“But she wasn’t taken care of. I’d imagine for a long time before they took her. Considering she was in a trap house, I guess she wouldn’t have been there long. Malia, she cannot go back to that orphanage.”
Delaney’s eyes are filled with silent pleas. Why she was telling me of all people, I’ll never understand. The woman looks at me like I have three heads because I called the kid a disease.
“Then she won’t,” I say to her, walking past her to find the girl named Brooke eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the kitchen.
Oren is showing her magic tricks with a quarter, making it appear and disappear behind her ears. Joy and excitement have replaced the fear I’d seen on her face only a few hours ago. I don’t know what this child saw while with those people, but her resilience surprises me.
Dad walks up and stands beside me, observing the girl as her giggles echo throughout the house.
“Quick, better fix your face. You’re smiling,” my dad says, turning to face me.
I groan and wrinkle my nose when I notice the peanut butter covering Brooke’s face. Correction, kids are both creepy and gross.
“Can you get her Amber alert cleared and have her identity disappear from the orphanage?” I look over at my old man. Amusement fills his eyes, and I resist the urge to slap him. “Get fucked.”
He snorts a laugh and watches me before speaking. “I can, but we can’t take her in. I’m not ready for my baby girl to be a mom.”
“The only grandchildren you’re getting are from that precious heir of yours, pops. Replace one stray with another. Breckin should be able to fend for himself at twenty-eight, right?”
A smile cuts across my face, and my dad just huffs.
The shift between us was almost immediate, from tense to lighthearted. Looking at my dad, I know he has questions he wants to ask. I know he wants to dig deeper into why I’m pulling myself from this mission. I’ve never been a quitter. He didn’t raise me to be one.
“I’ll make some calls in the morning and see if we can find someone to take her in,” he says, turning to face Oren, making a show of theatrics as he tells a story about a lion and a dragon.
Without another word, I walk into the kitchen. Brooke turns to me with a giant smile on her face, sleep still heavy in her eyes. It’s well past midnight at this point, and I don’t even know what to say to the kid. Oren leans against the counter, face in his hand with a shit-eating grin, waiting for me to make my move.
I’ll kill him.
The dickhead is enjoying my suffering too much.
Pinching my brows together, I try to think of something to say, but Oren becomes impatient and huffs. My mouth opens and snaps shut.
“She can stay here,” Oren offers. I nod my appreciation. “But I won’t be able to do that thing you tasked me with until she’s gone.”
“What thing?” Donovan asks.
He’s been so quiet I almost forgot he was here. Dad reads my body language as I tense at my brother’s tone. Dad steps in between us, knowing I’m already on edge.
“Leave it,” Dad clips.
He pins my brother with a glare. My jaw clenches, holding back the smart comment sitting on my tongue. There’s a child in the room. The last thing she needs to see is me laying my brother’s stupid ass out on the floor after everything she saw earlier.
“There are quite a few things we need to discuss,” Dad continues, “but not until we’re home.”
Dad shoots us a warning glance before I scowl at Oren for opening his mouth. He shrugs his apology.
“It’s settled then,” I say in finality. “The parasite stays here, and we do damage control and find her a home by morning.” I turn to the child staring at me, swinging her legs on the too-tall bar stool. “O will take good care of you, and if he doesn’t, we can paint him red.”
Brooke beams at me and nods. She isn’t much of a talker, but I imagine we Olins talk enough for most people. Oren snorts and goes back to his magic tricks while I walk out of the room.
Dad begins to talk about the kid with Oren and Donovan. I should probably stay and listen to his plans, but all I want is a bed. I take it upon myself to slip into Oren’s room, hoping for some peace to bring my thoughts together for the first time since this fucked up day started.
The weight of today has me face-planting on the king-size bed in front of me. When Oren is ready for bed, he’ll nudge me out. Before I can even try to wrap my head around the magnitude of my decision to step away from this mission, sleep calls to me, and I willingly succumb to it.