Bull her daddy? And if she did, why the hell does it feel so good?
Not wanting to disappoint my little girl, Bull rolls with it and scoops her into his arms, giving her a big, warm, welcome home hug. Ryan comes barreling into the bottom of my legs, nearly knocking me off balance as she holds on tight, leaving me wondering what kind of time they had.
Bryce grabs the girls’ overnight bags and practically storms toward us, throwing their bags down on the grass. “Who the fuck is this?” he demands, looking Bull up and down.
“It’s Bull,” Ryan cheers as Coby pulls Bull in tighter and says, “My daddy.”
Well, shit. This isn’t going to go well.
“Excuse me?” Bryce says, turning his ferocious glare on me, anger radiating out of him as his face turns a furious shade of red. “You’ve been teaching my kid to call this dick ‘daddy?’ ”
“Relax,” I tell him, irritated with his dramatics. “It’s the first time she’s ever said it. Stop acting as if the world is out to get you. Though, maybe if you were more present in her life, she wouldn’t feel so confused about it.”
“That’s fucking bullshit,” he snaps, looking Bull up and down again before turning his eyes back on me. “Whatever is going on here needs to end. I don’t want this dick around my kids any longer.”
I hold back a frustrated groan as I resist rolling my eyes. “Really?” I say, choking back a laugh. “In what world would I ever dump my incredible boyfriend because of your insecure ass? Bull is twice the father to Ryan and Coby than you’ve ever been, and besides, when I told you to keep my girls away from your bitch of a girlfriend, your response was to move her into your home, so get fucked, Bryce. You can deal with it because Bull isn’t going anywhere.”
Bryce goes even redder in the face as he steps into me and attempts to grab Ryan, only she pulls back to hide behind Bull’s legs. “Give me my fucking kid,” he demands of Bull. “I won’t stand for this.”
Bull just holds Coby a little tighter and laughs at his pathetic attempt. “You need to get off my property,” I tell him, holding my chin a little higher and letting him know that he can no longer fuck with me. “You’ve overstayed your welcome.”
I watch as Bryce clenches his jaw and curls his hand into a fist. I have no doubt that he’s considering knocking Bull out, but it would be like a twig attempting to take on a brick wall. Bryce has absolutely no chance, and he quickly realizes it.
Bryce takes a step back, shaking his head as though the very sight of the four of us together disgusts him. “You’re going to be hearing from my lawyers,” he promises. “I’m going to fuck this all up for you, and you’ll never see my kids again.”
Fucking pathetic.
“Try me, Bryce. I’d love to take you to court because you know just as well as I do that you’ll lose. Every fucking time, you will lose. I have raised these kids. I was the one who suffered through the long nights. I’m the one who they cry for when they're upset. Never you, Bryce. You cannot win here so take your filthy ass, get in your little beat-up shit box, and leave before I have to call the police to have you removed.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Like I said, try me.”
With that, he shakes his head and starts backing up, clearly seeing a losing battle. I have Bull now to strengthen me and make me feel as though anything is possible. Bryce will never walk all over me again because now I’ve realized my self-worth.
Bull and I stand united as Bryce backs out of my drive, narrowly missing my mailbox before screeching his tires down the road.
The second he’s completely out of sight, I feel as though I can finally breathe.
Bull turns into me, picking up Ryan before pulling me into his arms, the two girls now squished between us. “Are you alright?” he murmurs, getting between the girls’ faces to press a kiss to my forehead.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. He just gets me so worked up.”
“Do you think he’ll go through with it?” he questions, referring to going for full custody.
“No chance in hell,” I tell him. “It was an empty threat that he’s made a million times before, and usually, I’d drop to my knees, begging him not