Christ, this girl is adorable.
She hands me the cookie, and I take it with a smile.
“Thanks, Amelia.”
Amelia smiles back.
“Are you my daddy?”
I’m not sure if she overheard Dorothy and me speaking or if she knew all along it was a possibility, but her question stuns me. I remain silent, scrambling to figure out how to respond. If I say yes, I could be lying to her, but the last thing I want to do is get her hopes up. I desperately want to make things right for her. I don’t even care if she’s my daughter, I want to be the one to care for her.
If only I knew how.
“We can’t be sure yet, sweetie.” Dorothy swoops in with the rescue. “We’ll have to take a test to find out.”
“I don’t like tests,” Amelia whines as she latches onto her grandmother.
“It’s okay, dear. It will be quick and painless, I promise.”
“She’s right. And then we’ll know for sure.”
“Okay.” I can hear the disappointment in Amelia’s voice.
“No matter what, though, we can be friends.”
Her little face lights up. “We can?”
“Of course.”
The little girl, who only moments ago was shy as can be, threw her arms around my neck and hugged me.
“Does Monday work for you?”
I look down at the card she handed me earlier. Monday morning.
“I’ll make it work.”
CHAPTERFOUR
Ryder
A guy walks into a bar.
That guy is me, and I don’t have a clue how I got here or what in the hell just happened.
“Where the hell have you been?” Mark asks when I show up at the bar nearly an hour late.
“Home.” Still in a daze, I take a seat at the table, my mind a complete clusterfuck.
“Jesus, man, you look like shit.”
Mark isn’t wrong in his observation. Still, there’s no need for him to point it out.
“Guess it runs in the family.” I grab the beer that’s sitting between us and take a swig.
“Hey, that’s mine,” he protests.
“Yeah, well, now it’s mine,” I say before finishing the drink.