North

©2020 Danielle James.

All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, place, and incidents are either the
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or
dead, businesses, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written
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other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
 CHAPTER 1

My stomach tightened as I stared at the glossy red clock anchored high on the exposed brick wall.
The minute hand inched around the circle painstakingly slow no matter how much I willed it to speed up. I
blinked the sense of urgency from my brain.
“I’m sorry, sir, what would you like to drink?” A rehearsed smile pulled the corners of my mouth up.
It was enough to mask the nagging heaviness in my gut. Customers didn’t care about the subtle nuances
on my face anyway. Being a server was like wearing a mask. I could’ve been having a full-blown meltdown
and customers would still place orders and hand me their closed menus.
“I’ll have a Coke,” he said, offering his own polite smile. I nodded then scribbled his order down on
a small spiral-bound pad of paper. Wobbly knees and legs carried me to an old touch screen kiosk from the
early two-thousands where I punched in the customer’s order.
Once the order was pushed to the cooks, I walked into the kitchen and plucked a breadstick from a
basket under the warming lamp. My stomach thanked me by quieting the rowdy noises it had been
making for the past hour.
“You haven’t been eating, have you, North? You’re so damn skinny.” Sierra’s brown eyes slid up and
down my gaunt frame while her arched browns pulled together, furrowing. I couldn’t hide anything from
her. She’d been able to sniff out my lies since fourth grade.
“I’m eating now,” I tipped my half-eaten breadstick at her and wink.
“You’re shoving food in your face because you’re hungry.” She took a hot breadstick from a pan of
freshly baked ones and placed it in the basket I stole one from.
“The point is, I’m eating.” I shoved the rest of the soft, buttery bread in my mouth and relished the
garlicky goodness as it hit my grateful stomach. I couldn’t remember the last time I had something to eat.
The fridge at home was empty and we were down to our last pack of chicken Ramen noodles. I had
to scrape together at least five dollars to grab bread and lunch meat from the store on the way home and
my tips were looking as malnourished as I felt. The steakhouse I worked at was an old hole in the wall
with not many customers. The ones that did come through weren’t generous with tips. With a soft exhale,
I tugged the ballpoint pin from behind my ear and clicked it a few dozen times.
Sierra put her hand on mine and I stopped to admire the contrast of her golden skin against my pale
complexion. It was fitting since she always added warmth to my ice. “You’re worrying,” she pointed out.
“You know I was just fucking with you about eating. You need me to put together a bag of food for you?”
A lopsided smile tipped my lips. I knew she’d do it too. She would talk to one of the main cooks and
have them put something extra aside for me. She’s done it before but today I didn’t want handouts. I
wouldn’t be able to handle one more act of charity. So I shook my head at Sierra’s well-intended question
and waited for my order to finish.
When the roasted chicken and glazed carrots came out for my last customer of the night I tried not
to ogle the plump thigh and drumstick like a girl with no manners. I smiled, set the food down, and
handed the table off to Sierra. I was done for the night and if I had to smell one more piece of food I
couldn’t eat, I’d scream. The cheap owners of the steakhouse wouldn’t even let the employees have a free
meal even though it should’ve been the least they did for us.
I waved goodbye to my best friend and she smiled, giving me a look that told me she’d call me later.
The second I was in the break room, I pulled off my apron and fell against the worn and lumpy couch. The
springs squeaked when I bounced on them. I pulled out my cash tips and counted out six dollars. It would
be enough to get a little food.
I walked into the frigid night air and a chill rippled through my body forcing my coat tighter around
me. I shoved my white-knuckled fists into my pocket and gritted my teeth against the January weather as I
moved down the street toward the grocery store.
I was grateful for the reprieve from Colorado’s frosty temperatures when I finally stepped inside the
brightly lit store. I picked up bologna, mustard, bread, and cheese for sandwiches then made my way to
the bakery. The smell of fresh bread made my stomach rumble under my coat.
My eyes darted from price tag to price tag scowling every time. Everything was too expensive. It
was ridiculous.
The sinking feeling from earlier was back. I thought I’d successfully stuffed it down and out of the
way. I hated the sticky way it intruded on my thoughts refusing to be wiped off on the bottom of my shoe.
I stepped away from the cakes and cupcakes at the bakery and turned my head. The bright yellow
from a clearance sign caught my eye. I wandered over to it and plucked a pack of four vanilla cupcakes
from the shelf. They were only two dollars. Excitement splashed water on the uneasy quiver in my gut.
Those cupcakes were mine.
I took my things to self-checkout and scanned every item before nibbling on my already chewed
nails. My stomach flopped while I waited for the total.
Five dollars and ninety-three cents.
A microscopic bead of sweat rolled down my back as I counted out six crumpled bills to feed the
money slot. Once the money was gone, I rubbed my palms on my thighs and grabbed my bags before
snagging the loose change under the blinking arrow.
Outside, a blustery wind knocked me to the left but not enough to make me lose my footing. I made
my way to Delta Peak Apartments keeping my head below the air’s whipping tentacles.
My lips were dry and my fingertips were numb as I fumbled trying to get my key in the lock. Inside,
the temperature wasn’t much warmer. The heat wasn’t working in our building and it wouldn’t be fixed
until tomorrow. I closed the heavy door with my slender hips and called out to my mother.
I scanned the living room and frowned at the soot streaked glass pipe on the glass coffee table.
Beside it were small crumpled balls of aluminum foil and a slender hypodermic needle. I shut my eyes and
pushed out a slow breath. I stepped over the trail of Mom’s discarded clothes and moved over to the
kitchen to sit the grocery bags down.
My shoulders shook as they rose and fell. I knew she was on the couch. I didn’t have to search for
her. This was my routine. This was my welcome home from work. I did this every day.
So why were my hands shaking?
I wet my dry lips with my tongue then took slow steady steps toward the living room. Even in the
dark, I could make out Mom’s rail-thin frame on the couch. She was slumped over the arm wearing her
bra and panties. Her ribs and hipbones protruded from beneath blue-ish pale skin speckled with scabs and
scars. Some were fresh and crimson, still weeping with fluid while others were yellow and crusty.
Her bony arm hung over the side of the couch, limp and riddled with track marks. Her twisted veins
bulged against the bend of her arm. My top lip curled as I stood over her peering down.
My stomach bubbled over with something sour and thick. Pity mixed with resentment. I flared my
nostrils against the chemical smell wafting from the concoction on the coffee table. “Mom, wake up.” I
reached out and shook her shoulder. Her flesh was cold to the touch. A gasp stumbled out of my mouth as
shock made itself at home in deep in my chest.
“Mom,” my voice raised an octave. I shook her again and her other arm flopped out. I knelt in front
of her and stroked her greasy pixie-cut hair. I pried open her half-closed eyes and saw nothing. No life. No
spark of consciousness.
I slapped the side of her face a few times, trying to jolt her awake but something dense and hot in
the core of me knew better. I pressed my fingers to her neck just below her ear and waited to feel the faint
thump of her pulse as I’d done countless times in the past.
It wasn’t like my mother hadn’t OD’ed before. I could usually feel her pulse even when it was faint. I
couldn’t feel anything beating under her skin right then.
I yanked my hand away from her and curled my fingers against my palms to stop the trembling. I
tripped over a stray sock on my way to the kitchen to get my phone. There was only one person in my
mind that I could call. He knew how to deal with Mom’s overdoses as well as I did.
I called my father.
“D-Dad,” my voice quivered no matter how much I tried to steady it.
“North, what’s wrong?” I leaned over Mom again, willing her heart to beat. Tendrils of scarlet
strands fell from my messy bun and in my face.
“It’s Mom. She OD’ed again.” The anger in my bones vibrated and my teeth clenched against the
waves of emotion. I went to the kitchen and leaned against the fridge.
“Fuck. Is she breathing?”
“No,” I nearly whispered as I glanced at her frail and lifeless body. “No pulse. She’s limp.” A knot
thickened in my throat. It was hot and coated in loathing.
“Call an ambulance, North. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The call ended and I clutched the phone
in my hand as I let my head thud against the fridge. I cast a narrowed gaze to Mom’s body on the couch
and barked out a humorless laugh.
Tears pricked my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I walked to the counter and took out the pack of
cupcakes. I opened them and set one on the counter. The chemical smell hanging in the air mixed with the
sugary sweet buttercream frosting, made my stomach twist.
I peeled away the paper wrapper and sank my teeth into the cupcake.
“Happy fucking birthday to me.”
…
 CHAPTER 2

“Are you sure she’s dead?” Elijah said quietly into the phone. I was already on the road and he was
back at Fitzgerald’s Fine Art taking over the newest display since I had to leave suddenly.
“I heard the fear in North’s voice.” I left out that I could hear the loathing too. The not-again-Mom
that swirled itself in and out of her words like a stroke of muddled brown paint. I knew what that sounded
like and there was no way to describe its melancholy cadence. “She’s dealt with Izzy’s overdoses most of
her life. She knows what a bad OD is. This time it sounded different.” I didn’t have time to tell Elijah what
happened back at the gallery before I darted out of there and hopped in my truck.
North didn’t call me unless she had to. I tried everything in my power to change that but nothing
worked. She called when the OD’s got too bad or when there was no more money to make rent. She called
when things were outside her control.
Like tonight.
“Alright, Man, if you need me, call me. Keep me updated.”
“I will, thanks.”
My chest tightened at the thought of Izzy finally succumbing to the addiction that plagued her for
decades. I couldn’t identify the feeling constricting my ribs and stunting my lungs. It prickled the back of
my neck and painted a sheen of sweat across my forehead.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and drove through the snowy Telluride streets. My mind
wanted to veer down the memory littered path of finding my twin sister, Kristina, sprawled out with a
needle in her arm. I couldn’t fight off the images of her body cold and dead. Her hair was matted and
sticky with only God knows what and the light that once occupied her green and gold eyes was snuffed
out.
A gut-punch forced my eyes closed at a stop sign. Had Izzy really chosen one last high over North?
When had it gotten so bad? As if meth addiction is ever good. I guess some days are better than
others though. Some people’s horrible is a walk in the park for a meth addict’s family.
For two hours, I wrestled with my mind and tried not to turn Izzy into Kristina. Maybe my ex-wife
wasn’t dead. Maybe this was her rock bottom. Maybe she could crawl up from the depth of hell and be
normal again. We’d been over for a little more than a year and I refused to let her back into my life but
she could get her shit together for North. Our daughter deserved that at least.
North.
I pictured her eyes in my mind. Denim blue with slashes of gray. A pent up breath rushed from my
mouth. I’d have to see North again. I hadn’t seen her since I left Izzy. I’d talked to her on the phone and
she’d text me if she had to but after her sixteenth birthday, contact between us had been dry and absent.
I pulled into Delta Memorial Hospital and found a parking spot near the emergency room. I started
to call North while I walked across the parking lot but she was already there. Standing in the bitter cold,
staring off toward the mountains.
A flash of red hair fluttered behind her like a flag alerting me to her location. My steps slowed as I
got closer. Words and thoughts crumbled and fell to dust in my mind once I was in front of her. She jerked
her denim blue-gray eyes to mine and her lips parted enough for her to suck in a shaky breath.
“Hey, Shortcake.” I hoped the childhood nickname would lift her full pink lips in a little smile.
Nothing.
I used to call her that when we lived under the same roof. She reminded me of Strawberry
Shortcake with her red curls and round freckled face. There was nothing left of the Shortcake I knew as a
snaggle-toothed girl though.
Now North was grown up. There was no fullness to her face. Her cheekbones were prominent
slashes leading me to her slender straight nose then her pink lips.
“She’s dead,” North said, looking up at me with dry eyes and a voice that matched. I rooted around
in her words for some kind of emotion but there was nothing that even resembled emotion lurking in her
voice. “I can’t go home because I’m a minor.” She rolled her eyes and stared at the starry black sky.
“Why are you outside then?” My brows crashed together.
“I told the security guard I had to use the bathroom and she let me go alone. I was getting ready to
walk off but…” She tossed her hand out in a vague gesture toward me.
 “Good thing I’m here then. Come on, let’s go.” Emotion stirred in my chest the moment North
turned to walk into the hospital.
Izzy was gone.
“Are you okay, North?” I asked on the way to the information desk. She folded her arms across her
mid-section and refused to meet my eye. The silence between us amplified the sound of my boots on the
shiny floor.
Since my daughter wasn’t going to communicate with me, I turned to the nurse behind the desk.
“I’m here about Isabelle Fitzgerald.” Her name clogged my throat and felt heavy on my tongue. Was the
woman I’d spent more than ten years with gone just like that? It reminded me of how fragile life was.
The nurse’s dark brown eyes softened at the mention of Izzy’s name. She nodded then stood to her
feet so she could whisper to another nurse who finally directed North and me to a security guard. She was
a tall broad woman with an expressionless face.
“You were supposed to be in the bathroom,” she grumbled down at North.
“My dad told me he was outside so I went to meet him.”
When did lies start rolling so easily off her damn tongue? I didn’t poke holes in her story because
there were more pressing things to deal with. The security guard stared at North for a few beats before
moving along.
The smell of cleaning products was sharp in the air once we turned the corner into triage. The
guard took us to an office tucked away down a quiet hall and escorted us in. “I’ll be right back with the
caseworker and the doctor.” Once she closed the door, leaving me alone with North, I let my shoulders
drop.
“I don’t know why I can’t go back home. I’m seventeen. I can take care of myself.” Heat rose to the
surface of her cheeks.
“You’re legally a minor and you know it, North. Happy birthday by the way.” I scratched the back of
my head then pushed my fingers through my hair.
“Thanks, Dad,” she scoffed. A flash of vulnerability streaked through her eyes for just a moment. I
wanted to grab it like a thread and unravel all the things she wasn’t telling me.
“I know this is hard. It’s okay for you to cry over losing your mother, North.”
“I’m fine,” she snapped. “Besides, it’s just like her to die on my birthday. Everything always had to
be about her. Her sickness, her drugs, her addiction.” North cleared her throat and sat down in the seat
across from the bare desk. “I don’t see you crying. She used to be your wife.”
“I made my peace with Izzy when we got divorced.” I sat in the chair beside North’s and stole
glimpses of her face, mapping out all the ways she’d changed in the past year.
Her crimson hair was longer, brushing the small of her back and it was no longer curly. I saw at the
ends where strands of rebellion started to bend into loose curls. It was a look most girls would pay
someone in the salon for. North wore it effortlessly.
The innocence that used to live behind her eyes was gone. That was definitely different. It hurt
knowing she wasn’t the same girl she used to be but it was inevitable when living with an addict.
Briefly, images of North’s sixteenth birthday rushed through my mind leaving pangs of regret and
shame. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. I wasn’t prepared to be face to face with North. Not
yet. I no longer had a choice though.
“So what happens now?” North asked me quietly. “I have to live with you in Telluride until I turn
eighteen?”
“Yeah, that’s what happens. You already knew that though. I’m guessing that’s why you were trying
to make a run for it?” She didn’t respond with words, she offered me a shoulder shrug instead.
Before I could say anything else to her, the door swung open and a short man wearing glasses
walked in with a woman wearing a white lab coat. “Mr. Fitzgerald?” The woman in the lab coat asked
sitting behind the desk. She powered on the computer and looked at me.
“Yeah, that’s me.” I shook her hand then waited with a lead stomach for the news I knew was
coming.
“Your…” She glanced at the file on the computer screen then back at me. “Ex-wife Isabelle
Fitzgerald died from a methamphetamine overdose. I’m so sorry. She was a good nurse when she worked
here.” She doled out the appropriate level of sympathy before moving on and giving North and me the
more grizzly details of how much meth Izzy must have consumed and the time they suspected she died.
 The caseworker offered us grief counseling and kind words of understanding before looking into
Izzy’s file and reading over it. “You’re her father, correct?”
“Yes, sir.” I handed him my driver’s license and watched him check it over. North pushed out a puff
of breath through her nostrils.
“Very good. Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald. North will be in your custody. Did you and Mrs. Fitzgerald
have any custody arrangements?”
“No,” I fought the urge to look at North. I felt tension mounting in the room and I didn’t know how
much longer it would hold until it popped pushing family information and dark secrets out.
The hospital let us go after I signed a few documents and retrieved Izzy’s bag of belongings. There
wasn’t much inside, only her soiled bra and panties and a hair tie she had around her wrist. I looked over
and over for the wedding band I’d given her.
That was back when I saw joy in her eyes and love in her smile. Back when North was a kid and she
looked at me like I hung the moon instead of like I broke her heart.
“She pawned the ring,” North told me, clicking her seatbelt in place. I shut the bag and tossed it in
the backseat. Even her underwear held traces of chemical stench. I hated the memories it forced to play
in my head.
Memories of Izzy stealing from her patients at the hospital, taking their pills and swallowing them
down like candy. Memories of her hiding the deepening addiction growing in her bones. Memories of her
lying to North and me over and over. Leaving us home for days on end while she went on a binge.
“When did that happen?” I tried to keep my voice steady but the weight of losing Izzy was finally
barreling down on me fast and hard.
“Yesterday. I noticed it was gone and she had a pale strip of skin where it used to be. It’s also when
she came home with more meth than she’s had in a while.” North turned her head quickly but I saw the
sad sparkle of tears in her denim eyes. I stared at the side of her face and mapped out the smattering of
freckles dotting her cheek and jaw, trailing down her willowy neck.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve…”
“You would’ve what, Dad? Drove down from your rich ski town to rescue us? To save Mom’s ring?”
She laughed but there was no joy behind it.
I didn’t have anything else to say. I didn’t feel like arguing with North. She was hurting and I…well,
I didn’t know how I felt.
