Page 24 of The Tempo of Truth (The Monsters Duet #3)

“I was in a room full of other kids, and they were making fun of me. They kept pointing at me and laughing. I wanted to beat them up, but I couldn’t move.

I was stuck. I called for help, but no one came.

They just kept laughing louder and louder.

” He huffed a small sound of aggravation.

“They pointed their fingers at me and called me short and stinky. They made fun of me for wanting to be a goalie. They told me I had to have a father to teach me how to play, so I couldn’t be any good because I didn’t have one. They were really mean, Mommy.”

“It sounds like it. But you know that was just a dream, right? You’re probably nervous about school getting ready to start since it’s a brand-new experience for you.

Don’t forget, all your cousins will be there with you.

If anyone dares to pick on you, just ask them for help.

” I did my best to calm him down and walked him back to bed.

He was restless as I tried to tuck him in.

I could see genuine worry in his dark eyes.

Lowe was such an easy-going kid. It was rare to see him get so worked up over anything.

I stroked his little eyebrow to smooth out the frown on his forehead.

“And everyone has a father, even if they don’t get to see them all the time or at all.

Parents come in a lot of varieties, Lowe.

There is no perfect family, and that is okay.

As long as you have people in your life who love you and protect you, it doesn’t matter if they’re called Mom and Dad.

That’s not something that affects how you play soccer.

You need to listen to Ky. If he says the most important factor is practice and dedication, you should believe him. ”

Lowe scrunched up his face and hugged the stuffed animal I placed in his arms. His voice was barely above a whisper when he asked, “Will I ever get a chance to meet my dad? I know he’s not dead or anything.

I overheard Uncle Win telling Aunt Channing that he hoped I never asked about my father because he didn’t want me to be disappointed. Why would I be disappointed?”

“Lowe, you shouldn’t listen in on adult conversations.” I sighed and leaned down so I could kiss his still-wrinkled forehead. “When the time is right, I’m positive your dad will introduce himself to you.”

“Promise?” The pleading dark eyes about did me in. My heart turned over in my chest.

“I promise.” I silently prayed Ky wouldn’t let either of us down. “I’ll stay with you until you fall back asleep, okay? I’ll be right here if those mean kids show up to bully you again.”

Lowe snuggled under the covers and muttered, “If I weren’t frozen, I would’ve made them sorry they picked on me.” He harrumphed and squeezed the toy in his arms so tightly I was surprised the stuffing didn’t pop out.

I didn’t tell him that he sounded exactly like his father at that moment.

Ky never stood still when he saw someone weaker than him being pushed around.

That’s how he won me over when I was still so sheltered and unsure of everything.

A couple of kids from the prep school had cornered me and taunted me about my mother being dead and my grandmother being a murderer.

If he hadn’t stepped in to save me that day, I don’t know what I would have done.

Back then, I lacked the most basic of survival skills.

That rescue solidified Kyser Kent as a good guy in my mind, and nothing he’d done since had ever been able to shake him off the pedestal I placed him on.

Even his refusal to tell me what happened the night of the kidnapping wasn’t a deal breaker.

In my mind, he was innocent until he admitted his guilt directly to me.

Lowe asked a few more questions about what his first day of school would be like, but eventually, he couldn’t keep his eyes open and drifted back to sleep.

I tiptoed back downstairs to check on Ky and found him passed out on the couch.

He hadn’t moved. His arm was still tossed over his face while the injured one rested across his midsection.

He’d thrown the blanket over his lower half and stretched out fully on the couch.

His long legs nearly reached the edge of the oversized piece of furniture, but since they didn’t hang off and he appeared comfortable enough, I let him be.

I turned off all the lights, checked the security system, let the night staff know everyone was done for the evening, and reminded them I had a guest over so Helio wouldn’t jump Ky if he stumbled upon him when he showed up to take me to work.

My head of security made no secret of the fact that he didn’t like Ky and would prefer things to be back to how they were before I invited Lowe’s dad into our lives.

There were a couple of moments when I thought his concern crossed professional boundaries, but we’d gone through so much, and I relied on him so heavily that I didn’t want to open that door at all.

I needed him to view me as his friend, but more importantly, as his boss.

I didn’t want to damage the trust we’d spent years building, but he needed to respect my boundaries.

Even though I knew Helio had done an extensive background check on Ky, there was nothing he could tell me or uncover that would change my mind about the former football player.

I took myself to bed but couldn’t fall asleep right away. I was going to scroll through my phone and see if there was any new gossip floating around after my lunch with Oliver Byrd, but the only new pictures were of me leaving the hospital with a battered and bruised Ky.

In the picture, I looked concerned and was reaching for him.

Ky appeared tired and irritated. It was obvious to anyone that he didn’t want me there.

There were already salacious stories circulating about his messy dating history, and the news that his friend was stabbed and required surgery because he was caught in the crossfire had leaked.

None of the news made Ky look very good, and there was a ton of speculation about our relationship.

Much like Halliday Inc.’s board of directors, people were asking if I was so oblivious in my personal life, how could I guide such a big, important business in the future?

It was frustrating that everyone seemed to assume I was making major business decisions with my vagina instead of my brain and a literal lifetime of training and guidance.

How quickly the masses forgot I was born to take over the family business.

I grew up within Colette Halliday’s clutches.

Regardless of who warmed my bed at night, I knew more about my family’s business interests than anyone else.

And even as much as my uncles favored me, they would never hand over control if they thought I couldn’t handle it.

There were too many employees and partners relying on Halliday Inc.

for them to let me do whatever the hell I wanted.

I lifted my hand to toss my phone on the empty side of the bed when it pinged with a new message.

~ Don’t get upset reading all the nonsense that’s being written about you at the moment.

Don’t forget, it was the general consensus that I used magic or sold my soul to the devil in order to catch your uncle’s eye.

No one believed that he was the one who was crazy about me and refused to take no when he asked me to marry him.

Don’t let outside noise be louder than whatever your heart is telling you. Love you, kiddo.

I grinned slightly at my Aunt Channing’s words.

If anyone could sympathize with my current predicament, it was her.

My Uncle Win coerced her into marrying him long before she was in love with him.

It was fortunate they ended up being a perfect match, but she was right.

When I was younger, no one in the upper circles my uncle traveled in thought my aunt was good enough for him.

They refused to believe he was the one who chased her or that a Halliday could give up everything for love.

It was like I told Ky earlier: I really had the best example to follow. My aunt and uncle gave me hope that a love that had no reason to work would, as long as you wanted it badly enough.