Series Starter Firsts in Series Collection - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,211

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I call Aaron. “Hey, man, where are you?” I wait for him to answer. “Can you come and get Lex? I’ll explain when you get here, but I need you to come and get her, sooner rather than later.”

“I’m not here to take her, Evan,” Misty says quietly.

“I don’t give a fuck! I’m not letting you near her. You can wait out here until Aaron gets here,” I seethe.

I send McKinley a text.

Me: Hey, I called Aaron. He’s coming to get Lexi. Can you get her bag

ready?

McKinley: Yes, everything okay?

Me: I don’t know, baby. I just don’t want her near her.

McKinley: Okay.

Aaron pulls in a few minutes later. His eyes grow wide when he sees Misty standing on my front porch. “Turns out she’s not dead after all,” I say in greeting.

“I can see that. Where are the girls?” he asks.

“Inside. McKinley has her bag ready. Thanks for taking her, man. I don’t want her here for this.”

“No problem, bro. McKinley?”

“I need her here with me,” I say honestly.

He nods in understanding.

I open the door. “McKinley, Aaron’s here.” Not a second later, she appears with a smiling Lex in her arms, carrying the diaper bag. When Lexi sees Aaron, she reaches for him.

“Hey, baby girl,” he says to her. “You get to come hang out with Uncle Aaron for a little while.”

“You have a car seat?” McKinley asks him.

“Yeah, I just leave it in all the time these days. She loves to go for rides.” He smiles. “Call me,” he says and I nod.

I put my arm around McKinley and we watch as they pull out of the drive. “Let’s get this over with,” I say, turning and holding the door open for both of them.

McKinley leads the way to the living room, Misty right behind her. I take a seat on the couch and pull McKinley down beside me. “Talk.” I point to the chair. Misty takes the hint and sits.

“It’s a long story, but I assure you, I’m not trying to take her from you.”

“We’re listening,” I say. My hand is squeezing Kinley’s so tight I’m sure I’m about to cut off her circulation. I will my grip to loosen so I don’t hurt her.

“She’s beautiful, Evan,” Misty says.

“Talk,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Okay.” She takes a deep breath. “Growing up in my house was not a pleasant experience. My parents never wanted me, but it was the southern thing to do, for a man in politics—get married and have a family. They had me, and then hired a nanny to raise me.” She wrings her hands together, never looking at us. “I never got hugs or kisses, never had my mom or dad lie in bed with me at night and read me a story. I had nannies. Nannies who were instructed to not spoil me by showing me affection.”

How did I spend a year of my life with her and not know this?

“I never wanted kids. I was too afraid I would be like my own parents, and no child deserves that. I can admit I’m selfish and spoiled. I was raised to be. I finally got the courage to leave home with their blessing because I was in college. It worked for their social circle to say I was ‘off at school,’ but what my parents didn’t know was I was biding my time until I could get as far away from them as possible.” She looks up and her eyes land on my hands gripping McKinley’s tightly.

“I turned twenty-five about a month after she was born. Every day, I felt guilt for not loving her. What kind of person doesn’t love their own flesh and blood?” she sobs. “I was wracked with guilt. I didn’t know how to fix it. How to let her know how sorry I was, and how signing over my rights to you was what was best for her. On my twenty-fifth birthday, I got the call. My grandparents, my mom’s parents, left me a trust fund. I had no idea. Their rules stipulated I was to not have access until my twenty-fifth birthday. The guy on the phone told me the fund was ten million dollars.” She looks up at me, tears in her eyes.

“That’s when it hit me. I could make sure you and Lexington were always taken care of. I know you make a good living, but this was something I could do. Not only that, but I could make