I drove her back to Izzy’s apartment and North hopped out, speeding into the building. I was right
on her heels because, after the hospital I didn’t trust her not to run away.
When I stepped over the threshold, the infamous chemical smell of meth assaulted me. My nostrils
flared and my muscles tightened. While North grabbed clothes and belongings, I walked into the kitchen
and saw a pack of cupcakes on the counter beside a loaf of bread and an unopened bottle of mustard. My
heart stuttered then slipped further down in my chest when I noticed a single cupcake with one bite
missing.
North appeared at the kitchen doorway with a bag slung across her body and a few more at her
feet. “I’m ready,” she said, training her eyes on her shoes.
“I’m sorry this all happened on your birthday, Shortcake.”
“Don’t be. I don’t celebrate it for this reason. I know it’ll always end up being about her. She made
sure that would be true for the rest of my life.” She dragged her stare up my body starting at my boots.
She lingered on my eyes for a few moments before sweeping over my lips then down to my neck. Her gaze
dispersed shortly afterwards but I’d be lying if I said her intense focus didn’t give me pause.
Was last year’s birthday running through her mind like it was mine?
“We can stop somewhere and have dinner before we get to Telluride. Everything there is closed
right now.” I looked at my wristwatch and remembered I told Elijah I’d update him when I could.
“We don’t have to stop. Today isn’t special.” She grabbed her bags and headed out the front door. I
didn’t miss the subtle rumbling of her stomach as she passed me.
We were stopping to get food.
After forty-five minutes on the road, I pulled over to a diner. It reminded me of the place I used to
take North when Izzy would go on a binge and I wanted to see a smile on my girl’s freckled face. She
looked at me, her features drawn into a question mark.
“Why are we here?”
 “You’re hungry. Your stomach has been singing background for about ten songs now.” I killed the
engine and hopped out. North let her blue-gray eyes flit around my face for a few seconds when I opened
the door for her.
“Thanks. I am hungry.” When she walked ahead of me, I honed in on the fraying seams of her black
coat. She needed me and I let my guilt mask it.
I scrubbed at my beard and caught up to her so I could open the door. There were no customers
tucked away in the green vinyl booths and only two people sitting at the bar watching the news. We were
in for another snowstorm promising four feet of snow. It would be worse in the mountains.
North slid in a booth and pulled the ratty brown hat off. Wild threads of silky crimson hovered
around her head in a crown of static electricity. She slicked her hands down over her untamed hair and
huffed at its disobedience.
“Let me buy you a slice of pie, North.”
“No thanks. Food is fine. Do they have burgers?” She cracked open a menu and scanned the options.
“You sure? I know it’s a shitty birthday but let me give you one small bright spot.”
“There is no bright spot. Mom is dead and I can’t live on my own,” she sniffed.
“I’m here.” I hoped to offer her some sort of consolation.
“You don’t want to be here though.” Her tone was icy and sharp but at least she was talking to me.
That was a start.
…
 CHAPTER 3

Once my double bacon burger and fries were gone, I didn’t have anything to concentrate on so my
eyes went straight to Dad. I hated calling him that when I should’ve been calling him Kane.
He hadn’t been my father since last year. I stopped thinking of him that way after my last birthday.
“Here’s your cherry milkshake, birthday girl.” The server with bleached-blonde hair and far too
much cleavage showing, winked at me. I wanted to refuse the dessert but when she sat it down in front of
me, my stomach spoke for both of us.
“Thank you.” I stared at the huge glass piled high with whipped cream, two cherries on top, and red
syrup zig-zagging across the surface.
The server looked at Dad with a smile that bared butter-yellow teeth and batted her lashes at him.
“You’re such a good daddy,” she purred.
“Yeah, thanks. Now is not the time.” His gruff voice put distance between him and the server. It also
wiped that smile off her face. Good.
I drank my cherry milkshake and peeked at Dad through lowered lashes. His hair was longer than it
was the last time I saw him. It hung just past his ears in loose mahogany waves with strands of russet
woven in. His beard had a few more silver hairs than I remembered but his eyes were still golden-green
and his hands were still paint-smudged.
“You didn’t have to get me this,” I gestured to the half-consumed milkshake then went back to
devouring it. I didn’t want any handouts and I damn sure didn’t want to live with Dad but what choices did
I have? I could get through a year with him.
He probably never gave what happened on my sixteenth birthday a second thought. Maybe I was
creating a mountain from a molehill.
“It’s your birthday, Shortcake. You deserve something you didn’t have to buy for yourself. Even if it’s
a milkshake.” He reached across the table and linked his pinky with mine.
Hearing him call me Shortcake made me tingle with thoughts of better times. I’d do anything to go
back in time to when Mom wasn’t on drugs. Thinking about those days made me sick with emotions. I
wasn’t ready to unpack my mother’s death. It was far too raw.
“Thanks, Dad.” I squeezed his pinky with mine then finished off the milkshake.
When we were done dancing around awkward silence and occasional small talk, he paid for our food
and we finished the hour-long drive to Telluride.
I must have dozed off for a while because the scenery was totally different when I opened my eyes.
The mountains were only feet away from me. Their craggy tops drew white lines along the black sky.
Snow drifted down to the ground covering the roads as we drove.
This place seemed worlds away from Delta. It was breathtaking and I was only looking at it under
the moonlight. Tiny shops decorated the main street in a colorful array of greens, yellows, and reds.
“That’s my art gallery right there,” Dad pointed out. He couldn’t hide the smile that burned in the
corners of his lips. It sprinkled light in his eyes that I was happy to see, even if I didn’t want to move in
with him.
“Fitzgerald’s Fine Art?” I said, reading the sign.
“Yeah, if you want a job there I can…”
“No thanks. I’ll find a job on my own.”
Dad pressed his lips into a tight line and nodded, turning down a side street then into a driveway.
He killed the engine and grabbed my bags without a word. I felt heavy inside after snapping at him. It was
all I’d done the entire evening.
“Welcome to Casa de Fitzgerald,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I have a guest room upstairs. I’ll put
your things there. You’re welcome to anything here, North. I want this to feel like home for you.” His
smile was sad. It gravitated toward the sadness inside me. The sadness I didn’t want to acknowledge.
He carried my bags upstairs while I looked around the small, cozy house. It smelled like him. Warm
and familiar. There was no hint of meth. No chemicals or ammonia smell choking me.
I brought my fingers to my teeth and nibbled on my nails. The fridge had real food in it. Cheese,
milk, eggs, berries, and bowls of leftovers made me almost dizzy with possibility. I hadn’t seen a full fridge
in at least a year. I was full from my meal at the diner but I still wanted to grab food to take in my room.
 What if Dad changed his mind and kicked me out?
What if my sixteenth birthday happened all over again and I ran away?
I’d need food.
I looked over my shoulder and when I didn’t see Dad, I grabbed a paper towel from the counter and
loaded it up with cold green grapes and strawberries. I rummaged through the drawers in the refrigerator
and found yogurt and cheese sticks. I stuffed a couple of sticks in my pockets then walked upstairs.
“In here, Shortcake.” I followed the gruff voice into a small room with the softest looking bed I’d
ever seen in the middle of the floor. My muscles and bones sighed with relief just looking at it. “It’s all
yours. Bathroom is right through here. TV has Netflix and Hulu and whatever else you wanna watch.” Dad
stood planted at the doorway, swallowing the entire frame with his wide shoulders and broad chest.
He looked like a mountain man but with a shiny lacquer coating him, making him look expensive.
Like he would be at home between the pages of Vogue for his thrown together look that screamed
effortlessly rugged. I allowed myself to look him over under the guise of seeing how he’d changed in the
past year.
“Okay, thanks.” I took my coat off and sat down before he could probe and ask me questions about
why my clothes were sagging on my bony body. “You can go now.” I cleared my throat, wrapping my arms
around myself.
“North, what is going on? Can you talk to me? I know we haven’t been the closest over the last year
but I’m here for you. You are not going through this alone. I loved Izzy too.” His words fanned flames of
anger inside me.
I stood and narrowed my eyes at him. “You loved her so much you left me? I mean…her. You left
her.” I blinked a few times and steadied my thoughts. I hated that my brain worked so fast it betrayed my
mouth and spewed the truth.
The truth was, it hurt when he left. He was my best friend and the only person who understood me.
Dad tensed then hung his head low like he refused to fight against my blows. “North, I didn’t leave
you. I left Izzy. Why wouldn’t you come with me?” His words shed tears where his eyes couldn’t. It
plucked at my already frayed threads.
“Who would have taken care of Mom?” My lips quivered beneath the onslaught of grief settling in
my soul. Tears crashed through my defenses hurling themselves to sudden death down my cheeks. “She
needed someone. So I stayed.” I said it with a shrug that belied my true emotions.
“Izzy needed someone but it wasn’t you. You should have never taken on her demons. I should’ve
made you come with me.” He said it more to himself than to me. He slid a hand through his hair and
shook his head. “You weren’t responsible for your mother.”
“I had to be. She would have died without me.” The tears came faster and hotter. Dad reached out
sliding his thumb along my jawline and my faithless heart bled for him. I craved the warmth and kindness
he exuded.
I missed him.
“North, she died with you right there. She died despite you working and going to school online. She
died while you paid the rent, cleaned up after her and put your entire life on hold. You only stood in the
way of the inevitable.” I hated his words. They stung in a place I couldn’t reach.
“She needed me more. I should have cut my hours.”
“You could’ve spent your entire day with her. Unless she wanted to change, this would have been
the outcome. It was not your fault.” My brain didn’t want to believe him even though I knew he was right.
It hurt to know I didn’t matter enough for Mom to stop.
Most parents sacrifice any and everything for their kids. Not my mom. She cared more about drugs
than she could’ve ever cared about me. The realization was a jagged, acrid pill.
“Then why does it feel like it is?” My chin buckled and I knew my knees were next if I didn’t brace
myself against Dad for a hug. He welcomed me into his long arms. They were hard and chiseled and held
together my shattered pieces. I pressed my tear-soaked face against his chest and breathed in his familiar
scent. He smelled clean and safe like fresh soap and laundry detergent.
“Because you have such a big heart and she was your mother. You would have done anything to save
her. You couldn’t save her from herself though.” He kissed the top of my head and slid his warm hand up
and down my back. I snatched away from his hypnotizing embrace when I realized he could feel my spine
and my bones were probably poking him.
 “Shortcake,” Dad looked down at my hands and then up at me with sadness weaved in between the
golden flecks in his eyes. “You haven’t been eating.” I curled my fingers around the napkin full of grapes
and berries in my hand and swallowed back tacky hot embarrassment. I hadn’t been in Dad’s house for
even an hour and I was hoarding food like I’d never see it again.
My cheeks burned. I knew they were bright pink exclamation points alerting him to my shame. I sat
the stolen snacks on the bed and tried to reason with him.
“I just paid the rent. I could only get food with tips and…” My words were nonsense excuses and
they made me cry even harder hearing how utterly pathetic I sounded.
Dad pushed a chunk of disobedient red hair behind my ear then tugged on it gently. “I get it. But
here, with me, you’re not superwoman. Here, you’re North Fitzgerald. You’re Shortcake. You don’t have to
support anyone.” He’d never know it but his words lifted a heavy cement block from my shoulders. My
spine curled forward and I let my head drop into my hands while I sobbed.
The sting of losing Mom finally landed.
“She’s really gone,” I sniffled.
“She’s gone but she’s not suffering anymore, Shortcake. I don’t claim to know what happens to us
after we leave this earth but I do know wherever Izzy is right now she’s free.” Dad hung his arm around
my shoulders and it felt like a suit of armor. Like when I was tucked against his side nothing bad would
ever happen to me.
Even soaked to the bone with mourning and grief, his touch lit me up inside. It showed me that
eventually, I’d crawl out of the cold, lonely hole I’d been living in.
Why the hell didn’t I leave with him when he divorced Mom?
When my tears quieted, Dad tipped my chin up so that I was locked into his golden-green eyes. “Get
ready for bed and I’ll make sure your TV is signed into all the streaming accounts. Then we can hang out
for a little while. Just you and me.” It sounded like the best fucking idea I’d heard in a long time. I nodded,
feeling my guard slip further into oblivion.
When he left the room, I allowed my eyes to map out his muscled back and the way it flexed beneath
his perfectly taut shirt. He didn’t look a day over thirty-five which was amazing since he was forty years
old. I shut the door behind him quickly and snapped my eyes shut pushing images out of my head. Images
meant for someone else’s brain.
Someone who wasn’t me.
Dad knocked on my closed bedroom door as I pulled my Strawberry Shortcake sweatshirt over my
head. Ironically, it was the only thing warm and comfy I found to sleep in when I haphazardly packed at
the apartment. I opened the door and tried to smile at him. It felt weak and tired though. His smile
matched mine. We were both too damn tired to keep up facades.
When he flicked on the light, I winced, shielding my eyes. His eyes narrowed and he tipped his head
to the side. “You have a migraine, don’t you?” He remembered how horrible my migraines were and how
sensitive to light I was when they came on suddenly. I nodded and sat on the bed. “We can skip TV
tonight, North.” His fingers threaded through the ends of my hair and a sympathetic smile pushed his lips
up.
“You can stay,” I offered in a hushed voice.
“You sure?” He quizzed. He had no idea how much I didn’t want to be alone. My frayed mind would
split even more. Threads of guilt and what-ifs would spiral out of control until they choked me to death in
the form of tears and sorrow.
I needed Dad to keep the demons at bay.
Mom may have let go of hers when she died but the ones she created in me were ravenous. They’d
rip me limb from limb if I fell asleep alone.
“Just until I fall asleep,” I said, urging the knot in my throat to dissolve. I hated asking anyone for
anything. Especially a plea from my heart. I could pay back material things. There was no way I could
ever repay Dad for lying beside me filling in the crater that seemed deepest in the dark.
He nodded and climbed in bed.
I slid in beside him.
Silence never seemed so loud. It was a cacophony of absolutely nothing. The sound bunched up
inside my ears and crowded around me until I was swallowed.
“You did good by Izzy, North. You did above and beyond what a daughter should.” His words
caressed me. I was in pain but I was grateful for his quiet voice assuaging the guilt determined to make a
meal out of me.
His body being next to mine, his arm tossed around me while I pressed my ear to his chest dulled
the demons long enough for me to fall asleep.
…
 CHAPTER 4

I held North’s thin body against me until her breathing became rhythmic. I should’ve left the room
after that but I couldn’t stop holding her. I couldn’t stop giving her the love she cried out for. The love I
should’ve given her when I divorced her mother last year.
I’d wanted her to come to Telluride with me when I got the offer to take over the art gallery in town
but she refused. She claimed she wanted to stay with Izzy and take care of her and help her get better. I
couldn’t help wondering somewhere in the selfish parts of my brain if she refused to come with me
because of what happened on her birthday. It’s why I never pressed the issue when I moved out.
I should have pressed the issue.
North was stuck in hell trying to assume responsibilities that were never meant for her. I found out
from Izzy that North left school to get her diploma online and took a job at a hole in the wall steakhouse to
cover bills. That was when things started going downhill. Izzy quit her job when she didn’t have the
burden of taking care of North. I offered monthly checks for rent and food and whatever else North
needed but she shut it down telling me Izzy would get the money and use it for drugs. It was pointless
trying to keep money in a house with an addict.
I called North so many times and begged her to come to Telluride that she blocked my number.
Texts went unanswered and I had no luck getting her to listen to my voicemails. I only heard from her if
Izzy OD’ed.
I failed her over the past year. I should’ve stepped in and protected her. Now she was broken and
her eyes were void of light. I missed the light in those denim blue eyes. I’d do anything to get it back.
In the stillness of the dark bedroom, I was determined to make her happy again. To show her life
didn’t have to be jagged and toxic. To show her she could trust again.
I held her a little closer when she whimpered in her sleep. My hand found her flat stomach and even
through the thick fabric of her sweatshirt I felt her knobby bones jutting out. I ignored the warning flags
flapping bright red against my gray mindscape and slipped beneath her sweatshirt.
I examined each of her ribs and slid down to her hipbones. An ache manifested deep inside of me.
North needed so much. She needed all the things Izzy never gave her and all the things I should have. I
moved my hand from beneath her shirt and slipped out of bed undetected.
I crashed on my bed and slid my hands down my face. I needed to text Elijah and let him know what
was going on.
Elijah Moore had been my boy for years. He moved to Telluride a couple of years ago and worked in
the gallery that was there before Fitzgerald’s Fine Art. He was the reason the owner handed it over to me.
Elijah always had my best interest at heart.
My eyes blurred when I looked at my phone. Elijah’s name was a fuzzy haze of letters. I stifled a
yawn and decided to call him instead.
“How’s Izzy?” He asked.
“She’s gone.” My throat tightened with the realization that would be hammered into me repeatedly
over the next few weeks while I sorted everything out.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, bro.” I felt the sincerity in his voice and I appreciated it. “And North?”
“She’s with me now. I’m pretty sure she hates me but I have an entire year to make it up to her.”
“You can’t blame the kid, Kane. She suffered after you and Izzy divorced.” He was right. Guilt
gnawed at me until I felt raw.
“I wanted her to come with me when I left,” I repeated it again like my desire would somehow wash
away the blind eye I turned.
“I know you did. You couldn’t have forced her. She was sixteen.”
She was sixteen.
The words vibrated through my skull forcing my eyes shut.
“I could have done something though. I was paralyzed if I’m being honest.”
“Kristina,” Elijah sighed knowingly. Hearing my twin’s name twisted something deep in my gut.
“Kane, I told you Izzy isn’t Kristina.”
