Delinquent Daddy (Banks / Kincaid Family #2)(43)

161

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

"In the excitement over Cassidy's existence, I've forgotten there's an ex-flame involved in all this too."

Cam was quiet a moment, as if waiting for Boston to open up his closet and start pulling out the bones. But Boston remained silent. So, Cam let out a little sigh and said, "You know what I think?"

Boston lifted his face and turned to give his cousin an incredulous look. "Do I look like I care what you think?"

Cam ignored him. "I think you were way serious about Cassie's mom."

Boston's jaw bunched. "Don't go there."

"Why not?" Cameron asked. "We're best friends. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"

"No one. And let's keep it that way."

"So, how long did you see her?"

Boston didn't answer for a minute. Then he moved restlessly back to the window and muttered, "Eight months."

Cameron fell out of his chair. Literally. Boston turned to frown at him.

From the floor, Cam's jaw fell loose. "Eight...oh my God, you stayed with one woman for eight months? Jesus, Kincaid, how is it possible I never knew about her...that no one in the family knew about her?"

Boston scowled. "You were busy mourning your first wife, and I was away at college."

"Yeah, but Monty would've been in college too at that time.

Why didn't he—"

"Okay, fine. I purposely kept her a secret!" Boston cut in sharply. "You're right. It was different with Ellie, and it scared 162

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

the hell out of me. I wasn't used to getting that serious with a girl. So, refusing to let anything go too far with her, I intentionally never introduced her to anyone in the family to convince myself she wasn't that important. Are you satisfied now?"

Cameron just sat on the floor and gaped.

"Will you get up!" Boston snapped and turned away to frown out the window.

Cameron stood slowly, wiped himself off, and calmly sat in his chair. Then he shook his head. "Holy Lord, Bos. You totally fell in love with her, didn't you?"

Boston's eyebrows pulled down low over his eyes. "No," he was quick to spit out. Then he swiped a harassed hand through his hair. "God, I don't know. But if I ever fell for anyone, it would've been her."

"So, why'd you break up?" Cameron asked curiously. When Boston didn't immediately answer, he said, "Oh. Right. I forgot. She got pregnant. You both freaked. Then, when she claimed she had a miscarriage, you were so relieved there wasn't a baby, you took off out of there. End of story."

"That's not quite how it happened. We'd already been broken up a few weeks by the time she told me she was pregnant," Boston admitted quietly. He closed his eyes, and the memories swelled. The guilt washed over him, a wave of nausea wracking his body.

"So, then why did you break—"

"Cameron!" Boston nearly shouted. "I just told you, I'm not going to talk about this with you."

"But—"

163

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

"Look, it's over between us. We split because of irrevocable differences, and there's no way, no how, we'll ever get back together... especially after she went and kept my daughter from me for nine freaking years. The only contact I'll ever have with Elora Trenton will be over custody for Cassidy. Got it?"

Frowning, Cameron opened his mouth. Before he could speak, Boston's iPhone rang.

Grateful for the distraction, he dug it from his pocket and stared blindly out the window. "Kincaid," he growled.

"D-dad?" came the sobbing reply.

"Cassie?" Boston jerked around in surprise, making Cam surge to his feet. "What's wrong?"

She sniffed and whimpered a moment. Then she wailed,

"Can I come live with you?"

"What's wrong?" he repeated, envisioning her broken and bleeding and alone in some dark alley. "Where are you?"

"I'm at home. And I don't want to live here anymore. I hate her so much. She's mean and...and...she won't let me do anything."

Boston let out a breath. The adrenaline thrumming through his body didn't shut off so quickly though. He pressed a hand to his jack-hammering heart.

"You had a fight with your mom?" he was finally able to ask.

"Mmm-hmm," Cassie whined pathetically.

Boston's shoulder's dropped. God. Talk about giving a guy a heart attack. He'd thought something was honestly wrong with her.

164

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

Sniffing, Cassie asked, "So, will you come get me?"

[Back to Table of Contents]

165

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage





Chapter Ten


Ellie was cleaning, trying to work off her bad mood, when the doorbell rang. Still upset with Cassidy, who'd barricaded herself in her room hours ago, Ellie had gone on a cleaning rampage and was currently replacing all the newly washed towels she'd never used back on the top shelf of her hall closet.

She didn't want to take Cassie's threats to heart. But if Boston heard one word of their daughter's new wish to live with him, she'd probably lose the girl for good. She had to think of a way to calm the nine-year-old before she spoke to her lawyer of a father...before she went off the handle and did something to get herself taken away from Ellie for good.