“Hey.” I heard Stefan’s voice as he walked over from the back. “Where are you going?”
“Listen, you’ve been great, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but it’s time I left.”
“To go where?” he asked.
His other brothers and Julia walked over. Damn it.
“I contacted a shelter and they told me to come. So, I’m going to stay there while I figure things out.”
“I already told you that you can stay the night,” he said.
“And as nice as that sounds, it’s best I leave. I shouldn’t be staying anyway with your daughter here. It’s confusing to her.”
Sebastian walked over and grabbed my bags.
“You’re staying with me until you figure things out.”
“No. I can’t do that.”
“Too bad.” He began rolling my bags over to his house.
I placed my hand on my forehead.
“We’re not going to let you stay in a shelter, Alex,” Stefan said.
“Why? Why can’t you just leave me alone and let me go?”
“Because shelters are dirty,” Sam said as he took a few steps closer. “Although I’m not sure if Sebastian’s house is any cleaner.” His lips formed a smirk.
“Sam, stop it.” Julia playfully smacked his arm.
“Just go to Sebastian’s house and we’ll figure something out,” Stefan spoke.
“Fine.” I turned to the Uber driver. “I’m sorry but I won’t be needing you after all.”
“Okay. Have a nice day,” the nice man spoke.
I gave him a small smile and reluctantly walked over to Sebastian’s house.
Stefan
“I’m warning you right now, bro,” I said as Sebastian walked back over.
“Warning me about what?”
“Stay away from Alex.”
“Seriously, Stefan?” His eye narrowed at me. “Do you honestly think I would try something?”
“Duh.”
He rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Don’t forget the barbecue starts at six.” He walked away.
I said goodbye to Simon, Sam, and Julia and walked up to Lily’s room. Opening the door, she was sitting on her bed watching TV.
“Are you happy now? Alex left. She’s going to stay with Uncle Sebastian.”
“Good.” She sat there with her arms folded.
“What is your problem, Lily?”
“Nothing. She just shouldn’t be here.”
I sighed as I stared at her.
“We’re going to Uncle Sebastian’s later for a barbeque so make sure your homework is done.”
She rolled her eyes at me.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, little girl.”
I shut the door and went into the guest room where Alex stayed last night. Lying on the bed was one of her sweaters. Picking it up, I took it over to Sebastian’s.
“Where’s Alex?” I asked Sebastian.
“In the guestroom.”
“She left this at the house.” I held up her sweater.
I walked up the stairs and when I approached the guestroom, I lightly knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
“Hey.” I smiled. “You left this at my house.” I handed the sweater to her.
“Thanks. How’s Lily?”
“She’s a brat and she’s pushing every one of my buttons.”
“Isn’t that what children do?” She laughed.
My phone pinged with a text message from Simon.
“Come over. I need to talk to you.”
“I have to go. Simon needs me to run over.”
“Okay. Thanks for bringing this by.”
“You’re welcome. See you later at the barbeque?”
“We’ll see.” The corners of her mouth curved upward.
I placed my phone in my pocket and headed over to Simon’s.
“What’s up?”
“I ran the background check on Alex.”
“And?”
“Her full name is Alessandra Nicole Clark and she’s as clean as a whistle. So, I decided to pull a background check on her parents. Her mother died when she was seven, and her father had a few DUI’s over the years. He served a six-month sentence for driving under the influence with Alex in the car when she was nine. She went into foster care while he was in jail and when he was released and completed his classes, she was returned to her home.”
“She told me today that she left home when she was eighteen and that her father wouldn’t be receiving any Father of the Year awards. Now I know why.”
“Where has she been for seven years?” Simon’s brows furrowed.
“I don’t know. All I know is the last place she was in was Seattle.”
“Do you think her father abused her?”
“I asked her if he—you know, and she said no.”
“Maybe it wasn’t physical abuse that drove her away. Who knows. Anyway, she checks out as far as I can tell. I have someone checking on that phone number you gave me. I’ll get the information tomorrow.”
“Thanks, bro.” I placed my hand on his shoulder.
“Anytime, brother.”
Chapter 9
Alex
I helped Sebastian get things ready for the barbeque. As he was making the burgers, I took note of the seasonings he was using.
“Don’t tell anyone what you saw here.” He smirked. “It’s my own special blend. Top secret.”
“I won’t.” I let out a laugh.
His family started to arrive as I was setting the paper plates, napkins, and silverware on the table outside on the patio.
“How’s it going?” Stefan asked as he walked over to me.
“It’s going good. Hi, Lily.”
“Hey.” She looked down as she walked past me.
“I’m going to grab a beer. Can I get you one?” Stefan asked.
“Sure. Thanks.”
While Sebastian grilled the hot dogs and hamburgers, I watched as Lily sat in the sand with her bucket and shovel. Taking my chances, I walked down and joined her.
“What are you doing?” I asked as she was drawing in the sand with a stick in her hand.
“What does it look like? I’m designing my sandcastle before I build it.”
“Nice. You have a real talent like your dad and Uncle Sam.”
She shrugged.
“Your dad told me about Nanny Kate.”
“Why would he tell you?”
“Because he’s worried about you. My mom died when I was seven.”
“From what?” she asked.
“Cancer. So, it was just me and my dad. Kind of like it’s just you and your dad.”
“Is your dad nice?”
“I’m not going to lie to you because I don’t believe in lying to children. But no, he’s far from a nice man.”
She stopped digging in the sand and looked up at me.
“Where is he?”
“He’s at home, back in Ohio.”
“Do you miss him?”
“No. Not at all.”
“I’d miss my dad.”