Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“It really is.” I smile. “I’m going to take her to dinner before the dance, just her and me.”
“You are a special man, Christopher. Proud of you.”
“Thanks, Uncle Viktor, for everything.”
“When are you going to stop thanking me?” He laughs. “It’s getting on my last nerve.”
Now I’m the one laughing. “I’ll talk to you later,” I say and hang up, getting out of the truck and walking into the house.
I’m about to call Dakota when my phone rings, and I see it’s Stone.
“What’s up?” I answer after one ring.
“What’s up, my ass,” Stone snaps. “You haven’t called me in what… two weeks?”
“I was on the road last week.” I quickly add, “And then I was busy.”
“Busy?” He snorts. “I see your game has picked up and not gone down the tubes. We are all proud.”
“Shut the fuck up; it was a couple of games.” I walk up the stairs to my room, and for the first time ever, my house feels so empty.
“I think they almost scheduled an intervention. The Bat Signal was unleashed, and I think even the phone chain.” I can’t help but laugh at that one. One thing I can expect from my family is for them to be in your face when they think you need it. “So what’s going on?”
I sit on my bed and think about telling him about Koda. “Not much.”
“How is Koda,” he asks, “and the girls?”
“Good.” I don’t say much more. “Rain asked me to a father-daughter dance tonight.”
“Stop it.”
“Yeah.” I nod and put the invitation that she handmade down on my bedside table.
“That’s amazing.” His voice goes high. “Shit,” he hisses, “you have to practice your mean face.”
I can’t help but laugh. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“For all the boys who look at her,” he snaps. “You have to make sure they know that if they fuck with her, they are going to get you.”
“Oh my,” I whisper.
“Make sure they know she’s off-limits, and you aren’t afraid to fight them.” He stops talking for a minute before he continues, “And then you can trip him when he walks by you by accident.”
“You know she’s six, right?”
“Better to start now so they know,” he advises softly. “I have to go. Ryleigh is giving me the look that says if I don’t stop talking, she’s going to kick me, and not in places I like.”
“Hopefully, when she kicks you, it makes your brain go back to normal.” I hang up on him and then FaceTime Koda.
I lie in bed that night, wondering what it would be like if we all lived under the same roof. The night of the dance, I put on a black suit and light pink tie to match Rain’s dress that Koda told me she was wearing.
I grab the corsage I had made of tiny roses with a light pink bow out of the fridge before taking off to pick her up. I arrive and walk up the steps, my hands shaking with nerves as I ring the doorbell.
I hear running from the other side of the door, and as I look down, I take a deep breath and wait for it to open. “Hi, Uncle Chrissy,” Luna greets me, moving out of the way so I can come in. “Rain is coming,” she says as I close the door behind me. “Momma and me are doing mani and pedis.”
“Oh, fun,” I reply and look at the stairs, seeing Koda coming down wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. She’s wearing stuff that is casual, yet my cock wakes up.
“Hi.” She smiles at me. “You look nice.”
“Thank you.” I walk to her and wrap an arm around her waist, bending to kiss her cheek. This time closer to her lips than before. “You smell nice.”
“So do you.” Her eyes brighten as she stays in my arms a bit longer than she should, but neither of us pays attention until we hear footsteps on the stairs. I look up to see Rain walking down wearing a white, long-sleeve shirt with a light pink skirt that ruffles and goes down to her ankles. Her hair is pinned back as she smiles at me.
“Don’t you look beautiful,” I praise, crouching down in front of her. “I got you this.” I hold up the clear container.
Her eyes go big as her mouth hangs open. “For me?” she asks, and I nod, taking it out and putting it on her wrist. “Mommy, look.” She holds her wrist backward to show her.
“Very pretty,” Koda says with tears in her eyes, but they are happy tears because her eyes shine bright. “We have to take a picture.” She pulls her cell phone out of her back pocket as we pose for pictures in the foyer. I pull Luna and Koda in for a selfie at the end, the four of us with huge smiles on our faces. “See you two later.” She puts her hand on my chest and leans in to kiss my cheek and then down to kiss Rain’s.