“I know that. I just wanted to let you know that North is with me and Izzy’s gone…”
“Thanks for calling me. I know this isn’t easy for you. We’ll talk in the morning. You opening the
gallery?”
“Yeah. I need something to occupy my mind. I’ll see you in the morning.” I ended the call and got
ready for bed.
North, Izzy, and Kristina held my mind hostage for hours. Kristina stood out the most though. Seeing
her face and hearing her laughter on a loop in my mind was torture.
I’d never see my sister’s face again. Never hug her or hear her call me an asshole for playing
practical jokes on her. Hell, I lost those things long before she overdosed. The Kristina I knew was dead
after addiction set in.
I distanced myself from her because watching her deteriorate was too hard. It was like looking into
a mirror and not being able to help your reflection. I couldn’t save her no matter how much I tried.
Walking away was the only option left.
Kristina and Izzy’s faces melted together in my mind. I walked away from Izzy too. I did what I had
to do to protect my heart but I failed North in the process. I had no idea how bad things had gotten for
her.
My only hope was earning North’s forgiveness and trust back.
…
“Dad, what time do the buses run around here? I checked online and I can’t find a schedule. I keep
seeing information on the gondola.” North peered at me over a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon,
and fruit. The girl wasn’t shy about her appetite but she was still guarded. I felt it pouring off her in
currents. Working my way back into her life wasn’t going to be a straight shot but I refused to give up.
“If you’re traveling around town, the Galloping Goose will take you where you need to go but if you
want to go to the next town over you’ll have to take the gondola. Telluride is pretty remote for an
American city.” I paused and rubbed the back of my neck. “I can take you where you need to go,
Shortcake.”
She glanced at me with big blue eyes, casting a spell that fixed me to my spot.
Her mane of crimson hair stretched down her spine to her lower back. She had it pulled back
allowing me to trace the blanket of soft freckles on her face. The Strawberry Shortcake sweatshirt she
wore slipped off her dainty shoulder a bit, showing me hints of copper freckles splashed over her pale
skin.
I blinked away the haze North cast on me and looked to her for an answer. “You need me to take you
around?”
“No thanks. I’ll find my way around.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and went back to eating
breakfast.
“Are you gonna let me help you at all?” I asked, resting my elbows on the countertop.
“Not if I can help it.” She placed the empty plate in the sink then turned to look at me. The
vulnerability she showed last night was now trapped behind a wall of ice. I felt helpless.
“Come on, North let me do something for you.”
“I’ve been doing it myself for the past year and so far so good.” The chill from her words slapped me
in the face serving as a reminder of how much work I had to do. I wouldn’t make much headway by trying
to force a better relationship so I swallowed back my words.
“Okay then.” I drew in a breath and gave her all the information she needed to get around town and
out of town. If I stayed there with her any longer, I’d try to talk her into coming to the gallery with me. I
knew better. North hated being controlled.
Even when she was a kid, she loathed naptime and hated when Izzy laid out outfits for her. She
moved to her own tune in her own time.
“I’m headed to the gallery for the day. Let me know if you need anything. Might help if you
unblocked my number so I can call you if I need to.” She rolled her eyes before unblocking me on her
contact list solidifying the one thing I knew was true for the past year.
She intentionally ignored me.
…
“You made any arrangements for Izzy yet?” Elijah asked when I walked in.
“Nah. I’m going to talk to North about it when she gets home. The hospital needs to know where to
send her body.” I pulled out my sketchbook and looked at the plans for the Valentine’s Day display we’d
been planning. I wanted to put something in the front window to inspire tourists to come in and get a one
of a kind piece of art to commemorate their trip to Telluride. I also wanted to give the locals something
beautiful to look at while they roamed the snowy streets.
Telluride saw more tourists than locals though. Our little town was famous for skiing off the grid and
away from everyone else. It was one of those places you only heard of by mouth and could only afford if
you were making six-figures or more.
“Where is North? I was halfway expecting her to tag along behind you today.” Elijah looked around
me as if North would pop out of a cabinet or something.
“North is doing what she does best. She went off exploring. I offered to take her around because
there isn’t a chain store for miles but she wants to do everything on her own.” I tucked a rogue piece of
hair behind my ear and stared off thinking about North riding around the small city on the bus. She’d be
done in an hour if she stayed in town.
“You’re not worried about her making a break for it?” Elijah quizzed.
“I am but I have to trust her. With Izzy gone, North and I have to build a brand new relationship.
She’s not the kid I remember even from a year ago.” I pictured her sweeping ginger lashes and
thundercloud eyes. They held so many unspoken words. So many unexplored emotions.
I shook North from my head long enough to open up the gallery and sell several pieces of art with
pretty hefty price tags. Moving to a small mountain town big on tourism was the best thing that happened
to my art. I was able to reach customers and clients all over the world with just one shop.
I stopped wrapping a painting up for a customer when the front door pushed open. A blast of cold
air came with a slender blonde woman with a mega-watt smile. She looked like she belonged in front of a
TV screen somewhere.
“Welcome to Fitzgerald’s. I’m Kane, can I help you find anything?” I flashed her a polite smile and
she tossed one right back.
“Hello, Kane. I wanted to come in and look around. The display in the window is gorgeous. Do you
know the artists who created these paintings?”
“That would be me,” I extended a hand to her and she blinked, astonished.
“You did all this?” She looked around the gallery, turning in a complete circle.
“I sure did.” The gallery was small and cozy but I hung my art from every wall and blank space. “You
interested in a piece? I can tell you all about it.”
“I’m more interested in picking your brain. I’ve always been intrigued by artists but especially
painters. My dad painted and sold some stuff but I never had the talent. Seeing great art always makes
me think of him.” She paused then held her finger up. “Would you mind if I just looked at your work for a
while?”
“Go right ahead, ma’am.”
“Please, call me Melanie. Let me guess…you’re Kane Fitzgerald?”
“The one and only. You take a look around and let me know if anything catches your eye or you have
any questions.” I watched Melanie for a few seconds while she admired my pieces, then I went back to
wrapping the five by eight panting.
“I think the blonde is throwing ass at you, Kane.” Elijah kept his voice low but he didn’t do anything
to hide the smirk on his face.
“Or she just wants to look around because art reminds her of her dad. You heard the entire story,
Elijah.”
“I heard her throwing ass.”
“You know this gallery isn’t big enough for you to talk shit without her hearing.” I cleared my throat
and packaged the painting with care.
“I’m pointing out the obvious. Don’t act like you didn’t notice.” He stopped giving me a hard time
when another customer walked in. Melanie’s bright gray eyes darted across the floor to Elijah, then back
to me. She swayed her hips over to the counter and leaned over a little so only I could hear.
“Hey, why don’t you let me buy you lunch today? I’m new to Telluride and I’d love a friend. Then we
could talk about your beautiful art.” She slid her unashamed gaze over my face then down my neck to my
body. A chuckle slid from my lips.
Before I could answer her, I saw a shock of red hair and a pair of denim eyes walk into the gallery.
The energy in the air crackled to life. North and I locked eyes and I forgot Melanie was standing there.
“North, hey.” I paused and offered Melanie an apologetic smile. “Excuse me for a moment.” I moved
from behind the counter I felt the heat of steel-gray eyes on my back.
“So there’s nothing in this fucking town. No Target, no Walmart…nothing.”
“I tried to tell you earlier but you were hell-bent on going out by yourself.” She cocked a scarlet
brow up at me and I smirked a little. “You need a ride to the store?”
“Yes.” She folded her arms and tilted her red-tipped nose in the air.
“Give me a second.” I told Elijah to take over the gallery for the rest of the day then I looked at
Melanie who was still waiting on an answer from me about lunch. “Can we do a rain check? I have to take
my daughter somewhere. Maybe we can grab coffee tomorrow.” I shrugged on my jacket and grabbed my
keys and phone.
Melanie looked at Elijah for a moment like she wasn’t above shooting him an invitation to lunch
since I didn’t accept. “Oh, sure. That would be wonderful. Coffee tomorrow.” She walked past North and
offered a smile that was much tighter than the one she flashed my way. North barely gave her a glance in
return.
“Come on, Shortcake, let’s hit the road.” I guided her outside with my hand on the small of her back
and caught the slightest glimpse of a smile quirking up the corners of her pink lips.
It was a start in the right direction.
…
 CHAPTER 5

The silence between Dad and me couldn’t swell anymore. If it did, it would pry the roof from his
truck and glop onto the streets turning all the fluffy white snow to puddles.
I found myself stealing glances at him as he drove. I wanted to break the tension but every time I
thought about it, I felt the sting of his absence over the past year. So instead of talking, I stared at his
angled jaw. It was so perfect I swore God used a mathematical equation to create it.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed how strikingly handsome my father was. The blonde in his gallery
noticed too. She sized me up like we were peers vying for the same dick. It ruffled my feathers.
During one of my creepy staring sessions, Dad turned his gemstone eyes on me. “We should talk
about arrangements for your mother.” His Adam’s apple wobbled in his throat. I traced the veins beneath
his skin then lowered my stare and found the same veins running along his muscled forearms. I wanted to
push the sleeves of his leather jacket up and slide my fingers over them, skating through the tufts of
chocolate hair.
I snapped those thoughts shut and shoved them into a box that I padlocked and kicked in the back
of my mind.
Mom.
He wanted to talk about Mom.
“Like what?” I said, shoving my frozen hands in my pockets. He had the heat on in the truck but it
did nothing to slice through the cold. “A funeral?” I barked out a harsh laugh at the thought of it. “You
were the only family we had. My grandparents are dead, I’m an only child, and…” My voice weakened as I
thought about the one person I’d rather not speak of. Even the thought of him had my stomach roiling like
I might vomit and lose the delicious breakfast from this morning.
Dad’s grip tightened around the steering wheel, letting me know he could read my mind without me
saying a word. He knew my apprehension was because of my biological father. He was a horrible human
being who didn’t deserve to be mentioned.
Even though Dad divorced Mom and moved an hour away, he was still a better person than my
sperm donor could ever hope to be. I crossed my arms over my body and looked out of the window.
Flashes of white moved alongside us. Rocky mountaintops splashed against the pinkish-blue scape of the
sky.
“Fuck him,” Dad spat angrily. “Your biological dad is not a factor.”
Thoughts of my sperm donor were bitter sliding down my throat. I’d only seen the man twice in my
life and I hated him. It was such a red-hot hate that my body began to quake with anger. He was an addict
too. Only he decided to leave Mom the minute she found out she was having me. He left and never came
back. I was less than nothing to him. I pressed my knees together and tried to purge the memories from
my mind.
“We need to do something for Izzy. Just us,” Dad’s voice was softer pulling me back from the abyss I
was tempted to dive headfirst into.
“Why? She never did anything for me.” I choked down the burning knot of pain and grief. It forced
disobedient tears down my cheeks. I wiped them away with frustration pulling the muscles in my hands
taut.
“She was a good mother until she let addiction take over.”
“Oh, and when was that, Dad? When did you notice it? Because I didn’t know how real shit was until
Mom quit her job and left me to take care of everything. I wish like hell you would’ve pointed out the signs
if you saw them.” Resentment, bitterness, and anger warred inside me. They barged through my ribs,
permeated my lungs and stole the breath right from me.
“I did!” I never expected for his deep timber to thunder the way it did. I drew my shoulders around
my ears and pressed my back flat against the heated seat. Dad pulled into a Target parking lot and let his
head drop. Mahogany hair fell like a curtain across his profile.
My fingers ached to push the hair away. I wanted to see him. I wanted to see his pain because it
spoke a language only the pain in me could hear. I may have been mad at him for leaving me but seeing
him in agony made me realize we weren’t so different.
We were both dealing with conflict and grief. We both lived in a space where love and hate for Mom
echoed in the air. I wanted to see the picture his anguish painted across those handsome features.
I moved my timid hand toward him and slid my thin fingers through his thick and silky strands.
“North, I am so sorry I failed you.” His words echoed the pain on his face and mirrored the ache in my
heart he caused when he walked out. “I knew when Izzy sold my paints and supplies that she wasn’t the
woman I used to love.” His green eyes blared the saddest song. “I tried to get you to come with me.”
We were getting ready to ride around the same circle we’d been riding around since I got to
Telluride last night. If I didn’t tell him the truth, we’d always go around in circles. He was the only person
I had in the entire world. I didn’t want to lose him too.
My heart thundered against my chest while my mouth turned to sand. “I couldn’t come with you,” I
said.
“I know. You didn’t want to leave Izzy.” I heard the threads of contempt in his voice and they stung.
“I couldn’t stay with you after what happened on my birthday. I thought you hated me. I thought you
were disgusted and only asked me to come out of obligation. I didn’t think you really wanted me with
you.” My lips quivered as tears escaped down my face.
Dad’s eyebrows pulled together to a point on his forehead. His jaw ticked a few times as he mulled
over his thoughts and words. I couldn’t help squirming in my seat and toying with the seatbelt to disperse
the nervous energy bolting through me.
“North, we need to talk about that. I know it’s heavy on both of our minds and ever since it
happened we’ve been avoiding each other. I never wanted that.” My body hummed when his paint-
speckled hand slid across my skin. I wasn’t cold anymore. My body temperature climbed higher and
higher.
I couldn’t look at him without thinking about how stupid I was that night.
It was my sixteenth birthday and Mom promised she’d spend time with me. She said it would be a
mother/daughter day. She was going to pick me up early from school then we were going to hang out at
the movies and get something to eat. I was beside myself with excitement.
I must have talked Dad’s ear off about it the entire night before my birthday. I tried to sleep but you
know how anticipation eats away at your belly until all you can do is watch the sun to rise in the sky? Well,
that’s what happened.
I was so exhausted I barely made it through the school day. Hours ticked on and my name was never
called over the loudspeaker.
By the last period, disappointment settled in, weighing my chest down and making every step I took
heavy. She did it again. She managed to get my hopes up only to drop them so they shattered.
I held on to a sliver of hope reserved for the instance where Mom picked me up after school instead
of picking me up early. I craned my neck looking into the parking lot for her green Honda as I made my
way outside.
Nothing.
I waited until the dense crowd of high school students turned into a barren area void of everyone.
When an administrator asked me if I needed to call my parents, I shook my head and started walking
home.
She wasn’t coming.
I don’t know why I thought she would. I knew better than that. I never wanted to admit Mom would
choose meth over me but I had no choice but to face the facts when she left me stranded on my birthday.
A sixteenth birthday should be celebrated. It should be a time where a girl moves closer to
womanhood and understanding the world a little more. It should have been all those things for me but it
wasn’t.
My sixteenth birthday was spent slipping into a murky and dark depression.
On the way home, I passed a bar where most of the local junkies and alcoholics hung out and
something caught my eye. It was a streak of bright green. The same bright green of my mother’s Honda. I
slowed in my stride, turning my head to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
I wasn’t.
It was her car. I even saw the first three letters of her license plate.
She was at the bar on my sixteenth birthday. The birthday she promised to spend with me. The
birthday that was supposed to be special.
The hot sting of tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I moved faster toward home. The moment I
got inside, Dad looked up from his painting and his expression warped into concern. I didn’t wait for him
to stand from the stool. I barreled into him, barely able to control my wild emotions.
“Hey, hey, Shortcake…” His nickname for me melted through the pain and resentment, living in my
heart. I buried my slick face against his warm neck.
God, he smelled so good and fresh. Soap still clung to his olive skin even hours after he got out of
the shower. Shampoo threaded through his thick deep brown hair.
He was my security blanket. His strong arms wrapped around my middle holding still all the pieces
of freefalling emotions. “Hey, are you gonna tell me what’s wrong? I can’t help if I don’t know what’s
wrong.”
Help.
Dad always tried to help me. He was always there to catch me when nobody else was. He wasn’t my
real father but I couldn’t call him anything else but Dad. That’s what he’d been but in this space, at this
moment, he felt like more. He felt like everything I needed and everything Mom didn’t deserve.
I looked up long enough to catch his golden-green eyes. They were full of so much love. I loved him
too. I loved him in a way I shouldn’t have. In a way that tipped my belly on its side and set fire to my
bones.
“Mom was supposed to get me early from school,” I finally said when my tears subsided. Dad
groaned and leaned his head back, remembering the way I bubbled over with excitement.
“She did it again, didn’t she?” He grumbled. “She fucking disappointed you and left me to…” He
pushed out a long breath and shook his head. Mahogany waves framed his handsome, chiseled face. “I’m
so sorry, North. You should be happy on your birthday. You’re a great kid.” The word stung like an arrow
through my raw wounds. I didn’t want to be a kid in his eyes. “I’ll make it up to you. I swear.” His thumbs
wiped away the salty drops of disappointment from my cheeks and I couldn’t help losing my breath.
I shut my eyes and absorbed the feel of him. Something crackled between us. He felt it too because
when I opened my eyes, he was staring right at me. I leaned into his warmth and touched the side of his
face, feeling his silky beard under my fingertips.
“North…” His voice was raw. I’d never heard him sound like that. I leaned in more, erasing the
inches between us until my lips bumped awkwardly against his. It was odd at first. I’d only kissed a
handful of boys but Dad was all man.
Kane Fitzgerald was all man.
He wasn’t my father. Especially not with me on his lap, throbbing and buzzing like a live wire.
When his hands found my hips, I pushed forward, deepening the kiss and gripping his shirt in my
fists. I didn’t know if he was touching me with the intent of pushing me away or pulling me closer. Either
way, it emboldened me.
I slipped my tongue past his lips and he allowed me. He didn’t shove me off or jerk his head away.
After a few slow seconds of my tongue exploring his mouth, he sucked on my bottom lip and his eyes fell
shut. I tossed a leg over his lap so that I was straddling him.
