Chapter 17
“Biggest news of my life and all I got was dog snacks and moonshine.”
Zane
My phone beeps with a message as I park in the driveway of Eli’s house. House? Mansion is a more accurate description. It fits since he’s a billionaire.
I wish my college roommate was a genius who invented silly apps that earned billions. Instead, my college roommate was an extreme sports fanatic who got me hooked on Parkour.
Although, I quit competing when I broke my ankle in Greece. I was perfectly fine to continue, but Mom lost her mind when I phoned her from the hospital on Santorini.
I learned my lesson. Do not tell Mom what I’m doing. She can know where I am but not what I’m up to. It’s better this way. She still thinks skydiving is dangerous.
I dig my phone out of my pocket to respond to the message. Except it’s not a message, it’s an email. From the lab where I took my paternity test.
My heart races as I stare at the notification. What if Adele isn’t mine? What then?
I’d have to let her go. To return her to her mom.
My stomach clenches at the thought of returning Adele to the woman who abandoned her. What kind of person abandons their child? It doesn’t matter. I’m not letting Daisy raise Adele.
Adele has captured my heart. I am not letting her go. Paternity be damned. She is mine.
I open the email and scan it. Statement of results. The genetic markers strongly support the conclusion that the tested male is the biological father. Probability of paternity. 99.9%. Indicates a high probability of paternity, with a conclusive result.
I drop the phone in my lap and rock back in my seat. Adele is mine. She’s my daughter. My baby girl. I don’t have to give her up.
I can’t wait to tell Sloane. She believes in me. Believes I can be a good father.
But she’s at work and my brothers are waiting on me. I climb out of the car and start for the door but then I remember my good luck charm.
It’s the Raider brothers’ monthly poker night and a good luck charm is required. Eli has a set of teeth he used to scare us with when we were young. Rhett has a bowling shoe, which is weird, but whatever. Jaxon has a Chia pet he claims resembles Elvis. It doesn’t.
Miles has a rabbit’s foot that definitely is not from a rabbit. And Kai has a pickle in the jar he calls Mr. Crisp.
I’m the only one with a ‘normal’ good luck charm. I snatch the taxidermized squirrel in a cowboy hat from the front seat before heading for Eli’s house.
“Someone’s happy tonight,” Kai says when I enter the house.
“He must think he’s going to win.” Miles snorts. “Delusional.”
“Or he’s happy because he kissed Sloane,” Eli says.
Rhett rubs his hands together. “Pay up, suckers.”
Jaxon pushes his glasses up his nose. “I didn’t bet against Sloane and Zane getting together. I wouldn’t bet against Zane. He’s been staring at her with lust in his eyes for years.”
I can’t deny it. Sloane is the most beautiful woman on Smuggler’s Hideaway. Naturally, I’ve been lusting after her. I’m only a man.
But Sloane isn’t the reason I’m smiling. And I’m not discussing my relationship with her with my brothers anyway.
Hold on. I don’t have a relationship with Sloane. She’s my nanny.
And we kissed. We would have done a lot more if Adele hadn’t interrupted.
Adele! She’s the reason I’m happy.
“I got the paternity results back.” I rock back on my heels.
“And? Is Adele yours?” Eli asks.
Rhett scowls. “I don’t care if she is your daughter biologically. She’s your daughter. End of.”
Rhett would say that. He adopted two children since Dakota has health issues and was wary of bearing children herself. Plus, she was in the foster system. She wanted to foster children. Instead, they ended up adopting the first two children they fostered.
“Dude,” Miles grumbles. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”
I can’t hold it in anymore. My smile stretches from ear to ear. “Adele is mine.”
“Whoo hoo!” My brothers converge on me with back slaps and half hugs.
“This calls for a celebration.” Eli lifts a bottle. “Good whiskey?” He lifts another bottle. “Or moonshine?”
“You have to ask?” I hand out shot glasses and he pours moonshine into them.
“Here’s to Zane and his little girl, Adele. May her and her cousins, Pearl, Mira, and Stephanie, learn to support each other.”
“After they wreak havoc on the Smuggler’s Hideaway school system,” I add.
“Here! Here!”
“Let’s play some poker!” Miles shouts.
We make our way down the hallway to Eli’s game room.
This room – with its dark green walls and oak paneling – could be in a magazine.
On one side of the room is a bar stocked with all the best whiskey and beer Smuggler’s Hideaway has to offer.
On the other side is the largest television I’ve ever seen in a private home.
There are leather couches scattered around the room so you can sit and enjoy a game while drinking your whiskey.
In the middle of the room is a pool table and a poker table. We sit around the poker table.
Jaxon clears his throat. “I’m allowed to make a new rule each month.”
