He grabbed hold of the monitor on his desk and handed it to his brother. “She’s sleeping.”
Kent stared down at the monitor. “You have a camera on her? Does she know? Wait, is she in your bedroom?”
“She is,” he said with a wealth of satisfaction in his voice. “She’s mine now.”
A slow grin crossed Kent’s face. “Well, hot damn. I knew you wanted her.” Kent frowned. “What are we going to do about Allan?”
“I told him I don’t want him back. It’s time he retired. His son agrees. I had Bear and Zeke pack up his stuff and ship it to his son’s.”
“Good. Can’t have someone like that here. I just can’t believe he acted that way. Charlie should have told someone he was terrorizing her. Makes me feel sick to think about how scared she must have been.”
Him as well. “She’s not good at asking for help which I’m working on. She’s going to know that she’s to come to me about anything.” He’d make sure of that. “So, how did your trip go?”
“Fine,” Kent told him. His brother wasn’t one to talk about his work and Clint got that most of it was classified. And that his clients wanted privacy. Kent stood and walked across the study. He paused at the door and turned back. “Clint?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really happy for you.” There was a note to his brother’s voice.
“You’ll find someone special,” he told him. He’d never imagined he’d find someone like Charlotte.
Kent grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Of course, I will.”
* * *
“Hello, baby girl.”
Charlie smiled happily up at Clint as he settled onto the bed next to her. She switched off the cartoon she’d been watching on TV. It felt decadent to be lying in bed watching television in the middle of the day.
“Hi.”
“Have a good nap?”
She blushed. It was going to take her a while to get used to the way he openly accepted her Little side. Not just that, that he really enjoyed it. Enjoyed being her daddy.
“Yes. I feel a bit lazy, though. My hand is heaps better and I’m feeling much more rested. I think I should be back at work. Ellie needs my help.”
“You can’t do much with your hand, and you’re still a bit pale for my liking. Don’t worry about Ellie, everything is under control.”
“It’s not Ellie I’m worried about so much as everyone else,” she said dryly.
He grinned. “Well, there’s been no cases of food poisoning so far.”
She snorted.
“But if you’re a good girl and do what I tell you, I’ll have Doc come and check on you tomorrow and see what he says about your hand and returning to work. You also need a complete check-up.”
“Yuck.”
He gave her a firm look. ?
?I’d suggest you change that attitude because you’ll be visiting Doc regularly. I intends to keep my girl in good health.”
She sighed. “I’m usually really healthy, Daddy.”
“Sure, you are. Getting next to no sleep, living in your car, eating junk all the time is a recipe for good health.”
She scowled, feeling very put-upon. “I feel fine.”