Page 9

“You can’t do that.” It is against the law.
“I can do whatever I want, Tessa.” “I’m a grown man.” I know that what I did was against the law according to someone’s rules, but I’d dare them to say otherwise.
“So you finally get to go on vacation, and it’s for her.” Her voice was full of jealousy and pain, and my heart sank.
I was only 18 years old when I left Dallas, and Tessa had just turned 8. My dad had died two years before, and my mom had just married his best friend.
I couldn’t stand to look at my mother or her cheating husband. The house had become so toxic.
My dad owned Reid Law Group, one of the biggest law firms in Dallas. I was going to take over for him, but after he died, everything changed. I had all this money, but none of it could bring him back.
Without my dad there, that big old house was so lonely. When my mom remarried, the loneliness was replaced by the smell of betrayal.
I left. I quit college and my job at the company and moved to the other side of the country. The money my dad left me was enough to last me the rest of my life, but I only used a small part of it to buy my flat and car and settle down.
Like my dad did when he was younger, I became a firefighter.
I haven’t been back to Dallas or talked to my mother since then. Tessa keeps telling me how much our mother misses me and that I should take a vacation and come home. I’m old enough to say I miss my mother, but I know I won’t be able to face her without getting really angry.
I fly Tessa to Portland whenever she wants to make me feel better about my guilt.
So now it’s clear that I may have hurt Tessa a lot with what I did. She’s been asking me to take a vacation for years, and I do it for someone I’ve only known for less than a month.
I was a jerk.
The waiter brought our food, which made me forget for a moment how much of a jerk I was.
I realised that Amaya’s facial expressions were everything over the last few days. She looked like someone who had watched TV their whole life because she was so cute and dramatic. She didn’t seem to notice the tension between Tessa and me; she just picked up her fork and slowly stabbed her pasta.
She suddenly dropped the fork and pushed her plate towards me.
“I can’t do it, Carter.” I’ve always wanted to try chicken carbonara, but what if this one isn’t good? Then my first time will be ruined. “Please try it and let me know if this is a good Carbonara,” she said sweetly.
Tessa and I looked at her for a while before we started laughing.
I had eaten here before and knew the food was good, but to make her happy, I took a forkful of her pasta.
I told her, “This is a good one, Amaya.”
She sighed with relief and pulled the plate back to her, quickly starting to eat.
My pupils got bigger when she moaned and threw her head back, enjoying the cheesy treat.
Some of her hair was up, and the rest fell down the sides of her neck, framing her face and drawing attention to her smooth skin.
F**k
I cursed myself in my head and ate some of my bolognese.
Tessa chatted with Amaya quietly and I was actually taken aback by Tessa’s maturity. She didn’t hold my actions against Amaya. However, I knew she’d have it in for me sooner or later.
I didn’t say anything while they talked and ate. I only paid attention when Tessa said my name.
“Don’t you think so, Carter? We should stop by Victoria’s Secret to get Amaya some more knickers. I mean, I picked out some for her last time, but I think she should be able to choose her own.
To hell with you, Tessa
“That’s fine, Tessa,” I said with a fake smile and looked around the restaurant.
“Oh, and we should buy her some bras. Now that she’s here, they can figure out her bra size and we can buy her some.
I knew my cheeks were bright red, and Tessa was enjoying the fact that she was better than me.
I said under my breath, “Great thinking, Tessa.”
“Is that possible for them? I’ve never had a bra before. This is so thrilling!”Amaya bounced in her seat, and I looked down.”
“Saggy balls, saggy balls, saggy balls,” I started chanting in my head right away.
“Okay, Amaya, let’s get to work. “We have to go spend all of my brother’s money,” Tessa said with a smile and dropped her serviette on her plate.
“That sounds like fun, Tessa, but Carter and I talked about it last night and he said he could only get me things that he thinks I need. Amaya said kindly, “I already feel so bad about it, so that’s what we decided.”
When I told her I was taking her shopping and wanted her to get everything she wanted, we ended up arguing last night.
She was adamant about not wasting my money and said that I had already spent too much on her. She was thankful for all the basic things I did for her, but she didn’t see the need for me to go above and beyond.
So, to calm her down, I told her that I would only get her things that I thought she really needed.
It’s just bad for her because I think she deserves the world.
Amaya sat comfortably on my lap while I gently rubbed her back up and down. Yes, we were still shopping, and Amaya was clearly starting to feel the bad effects of being on her feet all day.
I whispered to the tired girl, “I think someone is going to have to start going to the gym with me.”
We were in a private viewing room in this very expensive dress store. Tessa wanted to buy her dress here for her winter formal.
I was sitting in the purple, semicircular lounge chair when Amaya just sat down on my lap. She put her head on my chest like a puppy and whined about how much her legs hurt.
I should have known she would be in pain. She’s never walked this much in her life, and it was wrong of me to let her walk so much today.
“Do you think I’m overweight?”She gasped and stared at me like I had just hit her in the face.
“What? No, of course not, baby. I told them that fitness isn’t about being fat or skinny; it’s about having a healthy heart.
“What does that mean?””
“Well, the heart is a muscle, and when you work it out by doing hard things, you make it stronger. Do you get it?”
She nodded quickly and was completely focused on what I was saying. It felt great to share what I knew with her, no matter how small. She appreciated every bit of it, and that made me happy.
“Your heart gets stronger when you keep exercising, and you can do more things. This is also true for the muscles in your body.
She stayed quiet for a moment, spending some time absorbing and processing this new information.
“So if I start working out with you at the gym, we can go on more trips like this?””
I nodded, happy that she was able to use what she had learnt in her own life.
“I can’t wait to go to the gym now.” “You’re so smart, Cartie. I wish I could be smart like you.” She frowned, and I held her close, wanting nothing more than to make all of her wishes come true.
“I’ve always wanted to go to school.” She said sadly, “I always wanted to decorate my locker and try out for the cheerleading team, just like the kids my age do in the movies.” “Every time I asked my dad, he’d say he missed the admission date and would try again next year.” I guess it’s too late now.
Date of admission?
I knew he had to lie to her to keep her from getting suspicious, but wow, he really did deny her an education. It’s so hard for me to understand, and I had so many questions that I would never know the answers to.
Why keep her from going to school if you weren’t going to be home anyway? What was Patrick always thinking about, knowing he had a little girl at home with no one to help her? Was he worried?
Patrick was the only one who could answer my questions, but that wasn’t possible. It was very unsettling not getting the full picture.
“Okay, guys, I think this is the one.” Tessa walked out of the dressing room, and the skin-tight, low-cut black dress she was wearing drew my attention away from my thoughts.