That kiss was the sweetest thing that ever splashed across my tongue. Heat climbed up my spine
draping itself around the back of my neck prickling my skin and making something deep inside my gut stir
and flop.
I wanted this.
I wanted this more than I wanted my mother to spend time with me on my birthday. At least Dad—
Kane—cared. Why the hell would I want to spend my special day with a woman who chose drugs and
strangers over her own daughter?
My heart fluttered in my chest when I felt Kane’s hard dick pressing against me.
Oh…god.
I rocked back and forth on top of his rigid thickness. I was thirsty and desperate to release whatever
was building inside of me. A soft moan escaped me and Kane released a deep noise in his chest that sent
shivers racing down my spine.
I rocked faster and harder, my motions became more rhythmic until the bubble inside me
threatened to pop. I wanted it to pop. I needed it to.
“North, we can’t. You’re too young.” His words snatched Kane away replacing him with Dad again
but the bubble had already burst. I sat on his lap trembling. A warm cascade of pleasure and shame mixed
together in my chest. “I’m your married to your mom.” He sounded choked and I hated myself for it.
 I stumbled off his lap and ran to my room, slamming the door behind me.
We never spoke about it. I always assumed he hated me for stirring confusion inside him. I thought
he was enraged and disgusted.
Sitting in his truck brought back every detail about that night. All the feelings and emotions I’d
shoved away came rushing to the surface like a soda bubbling over from being shaken up. “I thought you
hated me,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. I rolled my lips between my teeth and stared at the cinnamon
freckles dusting the backs of my hands.
“Hated you?” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “North, I could never hate you.” I watched his throat
tighten then relax when he looked at me. I saw his mask slip for a moment and something smoldered
behind his gemstone eyes. It was unbridled and white-hot but it was gone in the next moment. I wanted to
chase it like a butterfly through a grassy field.
“You were confused and you were so young. I shouldn’t have let you…I shouldn’t have encouraged
that. I shouldn’t have kissed you back but…” His words fell to scraps between us but my ears burned like
the sun. They zeroed in on one three-letter word that turned me to jelly inside.
But…
But what?
How the fuck could he think I was confused with the fire that blazed between us? I wasn’t confused.
I wanted to kiss him. I needed it.
“You couldn’t have stopped me from kissing you, Dad.” Now that title felt wrong on my lips. “Kane,”
I said with false confidence strengthening my voice. “I-I wanted it. I wanted your lips and your security.”
Even then I wanted those things I just hated that I wanted them from him. It was wrong.
Shame fell over my shoulders, weighing me down like cement.
“Fuck, you can’t say shit like that, North. I’m your…”
“Stop it. You’re not my father,” I blurted. “Not biologically.”
“I don’t think I’ve been like a dad to you since that kiss.”
“That’s why you left her wasn’t it? Because of me. Because I kissed you.” I smeared tears across my
cheeks and cursed myself for letting them fall.
“What? Hell no. You’re not the reason I divorced Izzy. Izzy was the reason. She sold my art supplies.
It was the last straw. She was lying to me, hiding things, and cheating but when I came home to find my
art supplies gone, I lost it, North. I knew I was doing both of us a disservice if I stayed. I couldn’t tell you
all that.”
“You should have,” I muttered.
“Yeah. Maybe you’re right. I don’t give you enough credit. I’m telling you now though. I didn’t leave
because of you or the kiss or anything like that. I left because I had to distance myself from Izzy. I saw her
spiraling. I wanted you to come with me because I knew I could shelter you from the storm your mother
was about to become. When you declined, I thought it was for the best because I couldn’t trust myself
around you.” He gritted those last words out like they sawed against his resolve.
They definitely sawed against mine.
“Why not?” I asked. My voice was surprisingly nonchalant for someone whose hands were trembling
and thighs were clenched in a knot.
“I just didn’t,” he snapped. I could tell he wasn’t snapping at me though. He was fighting something
inside himself.
“So you didn’t leave because of the kiss but you stayed away because of it.”
“I stayed away because I thought you wanted space after the kiss. I thought…I don’t know what the
fuck I thought. I know I should’ve done more. I should have plucked you out of that hellhole no matter
what you said.”
“I was too stubborn,” I confessed quietly, folding my fingers into my palm. “I wouldn’t have let you
take me. I was hell-bent on helping Mom but she didn’t want my help. Only my money. Only what I could
give her. She took and took but never put anything back.” Remembering the careless way Mom hollowed
my heart leaving pulp and blood in her wake pissed me off. “At least I know you won’t take anything from
me.”
“Never. All I want is a chance to make up the past year to you. I want a chance to apologize for
being selfish and scared. For not letting you know the divorce had nothing to do with you.” His knuckles
brushed against my cheekbone. “I want a chance to start over. I want to put the kiss behind us,” he said.
But the kiss still hovered above us like a cloud of uncertainty. Clearly, both of us held in tiny bits of truth
we were scared to speak out loud.
I nodded at his promise of a new start anyway. He was trying to make things right and I was
starving for something right. I needed something in my fucked up life to go the way I wanted. I could pack
the kiss away if it meant I’d get to experience some sort of normalcy. I’d try to hide my feelings as best I
could and hopefully they’d vanish on their own.
“I want that too, Dad,” I told him, tucking a silky chunk of red hair behind my ear. He tensed a little
then let out a dry chuckle.
“Somehow, I feel like we’ve moved past you calling me Dad.”
I laughed in response and nodded my head. He was right. “Okay, Kane.” His name felt solid and sure
moving past my lips. It felt right.
I wanted more things to feel right with him.
…

 CHAPTER 6

After the tension of unspoken words came to a head between North and me in the truck, things
between us flowed easier. I had to mention that fucking kiss but we navigated it well. Even though I had
to hold back a lot, I told North the kiss didn’t push me away and it was true. She hit the nail on the
fucking head when she called me out on the reason I stayed away.
That fucking kiss.
The kiss that let me know I wasn’t in control of anything.
When she pressed her warm body against mine, my dick reacted immediately and a secret I’d kept
from myself had finally been revealed. The fact that my dick stiffened beneath North paled in comparison
to the way my heart thundered and my mind sighed with relief.
Sick.
Sick.
Sick.
She was sixteen. I was supposed to love her and protect her…teach her. Not get a hard-on from a
kiss that blind-sided me.
You wanted it too.
I squashed the voice in my head the moment it reared its head. We decided to put the kiss behind
us. I was more than willing to forget it ever happened and concentrate on a new relationship with North.
One where I saw her as the beautiful young lady she’d grown up to be. One where she called me Kane
instead of Dad.
I carried North’s shopping bags upstairs and to her room. It already smelled like her after one day.
Cherries.
Tooth-achingly sweet, cherries.
I smelled them tangled in her red strands when she wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug.
“Thank you so much, Dad…I mean, Kane. Thank you, Kane.” I knew I made a bad fucking decision by
telling her to call me Kane. Hearing my name tumble from her mouth plucked at feelings I was
determined to seal under a thick slab of concrete.
“You needed clothes.” I bought her a new coat and a pair of new shoes along with other necessities.
The entire time we shopped, North’s big blue eyes lit up no matter how much she tried to hide it. Seeing
her marvel over new clothes like they were a rich dessert she’d been deprived of struck me deep in my
heart.
I could’ve sent her clothes.
Why didn’t I send clothes when she was with Izzy?
I tuned into the present moment when I heard North quietly laying out her new clothes. The entire
bed was covered with potential outfits. A prideful smile quirked my lips up watching her pair tops and
bottoms. She was in heaven and she was glowing.
Red tendrils fell down her back, swaying with her excited movements. My eyes sought out the single
copper freckle nestled between the peaks of her cupid’s bow. She’d always hated having freckles on her
lips so I used to tell her it was cupid’s way of making her the most beautiful girl in the world. Right then,
standing in front of me that’s exactly what she was.
The most beautiful girl in the world.
“How about I order pizza before the shop closes?” I quizzed, taking a step back. If I stayed too long
in her cherry-scented room, I’d be consumed. Denim eyes peered up at me from behind a deep smile and
a veil of freckles.
“It’s only eight. What time do stores around here close?” She crinkled her nose and I saw a wisp of
playfulness sift through her expression. I missed when she was like that.
“Eight-thirty,” I told her, taking another step back.
“Jesus. I have to get used to how slow-paced things are around here. I’d love some pizza.” I fed her
off and on all day while we were out. I didn’t know if she realized the lunch I bought her at the coffee shop
or the snacks I treated her to were ways of making her eat.
I never forgot what North’s favorite pizza topping was. Sausage and green peppers. I called in an
order at the place ten minutes away from the house then decided to walk and pick it up. I had things
brewing inside me that I needed to comb through.
The cold air bit through my layers of clothes and sliced through my thick jacket when I stepped
outside. I felt winter’s icy grip but I was comfortable with it. Hell, I had to be living in the mountains.
Walking to the pizza shop should have taken about ten minutes but I was moving slower on purpose.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how the day with North went once we aired out most of our grievances and
decided to start over.
It felt like I found someone who understood the tangled parts of loving an addict. The merciless way
it tears at your patience and altruism. The way it bends and bows your conscience causing you to excuse
things you never would under normal circumstances.
North understood because she lived it the same way I did. I had no idea our minds worked so
similarly until I spent the day talking to her over lunch. Until she shared some of her regrets and fears
while we walked down aisles where she fingered soft clothes and pretty dresses.
I saw so much of myself in her.
I realized how much damage living with Izzy and taking care of her caused North over the past year.
At least when I was there, she had a shoulder to lean on. She had someone who was walking through the
fire shoulder to shoulder with her.
When I left she had no one.
I rubbed my forehead and stifled a disappointed groan in my throat. I was determined to make up
for my own fear and selfishness. I needed to do it for North as much as I needed to do it for myself.
“Well, hello Mr. Fitzgerald.” A vaguely familiar voice spoke from the curb. I paused in my stride
down the snow-covered sidewalk and looked over to see the blonde from the gallery leaning against her
car.
“Melanie, right?” I asked aiming a pointer finger at her.
“Yup, that’s me. The one you turned down earlier.” She pushed her lips forward and feigned hurt
feelings.
She did say she was new in town and Telluride wasn’t teeming with locals. I suppose I’d have to run
into her at some point. I just didn’t expect it to be tonight.
“I had some family business to take care of. I didn’t mean to…” Before I could finish, Melanie was
laughing with her head tipped back. Long blonde hair fell from her shoulders sweeping her mid-back.
“Kane, I was playing around. I understand. Your daughter comes first.”
I smiled politely and rubbed the back of my neck. After the moment North and I had where our ripe
emotions flickered to life, calling her my daughter felt too small. Maybe once nerves settled things would
fall back into the spaces they belonged.
“Hey, stop by the gallery whenever you have a spare moment. We’ll grab lunch or coffee or
something.”
“I’d like that, Kane.” She moved away from the car and joined me as I walked. “I’m about to pick up
dinner right now. Well, pizza and wings aren’t much of a dinner but my oven isn’t working.”
“I’m headed to the pizza shop too.” Her eyes lit up and she sped up her pace to match mine.
“Small town. That means we’re going to bump into each other many more times.”
“I guess we better become friends then.” We rounded the corner and the pizza place materialized.
Bright red lights spelled out PIZZA from the snow-framed window.
“Friends, yeah. Let’s be friends.” Her eyes dimmed a bit before I held open the door for her. Pretty
sure the last thing she wanted was to be dropped in the friend zone but I had so much shit going on in my
life that I didn’t have time for a girlfriend. After Izzy, I didn’t want one. In my mind, no woman would
understand me. Every woman was out to hurt me. I planned to keep my heart to myself indefinitely.
After we picked up our pizzas, Melanie smiled up at me, batting her long lashes. If she looked any
sweeter, she’d have a halo over her head.
“You need a ride back to your place?”
“No thanks, I’m good. I only live ten minutes away.” I gestured with my chin in the direction of my
house.
“Your pizza will get cold.” Her voice was high and soft as she tried her damndest to coax me into her
car.
“No really, Melanie I got it.” We stopped in front of her car and I made sure she got in okay while
dodging her attempts to take me home. If I didn’t believe Elijah before about Melanie throwing ass at me,
I definitely believed it now.
“Well, okay then. I’ll stop by the gallery tomorrow and see you.”
“Yeah, please do. Let me know if you have any questions about any of the pieces,” I said waving. “I’ll
see you around.” Once she drove out of sight at a slow crawl. I called Elijah.
“So now you want to believe me after she tried to lure you into her white windowless van?” He
chuckled.
“It was an Audi.”
“You know what the fuck I mean, Kane. She’s about to stalk the fuck out of you.”
“I’m not looking for what she’s looking for.”
“Maybe she just wants you to fuck her. Maybe she’s not looking for more than that. Honestly, you
could use some pussy. You’ve been a little uptight.”
I barked out laughter at his assessment and narrowed my eyes against the blowing snow. “I’ve been
uptight? Yeah okay, Elijah.”
“You have. Maybe if you fuck Melanie, she’ll loosen you up. Nobody said you had to marry her.” He
was right. Maybe letting off some steam by getting my dick wet was what the doctor ordered.
When I walked into the house, my laughter died down a bit. I tipped my nose up and breathed in the
scent of cherries floating through the air.
“You still there?” Elijah asked.
“Um, yeah. I’m home now. I’m gonna take this pizza to North and hang out with her.”
“Okay, cool. Hit me up later.”
I slipped my phone in my back pocket and headed upstairs where the cherry smell grew stronger. It
was like walking past a bath and body shop. I found North’s bedroom door closed at the end of the
hallway. The humidity in the air let me know she was fresh out of the shower.
I knocked a few times when I reached her room and waited for her to answer. Why was I so on
edge? My mouth was like cotton and my heart was a frantic bird beating its wings against my chest.
When North opened the door she smiled at me then took the pizza box from my hands. Her long red
hair hung in one braid over her shoulder. It was a darker scarlet than usual and the end of her braid
curled showing hints at her natural texture.
She was wearing a pair of the new pajamas. Black and white striped shorts and a tank top with
pandas scattered everywhere. I studied the freckles on the tops of her shoulders while she opened the
pizza box.
“Oh my god, you remembered! Kane, thank you,” she squeaked, spinning to wrap her arms around
me. She mashed herself against me. Cherries threaded through the air and pulled the string connecting
us a little tighter.
I patted North on the back and chuckled, hoping she didn’t realize how tense I was. I didn’t want
her to think I was shying away from her hugs.
“No problem. Eat as much as you want.” I gestured to the pizza. Her brows fell low on her forehead
and her lips slipped into a frown. She tugged at the hem of her fitted tank top and stared down at herself.
“I know I’m too skinny. It’s not on purpose.”
“I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad.”
“It’s fine, Kane.” She pulled down her shirt again and pushed the pizza box to the side. “I’ll eat.
Thank you.”
I felt helpless. Like I stepped on a landmine without even knowing. I wanted to apologize but I didn’t
know the exact words to use.
I only wanted her to eat as much as she could. I never meant to embarrass her. Now I wasn’t sure
what to do to take away the sting. I wanted to see the light in her eyes again and I kept fucking it up.
“Seriously. I wasn’t trying to call attention to a soft spot.” My words were clunky and odd piling up
between us. “I think you’re beautiful and I want to do whatever I can to make sure you’re healthy and
happy again. I miss the way you look when you’re happy, Shortcake.”
I took a chance and slid my finger along her jawline. She didn’t push me away at least. I moved my
hand to the damp braid hanging over her shoulder and gave her a small smile. She didn’t return it but
some of the frost in her stare was gone.
“I’m not beautiful, Kane. You don’t have to patronize me like you did when I was little.” Hurt
flickered behind her irises.
 “Patronize?” I laughed involuntarily making North’s frown deepen. “When I say you’re beautiful I
mean it and I always have.”
“Well, you’re the only one,” she scoffed. I pulled her against me and kissed the top of her head.
“That’s not true. I’m not encouraging you to date or else I’d introduce you to some guys your age so
you could see what a babe you are inside and out.”
Her laughter was as loud and bright as her cringe. “Oh my god, please don’t ever say babe like that
again.”
“What? Is that not acceptable anymore?” I pretended to think and stroke my chin while North
erupted in uncontrollable laughter.
“No, absolutely not.” She hid her mouth behind her hand and shook her head at me.
“See? This is when you’re the most beautiful.” I turned her toward the mirror on the wall and put
my hands firmly on her shoulders. “That light in your eyes shines through and brightens your entire face,
Shortcake. One day, you’ll see it.” I squeezed her cheeks.
“Thank you, Kane.” Our eyes found each other in the mirror and I hoped she saw the sincerity there.
“Any time. Now, let’s eat this damn pizza and watch some movies. My stomach is growling.”
I sat on the floor and North laid on the bed for the first movie. By the end of the second one, she
was on the floor with me, leaning her head on my shoulder. The desire to protect her swelled in my chest
the way it should have after I divorced Izzy. I was too scared then. I was purposefully blind.
Not anymore.
Not ever again.
…
 CHAPTER 7

I was so still that my chest barely moved when I breathed. I didn’t want to move at all if I could help
it. A severe migraine seized my head, cracking into my skull and taking over my entire body. I didn’t want
to hear sounds or see light but that wasn’t going to work.
Today was Mom’s funeral.
Well, it was a memorial service. Dad made arrangements days ago to have her cremated because
she never had a preference. Her remains were shipped to the house in Telluride and that’s where we had
her memorial.
