Chapter 5
GRANT
Bailey fusses as I rub the towel too harshly over her, wiping up water droplets from her bath.
“Sorry princess.”
I lay her down on the towel and blow a raspberry on her tummy. She lets out a halfhearted giggle.
My little girl senses something’s off. It has been ever since the revelation that her aunt was here in my house. The woman I’d been fantasizing about and was ready to share my heart with.
A pang of regret tugs at my chest.
I’ve never been attracted to anyone the way I was to April.
It was more than attraction. The first time I laid eyes on her, my chest tightened with longing.
When we stopped at the Wild Times bar and every man in the place cast his eyes on her, I was ready to punch every single one of them in the face for looking at her.
A wave of possessiveness washed over me, and it hasn’t fully left.
I sent April away to the clubhouse because she needed a place to stay, but I’ve been brooding about who she might meet there.
I called the Prez and then Travis, who runs the bar and restaurant, to let him know she was coming and she had the club’s protection. He snickered at me until I told him who she was.
The entire club knows about my struggles with Bailey and the mysterious aunt who’s suddenly claiming custody.
But I asked him to be respectful, and he will. He’ll give her a free dinner and a room upstairs. Travis only has eyes for his new wife, Kendra, but I don’t know who else is in tonight. My fingers drum on the tiled bathroom floor as I imagine one of my MC brothers hitting on her.
Arlo’s hooked up with Maggie now, but Davis, the prospect who sometimes works the bar, is probably about the same age as April. Then there’s Quentin, the brooding manager of the brewery.
There’s a snapping noise, and I’m surprised to find one of Bailey’s plastic bath toys snapped in my fist.
She looks at the plastic crocodile with its head hanging askew and lets out a wail.
“Shhh. I’ll buy you a new one.”
I dump the broken crocodile in the trash, and her cries get louder.
I pick my daughter up and pull her close. Her little hands beat against my shoulder. She’s really not happy tonight, and I’m sure it’s my fault. Her damn aunt has me all shook up.
My thoughts swing between imagining her thighs wrapped around me and imaging showing her out of town. It’s enough to give a man whiplash.
“Croco,” Bailey wails, her hand reaching for the trash.
“Here, honey, have the octopus instead.”
I hand her the purple octopus, and she takes it sullenly. But it does the trick, and she’s distracted enough to let me get her diaper and onesie on with no complaints.
I sing the bananas in pajamas song to her as I do up the pop buttons, and she giggles. Her smile warms all the cold places of my heart.
I’m blessed to have Bailey in my life, and I can’t imagine what I’d do if someone took her off me. Maybe that’s how April feels. She said Bailey is her last remaining family. Am I really going to withhold her access to that?
But where was she when Karen had the accident? Why didn’t she claim Bailey then? The authorities tracked me down because Karen had named me on the birth certificate. Thank God for that, or I never would have known about my sweet daughter.
The thought makes me hug her close, and she squirms in my arms.
“You want your bottle?”
I grab the pre-heated bottle and take her through to the bedroom, laying her in the crib gently and handing her the bottle. She snatches it off me and sucks hungrily as I pull the blanket up around her.
Is it unfair not to let April see her? She’s come all this way. The least I even do is hear her out and give her a chance to explain herself.
Since Bailey came into my life, I’ve had my barbershop open only three days a week.
Danni and Trish help with the babysitting, and I’ve become close to the wives of my MC brothers.
They’ve been the best source of help with minor coughs and tips for sleeping.
We’ve got a text chain, and I message them if I have a question.
I’m not the only one in the club to have a baby, and I’m thankful for the support.
But once a week I close the doors to my barbershop and spend the day with just me and Bailey. Tomorrow is that day, and I’d planned to take her out in the baby backpack for a hike and a picnic. It can’t hurt to invite April along.
“You want to see your aunt?”
Bailey gurgles, but the milk is making her sleepy. Even as she grasps the bottle, her eyes are drooping.
Once I’ve made the decision to invite April to spend the day with us, my heart feels lighter.
The thought of seeing the curvy girl with the troubled eyes has my heart singing in a way it shouldn’t.
It’s bad news to feel like this about the woman who’s trying to take my baby away from me.
Let alone the fact that she’s my daughter’s aunt and definitely off limits.
But the heart wants what the heart wants, and there’s no denying the thought of spending a day with April is a pleasing one.
I watch Bailey for a long time until her mouth slackens and her breathing gets regular. Only then do I slip the bottle out of her grasp and sneak out of the room.