“Okay.” The word sounds defeated. I press my mouth to hers in another quick kiss before hopping out of the truck and slamming the door.

“You’re right; she didn’t do this,” my dad says, and Trevor nods in agreement.

“I know.” I pull off my hat, running my hands over my hair and face.

“I'm going to call Dan tonight and see if he can tell me anything as a friend. In the meantime, I want you to call our lawyer and get him on the case. Any of the lawyers in that folder are going to be severely over-worked and underpaid, and it will show in their work.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“You know I got your back, and I'm glad you finally got your girl, son. I know what you had to deal with, and it was wrong of me to add Lilly into the same category as Jules without giving her a chance.”

“It’s fine. Can you tell Ma that I’ll come get the kids later, after I get her settled?”

“No problem,” he says, patting my shoulder. “Take care of your girl.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Trevor says as I walk around the front of my truck.

“Thanks, T.” I pull open the door to the cab of the truck and climb inside.

Once we pull up to the apartment, I look around realizing Lilly’s car isn’t in its usual spot. “Where’s your car, baby?”

“It wouldn’t start, so I had to get a ride with David from the school,” she says, unbuckling her seatbelt.

“Why didn’t you call me?” I feel my pulse start to speed up. I hate that something happened to her and she didn’t call me. And it pisses me off that I'm pissed she was in a car with another man. I shut off the truck and turn my body towards her, resting my arm on the steering wheel, trying to look casual, even with the blood pumping more rapidly through my veins.

“You were working, and I didn’t want you to worry or hear you say that you were right about my car being a piece-of-crap.” She shrugs, opening the door and hopping out.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Really?” She turns towards me, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“Okay, I may have said that your car was a piece of shit.” I shrug and smile. Throwing my arm around her shoulders, I whisper into her ear, “Looks like you’re getting a new car, baby.”

“Um, no, I’m getting a lawyer. I am not going to have enough money for a new car.”

“Okay, first of all, you are going to be using my family’s lawyer, and second, I am paying for the car.”

“I don’t have the brain power to argue with you right now, but when I do, I will let you know that you’re not buying me a new car. And as for the lawyer thing, if I can afford him, that’s fine. If not, I will have to look somewhere else.”

“What part of that didn’t you understand?” I ask, pulling her to a stop and turning her towards me. I place my hands under her jaw, tilting her head back slightly. “I’m paying for the car.” I cover her mouth with mine before she has a chance to say anything. When I pull my mouth away, her lips are still close enough that they brush mine with each word I say. “You, our daughter, and occasionally Jax ride in that car. You three are the most important people in my life, and I will not have you riding around in a piece-of-shit car when I can easily get you something that is safe. And when the kids go to bed tonight, you’re going to explain to me why the f**k you didn’t call me when your car broke down. And you better come up with something better than you didn’t want to bother me at work, ‘cause as of right now, my palm is itching, and I plan on spanking you for that shit.”

“Cash,” she says, her eyes heating as she licks her bottom lip.

“Jesus, you want that, baby?” I ask, pulling her closer to me.

“We haven’t—” she looks away without finishing, and I can’t help but groan when her cheeks turn pink.

“I’ve been trying to be good. Do you know how many times I’ve had to jerk off because of the state you’ve left me in?” I shake my head. “It’s too many to count.” I lean forward, running my nose up the length of her neck to her ear, where I bite down gently on her earlobe. “I can’t wait to be inside you. I can’t wait to hear the sounds you make when you come. I can’t wait to feel you squeezing my cock. I remember how wet you were when my mouth was on you and my fingers were deep inside you. I can’t wait to feel that wet heat wrapped tight around me.”

“Lilly,” I hear a man call and my head comes up. Lilly’s hands hold my t-shirt tightly in her fists. I look towards Lilly’s apartment, seeing the guy from the police station coming down the stairs.

“Who the f**k is this guy, Lil?” I ask. Her eyes come to mine, and she blinks a few times like she’s trying to clear her head before she looks over her shoulder.

“That’s David; we work together.”

“He’s a teacher?”

“Yeah, he teaches second grade.” She turns in his direction. “Hey, David.”

“I was so worried, Lil. I didn’t know what to do,” he says, stepping closer and grabbing her hand. The fact that he used ‘Lil’ instead of Lilly and now has his hands on her is making me bite down on the inside of my cheek hard. This is what Trevor was saying. Fuck me.

“It’s fine, just a misunderstanding. Thank you for stopping by, but I will see you after the weekend,” she says, pulling her hand back to her side.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yeah, Cash is here, and we’re going to go get our kids.” My heart jumps at her words, and I want to pound my chest.

“Kids?” I see a slight flash of annoyance and anger cross his face before he hides it, and then his eyebrows draw together in confusion.

“Well, you’ve met Ashlyn,” she says and he nods, “and Cash has a son named Jax.”

“I see.” He looks at me, then back at Lilly. “If you need anything, give me a call. Have a good weekend, and I will see you at school on Monday.” He steps forward, pulling Lilly in for a hug. Her body goes ridged and she pulls away quickly, putting a small fake smile on her face.

I watch as David gets into a newer Nissan, and after he’s in the car, he sits and watches us for a second before starting it up and backing out of the parking lot.

“He only works with you?” I ask her, because the look on the guy’s face when she told him that we were together was one of jealousy.

“Yes.” She pulls away and starts up the stairs to her apartment.

“Has he ever asked you out?”

“Once,” she mumbles before shoving the key in the lock and opening the door.

“Just once?” I ask, because when she’s lying her words are always drawn out to sound more like a question than an answer.