The only people who were going to be in attendance besides me were Kane and his best friend
Elijah. I invited Sierra but she was caught up at work and couldn’t make it. It seemed since I’d moved out
of Delta she never had time to speak to me. I missed my friend and I hadn’t heard her voice in two weeks.
My brain shattered into a million slivers when a deep knock sounded from the other side of my
bedroom door. Kane left me alone to get dressed and the moment I got out of the shower, my symptoms
started. I almost wished he hadn’t gone this morning when the sun rose. Every night since I came to stay
with him, Kane laid beside me until I fell asleep. Last night he fell asleep before he could leave but when
he noticed the sun in the sky, he hurried out of the queen-sized bed and told me to get ready.
“Come in,” I said just above a whisper. The sound of my own voice pushed a wave of dizziness into
me that made my stomach roil.
“You ready? Elijah will be here in a little while.”
“Not yet. My head is killing me.” I pressed my palm to my clammy forehead and tried to suppress
the tears begging to come out. If I started crying, it would make everything worse. I’d shiver and turn
eerily pale. On top of already freezing and trying desperately not to succumb to the urge to vomit
everywhere, I didn’t need to add anything else to my symptom list.
Kane’s thick dark brows pulled together low on his forehead as he examined me in the dusky light of
my bedroom. He closed the door behind himself, blocking out the daylight spilling into the hallway then
climbed in bed with me.
Oh god, he smelled good.
I was worried smelling him might intensify the migraine but honestly, it was soothing as hell. His
strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me close. He was clear fresh air, clean linens, and soap.
I wanted to bury myself against his chest and melt into his energy. I wanted to lie there forever
feeling safe, warm, and protected. Feeling like I was in a perfect bubble with the only person who really
loved me.
Several quiet minutes passed listening to his breathing and I realized my muscles weren’t drawn
into a tight knot and my splitting headache was subsiding. It wasn’t an instant fix but I was grateful not to
feel as shitty as I did before Kane came in.
“How you doing, Shortcake?” He asked quietly, pushing hair behind my ear. His breath was cool and
smelled like spearmint.
“A little better,” I told him honestly. When I turned to face him, my brain went blank. There was only
room and space to memorize how handsome he looked all cleaned up. His facial hair was trimmed and
neat and his usually flowing wavy hair was pulled back in a small smooth bun at the nape of his neck. He
didn’t have on a suit but he wore a black button-down shirt that made his olive skin glow. Maybe it was
the lack of light in my room but I swear Kane shone like a star.
How did Mom fuck up with a guy like him?
I reached a shaky hand toward his hair and touched the silky mahogany strands. “Your hair looks
nice,” I told him.
“Thanks. Your old man knows how to look human sometimes.” I smiled at him but to me, he always
looked human. He looked like a man in love with his dreams. He looked like someone speckled with paint
and passion. I loved seeing his hair hang down past his ears with those burnt golden strands peeking
through.
I realized that I also loved this version of Kane. With him all neat and smooth. I stared at the
freckles on his face and laughed a little at a few stray memories making their way into my otherwise blank
mind.
 “What’s so funny, North?” He smiled before he even knew what I was thinking. It made me feel like
my smile was infectious. Tingles swarmed my legs crawling up my calves to the backs of my knees, finally
settling on my thighs.
“I was thinking about how nobody at my school questioned if you were my real father or not because
we both have freckles. I guess everyone figured I got red hair from Mom.” It was true. I had her Irish red
hair, fair skin, and blue-gray eyes. I had almost nothing from my donor and I was grateful.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Mom right then but I knew for sure how I felt about my sperm donor. I
hated him. I didn’t want any part of me to look like him. I’d take my mother’s genes any day.
Kane smiled and stroked my hair while he nodded. “I remember that. I was concerned when you
were in middle school because nobody bothered to check my ID the first time I picked you up early.”
I remembered that day. It was still crisp in my mind because of how all the women in the front office
looked at him. Every one of them had hearts in their eyes staring up at this tall, rugged man who picked
me up. One of them even asked if Kane could take them home early too.
“I don’t think they cared who you were. They just wanted to gawk at you. Kind of like Melanie every
time she comes into the gallery.”
I was working my way around Telluride applying to every small business on Main Street. The shops
around there still took paper applications. I was stunned. Tomorrow, I was going to put in an application
at Starbucks.
Whenever I got done marching up and down the street, I hung out at the art gallery and every time I
was there, Melanie was there too. She never glared at me but her bright white smile may as well have
been a glare. I felt it crackling around her.
Kane laughed a little louder then cringed when he remembered my migraine. Luckily, it was
receding. “I’m sorry, North,” he said. “You really think Melanie is gawking at me? Laughter splashed
subtle color on his face. He looked happy even on a day like today.
“She’s absolutely gawking, Kane.” Our laughter was hushed. It nestled between us filling up gashes
left on my soul. When his laughter quieted, his warm stare caressed my face. It moved from my eyes to my
lips then along my neck.
Heat blossomed in my chest. It absorbed so much space I couldn’t breathe for a few moments. I
wanted him to look at me that way forever. Like I was beautiful and normal. Like I was someone.
I spent so long feeling invisible to my mother while trying to fight for her attention that I forgot
what it felt like to be seen. Not only did Kane see me but he also prioritized me. Well, at least he was
prioritizing me now.
“Sometimes I don’t even notice her.” There was something else he wanted to say. Something that
was whispered between the lines in words he never said. “How’s your head, Shortcake?” His long fingers
slid through my hair, fanning it out behind me on the pillow.
“It’s tolerable now,” I answered. I hoped he didn’t think the way I watched him was creepy. I
couldn’t stop wading through his green eyes and mining for those warm golden flecks.
“Good. I’m gonna go look out for Elijah.” Kane didn’t budge from his spot beside me in bed. His
arms loosened a little but his hold was still snug. I still smelled him and my thighs were still alive with
sensation.
“Kane, you don’t have to go.” He’d been there for five minutes already. What was a few more
minutes?
“I really should.” His hand slid up and down my back spreading heat wherever he touched me.
Fuck…
I wanted to feel his hands other places. I wanted to feel them slip beneath the hem of my skirt and
touch my thighs. Thighs that were so hungry for his fingertips.
Stop it, North.
He’s your dad.
I snapped out of my brief fantasy and slid my arms around his neck. Hunger filled my belly until it
spilled out of my mouth in the form of short, rapid panting. I was quiet as possible but I wondered if Kane
knew the way he made me react just by sliding his hand up and down my back. What if he could tell I was
so ravenous for his touch that I was panting?
I snapped my mouth shut and followed the way his eyes honed in. He moved his stare quickly but
my lips were still on fire from the way he’d watched them.
 You were still calling him Dad last week, North.
I stuffed that annoying voice deep in a box while I let my thumb slide lazily from side to side on the
back of his neck. I wanted to ignore everything that told me to stop touching him. It was such a simple
touch but it felt so huge. It covered the entire room blocking every pinpoint of light.
Kane’s touch eased from my back to my hips.
My ears thumped with the steady firm sound of blood rushing through my veins and my heart
pounding. I never knew staring at someone could make you feel like you just ran a marathon. I had no
idea it could stir heart-pounding, electric energy. I couldn’t have been the only one who felt the tension
building. Kane would’ve moved if he weren’t glued to my hips.
The crisp sound of the doorbell was loud as a gong in my ears even though it was all the way
downstairs. Kane blinked repeatedly then scrambled off the bed.
“That’s probably Elijah. I’m gonna let him in. Come downstairs when you’re ready, okay?” He didn’t
give me a chance to answer before he was out of the door and down the steps.
Maybe the charge I felt between us was all in my sick head.
I sat up slowly and groaned at the last bout of dizziness that overtook me. The migraine almost
completely disappeared after Kane held me for twenty minutes. It was dull enough for Tylenol to handle.
I cracked the bottle of pills on the dresser and popped two. I sucked in a breath and looked at my
reflection in the mirror. I saw hints of my mother staring back at me. I saw her blue eyes and red hair. I
saw her freckles and bone structure.
Emotions struck my heart one after another like poison-tipped arrows.
Why couldn’t Mom just quit? I knew it was easier said than done but I would have helped her. If she
committed to going to rehab and changing her life, I would have been right by her side. I’m sure Kane
would have too. He did love her before she morphed into a stranger.
So did I.
I grit my teeth against the confusing thoughts fighting for space in my head and went downstairs.
Kane and Elijah were in the living room where pictures of Mom sat in glass and silver frames
clustered together on the mantle. She looked so happy in every picture. I wondered who that woman was.
I only saw her when she was high so I never stopped to consider how she looked happy because I always
saw her at her worst.
I knew pleasant memories were hiding in the shadows of my mind high in the corners like cobwebs.
I couldn’t access them as easily as I could all the bad ones.
Still, my heart ached and yearned for Mom to come back. For everything to have been an elaborate
ploy to gain sympathy and money. Wrapping my head around her being gone was hard.
If I was smarter or not so exhausted all the time, I would’ve seen the signs that she was sliding
downhill faster than I could catch her.
I dragged my finger across Mom’s wide smile in one of the pictures then I sighed, letting my
shoulders rise and fall. I had to let go of the notion that I could’ve saved her. Kane said it best. She had to
save herself and she didn’t.
“Hey, Shortcake come on over here and say hi to Elijah.” Kane’s warm smile pulled me to his side. I
remembered meeting Elijah a handful of times when I was younger but once Mom’s addiction got worse
and Kane stopped being so happy, Elijah stopped coming around. At the gallery, I never said more than
hello to him before he was busy with a customer.
He shook my hand as a sympathetic smile pulled his full lips up. He was a handsome man with skin
the color of copper, tawny brown curls and chocolate eyes. I wondered why Melanie didn’t go for him
instead of Kane?
One look at Kane reminded me of why though. He had a spark deep inside of him that pulled people
in like moths. It wasn’t one thing either. It wasn’t just his killer smile or beautiful eyes. It wasn’t his
smooth olive skin dusted with freckles or his thick brown lashes. It was something he possessed that was
unique to him and only him.
“Hey, North. I know I see you at the gallery but I’m always working. I’m sorry this had to be the
occasion that brought us together.” His hug was gentle and kind. An unavoidable reminder that I lost my
mother.
“Yeah, I wish we were here under happier circumstances.” I tugged at my shirt wondering if Elijah
noticed I was too thin. I wondered if he judged my appearance.
 I’d been eating everything I could get my hands on. I was proud of the three pounds I put on in a
couple of weeks but now it felt invisible. I wrapped my arms around myself and rubbed my sides.
“This doesn’t have to be anything formal or long and drawn out. I only wanted to pay my last
respects to Izzy and I’m sure North wants to as well. I made some food. It’s in the kitchen if you want
some.” Kane tossed his arm around my shoulders and I turned my body into him hoping that with him
draped across my shoulders I didn’t look as gaunt.
“Wait a damn minute, you cooked, Kane?” Elijah’s smile was playful and upbeat. His long legs
carried him toward the kitchen in a blink.
“I put it in the oven then took it out. That qualifies as cooking, right?” His eyes darted from his best
friend to me. I laughed behind my hand and shook my head.
“No, Kane. That’s called heating food up.”
“Isn’t cooking just heating food until it’s safe to eat? I mean I’m practically a chef by that
definition.”
“You’re really not,” I said, bumping him with my slender hips. He poked my stomach, making me
laugh a little harder and it felt like we were in our own little bubble again. Nobody else.
“I’m gonna try some of this warmed up food,” Elijah chuckled.
“You want me to grab you something? Are you feeling queasy?” Kane’s expression morphed from
light-hearted to concerned in an instant. It took a moment for my brain to register that his concern was
directed toward me. I was used to being invisible and flying under the radar but whenever Kane was
around he made sure I was seen. That’s probably why it hurt so badly when he left.
“I’m fine, Kane. The migraine is a memory now. Thank you for laying with me.” I tugged on his long
fingers and one side of his mouth lifted in a smile.
“Any time, Shortcake. I hate seeing you in so much pain.” He pulled me closer and pressed his lips
to my forehead. Time stretched out and slowed down for a moment. Enough for me to shut my eyes and
soak in the feeling of his smooth lips on my skin. My body ached to know how his lips would feel on mine.
I needed to refresh my memory.
Dammit.
I was supposed to be putting that kiss behind us. There were no more kisses for us. Just forehead
kisses. There would be no lips on lips or tongues dancing against each other. No teeth sinking into soft
plump lips or trembling breaths staggered in the air between us. My throat nearly closed with the
possibilities running wild through my mind.
“So you want some of this warmed up food?” Kane smirked at me and my stomach did backflips.
Why the hell did he have to be so fine? I’d be okay if he weren’t so…chiseled and tanned.
“I do,” I nodded, gut-punching the over-eager girl bouncing around in my head. She was trouble.
She had ideas and desires that would fuck up the new bond I was trying to build with Kane. I slapped a
piece of duct tape over her mouth and walked in the kitchen with Kane’s arm still around my shoulders.
I didn’t know what to expect from Mom’s memorial service but it turned out to be us three sitting on
the couch laughing and talking about better times. It was Kane reliving the happier moments he had with
his ex-wife. It was me trying to find a silver lining in my dark childhood then trying to resign myself to
Mom being human.
I felt comfortable around Elijah and I adored listening to him and Kane tell stories about their glory
days in college. I was at home right beside Kane. We were close enough for our legs to bump against each
other. Close enough for him to reach over and touch my hair when Elijah was in the middle of a story.
Close enough to lean over and ask if I wanted more food from the kitchen. Close enough for his breath to
tickle the curve of my ear.
As much as I liked hanging out with Elijah, I was ready when it was time to say goodbye. I wanted
Kane to myself.
I mean…I wanted to spend time alone with him.
When Elijah’s car pulled out of the driveway, Kane turned to me with a smile then tugged on my
long hair. “You did good, Kiddo.”
“Thanks. You know I’m not a kid though, right?” I looked up at him as the bright red front door
closed with a thud.
“According to the state of Colorado, you’re still a minor,” He laughed taking long strides down the
hall. I hurried to catch up.
 I wasn’t a kid.
Hearing that pissed me off and needled under my skin. Words tumbled out of my mouth before I
could grab them out of the air. “According to the state of Colorado, I’m old enough to fuck men but not old
enough to live on my own.”
Any hint of humor that danced in his eyes vanished like a puff of smoke.
“Wow,” he said pausing at the threshold of his room. He scratched the back of his head then shoved
his hands in his pockets. “I guess you’re right, North. Never thought about it like that.” His eyes slid up
and down my body. It happened so briefly I wondered if I imagined it. Maybe I was seeing things.
Then why were the tops of my cheeks hot?
“Do me a favor though.” His eyes pierced mine and I couldn’t move. “Don’t talk about you fucking
men anymore. Okay?” Something primal rumbled through him and by the time it reached me it was
teeming with electricity.
All I could do was nod at him.
“Thank you.”
“Can I talk about fucking women instead?” A playful smirk quirked my lips up and made Kane scowl.
“North,” he gritted my name out through tight teeth. “Stop it. Don’t talk about fucking anyone.” The
word fuck didn’t roll off Kane’s tongue it vibrated off in spiky waves. It was on a frequency only I could
understand.
“I was playing, Kane,” I said in a voice that masked my true feelings. I watched him walk further
into his bedroom for a few beats before following him. I loved the sway of his broad shoulders. It
mesmerized me.
“I know but I hate thinking about you…” His words fell off. He shook his head and unbuttoned a few
buttons on his black shirt. I wanted to press and make him tell me what he was going to say but the area
of bare skin at the base of his throat had me transfixed.
It was so stupid but I couldn’t pry my eyes away.
I watched intently as he pulled the shirt out of his pants letting the material hang while he went
back to unbuttoning his shirt. Every inch of flesh that became visible constricted my lungs until I was only
sipping at the air.
“I’m sorry,” I squeaked.
“It’s fine. I’m gonna change clothes and work on a new piece. You’re welcome to sit with me if you
want to.”
Oh, I want to…
“Okay, sure. I’m gonna change too.” I walked backward until I was out of his room. Only then could I
breathe again. I had to get myself together.
Snap the fuck out of it, North. Kane does not want you.
I put on a cute pair of shorts and a stretchy spaghetti strap tank top. If I’m being honest, I just
wanted to see if his eyes would trace my body. I was hungry for the feeling his gaze deposited into my
veins.
I stood in the mirror and pulled long, thick red strands on top of my head in a messy bun then I
stared at myself. A strange feeling of freedom collected behind my breastbone where my heart thumped
steady and strong.
God, was I that callous?
Surely feeling relief after your mother dies isn’t normal. I couldn’t identify the other emotions that
mingled with the relief. Was it happiness? Peace?
I uttered an apology in my head. To what or who, I didn’t know.
Maybe the apology was meant for Mom. Maybe I was apologizing for feeling relief now that she was
gone. I knew nothing would stop me from missing her but evidently, nothing would stop me from being
happy she was gone.
Fuck. I’m a horrible person.
Guilt thickened in my throat as I moved down the hall to Kane’s room. I knocked a few times hoping
he was done getting out of his clothes.
“Come on in, North.”
I opened the door in time to see him pull a fresh white t-shirt over his perfect stomach. If I had a
remote control that worked in real-time I would have rewound that moment over and over. I was so
pleased with so little. I cringed when I thought of how I’d be if I got everything.
He rubbed his hands on paint-stained jeans before walking to the closet to grab a few tubes of paint
and new brushes. “You applying to Starbucks tomorrow?” He asked tucking the brushes in his pocket.
“Yup. I filled out the application online since they’re the only chain store I can actually apply on the
website. I’m going in tomorrow to check the status though. I’ve noticed people in Telluride thrive on face
to face interactions.”
