CAMERON

I’d planned to take Piper to the beach. Maybe to see the ducks again.

Perhaps we would have gone to a park, or a petting zoo. The aquarium. All the mums on Everly’s blog had said that kids loved fish.

The idea of doing any of that made it hurt. Reminded me I was taking Piper to do something new—but that soon, I’d be handing her over, never to see her again.

Three sharp knocks sounded at the door.

As I pushed off the couch, one name ran through my mind. Everly. She’d come to apologise. Maybe she wanted to push me just like she’d pushed Dad. She was great with him—with people.

Just not with hearts.

Seemed she couldn’t be trusted not to break them.

I wrenched open the door. “What are you—”

“Hey, bud.” Mack clapped me on the shoulder, then shoved a six-pack of beer into my chest. “Good to see you.”

Oh.

Why was I sad that it wasn’t her when I hated her?

Because maybe you don’t hate her at all, dumb-arse.

“Thanks for coming, Mack. It’s good of you to make the long trip, completely unprompted, when I was in my hour of need. You’re such a swell guy. You look great, by the way. Have you lost weight?” Mack continued the one-sided conversation.

I laughed. “You’re a funny bastard.”

“I try my best. Cameron impersonations are my specialty.” He polished his nails against his imaginary lapel.

“No.” I took two beers from the pack and stowed the rest in the fridge. “I meant the idea you’d lost weight.”

He guffawed, and we clinked bottles before both taking a sip.

Mack glanced around the room. “Where’s Piper?”

I pointed behind the couch. “Piper …”

Blonde curls danced as she poked her head out from the space between the couch and the wall. A cheeky smile was plastered on her face, and those cheeks, they bulged as a giggle escaped her mouth.

“There you are.” I pretended to be surprised, my jaw dropped.

I didn’t meet her eyes. Not fully.

It hurt too much.

Piper rushed back behind the couch again, and I jerked a finger toward her while addressing Mack. “Been playing hide and seek for half an hour.”

“At least you always know where to find her.” He sunk down onto the lounge.

“True.”

“So this is it, huh? You’re just going to keep looking after her, then hand her over once it’s done?”

“I am.” I’d thought about it long and hard, but it seemed I was fresh out of other options.

I hated that I wasn’t her dad—hated that I was about to be ejected from her life. But no matter how much hatred stormed around inside of me, I couldn’t bring myself to take it out on the little girl who’d taken so much of my heart. I couldn’t turn her over to the state for the final month Giselle was in jail. And while he hadn’t asked, there was no way in hell I was handing her over to Wayne for his brand of special care. Creep.

“Where’s Piper?” I called to her, then lowered my voice for Mack once more. “Went to see Giselle. She pretty much confirmed what Wayne said.” I shrugged. “He’s the father. She used me because she knew I would look after Piper while she was doing her time.”

“So why didn’t she ask the real dad?”

I shrugged. I’d asked her the same thing myself. “He couldn’t get time off work, or some shit.”

“You believe her?” Mack asked, just as Piper popped her little head out the side of the couch.

“There she is!” I took another sip of my beer. She squealed and wriggled behind the couch once more. God, I loved the sound of her laughter.

How many more times would I hear it?

“You think she’s telling the truth?” Mack prompted.

“I guess. Why lie? So much about this makes sense. The reason she didn’t come after me for more money sooner, the way she kept saying I couldn’t go after Piper for custody …” I picked at the corner of the label on the beer bottle.

“Are you going to order a paternity test?”

“Piper …” I called, then lowered my voice again. “Why? What would be the point?”

“To make sure she’s telling the truth.” Mack shrugged. “Whether she’s a good person or not, she wants to keep that little girl in her life. And a mother will do crazy things to protect her child.”

“But that’s just it—she doesn’t need protecting from me. There you are!” I played surprised again as Piper laughed and laughed. I caught the glimpse of those curls as she darted away to hide once more. “She needs protecting from Giselle. She needs protecting from Wayne. I went on his Facebook, and the guy’s a sicko. Photos of himself with dead animals. Shots of him snorting God knows what off someone’s rack.”

“A real class act.” Mack raised his eyebrows. “So this is your plan. Avoid getting any more attached to Piper, hand her back over, return to normal life.”

“What do you mean getting more attached? I’m not that attached—”

“You can barely look at her, man. I’m your best friend. I can tell it hurts.” He clapped one hand on my shoulder. “I think you should fight this.”

“For the past eighteen months, all I’ve done is fight.” I slammed the beer bottle down on the coffee table. “I’ve fought to stop drinking. I’ve fought to keep the memories alive, and I’ve fought to push the memories away. I’ve fought, and I’ve fought, and I’m so fucking tired of fighting, Mack.” I pressed my eyes closed. “I’m so fucking tired.”

Piper’s cry came from behind the couch. Idiot. Of course my outburst had scared her.

Woodenly, I shifted the leg of the chair. Immediately, two little arms reached for me. Her bottom lip wobbled. Tears shone in her eyes.

I pulled her close, lifting her up from behind the couch.

Then I waited.

I waited to feel that surge of emotion I felt when I hugged her. I waited to feel that protective, primal need to stop anything from ever hurting her again. To love her. I waited to love her.

I did.

I loved this Piper, even though I shouldn’t. Even though she was no longer mine to love.

“Whatever the truth is, it’s not that little girl’s fault.”

“I know.” I held her tighter. She clutched her hands around my neck.

“You owe it to her to get out there and keep living as if she were the flesh and blood you thought she was. You owe it to her to act like you’re her father for the next four weeks.”

I looked over Piper’s shoulder to him. “And at the end of that time?”

He shrugged. “If you won’t fight it, you’ll have to give her back. But if you ask me, not fighting just because you’re tired?” He took a swig from his bottle of beer. “It means Giselle’s right. Whether her story’s true or not, you’re not the sort of parent Piper deserves.”

Silence.

It filled the room like an orchestra, so loud I could barely think. Piper doesn’t deserve me.

Knock, knock, knock.

“I can be the father she deserves,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Prove it.”

“By what? Taking her to the beach?” I spoke softly, and Piper’s tight hold on my back loosened.

“No, dummy. I meant prove your paternity. Fight this.”

I pulled back, pushing Piper’s curls from her face. “I don’t want this to impact her development. What if some lengthy court case sees her damaged emotionally? She’s—”

“Not even one, Cam. She’s not gonna remember that game of hide and seek when she’s older, and I’m sure she felt more emotional attachment to that than she would some boring court session.”

Knock, knock, knock.

The door.

As I walked to answer it, thoughts whirred in my mind. Maybe I could do this. A paternity test—that had to be the first step. But did I need Giselle’s permission? Surely there was a way I could bypass that, given her incarceration.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Coming,” I muttered. It had to be a door-to-door salesman. Maybe one of those ‘Discover God’ people.

I yanked open the door.

It wasn’t any of them.

Everly.