One More Chance (Chance, #2)(25)

And then she began to sob.

I was going to kill Kiro Manning.

I ran my hand over her head and whispered sweet words to her, reassuring her that I was here and it was fine. I begged her not to cry, but she clung to me, and her tears soaked my shirt. Again, I was helpless. I wasn’t sure why she was crying so pitifully, but I knew it had to do with her dad, and that was enough to put him on my shit list.

“This isn’t good for you,” I reminded her. I couldn’t say it wasn’t good for the baby, because I honestly couldn’t bring myself to care about anything other than Harlow’s health.

“Or the baby,” Blaire said, walking up behind us. I looked at her over Harlow’s head, and she stared pointedly at me, scolding me for the thoughts she seemed to know I was thinking. “Drink the water, and take some deep breaths,” Blaire said as she touched Harlow’s arm.

Harlow sniffed and hiccupped, but she stopped sobbing and reached for the glass of water. Blaire had said the magic words. At this point, I didn’t care what those magic words were, I was just thankful she was calming down.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and took a small sip of the water. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was blotchy and wet.

“No, don’t apologize. I just want you calm,” I told her. I kept my arm around her and caressed the skin on her bare arm and shoulder, trying to soothe her.

“I just ran from him. I never run from my dad, but I just ran and hid. He must think . . . I don’t know what he thinks. I just wasn’t ready to face him about this.”

She knew he would want her to have an abortion. Telling her dad no was going to be difficult. She loved that man. I wasn’t sure why, because he was the shittiest father on the face of the earth, even though he had sweet Harlow for a daughter. All I could figure was that Emily Manning must have been an amazing woman for Harlow to overcome inheriting that man’s genes.

God knew Nan got all his bad traits, along with Georgianna’s.

“You needed to let him sober up. You did the right thing,” Blaire assured her.

Harlow sipped her water as she stared straight ahead at nothing. I hated seeing her like this, but facing her dad wasn’t something I could stop her from doing. Kiro was above the law. He had proved that with his latest mishaps. No one wanted to press charges.

“When he wakes up, I want to see him. I won’t feel better until I’ve seen him,” she said in a whisper, not looking at Blaire or me but still straight ahead.

“Rush is going to call the second he thinks Kiro is ready to come over here,” I told her. I had spoken to Rush on my way back home. He had been dealing with Kiro, but he’d promised to let me know the minute he’d sobered him up. Bethy had come over to take care of Nate. I knew it was only a matter of time before Blaire left to get Nate.

“He’s going to demand I get an abortion,” Harlow said, finally turning her gaze up at me.

I couldn’t tell her that he wouldn’t. I had no doubt that he’d all but throw her into his limo in an attempt to get her to the best abortion clinic in L.A. I realized he wanted what I wanted, but the difference was that I refused to let him force her to do anything.

“Why don’t you rest? Let Grant hold you and try not to think about it. Just remember, the baby needs you to stay calm. And Grant needs you to be OK,” Blaire told her. “I’m going to get Nate from Bethy. It’ll be his nap time soon, and Bethy won’t be able to get him to sleep.”

Harlow nodded and stepped away from me to hug Blaire. “Thank you for everything. I’m sorry our day got messed up.”

“I’m sorry, too, but we’ll make it up. You worry about taking care of you and the baby right now. Let Grant take care of you.” Blaire’s words were gentle but firm. She seemed to know how to talk to Harlow.

“Thanks,” I told her.

She smiled and patted my arm. “You got this. It’s going to be OK,” she said softly before leaving.

When the door closed behind Blaire, Harlow turned to me and let out a weary sigh. “I think I want a nap, too.”

Good. She needed to rest. “Come on, sweet girl. We’ll get you into bed, and I’ll even let you use me as your pillow.”

A small smile tugged on her sad face. “That’s a deal any girl would have a hard time turning down.”

I slipped my arm around her shoulder. “Yeah, but you’re the only girl I’d offer my chest as a pillow to.”

“Lucky me,” she said in a teasing voice.

“No, lucky me,” I replied.

My ringing phone woke me up hours later. I eased out from under Harlow and silenced it until I could get out of the room. Glancing down, I saw my dad’s name. He was pissed. I hadn’t seen the work problem through today, and he was probably just now hearing how I’d run out of there with no explanation.

“Hello,” I said, preparing to hear him yell at me.

“Is it true?” he asked, and I glanced back down at my phone to make sure I had read the caller’s name correctly. I had. This was my father.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

“Did you get Kiro Manning’s daughter knocked up? The one with the heart condition?”

Shit. When did my dad start listening to celebrity gossip news?

“Don’t call her knocked up. I’m in love with her. This wasn’t some cheap fling. We were in a committed relationship when this happened.”