Page 14 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

“I’m sorry.” Her face fell with her apology. “I was going to tell you but then decided to wait and see how Willa’s pitch played out. I thought it would be easier if you could see him in person and explain face-to-face.”

“Did you know he was coming here today?”

“No.” She held up her hands. “I promise. With the Fourth last week and no camp, I hadn’t seen Willa in over a week. I was running late today and by the time I showed up in the kitchen, she was already out of the office, meeting with them. I guess they called a few days ago for an impromptu visit. When she brought them into the kitchen on their tour, I almost dropped a pan of sloppy joes when I saw his face.”

“A warning would still have been nice before they showed at the bar.”

“I tried to call your cell five times, and the bar phone four, but it was busy.”

Goddamn it. “I was on the phone with the distributor.”

The company we got our liquor from was old-school, so instead of online ordering, I had to call it in each month. It took me over an hour to dictate my order and negotiate on price to get the best deal.

“Thea, when I couldn’t reach you, I came down as soon as I could. But I had to finish up in the kitchen, then hunt down Charlie. She insisted on bringing that damn frog. I hustled, but they beat us to the bar by a minute.”

“Okay.” I sagged into the seat, trying to process everything she’d told me. “Anything else?”

“No, that’s it. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I was just trying to help.”

“I get it.” I gave her a sad smile. “I’m just . . . scared.”

My emotions were spinning faster than a tornado, but the one that stood out the strongest was fear.

Charlie was the light of my life. She was all that mattered.

I couldn’t lose her.

“What if he tries to take her from me?”

“Then we’ll fight,” Hazel declared.

Fight. Just the idea of a custody battle made me queasy. It made me wish Logan were still a stranger and that Charlie would stay mine and mine alone. It made me wish that the simple and happy life I’d built for her wouldn’t change.

It wasn’t right. I wasn’t proud of feeling that way. But she was my entire world.

I had no clue how to share her with a father.

That was if Logan hadn’t already run back to New York City.

I’m a dad.

A father.

I couldn’t get the concept to sink in.

Did other fathers feel this whiplashed? Or dumbfounded?

Maybe other men got used to the concept of fatherhood during pregnancy. They had time to adjust to the fact a kid was coming. But I hadn’t gotten nine months. I’d gotten ninety seconds for all the puzzle pieces to fit together.

I had a child.

Charlie.

I had a daughter who was five, almost six, and had my crooked pinky.

Shit. I should have taken that shot Thea had poured me. Maybe I wouldn’t have run out of the bar like a coward.

Though in my defense, I’d been in dire need of some air. The cluttered walls of the bar had closed in on me and I hadn’t been able to breathe.