Kane nodded then locked his pinky with mine right before he strolled out of the bedroom. I curled
my pinky around his tight as I could then followed him into his art studio. It was the only other room on
the second level.
Inside, it smelled like fresh paint and canvas. Even though Kane never really smelled like paint, the
smell of his art room reminded me of him. It reminded me of when he used to paint all the time before he
had to start hiding his art so Mom wouldn’t sell it.
He sat on the stool and began mixing colors, bringing the paint on his palette back to life. I watched
him move colors around on the canvas like a magician. I was certain that if I picked up a brush and tried it
would look like art time in kindergarten.
“You know where you want to spread Izzy’s ashes?” Kane asked, looking up from his work. His eyes
sucked me in and held me captive but I was a willing hostage.
I wrapped my arms around myself and shrugged. I hadn’t given any thought to sprinkling Mom’s
ashes. The past couple of weeks had been a blur. I had to snap out of it though because my grades were
starting to reflect my mental state.
“I don’t know,” I said, my tone flat and void of emotion. “Can you dump ashes at the trap house or
will the meth heads smoke it?”
“North.” Kane rubbed his forehead and sighed heavily.
“What?” I frowned. “You’re supposed to dump the ashes somewhere meaningful to the person right?
Well, that’s fitting for Mom.”
Kane was quiet for a while before he spoke. “God, Izzy fucked both of us up so much.” I expected
him to fuss at me or say something about how troubled Mom was and that I shouldn’t be so angry.
“She did a number on us,” I agreed.
“Well, we gotta get past this shit, Shortcake. I know a good psychologist in Mountain Village if
you’re up for it.”
“I never thought about therapy.” I tucked my feet under myself on the couch. I didn’t think seeing a
doctor was within my realm of possibilities. Now that it was presented to me, I didn’t know what to do. “I
don’t think I can tell a stranger about Mom.”
“Would you be willing to at least meet with the psychologist? Hey, I will if you will,.”
I tossed the idea around in my head but I couldn’t give him a concrete answer. Luckily, he didn’t
push me even though I found myself ready to push back. I didn’t have to. When Kane lived with us and
was married to Mom, he would always make excuses for her and try to get me to understand she was sick
and not in her right mind. He told me how drugs changed who you were as a person.
I expected the same version of him now. The apologist, the peacemaker. He was neither of those
things. He was honest and fair.
Long after Kane finished working on his painting, seeing a therapist stuck in my brain. Maybe it
wouldn’t be so bad getting help for all the demons clawing and scraping the walls of my mind. I couldn’t
fathom opening up and telling someone my feelings when most of the time I couldn’t settle on how I felt.
At any given moment my emotions ran the gamut between angry and resentful to sympathetic and
sad. How was I supposed to talk about that to someone I’d never met before? I could barely talk to myself.
After Kane was done painting, he got cleaned up and I went to my room. I needed to think about
talking to a psychologist because I knew it was something he wasn’t letting me off the hook about.
Normally, when I couldn’t make a decision, I leaned on Sierra.
So, I picked up my phone and pressed her name. I’d called her so many times since arriving in
Telluride with Kane. I needed a friend and she was my only one. She was being distant though and I had
no idea what I’d done.
My shock was palpable when she answered the phone. I blinked a few times and scrambled to find
my words. “Sierra, hey. Where the hell have you been?”
“Working, North. I’ve been working. What’s up? How are things in rich-ass Telluride?” I could
practically see her rolling her brown eyes. My stomach tightened at the coolness wafting through the
phone.
“Um…they’re okay, I guess. I’m trying to find a job now.”
“Sucks that you just up and left. Stuck me with so much work. You know Randall isn’t hiring anyone
else.”
After Mom died, I quit my job at the steakhouse because I couldn’t make the trek back and forth
from Delta to Telluride every day for minimum wage. It made more sense to get a job in town.
“It wasn’t like I left voluntarily, Sierra.” My brows bunched together as my lips fell.
“Yeah, because who would voluntarily leave shitty ass Delta to live in Telluride, right? Did you need
something, North?” She sighed like my over-the-phone presence was a burden.
“I wanted to talk to you. I missed you. It’s been tough.” I swallowed back the hot lump of rejection
growing in my throat. “My mom’s memorial was today,” I said, hoping it would soften her seemingly icy
mood.
She pushed out a breath and let a few seconds of silence tick by. I sat cross-legged on my bed,
plucking at my blanket. Why wasn’t this conversation flowing? Why did it feel like she was ghosting me? I
was riddled with feelings I couldn’t place.
“North, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” The call ended and I found myself staring at the phone in
my hand like it was a foreign object.
What was happening?
It felt like I was losing my best friend and I had no idea why. Now wasn’t the time for that. I couldn’t
bear losing one more fucking person.
Anxiety strangled me until I was forced to stand and move from its grip. It followed me every time I
paced back and forth waiting for me to slip. I opened my bedroom door and looked down the hall at
Kane’s closed door.
Before I could reign myself in, my feet were headed toward his room. I held my fist up poised to
knock but I hesitated. What if he was getting ready for bed?
Just because he’d been sleeping next to me every night didn’t mean he’d do it all the time. Maybe he
wanted time to himself for once. I couldn’t be mad at it. Especially after he said his last goodbye to his ex-
wife.
I lowered my fist and took a step back just in time for the door to open. Soap and clean linens
wrapped me in a hug that I needed.
“Hey, Shortcake. I was on my way to your room to check on you.” A bulge of emotions swelled inside
of me for so many reasons. They forced me into Kane’s arms. I hugged him so tight he was rendered
speechless.
After a little while, he wrapped his arms around me and led me inside his room. It was warm, clean,
and safe like him. Shades of blue and gray decorated the walls and the comforter on his king-sized bed.
Pictures of me sat on his dresser alongside pictures of his mother, father, and Kristina.
If anyone understood the dueling feelings in my heart, Kane did. He had to suffer through the fatal
bullets of addiction twice.
“What’s wrong, North?” We sat on his bed and he tipped my chin up so those green and golden eyes
trapped me.
“I just got off the phone with Sierra and I can’t explain it but I feel like she’s mad at me and I don’t
know why.” I folded my hands together in my lap and stared at them. Fingers speckled with freckles and
blue veins running beneath my skin. Blue veins that pumped with anxiety and uncertainty.
“Have you asked her?” He quizzed.
“No. I don’t think I want to know. She’s the only friend I’ve ever had and if I ask her why the fuck
she’s being like this I’m scared I won’t have her anymore.”
“If she’s acting differently at a time like this, you need to talk to her, North. Something is up.” He
was right and I knew it but I was avoiding it.
“If she outright tells me she doesn’t want to be my friend…then what? I’ve known Sierra since
fourth grade.”
“You can make new friends. Maybe it’s something you two can work through.” He reached out and
stroked my hair making me shiver inside. His touch was so gentle. “Promise me tomorrow you’ll confront
her about this shit and get to the bottom of it. You have enough on your plate without having to worry
about the state of your friendship.”
“And yet here I am worrying.” I groaned and flopped backward on his soft bed. I wanted to melt into
the mattress. It was so luxurious.
“Hey, let’s turn in for the night okay? We’ll tackle everything in the morning. It’s not like the
problems are going anywhere.” He slid back in bed and pulled back the blankets on his side.
“Can I sleep in here?” I quizzed, standing to my feet.
There it was. The look I was hungry for.
His eyes mapped out my face first, lingering on my eyes then they dropped and slipped over my
body. I wanted him to say yes so badly I was holding my breath.
He didn’t answer with words but he nodded at me, confusion turning his eyes darker. I wet my lips
with my tongue and pulled back the blankets before sliding my legs against his cool sheets.
I moved closer to him, inching backward until my back connected with his impossibly hard chest.
“Get some rest, Shortcake.” He kissed the top of my head and like clockwork, his arm hooked around my
waist.
I was safe.
I was at home.
My stupid heart flailed around in my chest erratically the longer he held me. I wiggled around trying
to calm myself but it was no use. My mind was insistent upon thinking about how much I wanted to touch
Kane in ways I shouldn’t have.
I pushed my ass back until I was flush with him. I couldn’t tell if he was asleep or not but his
breathing was steady and soft so I was assuming he was out. I slid my fingers along the back of his hand.
Even in the dark, I saw specks of paint he missed in the shower. I traced them and moved up his forearm.
Why was this man driving me insane? I craved the taste of him. I still played out the kiss we shared
on my sixteenth birthday on a loop and prayed it happened again. Not just for the rush it gave my body,
but because in that moment I felt connected to someone who cared about me.
I moved my hand away from his in an attempt to shut off the fantasies traipsing through my mind.
All my futile attempts fell to nothing when Kane’s sleepy hands slid down to my hips. My heart leaped into
my mouth pressing against the roof, beating so furiously my eyelids throbbed. I was burning up. Flames
touched the base of my neck, slow crawling up my earlobes before settling across my forehead in a
blanket of pins and needles.
I rubbed my hand over my breasts through the thin stretchy cotton of my shirt imagining my hands
were Kane’s. Even the thought made my most private spaces turn wet and slick.
This was wrong.
I shouldn’t have been pinching and rolling my nipples while his hands were on my hips. After a
while, I couldn’t help myself. I needed to release the pent up sensation filling me up. I knew the only way
to make that happen was to touch myself. With a dry mouth, I eased my hand beneath the waistband of my
shorts and between my thighs.
Fuck.
I’d never been so wet before. All the times I’d touched myself and thought about Kane in the past
didn’t compare to touching myself while he slept right beside me. It dulled in comparison to the aches
driven deep inside me right then.
My fingers sought out my needy clit and rubbed it in slow but urgent strokes. My other hand slid
back and forth over my peaked nipples. They were so hard, I almost whimpered. God, what I would give to
feel Kane’s mouth on me.
My hips rocked involuntarily the closer I got to coming. My lips trembled and my breathing sped up.
I moved faster and faster, swaying my hips.
I teetered on the edge of my climax…
Then I felt it.
It was so stiff and thick pressing against my ass that I couldn’t trick myself into thinking it was all in
my head if I wanted to. Nobody could ignore that kind of rigid pressure.
Kane’s hard dick was stabbing into me from behind. It pierced the bubble swelling at my core and I
melted into a soul-rattling orgasm that stole my breath my sight and any other senses I thought I
possessed.
I came so fucking hard.
 Breath refused to fill my lungs.
Heat refused to leave me.
My heart refused to slow down.
I rolled my lips between my teeth and bit down hard to stop the moans piling up behind my tongue. I
know I shouldn’t have but I pressed against him again. It sent thick waves of pleasure pulsing through me.
My thighs throbbed and my skin was dewy with sweat from restraining myself.
You’re so fucking sick, North.
You just came all over your hand while snuggled up against your dear old dad.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled my hand from between my legs. It glistened in the moonlight
filling the dark room. I was slippery and slick and it was all for Kane. All for a man I couldn’t have. He
controlled my body without even knowing.
I had to stop feeding into delusions. Even if those delusions felt good and made me come harder
than I ever had in my life. I slid out of Kane’s grasp and crept back to my room.
If I stayed there, shame would keep me awake all night and then I’d wake him up. I couldn’t look at
him after what happened. I knew I couldn’t sleep beside him anymore either. If I did, I’d open up a box of
worms we both decided to put behind us.
I wasn’t willing to risk the new relationship blooming between us for unrequited…
Love?
Lust?
Whatever the fuck it was, it needed to stay buried.
…
 CHAPTER 8

I woke up without North beside me but I knew she wouldn’t come back after the way she bolted
from the room last night. I should have said something when I felt her wiggling against me but after a
while, it didn’t matter. My dick spoke for me. It said so many things I couldn’t.
It said I was sick and wanted something forbidden. It said North sparked things that should’ve
stayed hidden in the dark. It said I still wasn’t over that kiss.
I got out of bed and got ready for work. I figured North was gone for the day and I was right. The
house was empty. She seemed to like Telluride and up until last night, things hadn’t been weird between
us.
One moment took all the peace and changed it into avoidance. I was certain awkward silence would
follow. I hated how unsure I felt.
I made my way to the gallery and found Elijah there changing the window display. “Shit, am I late?”
I chuckled.
“Nah. I’m early.” He paused with a string of lights in his hand and glanced at me. I saw questions
waiting in his dark brown eyes. I tried to ignore his quizzical stare by busying myself with checking the
website and printing shipping labels.
“How’s North after yesterday?”
“She’s fine. Left out of the house before I could talk to her this morning.”
“Ya’ll seem pretty close. I thought you said she hated you.”
“She did when she first got here. A couple of weeks seems to have softened her up. We’ve been
talking a lot. Trying to work through some things.”
Elijah nodded his head and went back to hanging the lights framing one of my new pieces. “I
noticed she’s not calling you Dad anymore. When did that start?”
“We agreed on it. So much shit has changed in the last year. Her calling me Dad doesn’t feel right
anymore. Feels like she’s outgrown it.”
“She’s outgrown it or you’ve outgrown it?” His back was turned to me so he didn’t see the glare I
aimed at him.
“We both have.” I set aside the online orders to be packed and shipped later then moved on to
placing an order for new frames.
“Listen, I’m going to be real with you. North was looking at you like you hung the fucking moon
yesterday, man. You’re going to have to gently put her in her place before she crosses a line.”
“Before she crosses a line?” I laughed the words out into the air and I knew it seemed like I thought
Elijah’s concern was trivial. That wasn’t it. I laughed because he didn’t have to worry about her crossing a
line as much as he should’ve worried about me crossing one.
North was quiet and she held everything close to her chest. I, on the other hand, was becoming
unhinged after hearing her touch herself last night while I held her. I didn’t know if I could go back to
pretending once I smelled her desire in the air. I knew she was soaking wet between her legs and it took
every ounce of muscle and restraint I had not to pin her to the bed and lick her slippery fingers clean.
I was supposed to be her guardian. Not a ravenous beast. Not the savage brooding inside telling me
to test the waters and see how far I could float.
“You’re laughing now but when something happens I don’t want to hear about how confused you
are. I see it coming a mile away.” He finished hanging the lights and stepped down to admire his work.
“You’re fucking nuts, man. Let’s go look at this from the sidewalk,” I suggested, moving around the
corner. The air outside had teeth and it wasn’t shy about ripping into me. I shrugged it off and stared at
Elijah’s arrangements.
“It’s off-center,” I told him after a few seconds.
“Shit, you’re right. I’ll go inside and you tell me when it’s right.” When he walked into the gallery, I
saw a flash of red hair beneath a green knit hat headed my way.
I knew it was North by the way she walked. Hands tucked in her coat pockets, eyebrows lowered,
and eyes focused ahead. She was starting to pick up weight. I had a feeling it was a little more than the
three pounds she boasted about. Her steps slowed when she noticed me outside the gallery.
I waved at her but she didn’t wave back. I dropped my hand to my side and turned my attention
back to the window where Elijah was busy frowning at me. I chuckled and gave him a small shrug. How
was I supposed to focus on placement when North stole my attention away like a thief?
“Looks better,” I called through the window. I gave him a thumbs up and he flipped me off so I
shared the sentiment.
“Hey, Kane. Can we talk?” North’s voice was soft but I heard excitement bouncing around in her
words.
“Yeah, let’s step inside. It’s cold as shit out here and I don’t have on a coat.” I held the door open for
her and we walked in. Warm air greeted us and I was more than grateful.
“Hey, North. How’s it going?” Elijah tipped his head up and smiled at her before looking at me. I
knew exactly what he was thinking. I needed to set boundaries.
A part of me didn’t want to set any boundaries. I liked the way North felt in my arms at night. I liked
hearing her call me Kane instead of Dad. I liked being the one who put the light back in her denim-blue
eyes.
“Hey, Elijah.” Her smile was the polite one she reserved for everyone who wasn’t me. I pulled the
biggest brightest smiles from her.
“You uh, wanted to talk to me?” I quizzed. “We can take a walk and grab some breakfast. Have you
eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“You wanna take the car or walk?” I was finding words to fill the awkward silence I knew would
flood us if I didn’t say something.
“Car,” she said. “Elijah, you want anything?”
“Yeah, grab me a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich please. And some orange juice.”
I made a mental note of his order then grabbed my keys and headed for the car. I walked with my
hand on the small of North’s back I looked for any reason to touch her. I was greedy when it came to her.
I’d take her however I could get her. Sleeping beside me in bed or with my hand on the small of her back
on the way to my truck.
“Hey, Kane!” A cheerful voice chirped. I turned around to see where it was coming from and
Melanie appeared wearing a bright smile. North slowed down and groaned under her breath. It was short
but I heard it. I had to fight off my laughter but it burned the corners of my lips.
“Hey, Melanie. Elijah’s in the shop if you want to say hi. I’m heading to grab breakfast with North.
I’ll be right back.”
Her gray eyes moved around my face, taking in every freckle before she spoke. “Oh, I’ll come with
you! It’s always better to have more hands.”
“Actually, Melanie, I wanted to talk to my dad.” North’s voice was calm but something about her
energy burned bright, hot, and possessive.
“Got it. Father-daughter time. Okay, I guess I’ll hang out in the gallery until you guys get back. Oh,
and Kane, I wanted to speak with you about something.”
“Sure thing, Melanie. We’ll talk when I get back.” I waved at her and opened the truck door for
North. Once we were away from listening ears, she tossed her head back and sighed.
“She’s not even trying to hide the fact that she wants you. It’s disturbing at this point.”
“I told her we could be friends. Hopefully, she got the hint.”
“She didn’t get the hint. I’m telling you that now.”
I laughed at her certainty and pulled off. The small diner we were headed to was only a quick drive
so North didn’t get to tell me what she wanted to talk to me about. She was tight-lipped when we ordered
breakfast and coffee too.
