Hendrix - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,56

to hide the fact that she's getting emotional. I hold Brenna even closer and press a kiss to the side of her head.

“I love you, too, B. Always.”

17

SAIGE

I pull a map of the school up on my computer, trying to show Colby where to go, but he's barely paying any attention. Today, his job is to pick Brenna up, and out of all the things we've been told to do, this one makes me the most nervous. It's no secret that people tend to go a little crazy when he's around, and the idea of him needing to reach Brenna through that gives me heartburn.

“Colby, focus,” I tell him. “You have to park over here if the other parking lot is full, but Brenna will come out from this door over here.”

He chuckles. “It's picking a five-year-old up from school, Saige. I think I can manage.”

Running my fingers through my hair, I sigh and shake my head. “What if I just come with you? I should come with you.”

Colby groans quietly and turns me with his hands on my shoulders. “You know you can't. The purpose of this is so people see I'm also a responsible adult involved in her life. But I promise you, I won't let anything happen to Brenna.”

He swipes open his phone and goes to a text conversation with Michel, a bodyguard he's hired in the past. As I read the messages, I realize he's had this under control all this time.

“Michel will be in the car in front of me, and Garret will be in the car behind me. Trust me when I say Brenna's safety is never something I would mess around with.”

Deep down, I know that, but I still get nervous. That little girl is my whole life. If anything were to happen to her, I wouldn’t survive it. And for almost the last six years, I've been in charge of everything that involves her. Giving up part of that control hasn't been easy.

“Thank you,” I breathe.

He smiles and grabs his keys off the counter. “We'll be back safe and sound before you know it.”

THE WHOLE HOUR IT takes for him to pick her up and bring her home, I can't even sit still. I pace back and forth across the house. Even Maddie told me I need to chill after the fifth time I asked her where they are and if she heard anything about a mob at the elementary school.

Brenna's voice meets my ears as the front door opens, and I sigh in relief. She leaps into my arms the second I turn the corner. Colby takes one look at me and snickers.

“You spent the entire time I was gone freaking out, didn't you?”

“No,” I lie, only to get a knowing look in response. “Okay, maybe a little.”

He shakes his head. “You're such a control freak.”

“Oh, come on,” I argue. “Can you blame me? Those moms can be ruthless.”

“I thought they were pleasant.”

Brenna giggles. “That's not what you said in the car.”

He winces. “Brenna!”

She turns to me and smiles. “It was so funny, Mom. They all surrounded Daddy and kept asking for pictures and touching his arm. He told Uncle Asher they're a bunch of ho—”

“Okay, B,” he interrupts her. “We talked about not repeating that, didn't we?”

Sticking her tongue out at Colby, I put her down and she scurries away. Meanwhile, my brows raise, and one hand moves to my hip.

“Pleasant, huh?”

He rolls his eyes playfully. “Oh, whatever. It's nothing I'm not already used to.”

Yeah, I know, and that's part of the problem. Seeing Colby surrounded by hundreds of women who would kill for a chance with him has never been easy, but at least before, I could ignore it. Pretend it wasn't there. Avoid acknowledging its existence. But now, it's right there. Constantly in my face and forcing me to watch.

“Brag much?” I tease as I walk into the kitchen, but the seriousness in my tone shows just a little more than I intended.

I grab a water bottle from the fridge, and when I turn around, Colby is standing there—up close and personal.

“Jealous, much?” His words are accusing, but the smile on his face, with dimples on full display, says otherwise.

I take a step back but can't contain my giggle. “You keep those things away from me. If you didn't have the dimples, you’d be totally striking out. You have zero game.”

“That's not true,” he counters. “These bad boys don't come out until the closing.”

Chuckling, I go to walk