Beautiful Broken Promises(103)

But I didn't plan on letting her mom and brother go anywhere either.

“Daddy,” she began quickly, “we get to have special daddy and Kate time. Mommy is having special time with Braden. I really miss bubba. But I got to play with the baby. I even helped Auntie Audrey give her a bath and she really liked it. She kicked her feet really hard! Do you know when they’re coming back?”

A small part of me had hoped that Rae and Braden were in the house somewhere—that they hadn’t actually gone anywhere. But her words confirmed what Braden’s missing terrarium had already told me. They weren’t here.

I looked up and noticed everyone was sitting in the family room, watching us. The whole crew was there, minus two of the most important ones.

“How about you take this bag to Aunt Em and have her help you get into your swimsuit. We’re going to have special daddy and Kate time.”

Her face lit up and she squirmed out of my arms, bouncing on her toes when they reached the floor. “We can swim when it’s dark?” she shrieked excitedly. “Can we eat ice cream, too?”

With a laugh, I asked, “Does that sound like fun to you?”

“So much fun!”

“Well then, of course we’ll swim at night and eat ice cream too! Go on, get your suit on and meet me out back.”

She skipped away, half sliding and half hopping across the wood floor, straight toward Em and Quinn. I pointed to Audrey and Jace and nodded my head toward the backyard. Jace flipped on the pool lights as we headed out, which cast a black glow across the darkened concrete. Their pool had a black bottom, which at nighttime made it appear like glass on the ground.

I tugged my shirt over my shoulders and decided my gym shorts would have to do for swimming tonight. When Audrey returned from lighting candles, I approached them both.

“Where is she?”

“At a hotel,” Jace responded.

My fingers moved raggedly through my hair and I looked to Audrey with clear stress in my eyes. “I freaked her out, right?”

“You?” she questioned. “I only got the scene second-hand, but I think she believes you’ll never be able to look at her the same.”

“Why the f*ck would she think that?”

“Dude, that guy just admitted that Raegan was the reason your daughter was kidnapped.” Leave it to Jace to cut to the chase.

“That disgusting * was the reason. Not Rae,” I bit out.

Audrey dashed toward me, slamming into my chest and throwing her arms around my neck. I instinctively squeezed her tightly.

“You could’ve been hurt. You could’ve gone to jail, you idiot,” she babbled.

“I know, I know. It was bad.”

“I think you should really think hard before you go chasing after her,” she said, completely shocking me.

“What the hell do I have to think about?”

“The situation.” She gestured toward the house. “Your daughter was kidnapped, Lane. Raegan’s boyfriend was the one that made that happen. Think hard about your feelings toward that. When you look at Jocelyn when she’s a year old and she’s just starting to walk, you’ll think about what Kate looked like when she was that age. Will you look at Raegan and wonder, if she hadn’t been your nanny, would you have lost all those years?”

“So Raegan should be punished for her scumbag ex? Which, by the way, punishes all four of us?”

“No, I don’t think that all. But I do know how resentment can build over time. Even irrational, nonsensical resentment. I just want you to know your true feelings now, so they don’t surprise you later.”

“Take the night to process everything you were told tonight, man. Let Raegan process it as well. I know she feels terrible,” Jace added.

I began pacing the length of the black pool. How could they tell me she was feeling terrible and expect me to sleep on it tonight?

“You paid for her hotel?” I asked. He didn't answer so I helped him out. “I know she didn’t. I found her wallet on the floorboard of my car. She must have left it there earlier today, and she didn’t even have it with her at dinner.”

“Yeah, I paid for it,” he sighed.

“You’re sending me that bill.” Before he could protest, I said, “That’s my family. I take care of them. Now which hotel is she at?”

“Lane, you already promised Kate you would be with her tonight,” Audrey warned.