I’d had enough of the silence by the time we got back to the truck. I wanted to hear what she had to
say and I was dying to know if it had to do with last night. I refused to start the engine until she started
talking.
“What’s up, Shortcake? You said you had something to talk about. So far, I haven’t heard any
talking.”
When she looked at me, all the wind vanished from my sail. Those fucking big blue eyes got me
every time and her freckles turned me to putty. North could pretty much make a fool out of me and I’d be
along for the ride.
“I got the job at Starbucks.” A smile began to pull her pouty lips up.
 “That’s awesome, North. I’m so proud of you,” I said with sincerity beaming from my words.
“Thanks.”
Silence fell in soft, fluffy flakes between us until my hungry hands couldn’t stop themselves from
touching her. I reached out and found the freckle on her cupid’s bow and swiped my thumb across it. Then
I found another deep cinnamon freckle on her bottom lip and touched it too. I touched all the freckles on
her plush pink lips until I noticed North’s breathing turn shallow.
I jerked my hand away because I realized I was playing with fire. I knew better than touching her
like that. She was my daughter. I helped raise this girl and I vowed when she was a little snaggle-toothed
Strawberry Shortcake to protect her.
I was failing miserably.
“Please, don’t stop,” North begged in a voice so tiny I barely heard it. It cracked into the forcefield
I’d erected around myself. Shit, if I was being honest, last night cracked it but her begging me not to stop
touching her was widening the gash, turning it into a canyon.
I slid my palm against the side of her face and touched her lips again. They were so soft and full. My
tongue burned to lick them slowly before slipping into her mouth.
“North, I don’t know how much longer I can touch your pretty mouth like this before something
fucked up happens.” Without warning, she curled her slender cool fingers around my wrist and held my
hand in place while she took my thumb in her wet mouth.
My cock turned to steel so fast it hurt.
My sweet girl had my thumb in her mouth sucking and licking in soft small strokes. It threatened to
unravel me and leave behind only threads of the rope that used to hold me together.
A strangled groan lodged itself in my throat as I looked into those fucking eyes. Those denim eyes
with impossibly long lashes painted dark with mascara that made the sparkling blue in her irises jump to
life.
If she kept going I was going to blow my fucking load in my pants like a high school kid.
I wanted to keep watching her suck my thumb like it was my cock but I knew better. I slid my thumb
from her mouth and stared at the saliva glittering on her lips.
“North…goddammit.” My head thudded against the headrest. I shoved my hand through my hair
and clenched my teeth.
Kane…I’m sorry but your touch felt so good. So right.” The conviction in her voice did nothing to
diminish my hard dick. It actually made shit worse. I wasn’t thinking with a clear head.
“I know but this…” I gestured between us and shook my head. “This shit isn’t right. I know how it
feels but…”
“Okay, Dad,” she threw the word at me like a dart and it hit hard. Shame and rejection seared
crimson onto her cheeks in splotchy streaks.
I felt lower than low.
I kept letting her inch closer to the blurred line separating us. I had to hold on to some type of
sanity but when she was around there was no sanity in sight.
“Can we go now, Dad?”
“North you don’t have to…”
“Yes, I do have to call you dad because calling you Kane reminds me of everything I can’t have and
shouldn’t want.” Anger turned her face to stone.
What could I say to that?
I was stuck.
Her words echoed in the air around us as I drove back to the gallery.
“You two are back fast.” When I walked in with bags and cups of coffee, Melanie let a grin stretch
across her face. She hopped to her feet and grabbed things out of my hand setting them on the counter. It
was like she lived at the gallery and refused to go home. “Mind if we have that talk now, Kane?” Her voice
sent waves of irritation rippling through me. My back stiffened and my shoulders turned to heavy bricks.
“Sure,” I said moving toward the back of the gallery. It was the only part off-limit to customers.
There were two storage rooms and a small break room with a couch, TV, and fridge. That’s where Melanie
and I went to talk.
I sat on the couch and looked at her with my hands clasped. I wasn’t in the mood to hear whatever
she had to say. She was damn sure in the mood to tell me though. Enthusiasm peppered the air around
her and she was bubblier than ever.
“Okay, so I’ve been thinking about this ever since I walked into your gallery.”
“Remember when I told you that your paintings made me think of my dad?” She didn’t give me half
a second to answer. She paused long enough to take a breath then continue. “I want to commission you to
do four paintings for me. One of them would be of my dad, one of my cat, one of the Telluride mountains,
and one of me.”
I blinked at her trying to find the words. Four commissioned paintings would cost a pretty penny
and I didn’t want her to commission them just to spend time with me. Art was my life and my passion. I
didn’t create pieces solely for monetary benefit. I liked to make sure it was feeding my soul and the
customer’s soul.
I shoved an agitated hand through my hair and said, “Melanie, four paintings will cost a lot of
money. Are you sure you want the paintings or are you looking for something else?” I hoped she read
between the lines because I didn’t want to sound like a fucking douche suggesting she only wanted me to
work for her so we’d spend extra time together.
“I want the paintings and maybe something else too,” She said sitting beside me. Her smile oozed
sex and so did her fingertips as they skated up my thigh. I put my hand over hers and chuckled. I wasn’t
in the mood for flirting after what happened between North and me in the truck.
All I could concentrate on were her big blue eyes and pouty mouth sucking and licking my thumb.
God, my dick was starting to stand and I knew Melanie would think it was for her.
It wasn’t.
My hard dick was only for North.
Goddammit, I was so fucked in the head. I was sitting beside a beautiful woman and all I could think
of was my daughter. All I could concentrate on were her plush lips as my thumb skated over them. I
wondered what my dick would feel like sliding in and out of her mouth with those pretty lips wrapped
around it.
I had to stop thinking about her. I couldn’t hear a damn thing Melanie was saying and she was
mistaking my hard-on as something she prompted. Her parted lips and hungry eyes told me I led her to
believe the wrong thing.
I gripped her wrist and shook my head before she tried to unbutton my jeans. “Melanie, listen…I
don’t mind doing work for you but I don’t mix business with pleasure. I also want you to make sure you
really want these pieces and work out a budget first.”
“Money isn’t an object, Kane.” She eyed the thick bulge in my pants and licked her lips. “And I don’t
know how we’re supposed to maintain a professional relationship when there’s clearly tension between
us.”
Melanie had no idea what tension felt like.
The electricity that popped and sparked between North and me? That was tension. That was
anticipation and agony. It was the tight feeling in my chest. The look of wanting and apprehension in her
eyes every time we were in the same room. The tension between us was pulled so tightly that we could
strum our own song of longing and passion on the strings like playing a guitar. Melanie and I didn’t have
anything close to that. I thought she was beautiful but she didn’t make me feel anything.
North made me feel everything.
“If you want these pieces, we’ll have to be professional,” I said, clearing my throat. “Like I said, go
home and think about what you want and what your budget is. We’ll discuss the details later.”
“So will you do it or am I on your long waiting list?” Her words were a double-edged sword that I
was careful to maneuver around.
“My waiting list isn’t long. It’s non-existent.”
“Seems like you’re busy every time I try to get close enough to ask.” She shrugged one shoulder
then batted her lashes at me.
“No, I’m usually busy with work or handing something with North.” Saying her name caused her
gorgeous face to flash in my head. Those freckles draped across her high, proud cheekbones. Cheekbones
that could’ve been on a model walking a runway in Milan somewhere.
“You pour so much into your daughter, Kane. You should do something for yourself. North is a big
girl. She’ll be fine.”
I stood to my feet with furled brows and arms folded across the width of my chest. “North just lost
her mother so I’ll pour everything I have into her until she feels better.”
Melanie held her palms out to me with a smile on her face. “Kane, I was only saying she’s practically
grown. She doesn’t need Daddy doting on her every second.” I was done with the conversation between
Melanie and I.
“Let me know what your budget is and we’ll talk. I’m done addressing anything outside of work.” I
left her sitting on the break room couch while I went back to the main gallery floor.
North was nowhere to be found. Elijah pulled his eyes to mine and gave me a sympathetic smile. “I
guess you pissed her off. She left the minute you went back there with Melanie.” I pretended not to be
bothered by her leaving but I was. I needed to talk to her and explain why the way we were behaving was
fucked up.
I spent the rest of my day on autopilot waiting to go home. The only time I breathed a sigh of relief
before clocking out was when Melanie finally left.
“You have to get that chick under control, man,” Elijah said as I locked the gallery down for the
night.
“Tell me about it. She’s driving me fucking insane.”
“Give her what she wants. Maybe she’ll back the fuck off.”
“I don’t have an ounce of interest in Melanie. She’s starting to annoy the fuck out of me.”
“That’s even better. Fuck the annoyance out of her.”
Elijah’s smile told me he wasn’t above the idea he suggested. I slapped his shoulder a few times and
said, “Maybe you should handle her for me then.”
“Gladly but she only has eyes for you, bro. I’ll shoot my shot and see what happens though.” He
flashed a suave smile at me and I met him with unmovable features.
“Don’t ever smile at me like that again, Elijah. You’re not my type.” We broke into easy laughter
while we headed to our respective cars. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told him climbing in the truck. He
tossed up two fingers and gave me a mock salute before getting in his car and pulling off.
I didn’t go straight home. I couldn’t. Even though I wanted to talk to North, I didn’t know what to
say. She short-circuited my brain and rewired everything meant to keep me sane. She was going to ruin
me but I wasn’t sure it was a bad thing.
North, North, North.
…
To kill time, I took a drive to Target and got a few things North needed. I picked up more clothes
and shoes, toiletries, snacks, and decorations for her room. I also made sure to get heavy blackout
curtains that would stop the intrusive light from pouring into her room whenever she had a migraine.
By the time I got home, I noticed a light on in the kitchen, casting a soft yellow glow. It was the first
time my home in Telluride seemed remotely warm and inviting. A smile found my lips as I walked inside to
the smell of something delicious.
I rounded the corner into the kitchen and laid my eyes on ribbons of long crimson hair and a petite
frame that had undoubtedly been eating better. Heat flooded my veins while I stood unashamedly looking
at my daughter’s body. No matter how many times I tried to look away, I couldn’t. My eyes slid up and
down her toned legs and landed on her ass.
I cleared my throat over the music playing through the speakers and she jerked her head in my
direction. “Hey, Dad,” she said trying to keep her voice even-toned and uninterested. I knew how I
affected her body though and now, I saw it for myself. North’s nipples turned to pebbles beneath her fitted
t-shirt and her breathing stuttered in her chest before coming out.
I held up the bags from Target and lifted one side of my mouth in an apologetic smile. I didn’t know
what I wanted to apologize for though. It wasn’t like she and I could have a relationship. What I told her in
the truck earlier was true. We couldn’t touch and kiss each other. We couldn’t be what we wanted to be.
We had to remain what we’d always been.
Father and daughter.
That’s not what your heart is telling you…
I ignored the voice in my head and cleared my throat while trying not to look at the way her nipples
were calling to me. “I picked up some things from the store for you.”
“Thanks.”
“What are you cooking?” I sat the bags on the kitchen counter then took off my hat and coat.
 “I saw a recipe on Pinterest for chicken chili and I tried my hand at it. It’s probably shitty but it’s
dinner.” She tugged at a rogue lock of hair right at her temple.
“I’m sure it’s amazing,” I told her. I moved over to the stove and peered into the pot of chili. Aromas
of spice and garlic hit me and made my stomach growl. “God, this smells amazing, Shortcake. This is your
first time cooking chili?”
“Yeah. Can you taste it? I’m scared to.” A sheepish smile found her full freckled lips and stole my
heart away.
“You’re scared to taste your own cooking? You sure you aren’t trying to kill me?” I retrieved a spoon
from the draw at my hip and dipped it into the steaming pot. The moment the flavors mixed on my tongue,
I let out a groan of satisfaction and rubbed my stomach. North’s eyes tracked my movements before
quickly returning to my eyes.
“Is it good?” She quizzed. She was still trying to hold on to her anger but the more I raved over her
chili, the faster it dissipated.
“Nah. It’s horrible, North. I’ll take one for the team and eat the entire pot.” I winked at her and
touched her silky hair, letting it slip between my fingers. The energy between us was shy and unsure but I
felt the hurt feelings lifting little by little.
“I’ll get you a bowl,” she told me.
“Can we talk over dinner?” I quizzed with hope in my voice. North’s blue eyes hardened against my
question.
“I don’t want to talk about earlier.”
“We need to, dammit.” My voice was rough but it didn’t bother her. She scooped a bowl of chili out
for me then one for herself and sat them at the kitchen table.
“No.” It was a full sentence and she meant it. Defiance turned her eyes to blue steel.
I clenched my jaw and tugged the bags off the counter so I could take them upstairs. I needed to put
space between us for a few minutes. She was practically grown. I couldn’t force words out of her but I at
least wanted her to listen. When North dug her heels in the ground she refused to be moved.
I took the bags in her room and cursed the sweet cherry smell that greeted me. It drilled into my
defenses and weakened my resolve turning both into flimsy paper in the rain. I was no match for her
storm. I was getting sucked in quicker and quicker.
When I returned to the kitchen, I wore a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt but the way North’s eyes
absorbed my entire body it felt like I was naked.
She turned her head quickly to cover her hunger but I saw it. It rattled the caged beast inside of me.
“I’ll eat in my room since you don’t feel like talking.” I grabbed my bowl and headed for the stairs
taking long strides. I couldn’t eat with her knowing I had so many things to say. I was quickly losing track
of those things though because being around her made me forget the rules. It made me forget that
wanting her was wrong.
I ate alone in my bedroom with thoughts going to war in my head. Half of me wanted to erect
stronger boundaries that would result in North calling me Dad again and us not spending so much time
alone together. The other half couldn’t think about putting distance between us now that I was back in her
life. I couldn’t turn her away knowing she was hurting and lonely.
I was done running and pushing things away when they reminded me of darker times or when they
made me uncomfortable. Every second around North made me fucking uncomfortable. I hated that.
When I took my bowl to the kitchen for seconds, North sat at the table, alone, with her nose in a
cookbook. It was an old one I kept on a shelf in the kitchen. I never cracked it open because I was content
living on pizza, take out, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
“North, can we please talk?”
“You just want to tell me how sick I am. I don’t want to hear it. I already know I’m gross.” She pulled
in a shaky breath and pinched at her bottom lip while trying to stay focused on the book in front of her.
“I don’t think you’re gross, Shortcake.” My heart practically cracked in two hearing her talk down
about herself that way. She stood and took the bowl from my hands.
“You want seconds?” Her voice was pulled tight, so tight I thought it would pop and she would
either curse me out or cry. I couldn’t figure out which one. Her back was straight as an arrow as she stood
at the stove dishing out more chili.
I walked up behind her and pressed the heels of my hands against the stove on either side of her,
locking her between my arms. She stiffened and set the bowl down, turning to face me. I sank into her
blue pools feeling helpless against the sweet cherries tangling through her red hair and hovering above
her smooth skin.
“North, please talk to me.” My pulse thumped against my throat. We were so close to each other.
Her perky tits brushed against my chest with every breath she took. It only made her nipples harder.
Fuck me.
She was absolutely perfect.
“About what, Dad?” I shut my eyes against the word and shook my head.
“Why are you doing this? You know as well as I do what we’re feeling can’t be explored.”
“We?” She barked out a laugh but there was no humor in it. No warmth. “I’m the only one feeling
this way. You don’t have to patronize me.”
“No, you’re not,” I gritted out. “I want what I can’t have. I want it so bad.” I dipped my head low and
pressed our foreheads together.
“Don’t lie, Kane. I can’t handle you lying to me.” Her voice was a soft whisper barely holding back
tears. I traced her plump pink lips with my thumb then gripped her throat in a firm but gentle hold
hovering over her mouth.
Her lips parted for me. She was so sweet and so fucking forbidden. I tossed my moral compass to
the ground letting it smash to bits before pulling North’s face closer to mine. My mouth slanted over hers,
hungry and ready to devour.
I sucked on her soft bottom lip moving my hand from her throat to her red silky hair, clutching it in
my fist and tugging. My tongue swept across her lips before pushing into her waiting mouth. Her tongue
greeted mine and I coaxed it out slowly. They danced against each other painfully slow and bubbling over
with need.
I picked North’s petite body up and sat her on the counter. My bulky frame settled between her legs,
pushing them apart. I pulled on her long hair again until our kiss was broken.
“I was awake last night,” I told her. My voice was gritty and raw. North’s chin dropped to her chest
as shame cast bright pink onto her cheeks. I lifted her head and made her look me in the eye. “I wanted to
keep you right where you were but how the fuck could I do that? How could I tell you that listening to the
way you fingered your pussy made my dick rock hard? How was I supposed to tell you I nearly came in my
underwear when I heard the slippery wet sounds coming from between your thighs?”
North watched me, looking for signs of falsehoods but she didn’t find any because everything
pouring out of me was the raw and unfiltered truth. “You’re shredding me to scraps, North.” I nipped at
her pink kiss-swollen bottom lip.
“You’re the only real thing I’ve ever felt connected to, Kane. Living with you and looking at you
every day is killing me.” Her hands explored my chest through my t-shirt. She found every dip and ridge
biting her lip as she went.
I gripped her thighs and pulled her against my hard cock so she could feel what she did to me. “We
can’t keep doing this, Shortcake. It has to stop somewhere.”
“Why?” She rubbed the tip of her nose against mine. Cinnamon freckles on copper freckles.
“Because it’s illegal. We’ll get in so much fucking trouble. I won’t be able to hide the way I feel
about you and I don’t want to. I’d get locked up in a heartbeat.” She rocked her hips against me making a
growl rumble through my chest.
