“Trinny, you gonna say hi to Mallory?” Bishop asks.
She picks her head up at his gruff tone and twists to see me. A flicker of a smile passes her lips. “Hi, Mal-o-wee.”
My ovaries perform a little tap dance. “Hi, honey. I’ve got all sort of stuff for you to play with at our house.”
She casts a dubious glance at the clubhouse. “Not stayin’ here?”
“Nope,” Chaser says.
“O-tay.” She wriggles until her father sets her down.
Chaser crouches down to eye level with her and tilts his head toward her dad’s truck. “When you gonna be big enough to ride on the back of your dad’s bike, squirt?”
She giggles and peers up at her dad.
He leans down and runs his big hand over the top of her head. “Taken her out a couple times. Around the neighborhood.”
“Yeah?” Chaser’s eyes widen to cartoon size. “You like it?”
“Yes.” More little giggles.
“Cool.” Chaser holds out his palm and Trinity slaps him a tiny high-five.
Ovaries explosion.
The clubhouse door swings open behind us. Heavy sets of boots crunch over gravel. Chaser slowly rises and stands next to me.
“Ready to do this, Bishop?” a gruff voice I don’t recognize says.
Bishop grits his teeth as the man slaps his shoulder. “Yup.”
“Oh, hey, Trinity,” the man says. His gaze lingers on her too long for my taste. He’s shorter than both Bishop and Chaser but thick and muscled. Shoulders as wide as a Buick. His chiseled face could probably find work in Hollywood.
Trinity shuffles closer to me, shying away. I bend over and pick her up, running my hand over her back.
He gives me a long, slow eye-fondle. “Who’s your new woman, Bishop?”
Bishop’s expression hardens to stone. “This is Chaser’s ol’ lady.”
Chaser slings his arm over my shoulders and stares the other man down.
“Well, shit. It was your engagement we were celebrating, wasn’t it?” He lifts his gaze to Chaser. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, Tyler. How you been?”
“Can’t complain.”
“Be good for Mallory and Chaser, okay, Trinny?” Bishop leans in and kisses her cheek.
“O-tay!”
He briefly touches my arm. “Thank you for this. Didn’t mean to cut into your—”
“It’s really no problem, Bishop.”
“You got a kiss for your Uncle Tyler, Trinity?”
She doesn’t answer, just clings to me tighter. Disgusted, I move to my car and tuck her into the backseat.
Bishop hands me a bag. “Some clothes. Her favorite blankie. She won’t sleep without it.”
I accept the bag, setting it on the seat next to Trinity. “Thanks.”
Bishop and Tyler shake hands with Chaser before leaving. I’ve already said goodbye to Bishop and Tyler gives me the creeps, so I slide into the front seat and start the car.
“You okay back there?” I ask Trinity.
“Uh-huh.” She peers out the window, watching her father’s truck drive away and the look on her face breaks my heart.
“It’s okay. Your daddy will be home in a couple days.”
“I know.”
Chaser knocks on my window and I roll it down. “I’m gonna follow you home, okay?” He peers in the back at Trinity. “You comfy back there, squirt?”
“Yup!”
“Good.” He taps the roof of the car twice. “See you at home.”
Chaser
Took all my control not to punch Tyler for eyeballin’ my girl. Don’t know how Bishop puts up with that asshole as his president.
I’m not exactly sure how we’re going to entertain a kid for the next couple days. Haven’t really been around many since I was one myself.
Mallory seems to have it covered though.
“Are you hungry?” she asks once we’re in the house.
Trinity found the Barbies and she’s definitely a fan. She glances up from the pile and shakes her head.
“Let me know if you get hungry, okay?” Mallory wrings her hands. “Should we take her out to like a park or something?”
“She’s fine. Stop worrying.”
It’s not a bad night. Mallory makes SpaghettiOs with Meatballs with a side of hot dogs. I pop in some Disney movie and curl up on the couch with Mallory. Trinity crawls into her lap and passes out halfway into the movie.
“She’s so sweet,” Mallory whispers, running her hand over Trinity’s long blonde ponytail. “I want one just like her.”
I think this is the point where I’m supposed run from the room but I can see us doing this in a couple years. “I don’t think you can order ‘em out of a catalog. Just to warn you, I was a pretty rambunctious kid.”
“Surprise, surprise.” She leans back and rolls her eyes at me. “Well, I was a quiet kid.”
“I want our kids to be kids. Not always afraid of doing something wrong.”