down to brush a kiss over her cheek. “I promise.”

“All right.” Still not looking entirely convinced, she gave a single slow nod. “We’ll be right down the hall if you need us, baby.”

“I know.”