Damaged Billionaire Daddy Bear - Leela Ash Page 0,22

Roy was at least a good twenty years older than him.

The last time had been particularly rotten and had happened just after Theodore’s high school graduation. Roy had ended up with a bashed in skull and had barely escaped death. Even now, Theodore could still remember the horror, fear and the agony of waiting in a cell to know if he would be charged for manslaughter or assault. After several nights of cooling his heels downtown, Theodore had finally heard the good news that Roy had survived their ordeal. But being in a cell meant he had missed his scholarship interview and couldn’t go to Princeton anymore. He had taken the lesson to heart, and that was the last day he had ever raised his fist to anyone, human or shifter, no matter the provocation.

But Roy had recovered and gotten out of the hospital, and became even more obnoxious, mean and troublesome than ever. He seemed to know that Theodore had been so frightened after a single blow from him almost completely crushed Roy’s skull and it seemed he had become aware of Theodore’s resolve to bear any further annoyances from him in stoic silence. Theodore sometimes wondered if the other man knew his secret because Roy never passed up the chance to use words like freak, creature, or trash, when speaking to him.

So, for the first time in years, being defended against Roy when he couldn’t defend himself, had been so poignant and emotional that he had had to fight back tears. His heart had turned over in his chest and he had sped from the mall before he did something stupid and embarrassed himself.

Jessica had a depth to her that few suspected, he thought, flicking her a glance as he guided the car toward the lake. With her preference for sundresses, the occasional flower in her hair, flowery perfume, and with her blonde good looks, anyone could be forgiven for expecting her to be shallow and brittle. But she had a surprising depth and strength of character, as he was quickly discovering.

She had stood up for him when Roy had been insulting him as usual, he thought for the umpteenth time as he let his gaze caress her profile.

The lake came into view just then and Carla gave a shout of joy, “Finally.”

Her shout jerked his attention away from Jessica, and he grinned, instead, at the kids.

“Yep, time to get your fins on,” he drawled as he climbed out of the car and opened the door to help the kids get out, ignoring his first instinct to help Jessica instead.

Arizona chuckled, “We don’t have fins, silly.”

“No?” he said in pretend dismay. “You cannot swim without fins. We’re gonna have to race back to the store and get you some fins.”

Arizona glared at him, “I have a swimsuit. I don’t need fins.”

He lifted her out and adopted a mock horrified expression as he dropped to his haunches in front of the little girl. As usual, she was clad in pink from head to toe. She had even chosen a pink swimsuit.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Jessica watching him with the kids as she handed Kal his new swim trunks.

“Listen, Pinky,” Theodore said, managing a serious expression. “I don’t know what you have been calling swimming back home, in Oklahoma, but here, in Florida, you sure need fins if you’re gonna swim. Especially, in Fresh Lake.”

Arizona looked from him to the beautiful blue pool of water, and then her bottom lip jutted out as she lamented plaintively, “You mean, I can’t go swimming?.”

She looked so cute and despairing that he relented and laughed, “Gotcha.”

Her little face filled with surprise and then outrage as she howled, “That was mean!”

Unable to help himself, he pulled her in for a hug and tousled her hair as he climbed to his feet.

“Ari, come get your hair done,” Jessica ordered.

He looked over at her and saw that, in that brief time he had been focused on Ari, she had managed to wrap his daughter’s hair into one long ponytail that fell down her back. He had never seen Carla’s hair look more beautiful, he thought.

Apparently, Carla thought so, too, because she bounded to him with a grin as bright as the sun itself, “Daddy, Mrs. Harris did my hair.”

He touched the braid almost reverently, “She sure did. And it looks very fetching.”

Carla giggled, “That means you like it, right?”

“Yes, you look very pretty,” Theodore said.

That was enough to light her up,