Miles groans. “We know.”
Eli and Rhett insisted on this ‘rule’ because Jaxon felt left out of our prank wars. Until he married Blossom, he refused to participate in them. But his wife is super competitive – even with the prank wars! – and he can’t be feeling left out anymore. Nonetheless, the rule continues.
“How’s this for a rule? Whenever Zane mentions the baby, he has to drink a shot.”
I groan. “No fair. I just found out Adele is my baby.”
Kai slams a bottle down next to me. “Is that one or two shots?”
I glare at him as I pour a shot and down it. “Happy?”
“Not yet, but I will be soon.”
Rhett rubs his hands together. “Who’s ready for some poker?”
He removes the plastic from the deck of cards. Considering the pranks we play on each other and how often we’ve been known to ‘cheat’, we use a brand-new deck of cards each month.
Rhett starts to deal the cards, but stops. “What the hell? Why are the cards sticking together? This is a new deck.”
Kai bursts into laughter. “It is a new deck.”
Rhett smells his hands and cringes. “A new deck covered in maple syrup?”
“I wouldn’t say covered.”
Miles raises his hand and high-fives Kai. “Good one.”
Kai grins. “If anyone’s keeping score, I’m winning the prank war.”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t have time for pranks, I have a baby to care for.”
“Drink!” Kai points to the bottle of moonshine.
Shit. At this rate, I’m going to be drunk before the first round of poker is finished.
Poker is serious business in the Raider family. You can’t skip a month. Even when Eli lived in California, he flew home for poker night. And the winner has bragging rights for an entire month. Whereas the loser won’t hear the end of it until the next poker night.
All this to say – I can’t be drunk off my face during poker.
Rhett throws the sticky cards on the table. It’s all jokers and queens. I don’t know where Kai is getting these novelty cards but someone needs to curtail his online shopping.
“I’ll get another deck.” Eli makes his way to the bar and unlocks a drawer.
“Do you seriously lock up your cards?” Jaxon asks.
Kai smirks. “I’m extremely proud of myself right now.”
“Where are the snacks?” Miles glances around before standing up. “I’ll grab them.”
Good. I need some food to soak up the shots. I also need to stop talking about Adele. But how am I supposed to stop talking about my baby girl? The baby girl who is without a doubt mine.
Kai points to me. “He’s got the goofy grin on his face again.”
“He must be thinking about Adele,” Jaxon says.
“Or Sloane.” Rhett wiggles his eyebrows.
“I guess this means you want to go ahead and sue for custody of Adele,” Eli says.
“This isn’t fair!” I slap a hand on the table. “Everyone else can speak of…” I cut myself off before I say Adele. “of a certain subject. Why can’t I?”
Jaxon fiddles with his glasses. “Because it’s funnier this way?”
“I didn’t know you were this cruel.”
“Maybe you should have shown up at the distillery the day you invited all of those people from the press for a tour.”
I cringe. “It wasn’t my fault. My flight was cancelled.”
“You flew to Iceland for a weekend. Even you should have realized the chance of getting back on time was minimal.”
“Ugh. What is it? Pick on Zane day?”
“Yep. It was my idea.”
I launch myself at Kai but Rhett pushes his way in between us before I can get my first punch in.
Kai chuckles. “Now you know how it feels to be the brother being made fun of for falling in love.”
“I’m not falling in love. I have a new daughter.”
“Drink!” My brothers yell in unison.
The moonshine doesn’t burn as I drink the shot. This is a bad sign. Smuggler’s Hideaway moonshine causes a trail of fire in your esophagus and burns your nose hairs. When it stops burning, you’re in trouble.
Miles strolls into the room carrying several large bowls of snacks. “What did I miss?”
“Our brothers are assholes,” I grumble as I grab a handful of snacks. I toss the pretzels in my mouth.
Miles bursts into laughter. “How are you enjoying those snacks, bro?”
I frown. “Kind of tough to chew.”
“Because they’re dog snacks.”
I spit them out to lunge at Miles but he dashes off. I give chase.
“Why aren’t you stopping him, Rhett?” he asks from where he’s hiding behind the bar.
“Dog snacks?” Rhett snorts. “You deserve a beat down.”
I launch myself over the bar. Miles covers his face. “Not the face. I need the face to charm women.”
“Oh, please. The only woman you want to charm is Hazel and she won’t give you the time of day.”
“Sloane won’t give you the time of day either.”
Wrong. Sloane melted into my arms the second I pressed my lips to hers. Considering her father, it’ll take work to break down her defenses. Good thing she’s living in my house. I have plenty of time to work on tearing down those defenses.
But first, I need to smack my brother upside the head.