forgiven. However, I understand why you do it. But you need to stop.
Because the little girl in my arms is the most beautiful person in the whole entire world. And the sexy lady who is currently resting deep inside of my girl’s heart, she is the only woman I have eyes for. You, Thea. I only want you. And my opinion of you is the one that matters above all people. But your opinion of yourself is the one that matters most.”
She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t need to. I think I’m finally getting my point across.
“How about some dinner?” I ask. “What do you want?”
“Uhm, I have stuff for spaghetti,” she says. “I can make us that if you want.”
I grab her face and move it back so I can see every inch. I’m momentarily pissed when I see the bandage. A reminder that I failed her once already. But the anger passes when I remember the feel of the fucker’s blood running down my face.
“Your face got angry,” a wide-eyed Thea says. “Am I in trouble?”
“No, little one.”
I lift my girl up and lay her down on the couch. Without giving her a chance to realize my intentions, I lean down and kiss her. I give a few gentle pecks before licking the seam of her lips, demanding entrance.
She gasps in shock, and I take the opportunity to plunge my tongue inside her mouth getting a full taste of her for the first time.
Thea, my new favorite flavor.
Reluctantly, I pull back.
“Did that hurt?” I ask.
“Did what hurt?”
“What do you want to eat, little one?Name anything in the world, and I’ll get it for you.”
A blank look crosses her face.
“Uhm, what?”
Laughing, I say, “Food, Thea.”
“Oh, well, how do you expect me to think after that? Uhm, pizza?”
“Mmm, pizza does sound good,” I kiss her one last time before standing and ordering our pizza.”
Chapter Seventeen
Thea
Mason decided that my kitchen cabinets needed to be fixed because the doors weren’t shutting properly. So, here we are, he’s fixing my cabinets while I sit down and watch my favorite show.
Not that I didn’t try to help, I did.
“Little girls only do things that are fun,” he told me. “Let me take care of you, little one. Let’s get you safe and warm on the couch and turn on whatever you want to watch.”
How the heck do I say no to that? And how did he even know that I liked watching cartoons from time to time to give my mind a break from the real world?
My cell rings interrupting my thoughts.
“Hello,” I answer.
“Yes, I need to speak with Miss Mathea Blankenship, please.”
“This is her,” I answer, all forms of any Little long gone.
That’s something I seem to do all the time, jump from Little space to Big space within seconds of each other. I wonder if that’s normal?
“Three.”
I catch the tail end of what the man was saying just as Mason wraps his arms around me from behind.
“I’m so sorry, could you please repeat that?”
“You have a mandatory court hearing tomorrow regarding custodial rights of one-month-old, Brendon Michaels. It starts at three.”
“Oh,” my heart begins racing. “Is this where they finally make a decision?”
I don’t want to get my hopes up, but Marco hasn’t so much as let me see a picture of Brendon since he took him home from the hospital.
“The final decision will be made tomorrow. Have a nice evening Miss Blankenship.”
“Oh, no,” I say. “They’re not going to let me have him.”
Mason reaches around and takes the phone from my hand.
“What makes you think that?” he asks.
Turning in his arms, I look up at his concerned face.
“I’m going to be questioned about this,” I motion to my face. “I didn’t even go to the hospital or report it to the police. They’re going to think I’m too incompetent to take care of myself, let alone a baby. God, I don’t even have a bed here for him. I wasn’t going to take care of that until next weekend.”
I collapse to my knees and cry. I’ve ruined any chance I had of getting custody of Brendon. I failed that baby, and I failed my sister.
I’m lifted and pressed against Mason’s chest. I’m not sure how long I cry, but by the time the tears have dried up, I’m exhausted.
“It’s all taken care of, baby,” Mason says. “The only thing you need to worry about is talking to the judge tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“We got Slim to hack into the Lebanon police department database