Lessons: A Secret Baby Romance

4. Landry

4

Landry

She was tough. I had to give her that. No way she was backing down so easily. I sort of admired her—she cared about the kid. People who cared about kids had my respect. I had known enough people who didn’t give a s**t about kids to know good people from bad people.

No way I’d give her the kid, though. She was mine. There were things a parent didn’t do.

She put her hands on her hips, and her green eyes burned into me. She wasn’t just tough. She was gorgeous.

“What do you plan to do with her, then?” she asked me, spitting the words out.

“Oh, I don’t know. Virgin sacrifice?” Her eyes went even wider, then narrowed. I snorted. “Come on. Relax. She’s my kid. I’m not taking her around on the back of my bike; she’s not sitting on meetings. Hell, the guys are even watching their language around her.” I snickered, looking out over the room. “The toughest sons of bitches you’ll ever meet, but put a kid in the room and they don’t know what to do with themselves. It’s actually pretty funny. It’s worth having her around just to see what she does to them.”

“Cute.” Jessie wrinkled her nose, sarcastic. “Keep her here as a science project. Great idea, Dad.”

“Oh, relax, okay? Jesus. You’re not the one who had her dropped her off on the outside with a note telling you she was your kid. I didn’t know she existed until Monday morning. I had to find something funny. Otherwise I would have gone crazy before now.” I wasn’t lying. At first, I had no idea what the hell to do with the kid. It was Erica and Traci who really took care of things. They fixed up a room for her upstairs, with her own private bathroom. They were the ones who bought the board games and toys for her. They even went over her school work with her, since her books were in the backpack with a few bits of clothes and stuff—the girls took Gina to the store to buy new clothes and everything. They were a lifesaver.

It hadn’t been enough to make us all comfortable with having her there, though. Over four days, we had gradually warmed up. Even the toughest of my guys softened up when she was around. It was interesting.

“You think she’s unhappy here?” I asked. “Go over there and play for a while. You’ll see. She’s fed well, she has fun. We’re even trying to help her keep up with her school work. You should be able to tell if we’re doing a good job…Teach.” She scowled at me, like she could have ripped my head off and been happy about it. I couldn’t help picking at her—it was too much fun watching her flip out. She always tried to hide it, like she couldn’t let go of what was inside her. I wondered how much fun it would be to break down that icy wall around her.

She took my advice and went over to the middle of the room, where Gina was kicking Traci’s and Erica’s asses at Candy Land. They started talking, and I heard Jessie asking the girls questions. I knew she would be impressed with them. They didn’t look like the smartest girls in the world—because they weren’t—but they had a strong instinct when it came to kids. They liked taking care of Gina, too. I even thought I saw a little shade getting thrown Jessie’s way. They were jealous of her tightness with Gina.

I grinned to myself, even though female drama usually got on my nerves. Who the hell had time for it? I left them to it, pouring myself a drink before I went back to my office. I had to think things over.

Flash followed me. “Who the hell is that?” he asked, whispering until we were alone.

“Gina’s teacher.”

“What, complaining that she missed school?”

“Worried, more like.” I watched through the half-open door. Jessie and Gina laughed together, and Jessie hugged the little girl. “I think she really cares about her. A relief. I didn’t think anybody did before she came here.” I knew what it felt like to have nobody care about me when I was a kid. I didn’t know my daughter, but I didn’t want her to feel that sort of pain.

“And she came here for her? What, did Rae tell her where she was taking the kid?”

“I don’t think so. I think she figured it out. She wanted to find her.” I heard the admiration in my voice. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t think people like her actually existed outside of movies and TV shows. People who cared about other people. She walked into the clubhouse like she belonged there. She wasn’t even afraid. I had to give her credit for that.

“What’s she gonna do? Tell the police Gina’s here?”

“I should f*****g hope not. I already told her I don’t want the kid in a foster home. You know that’s where they’ll throw her.” Then I thought about it and relaxed. “No, she won’t do that. Because she wants her.”

“So why not give her over?”

“I can’t do that.” I couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t that I loved the kid, that I felt an instant bond with her the minute we met or anything like that. She was mine. Nobody took what was mine. And I wanted what was best for her, too. Foster care wasn’t best. Being with her teacher wasn’t best. She needed her father. If we were her family, that was the way it was gonna be. She could do worse than us.

“You’re always the one who says you don’t want any complications. Here you are, pulling one into your life. What’s up?”

“I can’t tell you why. You would understand if you were me.” I finished my drink. Gina and Jessie were still at it out there, laughing, starting a new game with the girls. The girls still looked a little chilly toward Jessie. I grinned.

“Traci and Erica don’t like her very much,” I muttered, nodding.

Flash laughed. “Yeah, well, she’s a different kind of girl. They don’t know what to do with her.”

That was the truth. She was as different from the girls who hung around the clubhouse as night and day. She was smart as hell, for one thing. A teacher had to be smart, I guessed. They probably thought she was a snob, like she thought she was too good for them. She dressed in nice clothes, didn’t wear a lot of makeup. There were earrings in her ears that I would have bet were real diamonds.

“She’s hot,” Flash admitted.

“Yeah, she is. I’m not blind.” I wanted to take her the second I laid eyes on her. It was just a basic need. I didn’t have to think about it. It was just there. She was f*****g gorgeous, hot as hell, her body begged for me to touch it. My hands wanted to feel her curves. I shoved them in my pockets.

