“Hey, you two.” Griffin walks in, a sweaty mess, with Palmer in his arms.
Her eyes light up when she sees me. Mommy.
“Thanks so much, Griffin,” I say, taking Palmer from him.
Daddy. She points at Griffin.
I blow out a breath and give Phoenix a look.
“You may have a point,” she says and laughs.
Griffin goes in to kiss her and Phoenix pushes him away because he’s too sweaty, but he runs his cheek along hers and she giggles until he captures her.
“Gross,” Maverick says. “Hey, Aunt Sedona.” He sits on the lounger and starts playing on his phone.
Palmer squirms out of my hold, and crawls up next to him on the lounger to watch.
“You got back sooner than I thought,” Phoenix says and smiles at me.
Griffin raises his eyebrows. “Because your plan backfired on you.”
“What plan?” she asks innocently with wide eyes.
“Sedona, sit down.” Grandma Dori comes out of the house with Ethel in tow. “You need to be resting. Keep that baby in as long as you can. Especially with all the stress of that good-for-nothing boy showing back up here.”
Griffin laughs and bops Phoenix on the end of the nose with his index finger. “I’m going to take a shower.” Then he disappears into the house.
Grandma Dori leads me over to the couch, physically putting my feet up on the table while I give Phoenix the death stare of all death stares. I’m not sure what will end up being more painful—this meeting with Grandma Dori and Ethel, or the one I had earlier with Jamison.
Four
Jamison
I arrive back at Glacier Point and take the elevator up to my floor, half expecting my stuff to be sitting in the hallway. To be honest, I was surprised it wasn’t already waiting with Mac the bellhop.
But once I turn the corner to my room, I’m faced with something I wasn’t expecting—Kingston leaning against my door with his arms crossed.
“King,” I say with a nod.
He nods in return and waits for me to use my keycard to gain access into my room. “We need to talk.”
Sliding in front of me, he enters my room, looking around as if he expects to find someone here. He sits in one of the two chairs by the small table next to the window that looks out at Lake Starlight. I sit at the end of the bed.
Kingston’s never been overly protective of his sisters, so I’m surprised he’s the Bailey here. I feared the wrath of Phoenix more than Kingston, but he clearly has a connection with my daughter. One I’m already jealous of.
“Go ahead and say what you need to.” I untie my shoes and place them under the luggage holder, where my small suitcase holds only a week’s worth of clothes.
“I loved you like my brother and wanted you to be part of this family, but you abandoned her and that puts us on different terms now. Do you have any idea what she’s had to deal with? What it was like for her?”
I run my hand through my hair. “I don’t, no. And I know this is hard to understand right now, but the way I was when Sedona was pregnant… I wasn’t good for either of them. It took a long time for me to realize that Sedona leaving me was the best thing that could have happened.”
A hollow laugh escapes him. “Why? Because it got you clean? Still an egotistical asshole, huh?”
I lock my gaze with his. “No. Because I could’ve harmed Palmer.” Her name still doesn’t roll off my tongue like it should. “You have no idea how bad it was because I know Sedona hid my problem from you guys, but I was fucked up, man. She did what she should have.”
He leans back in his chair. “How did it get so out of control?”
I bury my head in my hands, my toes sinking into the soft carpet that comes with a top-notch resort like Glacier Point. “I don’t know. I was depressed. After the first injury to my ankle, they said take it easy and I’d be back up and ready in no time. But I probably shouldn’t have played on it that soon. I rushed it. Told my coach I was ready when I probably wasn’t, but fuck, playing soccer was my everything.”
“My sister could have been your everything.” He sneers.
I can’t fault him. He’s right. But pathetically, it wasn’t that way. “True, but soccer was my first love.” He opens his mouth, but I put my hand up to stop him. “I’m just being straight. That was then. It’s been a long road to recovery to get my priorities in order. And they are now. Sedona and Palmer are all I want. Sedona isn’t available and I’m not going to fuck up her life any more than I already have, but Palmer is still my daughter.”
“Did Sedona tell you that?” He props his ankle on his knee while a smirk he can’t win the fight against rests on his lips.
“Pretty much. Not to mention she’s pregnant with some other guy’s baby. She told me this morning anything between us is off the table.” My heart still physically hurts when I think that I destroyed my future so thoroughly.
“True.”
I peek up. “Who’s the guy? I mean, do I know him? Is he from high school?”
I shouldn’t ask Kingston, but I’m dying to know. How serious is this? Does the guy have a relationship with Palmer? She’s clearly attached to Kingston. Was the guy at the shower yesterday? I have so many questions. I respected Sedona when she told me it was none of my business. She owes me nothing and I can’t force myself into her heart no matter how bad it hurts that I lost my chance.
“If Sedona doesn’t want to say, I won’t tell you.” He stands.
I forgot how intimidating the Bailey men are. They all stand over six feet with broad shoulders and scowls that have you second-guessing anything you said and did in the last twenty-four hours. And that’s on a good day. Kingston’s scowl right now is the worst I’ve seen.
I stand and match his height.
He huffs as though he’s realized I’m no longer just his little sister’s boyfriend. “It goes without saying, you hurt either of them and your ankle will be the last of your worries.”
He doesn’t crack his knuckles, but I feel as if he wants to.
“I just want to get to know my daughter.”
“Speaking of, how do you know how to sign?”
“My uncle was deaf. He died when I was in high school, but…”
He nods. “Good thing for you she got Sedona’s brain. She’s smart as a whip and already ahead of kids her age. Then again, Sedona’s been signing to her since she was an infant.”
I nod, not acknowledging his insult. If Sedona passed her smarts down to Palmer, then I’m a happy father.
I have so many questions I want to ask Kingston about my daughter, but more than that, I want to find out for myself. My entire body itches to spend time with Palmer. To have her smile at me, or to have me be the one to protect her.
I put out my hand. “Thanks for doing what I should have.”
He stares at my hand and laughs. “Your thanks can be to do right by them.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets and heads to the door. “Just remember if I have to come find you again, it’ll be to kick your ass.” He opens the door and laughs uncontrollably. “Hey, G’Ma D. Your presence isn’t necessary. I’ve already put the fear of death in him.”