I swear that damn woman was out to give me a heart attack.

When I’d picked up the fucking phone, displaying Stan’s number, I knew that trouble had found at least one of my girls before I’d answered the thing. I could feel it in my gut.

Fucking woman!

Panic to make sure that both Emberlyn and my Rosie were safe had me rushing out of the precinct with Will on my tail, barely making it to the cruiser on time, heading toward home.

“Relax, man,” Will said as we were a few blocks away from our destination. “You heard the radio. Ambulance is on the way, and it doesn’t seem like it’s anything major, other than a broken nose.”

The picture my mind painted of Ember with black and blue eyes, a swollen nose, blood dripping and smeared all over the front of her, and whatever else my head could conjure up on top of that, was enough to make my foot press harder on the gas.

“Don’t you fucking tell me to relax, Will. If it were Tina, would you relax?”

At the mention of his wife, he groaned. “Good point.”

“Yeah. Didn’t think so,” I mumbled as I pulled up to the curb in front of Emberlyn’s house, the ambulance already in the drive, its back doors open. There I could see my woman holding a large piece of gauze over her nose, while Stan had Rosie on his lap, both watching over my woman who spoke to both of them.

Jumping out of the car, I heard Rosie break out in a loud giggle at something Emberlyn told her. At the same time, Will slapped my shoulder and stopped beside me, assessing the scene.

“Just saying, but if you don’t keep her, you’ve got a few more screws loose than I ever thought. That baby girl of yours likes everyone, but even Tina can’t make that kid laugh like that.” He didn’t wait for my response and kept walking toward the trio and the emergency vehicle.

“Where are you going?” Lana Rose’s little voice broke me away from the bag I was packing.

“I have to go, Sweets.” After today, I’d proven to be a useless friend, not to mention a crap potential girlfriend, and an even worse neighbor. Nothing that happened today should have occurred. And none of it would have had I’d done what I was told—according to Shane—and stayed put, as he told me on our way back from the emergency room after having my nose snapped back in place.

He was right.

I was wrong.

I was always wrong.

I have no idea why I even entertained the thought that it would ever change. My ex made a point to repetitively remind me, for so many years.

So here I was, packing my bags with a heavy heart while Shane had gone somewhere—who knows where—to cool off from our argument, and his mother was supposed to be occupying Rosie, who had crept up unannounced.

I couldn’t turn to face the little girl, who meant the world to me, but I had to say something. “I’m going back home.”

“B-but, why?” Oh shit! Not tears! I didn’t deal well with tears, especially when I was the cause for them to begin with.

Why do you have to be such an idiot?

I had to make things right.

Taking a deep breath to strengthen myself, I turned and found a teary-eyed girl staring back at me, biting her lip as if to keep her tears at bay.

“Sweets, I can’t stay here.” On a sigh, I made my approach and crouched down to be at the same level as her face. “I don’t want to go into too many details, but me being here isn’t safe for you or your grams. I should have fought your dad a bit harder about that, and for what happened today, I’m so sorry.” I cupped her cheeks in both my hands.

“I want you to stay,” she whined. “Daddy says that we’re stronger as a team than when we’re on our own.”

Smart girl.

“And he’s right, Sweets.” I bit my lip to figure out what to say next, but she beat me to the punch.

“Is it because you don’t want to be our friend anymore?”

Damn but this girl was undoing me. What did I say to that?

“Oh, Sweets,” I pulled her in for a hug and crushed her against my chest, kissing the top of her head, and then buried my face in that subtle strawberry-scented hair of hers. “You’ll always have a friend in me. I hope you know that. And whenever you need me, I’ll be–”

“You’ll be where exactly?”

Shit.

I seemed frozen in place, and I couldn’t seem to bring myself to let go of Rosie to look the imposing man standing before us in the eyes.

“I asked you a question, Em,” Shane ground out. “Where were you planning to go just now?”

“I-I…” I climbed to my feet, releasing Lana Rose and backing away from the two Peters crowding the only exit to the guestroom.

Shane made to follow my withdrawal, his eyes dark and intense. “You what?” he pushed.

“It’s safer,” I whispered.

“Rosie, go help Grams out in the kitchen,” Shane said gently, but never once tore his gaze away from mine. “Em and I need to have a little talk.”

“Don’t be mean, Daddy,” she ordered him, “but set her straight.”

“A talk?” I sputtered.

Shane’s eyes were still locked on me as he slowly kept coming closer. “Yes, a talk.”

“Promise, Daddy.” Rosie made her presence still known.

“Promise,” Shane said with finality.

“Set her straight,” the little girl repeated.

“I will, Princess.”

This made me look past the man of the house—toward his little girl—who now sported a conspiratorial gleam to her eyes. She met my gaze head on and jutted out her chin in a stubborn fashion, right before she made her exit, closing the bedroom door behind her on a low snicker. She may be all of her mother in looks, but that expression right there, that had been all Shane Peters to a T.

I knew I’d been overly hotheaded with Emberlyn the moment I saw her eyes lose the glimmer they always seemed to carry. Her expression had become withdrawn, and all emotion seemed to have disappeared altogether.

The moment she walked toward the guestroom—her room—I knew I had fucked up royally. It’s why I’d left the house as soon as she’d left the room.

I needed to calm down.

Reassess.

Think.

Then make things right again.

But when I’d made my return half an hour after I’d left the house, I hadn’t expected Emberlyn to be packing her bags. Nor had I anticipated the deep-seated feeling of loss that threatened me to a breaking point.

“You’re not leaving,” I said a little too tersely, as soon as I heard the snick of the bedroom door announce its closed status.

“Well, I can’t stay.” She crossed her arms over her chest. The hurt in her eyes couldn’t be missed. I’d done that to her.

Fix it!

I sighed, letting my head drop to my chest and shaking it out of sheer frustration. I knew that if I let her leave, things would never be the same again.

I’d lose her.

I just knew it.

And I found myself seeing all the more clearly right in that moment.

I had a fight on my hands.