Chapter 8
RHETT
This is a fucking nightmare. I should have known this would happen; I should have gotten Katie and Melodie ready for this. God, I was so stupid. Spending all my time thinking of Melodie when I should have warned them about this.
Stacey is a gold digger, and I’m not stupid enough not to see it.
To be honest, I’m not even sure Katie is my biological daughter.
I never, ever went bareback, not until yesterday, not until Melodie.
Accidents happen, of course, and I don’t care if Katie has my genes or not.
The moment I saw her, I knew I wanted to raise her. Call it instinct.
And Stacey was with me when I put my name on Katie’s birth certificate. Legally, I am her father now. And Stacey will not hurt her anymore.
Katie runs to her bedroom, every sob of hers a knife to my chest. Melodie follows, and I’m so fucking proud of how she stood up to Stacey.
That woman is everything. She’s smart, beautiful, and she’s so fucking brave.
She was a lioness, defending Katie with everything she got, and I am so fucking happy she’s in our lives.
I also know this hurts her. She is too young to handle this shit. She doesn’t deserve any of the words thrown her way. I’ll have to grovel so hard.
“You’re such a manwhore,” Stacey spits, her voice too loud, making my eardrums hurt.
“Keep your voice down,” I roar. How the fuck did I find this woman attractive? This was years ago, and I can’t even believe we talked long enough for me to notice her external beauty means nothing when she opens her mouth.
“Why? So your fat whore won’t hear us?” she keeps going, sweet Jesus.
My blood boils in my veins. Holy shit, this woman. “Keep your voice down,” I growl again. “And don’t you fucking dare talk about her.”
She lifts her upper lip in an ugly sneer. “I knew it. You’re fucking her. Not only a manwhore, but a cradle robber, too.”
That hits me hard. It hits me because she’s right.
Melodie is younger, much younger, but I can’t deny what I feel for her.
“I love her, Stacey. And she loves me. And we’re going to make it right to Katie, no matter who her biological parents are.
” I glare at her, stepping even closer, letting my height create a shadow on her face.
Stacey tilts her chin up because she knows I would never hit a woman, but her bottom lip trembles.
She has no chance in this fight. She doesn’t want Katie, not really.
All she wants is to create the drama. “What do you want, Stacey?”
“What do you think I want?” She smirks. “We never agreed on a schedule. So I am taking her, and you know raising a child is not cheap. You better pay up for the days she’ll spend with me.”
“You can take her for a few days after I talk to my lawyer.”
“Hell no. I am taking her. I am her mother, Rhett.”
“And I had the guardianship until we settled the schedule.”
“I don’t fucking care. You know they’ll agree with me. All it takes is for me to say you were abusing her.” Her smirk grows wider. “You want to go to jail, that’s it? For abusing a poor small child? Your own daughter?”
“I want you to tell me what the fuck you want.”
“Well...” She crosses her arms over her chest, swaying her head from side to side.
“You can keep her, I guess. But you would have to send me some money to compensate for her absence, you know? I love her so dearly.” Her voice is flat, emotionless, and I know she doesn’t love Katie.
She loves what Katie means to her, financially.
My jaw clenches so hard I taste enamel. How can she look at that sweet girl and see only the money? “You know, Stacey... The guardianship process is already rolling, and you’re just giving me more material.”
“What?” She pauses, staring at me. “What do you mean?”
I cross my arms over my chest, too. When I thought of this the first time, I was afraid it was too much. Too paranoid, too extreme. Turns out my instincts were spot on. “I put voice recorders up in the living room. Something told me you would eventually show up.”
Her face goes three shades paler. “You’re not serious.”
“I am. They back up straight to the cloud, and I will send them to my lawyer. You think you’ll keep her guardianship after all this?”
She starts shaking, from head to toe. Her eyes go saucepan wide, and it takes everything in me not to smirk in victory.
Finally, she bares her teeth, her cheeks going red.
“You’ll see me in the court, Rhett. I will make your life a living hell,” she spits and leaves.
She slams the door closed, and the sound of her steps disappears after a moment.
I take a couple of deep breaths, waiting for my heart to calm down. Then I race into my room, put some pants on, and go after the two. I knock first, and the sound of the two crying is the worst pain I’ve ever felt.
“Come in,” Melodie calls.
I open the door to find both cuddled on the bed, Katie on Melodie’s lap. Katie looks up at me with her eyes glazed, red, and swollen. She swipes a hand across her dripping nose.
“Is she gone?” And her voice is so broken it destroys me.
I stride across the room to them, kneeling in front of both. My arms curl around Melodie’s body, encompassing Katie in my hold. “She is. And I promise she won’t ever hurt you again, sweetheart.”
Katie pouts. “I opened the door, Daddy. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. This is not your fault. None of this is. Next time, call me first.”
Katie nods, then slings her arms around my neck. I stroke a hand up and down her back until she stops crying, then I look up into Melodie’s eyes. She’s crying too, softly, and she looks away when I try to lock our gazes.
“I’m sorry,” I say, gripping her fingers with mine. “So sorry you had to see this.”
She shakes her head once. “I knew it would happen. You’re older than I am. Of course you would have more history behind you.”
I tighten my hold. “No. Melodie, hear me out.” She finally looks at me.
“I love you. I love you more than I thought possible, and I promise you I will do anything in my reach so my past won’t hurt you.
Neither of you. You don’t deserve this pain, and I will fight the world to keep you safe if that’s what it takes.
Stacey won’t come after us again. She knows she can’t win this.
” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles.
“I’m so sorry, my love. This won't happen again, I promise.
She relaxes in my hold. “I love you too,” she murmurs, holding Katie closer. “The two of you. But I don’t want to be the other woman, you know? I don’t want to get between you two and her. She is Katie’s mother, after all.”
“She is, and that won’t change,” I tell her, pressing her palm to my cheek. “But we’re so good together, Melodie. The three of us. We’ll work it out. I promise we’ll work it out. We’ll be happy together. We already are.”
And I see it in her face, the moment she agrees.
She knows we’re right for one another, that this family was ready to receive her the moment she knocked on my door that first day.
Melodie is fierce and smart, and I want her to help me raise Katie.
I hope Katie grows up to be a fierce woman, too, inspired by Melodie, looking up to her.
Sitting on the bed, I bring both to my lap. Melodie gasps in surprise and clings to my shoulders for balance, but it’s easy enough. She’s short, so small in my hold, and I hug the two close, pressing my mouth to Melodie’s temple.
“I love you,” I repeat. “And I will make this right.”
She sighs, relaxing. “Alright.” A smile, that smile I love so much. “But only because I love you too.”
She cranes her neck to kiss me, and Katie breaks out in cheers. We break the kiss to look at her, and Melodie’s cheeks go pink.
“That means you’re coming to live with us?” Katie asks, grinning.
“What? That’s too fast.”
I wink at my daughter. “We’ll convince her, don’t worry.”
And I wipe their tears off and soak in their happiness. They laugh and they smile, and this is all I need. This family. Melodie smiles at me, and I know we’ll be alright. With her, everything will be alright.