There I was, spinning around in the kitchen with Dane. He never liked me. From the day we fucking met, he thought I was a cocky prick. And I was. He was a hardworking man, coming from nothing, building a company from nothing, and never once let it all get to his head. But I was the guy who stumbled into some success and flaunted it like I was a fucking billionaire. I drove fast cars, loud motorcycles, loved tattoos, and wasn’t afraid to show it all off.

Dane and I never saw eye to eye on anything. And he loved Mila to death. He took care of her during her pregnancy. I think somewhere in his mind he fantasized about a life where he took care of Mila and Michelle. Not in some sick way or anything, but in a good honest way.

Which I respected.

Because I sure as hell didn’t take care of Mila, did I?

We slammed into the kitchen table and I felt the back of my head smack against the low hanging light.

“Dane!” Michelle growled. “Stop this!”

I let Dane move me around. What Dane didn’t know was that my time up on the mountain turned me into something else. Slugging trees around for all those hours made me bigger and stronger. And I was stronger than I was big, which seemed impossible. In other words, I was letting Dane do what he wanted, for now.

Dane looked back at Michelle. “Why? This fucking prick? Why?”

“You know why,” Michelle said. “You’re better than this, Dane.”

“No, I’m not,” he said.

Dane shook me and looked at me. “You fucking scum. You abandoned them both! You left her… you fucking left Adley.”

“Yes, I did,” I said. “I regret it everyday of my life.”

“And you left Mila to die!”

I heard Michelle gasp.

That’s where my line was drawn and crossed.

I pushed forward and lifted my arms, breaking Dane off me.

I watched his left hand curl up into a fist. I promised myself I wouldn’t hit him unless…

He threw the punch and I blocked it. I came up with a right and clocked him in the jaw. He flew back and Michelle hurried to get between us.

The entire kitchen was red. A deep red.

I left Mila to die?

Dane rubbed his jaw.

“You two are assholes,” Michelle cried out. “This isn’t about you two. This is about Adley. Goddammit. Goddamn you both.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Fuck you,” Dane growled. He was like a rabid dog. Caged up for years and finally given a chance to get out and cause trouble. “You know what you did. You know how you treated her.”

“So what?” Michelle asked. “He didn’t open the door to the car, Dane. He didn’t pull her out and tell her to take a fucking picture. Is that what we want to do here? Split hairs?”

There was silence.

Dane turned and walked away. He went right out the door he came in.

Michelle looked at me. “I’m sorry, Syi. I didn’t know he was coming home early.”

“Yeah. So this doesn’t look even shittier, huh? You didn’t tell him you contacted me? And then I’m standing in his kitchen? Jesus…”

“Shut up,” Michelle said. “You don’t think I’m fucking broken over here?”

Michelle’s bottom lip quivered. She quickly grabbed for her face.

Carrying the burden of Mila and Adley. Hell, probably carrying the burden of Mila for years and years. Bailing her out all the time. Giving her money. Constantly hoping she would find her way in life. Only to have her come home pregnant by some stranger.

And then me in her life…

I slipped my hands around Michelle and hugged her. “I’m so fucking sorry, Michelle. For everything. You tell me what you want…”

“No,” she said. She pushed at my chest. I stepped back. “No, Syi. No. I’m not going to chase you. I’m not going to force you. I only text you as a reminder of what’s still here. You’re chasing… you’re chasing something that isn’t there.” Tears fell from her eyes, gently rolling down her cheeks. “Don’t you get that?”

“No, I don’t get it,” I said.

“Fuck you then,” Michelle said.

She left the kitchen.

I stood there, alone, in a house I didn’t belong in. I belonged on the mountain. In the cabin. Alone. No, with Lara. I missed her. Fuck, I missed her. But I missed Mila, too. I was supposed to be finding Mila. I was supposed to find her, get her, bring her back to everyone to show I was capable of taking care of her.

The door to the kitchen opened and Dane was there again.

He looked right at me, his face still filled with anger.

Our eyes locked.

“I didn’t know she didn’t tell you,” I said. “She said Adley made me something.”

“And now you finally decide to show up?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“The truth? I met someone.”

Dane laughed. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You met someone?”

“Look, Dane, I don’t owe you a fucking thing,” I said.

“You’re standing in my kitchen, Osiris.”

“I understand that. I don’t owe you a thing. I can’t explain it all. I don’t have to explain it all.”

“Yeah,” Dane said. “So I just have to live with my wife continually pushing for you. What does that say for me?”

“So it’s about you,” I said. “You’re pissed because of me.”

“I’m pissed because they both talk about you,” Dane spat. He looked ready to rip the door off the hinges.

“Why don’t we go outside, Dane,” I said.

“Yeah, sure,” he said.

I stepped out of the kitchen into his garage.

The spot was open because he parked his giant truck in the driveway. He probably saw my truck out front and flipped his lid.

I slipped my hands into my pockets and Dane went right up and shoved me. I fell back and slammed into the fridge in the garage.

“You’re a fucking piece of shit for what you did,” he said. “I took care of everyone. Everyone. You got that? I helped Michelle through all of the games Mila played. I helped Mila whenever she was stuck. When she got pregnant, she lived here with us. I took care of her.”

“I know you did.”

“Then she had Adley. And then she met you.”

“And I loved them. I took care of them.” Dane opened his mouth but I put a hand up. “Maybe I didn’t do it in the way you would have. Fine. But they were taken care of. I regret what happened and what led to it all. I shouldn’t have been so obsessed with my job. With my business. I tried to make up lost time and broken promises with stuff I could buy, including that fucking cabin.”

“Right,” Dane said.

“I didn’t mean to leave everyone. I wanted to find her. I wanted to bring her home. To Michelle. To Adley. To you.”

Dane swallowed hard. “She fucking asks about you, Osiris. And I have to keep my mouth shut.”

“And I appreciate that,” I said. “I don’t want to fuck her little mind up.”

“We’re beyond that,” Dane said. “She… she needs you.” Dane ran a hand through his hair as he turned around.

I grabbed for Dane and spun him around. “She needs you, too. I’m not her father, Dane. Neither are you. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take care of her. You think I’m going to steal her? You think I’m going to shit on you?”

“No,” Dane said. “I don’t think anyone appreciates what I’ve done. For years.”

“I do,” I said.

“Eat shit, Osiris.”

“No, Dane. Fuck you. Adley will know what you’ve done for her. I’m sorry that you’re going to be Uncle Dane. But you’re going to be the uncle that took care of her from when she was in her mother’s belly.”

Dane curled his lip. Then he walked away from me.

The door opened and Michelle came out. She had keys in her hand. “I need to go get Adley.”

I looked at Dane.

Then I looked at my truck.

Not yet… not yet…

“I’m going to get that drawing and take off, myself,” I said.

“Osiris,” Michelle said.

“One step at a time,” I said.

“No,” Dane said. He looked back at his wife. I saw the way his eyes were glossy. He rubbed his chin. Then he looked at me. Eye to eye. Man to man. “Stay here, Osiris. You need to see your daughter…”