I’ve been missing my girls since they were picked up by their father last night, but I can’t deny that despite missing them, I had a really great time. I can’t help but smile over at Bull. His suggestion to take the girls to the park with his niece and have ice cream warms my heart. He’s fallen for my girls just as much as I have, and I absolutely adore that.
The park is Ryan and Coby’s pride and joy. Coby dominates the slide, scaring off the other little kids and refusing to share. Judging by the snide whispering and death glares I always get from the other moms, they must think I'm a pretty shitty parent. Ryan, on the other hand, lives for the swing set. She’s constantly demanding that I push her higher and higher, even though it scares the crap out of me. I have this unrealistic vision that she’s going to go flying right over the top one of these days, and it terrifies me. I wonder what all the bitchy moms would say about me then.
I can just see it now; Bull is going to relish in pushing her higher, and they’ll both giggle like school children as he does. He’ll probably teach Coby how to go down the slide backward, and then both of them will probably spend the afternoon in the emergency room.
No, I should give Bull more credit. He’d never allow the girls to get hurt, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not going to encourage their daredevil personalities.
Heaven help him if Jessa gives birth to a boy, though that reminds me …
“Did you want to stop in and check on Jessa?” I ask. “Make sure she’s not drowning in a pool of her own vomit or seeing how many shitty situations she can put herself into?”
Bull is silent for a moment as he thinks it over before shaking his head. “Nah,” he says. “Chief had it sorted. He would have made sure she was sober and then took her home and waited outside her apartment until she was asleep. He wouldn’t have left if he thought she was going to be more of a threat to the baby.”
“Okay,” I smile, reaching across and taking his hand, feeling satisfied with his response.
We get home with just a few minutes to spare before the girls are due to arrive. I’m walking through the door with Bull right behind me when Bryce’s beat-up piece of shit car pulls into my drive.
It’s irrational, but I can’t help the scowl that crosses my face. I should be a little more adult about it, but I just can’t help it, not after the shit he’s constantly putting me through. “Is that him?” Bull questions in distaste as we stop by the front door.
“Yep,” I say under my breath, not wanting to be caught talking about him by the devil himself.
Bull’s arm slips around my waist before giving it a gentle squeeze. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine,” I say. “I just want to get this over and done with so we can enjoy the rest of our day.”
“Fair enough.” Bull releases me as Bryce steps out of his car and glares across at the two of us while walking around to get the girls out. “Jesus,” Bull murmurs with a smirk. “He even dresses like a douche.”
I hold back a laugh as I look over Bryce. He has a pair of jeans that are way too tight and rolled up at his ankles. There’s a button-down shirt with the top three buttons undone, showing off his unsculptured chest. A gold cross chain hangs low on his chest despite him not believing in God, while a sickly colored pair of suede slip-on shoes have my eyes bleeding.
Bull is right. Bryce does look like a douche. All he needs is an open cardigan to go with it, a fake Rolex, and a pair of shades, and he’ll be the perfect imposter.
Coby is lifted out of the car and upon seeing Bull and me, begins running as Bryce makes his way around to get Ryan. By the time Coby gets anywhere close, Ryan is already hitting the ground running.
Coby grins up at Bull with her arms stretched out wide. “Daddy,” she beams, reaching up for him.
Bull freezes. Bryce’s head snaps up from the trunk of his car, and my eyes swivel down to Coby. Surely I must have heard that wrong. Did she just call