“Okay, fine, a couple of times.” We make our way back to her bedroom. She goes to the closet, pulling out a bag, and starts shoving clothes into it. I stand next to the bed, trying to think of something to say. My mind is turning over; I used to get jealous before when we first started dating, but it was nothing like the feeling I have right now.

“You said no, right?” My fists clench at the thought of her seeing David—fuck, seeing any man who’s not me.

“Is that a real question?”

“Yes,” I say through my teeth, wondering why the f**k I’m doing this. I really don’t want to know, and I’m acting like Asher or Trevor with their territorial, over-protective asses.

“I have never gone out with him. We work together, and he is kind of a friend.”

“How is he ‘kind of a friend’?”

“You know, Cash, you’re starting to make me feel like you don’t trust me. I told you we never dated. I told you we work together, and I told you he is a friend. Now unless you want to give me a polygraph, you’re going to have to take my word for it.”

“I hate knowing that you called him instead of me,” I tell her the truth.

“I never called him.” She shakes her head and looks at me like I’m crazy. “We left the school at the same time; he was parked next to me, and when my car wouldn’t start, he offered to give me a ride home. I knew your mom had Ashlyn, so I was planning on coming home, changing, and calling you, that way you could take me to my car later and look at it. But when I got home, the police were here waiting for me, so that kind of ruined all of my plans.”

“Will you promise me not to go anywhere alone with that guy?” This is not about me being a jealous asshole…okay, maybe it is a little bit…but there is something about him that sets my teeth on edge.

“Cash.” She shakes her head.

“Baby, it’s not that I don’t trust you.” Her eyes narrow, making her look adorable. My hands go under her jaw, titling her head back. “Something about him doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Is it because he has a penis?” she taunts. I smile and lean in to kiss her.

“No, smart ass, it’s not because he has a penis,” I say against her mouth.

“Cash,” she says softly; my eyes go from her mouth to her eyes. “He has been nothing but nice. Just, please, trust me.”

“I do trust you,” I tell her honestly. Not only do I trust her, I love her. Maybe Trevor is right in a fucked-up kind of way, and I need to tell her that I love her…put it out there.

“So just know that I will not put myself in a situation that something could happen to me,” she says, running a hand through my hair. My eyes close when her soft hand travels down my neck and up my jaw.

“Do you know that I love you?” I ask as my eyes open, looking into hers. I hear her quick inhale and she shakes her head, her eyes searching my face. “I never stopped loving you. I didn’t know how much of the old you was in this newer version,” I smirk, “but I found out that I love the new you just as much, if not more. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” I pull her against me, resting my cheek on top of her head.

“I love you too,” she says, making me smile and feel lighter than I’ve felt for the last two months—hell, the last few years.

Chapter 5

Lilly

I look down at my lap. Cash’s large hand is entwined with mine, his thumb moving slowly back and forth against my skin. The roughness and strength in his hand makes mine feel small and delicate. I can’t believe he told me he loves me. I knew it would come eventually. He shows me every day that he cares not only for Ashlyn, but for me as well. I have finally accepted that he is not going anywhere. Part of me is still hurt that he walked away from me when I needed him, but the other part understands why he did what he did. I would do anything for my daughter, just like he did for his son. “I think you should meet my parents,” I say, looking over at him. His eyes come to me for a second before going back to the road.

“Sure, we can go during your next school break.” He squeezes my hand before bringing it to his mouth and kissing my knuckles.

“I won’t have another break for a few months.” I try to think of a way to have my parents come out here, but right now, getting out of Alaska is like trying to get out of Alcatraz—nearly impossible. The only way in or out of the place I grew up is by boat or plane, and when the weather is bad like it has been, there is no way. “I was going to Skype my mom tonight so she could talk to Ashlyn. You can meet her then.”

“What’s Skype?” I look over in shock. Who in the world doesn’t know what Skype is?

“You’re joking, right?”

“No.” He shakes his head.

“Skype is only the best invention ever. You use your computer and the other person uses theirs and you call them then they are sitting there in front of you.”

“Like teleporting?” he asks and I burst out laughing.

“No, I'm explaining it badly. You see them on the computer like a live video feed. I got my mom hooked when I was home. Her sister lives in Hawaii and they hadn’t seen each other for over four years. Then my aunt was on Facebook one day telling everyone that she got Skype. My mom, who had become addicted to Facebook because of my aunt, wanted to know what Skype was so I took her and got her a camera to hook up to her computer. Now during the winter, when Mom’s stuck inside because there is normally ten-feet of snow outside, she Skypes with my aunt. They also they play all those annoying Facebook games and send everyone they know invites.” I take a deep breath when I'm done talking and he looks over at me and smiles.

“I don’t know what that is. I don’t have Facebook.”

“You don’t have Facebook?” I gasp. “How in the world do you know what’s going on with your friends if you don’t have Facebook?”

“I call them and say ‘hey, what’s going on? How are things? Anything new?’”

“Oh, yeah, I guess you could do that.” He squeezes my hand and chuckles.

“So, you want me to meet your mom over Skype? I'm not sure if I'm ready for such a serious step in our relationship.”

“Very funny.” I roll my eyes. “I’ll see if she can get my dad to sit down long enough to meet you as well.” I notice him shifting in his seat and squeezing my hand a little tighter. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I mean, I'm sure your dad hates me.” I want to say, ‘no, of course he doesn’t hate you,” but that would be a big fat lie. I’m Daddy’s little girl, have been and will always be. When I came home with Ashlyn, my parents fell in love with her and couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want her.