“Are you gonna let her take the kid?”

“Hell no.”

“You know she’s not gonna leave without her.”

That gave me an idea. “You’re right. She won’t leave without her.” A smile spread over my face.

“What’s that mean?”

“What’s what mean?”

“I know that smile.” I glanced over at him, and I saw through his goatee that he was frowning.

“Nothing. I just know what to do now.” I opened the door to the office, going back out to the lounge. The girls and Gina still played their game, just about at the end of it by then.

“Candy Land is a fun game, but it sure does take forever to play sometimes.” Erica rolled her eyes at me, still smiling like she was having fun. I laughed.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Gina didn’t seem to care. She was having a great time. I couldn’t help smiling at her. She was a smart kid—I had the feeling she could handle games much harder than Candy Land. She had a sort of real wisdom, too. She rolled with the punches. Like when she met my guys, she didn’t flinch. Once she got over missing home and being scared, she treated life at the clubhouse like it was no big deal. I sort of admired her for that.

“Maybe when you’re finished, you can play a game with Miss Jessie. Give Traci and Erica a break.” The girls look grateful.

“Yeah, Miss Jessie! You wanna play?”

“Sure.” She smiled at Gina, but glared at me. She was pissed that I wasn’t letting her take the kid home with her. Who did she think she was, trying to tell me what to do with my own kid?

Okay, I thought. So she knows her better than I do. She was her teacher all year long. So what, though? I was her father. Nobody would listen to a teacher over a parent. Maybe if the parent was abusive or something, but I hadn’t put a hand on Gina. No, she had nothing to go on.

Traci and Erica jumped up when the game ended. “Okay, your turn!” Gina smiled at Jessie.

“You wanna play, too?” Jessie asked, looking up at me. Challenging me.

“No, thanks. I’ll sit and watch, though.” I noticed the way Gina tensed up a little when I sat down. She wasn’t comfortable with me yet. Jessie saw it, too.

“You okay, kiddo?”

“Yes, I’m okay.” She relaxed, and the game started. Jessie kept a closer eye on us after that. She was trying to find a way to get my kid out of there. No way I would let that happen. It was her versus me at that point. She would find I wasn’t easy to beat.

“Where do you live, Miss Jessie?”

Jessie looked at me, eyes narrow. I smiled.

“Yeah, Miss Jessie. Where do you live?” Gina asked. “Do you have a house? Do you have a dog?”

She smiled at Gina. “No, sweetie, I don’t have a dog. Or a cat, or anything. It’s just me.”

“Just you? All alone?” I asked, innocent.

“Yes.” She smiled through clenched teeth. “All alone. Just me.”

“No roommates?”

“No roommates.”

“That’s interesting.” I left it at that for a while as they played. Good. She didn’t even have a pet to b***h about when I told her my idea.

“Do you live far away?” I asked.

“Sort of,” she admitted. “Riverview Terrace.”

I should have known—the nicest part of town. Even Gina knew that. Her eyes went round.

“I thought rich people lived there!” She looked shocked. I had to laugh a little, and so did Jessie.

“I’m not rich, sweetie.”

“But you can’t afford that on a teacher’s salary either,” I pointed out.

“That’s none of your business,” she replied icily.

“Rich parents?”

“I said it’s none of your business.” She took a turn, then let Gina take hers.

“Rich parents,” I decided. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, you want to take people to your house, it’s good to have a nice house to take them to.”

She looked at me and I saw hope in her eyes. She thought I meant I was letting her take Gina. She was wrong, of course. I would let her keep thinking it, though.

“You don’t have one of those side jobs, do you? You know, the way some teachers do? Not if you live at Riverview Terrace.”

She raised one eyebrow over her clear, sparkling eyes. “No. I don’t.”

“Right, I forgot. Your parents are loaded.”

“Were.” The word dropped like a bomb. Even Gina looked at her, surprised at the way her tone of voice changed. I went quiet for a minute.

“Sorry,” I muttered. I felt like an ass. Still, that explained a few things. So she inherited a s**t ton of money when her parents died. She lived in a nice place. She could live on a teacher’s salary because she had a trust fund, probably. So she thought she was in good shape to take my kid away. Interesting.

I let them play the game for a while, thinking about my plan. Yeah, it was the best way to go. I couldn’t let my daughter live with a stranger. She was mine. She was comfortable at the clubhouse. So, if Jessie wanted her, she’d have to agree with my rules.

When the game finally finished—Gina pulled a good card, sending her to the end of the board in record time—I motioned for Jessie to follow me to my office. Flash asked Gina to teach him how to play the game, which I would have laughed my ass off at if it wasn’t kind of cute. Gina was very serious, explaining the rules. She sounded like a teacher herself.

I closed the door. Jessie folded her arms. “What is it now?”

I smirked. “You have a nasty attitude.”

“Wouldn’t you? You’re sitting out there, playing games with me. What was that all about?”

“I wanted to know what kind of person you are.”

“Bullshit. You were digging for something.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Fine. You’re right. I was.”

“And? Did you find out what you wanted to know?”

“Oh yeah. More than that. You’re perfect for my plan.”

She looked like she didn’t believe me—or she didn’t believe I could come up with a plan. “What would that be?”

“You wanna make sure my daughter is safe?”

“More than anything.” I believed her, too.

“Okay. If you wanna make sure she’s safe, then you can stay here and take care of her.”