“Nobody has to know, Kane. I need you.” She rocked her hips again then plunged her hand beneath
my waistband. When her smooth hand wrapped around my achingly hard dick, I let out a hiss of air.
Confusion turned my mind into a battlefield. I couldn’t let my daughter stroke my cock but fuck…I
couldn’t stop her. She felt too good and I was too weak.
“Listen,” I said, my breathing ragged. “You can make me come and trust me, I’ll return the favor but
we can’t fuck, North. We can’t.” I tried to hold on to some modicum of sanity but I knew it was pointless.
She nodded eagerly and freed my dick, staring in amazement as if she held a revelation in her hand.
“Goddammit, Kane. You’re so big and thick.” Her slender fingers slid up and down my shaft, careful to
skim over the head before sliding back down.
I had no idea if North had ever been with a guy before but she stroked my dick like a fucking pro. I
was about to come all over her fingers.
My hand pushed under her shirt and found her tits. They were perfect handfuls with stiff rosebud
peaks. I tugged her shirt up so I could see them with my own eyes. They were flawless like the rest of her.
My mouth watered at the way her areolas tightened offering me her hard pink nipples.
“Can I put my mouth right here, Shortcake?” I quizzed, circling each nipple until she squirmed. She
nodded and in seconds my tongue was on her. Warm and wet, licking, nibbling and sucking.
Her hand went to my hair, threading through the strands and gripping while she let out soft mews
had me on the brink of insanity. On the brink of coming hard as fuck.
I popped off her tit and looked at how swollen and flushed it was from my mouth. I pinched her
nipple and watched the way she bit her bottom lip in response. My cock throbbed for her. I’d never
wanted to fuck anyone more. I’d never wanted to taste anyone or claim anyone more than in this fucked
up and twisted moment with North on the kitchen counter.
She resumed stroking my erection and I shut my eyes briefly. “Shit, you feel so good jerking my
dick, North.” I leaned into her neck and bit the warm tender flesh before soothing the pain with my lips
and tongue. Heat poured from between her legs, beckoning to me. I answered the call and slid my hand
up her shorts until I reached her plump pussy lips. My eyebrow jerked up to my hairline.
“You’re not wearing panties,” I grumbled. When she shook her head, wild tendrils framed her
stunning face like strands of fire. “Oh, Shortcake…you’re making this so hard for me.” I parted her slick
lips and found her clit. It was standing tall and ready.
I massaged it, pulling moans from her pretty mouth. Sin coursed through my veins hot as fire. I
knew what we were doing was wrong but it felt so right that I refused to stop. I’d take my penance on
judgment day because I had to make North come all over my fingers. I wanted to taste her orgasm.
“Kane,” she breathed. I moved in slow sure strokes while she moved faster up and down my cock.
“Come for me, baby. Come hard like you did last night.” She shook her head no but I felt it swelling
inside her.
“I’m going to come harder than that.” She rocked back and forth with the motion of my hand and I
felt my own climax mounting. I was going to nut so fucking hard. Our breaths moved in harmony with
each other until she shuddered, rolling her spine forward. Sweet slippery honey coated my fingers rolling
down to my palm.
“Oh my god, Kane,” she whimpered. I came next, shooting jets of creamy white on her fingers and
hand. North was mesmerized and raised her fingers to her lips to taste my cum.
“Fuck,” I cursed, watching her. I caressed her cheek while I watched her pink tongue lap up every
drop of my seed from her hand.
We crossed a line we could never reconstruct.
I should’ve felt shame and regret but those things were distant memories. I wasn’t ashamed
anymore but I was ravenous for North.
…

 CHAPTER 9

My version of normal kept getting rearranged every time I turned around. Kane and I weren’t
avoiding our feelings anymore but we weren’t letting them consume us either. I wanted full consumption.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the way Kane made me come over and over every day but I craved
more. I’d felt his touch and now I was addicted. I needed to feel him inside of me. Not just his fingers but
his dick and his tongue. I was greedy as hell and there was no denying it.
Every minute we spent together wedged him deeper inside my heart. Deeper inside my mind. I
wanted our physical connection to match what we both felt inside.
I stared at my phone for the last three minutes of my shift, waiting to clock out. It was the longest
ninety seconds of my life. Once clock out time rolled around I was so happy to get the fuck out of there. I
caught the gondola back to Telluride so I could stop past Kane’s gallery.
It was unusual that I had the gondola to myself but I wasn’t complaining. I took my phone out and
stared at my contact list trying to decide if I should call Sierra. I hadn’t talked to her since the day of
Mom’s memorial. I hoped she had time to cool off because I needed to talk to someone about what was
happening between Kane and me. I had so much to get off my chest.
My foot wagged back and forth as I nibbled on my bottom lip. I hovered over her name then finally
pressed it when my nerve built up enough. After the third ring, I was ready to hang up. All the nerve I
thought I had vanished.
“Hello?” My eyes went wide when she answered. I was ready to hit the end call button.
“Hey, Sierra.”
“Oh, hey, North. What’s up?”
“Nothing much. I wanted to talk to you. I haven’t heard your voice since my mother’s memorial.”
Something ached deep inside when I mentioned my mom. I had so much that I wasn’t confronting but
sometimes the thought of dealing with everything felt overwhelming.
“Well, I’ve been busy. Not everyone’s daddy can scoop them up and take them to the mountains to
live happily ever after.”
“Why the hell do you sound so bitter, Sierra? You act like this was my choice. My mother died,” I
gritted out. My body tensed and my muscles turned into knots of stress.
“I know that. I’m sorry about your mom, North but shit hasn’t been easy since you left. I’m all
alone.” Her voice quieted and my muscles loosened.
“I’ve been trying to reach out to you but you’re so stand-offish now. I can come visit or you can come
here. Neither one of us has to be lonely.” The thought of my best friend feeling isolated without me made
my heart ache.
Maybe I wasn’t doing enough to show her I was still there for her even if we weren’t in the same
town. I toyed with the ends of my hair and looked out of the window at the craggy white mountaintops and
the thick blankets of snow beneath me.
“Yeah, okay,” she laughed harshly. “How are you enjoying it in Telluride, North? I hear lots of
celebrities have houses there.”
“I wouldn’t know anything about that. I’ve been working and hanging out at Kane’s gallery. What
have you been up to?” I asked, hoping to change the weird energy of our conversation.
“Working. I’ve been working and going to school.” She paused for a few beats and I wondered what
other bitter bullshit she was going to hurl at my head. I just wanted my fucking friend back. “Did you
say…Kane?” She quizzed. “You mean your dad? That Kane?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged watching the ground moved closer as the gondola slowed to a stop.
“Why are you calling him Kane?”
Nerves twisted my stomach making me hesitate before I answered. Sierra was making me question
our friendship, which made me want to keep private information to myself.
“Um, we kinda moved past that. It didn’t feel necessary anymore.”
“He’s your father. How do you move past that?” She scoffed.
“Things aren’t the way they used to be. When he divorced my mother he pushed me away and it’s
something we’re trying to work through. He suggested therapy but I haven’t given him an answer yet.” I
exited the gondola and headed down Main Street towards Fitzgerald’s Fine Art Gallery.
 Kane and Elijah were getting ready to put up the Valentine’s Day display so the front window was
plain only showcasing Kane’s newest pieces. Well, new to the public. He hadn’t had a chance to work on
anything new for the gallery since he accepted Melanie’s offer for four commissioned paintings.
“If you’re calling him by his first name, sounds like you definitely need to talk to a therapist. Plus, all
the shit you’ve gone through with your mother screams I need a seat on a couch.”
“So you think I should talk to someone?” My brows furled together as I stood outside of the gallery.
“Yeah. Definitely,” she sighed. “Hey, I have to get to work soon. My rich daddy isn’t doing me any
favors. I’ll call you later.” So many words piled up in my head to say to her but she was gone before any of
them could come out of my mouth. I slipped my phone in my pocket and walked into the gallery.
“What’s going on, North?” Elijah’s bright smile greeted me.
“Hey, E. Where’s Kane?” I pulled my hat off and smoothed down my static riddled red hair.
“In the back getting a piece ready for a customer. They’re coming to pick it up in a couple of hours.”
He looked at my empty hands and frowned, folding his bulky arms across his chest. “Yo, Ms. Starbucks
barista, where’s my mocha? You know I love mochas.”
“I’m not your Starbucks connect, E. I’ll bake you some of those orange scones you like though.”
Over the past few weeks, my love for cooking and baking had blossomed into a hobby. I was always at the
grocery store picking up ingredients for a new dish or dessert to try. It worked to my benefit because I’d
put on five extra pounds and it was staying put.
Kane seemed to be enjoying every single one of those pounds too. The thought of him sent a chill
racing down my spine. Like he heard my deepest thoughts, he walked out from the back carrying a large
painting of the Colorado skyline in gloved hands.
When my eyes caught his, he slowed to a stop and smiled like I was the only person in the gallery—
in the fucking world. “Hey, Shortcake. How was work?”
“Great. No complaining tourists and on the way over here, I had the gondola all to myself.”
“Sounds good. You hungry? It’s almost lunchtime.” He laid the painting down gingerly on the
counter and walked over to me with outstretched arms. I couldn’t wait to melt against him. I knew I
couldn’t kiss him the way I wanted with Elijah there but the second we were alone I was going to maul
him.
“I could eat,” I told him, stepping to the side so I didn’t seem too lovestruck.
“Cool. Let’s grab lunch. Elijah, you wanna come along?”
“No thanks, I’m good. I’m gonna wait for Mel to stop by and we’ll get something.”
“You and Melanie have been getting lunch together every day for a week. What’s up?” Kane smirked
at his best friend but I was all ears too because it seemed like Melanie’s blatant interest in Kane died
down significantly.
“I told you I was going to shoot my shot.” Elijah gave a sure smile and I rolled my eyes playfully.
“Ugh. Gross. I’m going outside where there are civilized people.” I laughed a little before heading to
Kane’s truck.
When he got in beside me, I made sure to get in Elijah’s business. “So are Melanie and Elijah a thing
now?”
“I don’t know if they’re a thing but they’re definitely fucking and now she’s out of my hair and not
nearly as annoying.” His deep voice made me tingle everywhere. It didn’t matter what he was saying.
Kane could’ve read me a booklet of terms and conditions and I would’ve listened intently.
“Good. That means she can stop trying to fuck you. That’s my job anyway.” I hooked my pinky with
his and he gave mine a squeeze. Something so simple made my heart flutter.
“Oh yeah?” Kane laughed baring straight white teeth. “You talk big for someone so tiny.” Without
looking at me, he reached over and tugged on my hair.
We pulled up at the same restaurant we always had lunch at and Kane got out to open my door. I
still had on my green apron from work but I didn’t care as long as I was by his side. He made me feel
beautiful no matter what I had on…or didn’t have on.
Once we were inside and seated, I stared at his golden-green eyes and shook my head slowly.
“What?” He quizzed, lifting an eyebrow.
“I don’t see how Mom fucked things up with you. You’re perfect.”
“I’m far from perfect, North.”
“You’re perfect in all the practical ways, Kane. Not in the fairytale ways. You’re not afraid to admit
when you’re wrong. You’re committed to bettering yourself. You’ll set your ego to the side to apologize
and I don’t understand how she betrayed all of that. Being perfect isn’t about never making mistakes. It’s
about being willing to admit the mistakes and fix them.” I stared at him, completely wrapped up in his
green pools.
Kane’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he looked at me. I wondered if he could feel the
admiration and adoration vibrating off me. He reached across the table and held my hand in his, rubbing
his thumb across the freckles covering my knuckles.
“Sometimes people are too broken. Sometimes there’s no repairing them no matter how much you
try. There was no repairing Izzy.”
I stared at our hands connected on the tabletop and nodded solemnly. He was right. There was no
repairing her.
“I wish I knew that before I tried so hard.” I didn’t realize rebellious tears were skating down my
cheeks until fat drops splashed onto the back of my hand.
“She was your mother, North. You would have done anything to save her. I know the feeling of
fighting for your family. I lost myself trying to save my sister.” Hearing him mention Kristina made my
heart weep. I couldn’t imagine losing a sibling let alone a twin. “Izzy was so much like Kristina that I had
to pull away before I got scarred too deeply.”
“I’m sure it didn’t help matters when I kissed you,” I said quietly.
“I was running from what I knew I couldn’t have, North. I was so beaten down and confused I
would’ve ended up doing something neither of us was ready for. Shit, we’re still not ready.” He ran a hand
through his hair and pushed out a long breath. “Sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing with you,” he
confessed.
“I don’t know either but I do know I’d rather do whatever this is with you than without you.”
It was the absolute truth too. I’d never felt anything so vivid. Before, my entire life was a series of
grungy black and white events. I was so scared and angry at everything. Once I got closer to Kane and let
go of some of the anger, my entire world lit up with color. I wondered if he knew he was an artist in more
ways than one?
I never wanted to go back to what things were like before. Even if what we had was wrong, I’d take
it over wallowing in loneliness and pain.
“Lately I feel like the universe is playing a cruel joke on us,” Kane chuckled dryly. “We’ve both lost
so much and trekked through the mud of tragedy to finally find happiness in each other but…” His eyes
grew distant as he stared at me. It made my chest throb with fear. I was terrified of thinking about life
without him. I hated facing the reality that we couldn’t be together the way we wanted.
“Can’t we go off the grid? Just be free to do whatever the fuck we want.”
“I wish we could, baby.” The way his voice caressed that word had me squirming in my seat.
“We can. This is Colorado. You know how many mountains there are around here? We could
disappear.”
“How would we eat? How would we make money? Where would we live?” Each question hit harder
than the last. I grew quiet after I ordered my food. I got the same thing every time, a burger and fries with
a cherry shake.
A few minutes after our plates came out, Kane nudged my knee under the table. “Come on,
Shortcake. Talk to me. I know I poked holes in your off-the-grid plan but it’s only because I’ve thought
about it more times than I can count. Riding off into the sunset with you. Not having a care in the world.
Not having to worry about judgment or laws.” The frustration in his voice was thick. It mirrored how I felt
on the inside.
“We have to figure something out,” I said quietly before shoving a French fry into my mouth.
“I know. I just wish I knew what. I don’t want to give this up.” He pointed between us with a long,
thick finger. My mind wandered off to last night when that long finger was knuckle-deep inside of me
pulling orgasm after orgasm from my soul.
“Me either.”
“We’ll figure something out. In the meantime, we’ll keep laying low and…”
“Keep doing everything but fucking?”
“North,” Kane warned, tipping his head toward me and raising his dark brows.
“What? Tell me you don’t want more.” I had to whisper because ears were everywhere.
 “I definitely want more,” he grumbled in a low deep tone that made my pussy ache.
“Then what’s the problem? You can’t be waiting for my birthday. The legal age of consent is
seventeen.”
“The legal age of consent doesn’t matter when everyone sees me as your father.” His voice was
quiet but it still stung. He was right. There was no way to escape it. Kane’s shoulders dropped a little
when he looked at me, coaxing my eyes to his.
I was determined to figure this puzzle out.
“We will be together.” Resolve settled behind his irises. “We have to.”
I nodded my head and tried not to look like I was swooning too hard when I obviously was. How
could I not swoon over Kane?
I cleared my throat and changed the topic. “I talked to Sierra today.” He looked at me for more of
the story. “She’s still acting weird but I’m hoping if I talk to her more she’ll get over it.”
“What the hell is her problem exactly? I know she’s your best friend but it seems like you don’t
know her ugly side as much as you think you do.”
My face warped into a frown at his words. Sierra had been my girl since fourth grade. We’d suffered
through so much together and she was always there. She knew the intimate details of my suffering.
Well…
I never told her about my sixteenth birthday but she knew everything else. She knew about Mom’s
meth addiction. She knew about me withdrawing from school to get my diploma online so I could work.
She knew I didn’t eat sometimes and she looked out for me.
I knew about her jumping around from foster home to foster home and the abuse she suffered at the
hands of men supposed to provide and protect. I wiped her tears when she worried that she’d never get
adopted. I celebrated with her when she found her adoptive parents. How could I not have seen her ugly
side?
“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Sierra at her worst.”
“All I’m saying is you’ve never seen this side of her, right?”
“Right but we all have our moments. I think she’s lonely without me there.”
Kane’s eyes held onto something he wasn’t letting out. I wanted to probe but I didn’t want to be
deterred from trying to breathe life back into my friendship with Sierra.
“Be careful, North. When people show you who they are you have to believe them. I think you want
to believe in the history of your friendship with Sierra more than you want to believe what she’s showing
you.”
“I believe in second chances. I’m giving you one, right? You’re not the same man you were this time
last year.”
Kane sighed a little and nodded his head. “You’re right. I still think misery loves company but hey,
what do I know?” He held his hands up and shook his head at me. It reminded me of when I was younger.
He’d do that right before I fell flat on my face after not listening to him.
I narrowed my eyes as if it would help me see his thoughts. It didn’t. “So what do you think about
me inviting Sierra over?” I held my breath waiting for his response. I was ready for the stern lecture but it
never came.
“If you want to, sure. It’s just as much your house as it is mine.”
“So what I’m hearing is you want to put my name on the lease?”
“Is that what you want?” His eyes were sincere and curious. I wasn’t expecting that response. I
didn’t know how to answer because in my mind it was only a joke.
“You’d put my name on the lease, Kane?”
“Yeah, why not? I trust you and if we’re…” He wet his lips with his tongue and lowered his voice so
that only I could hear him. “Together. What’s mine is yours.”
“You know I’ll hold you to it, right?”
“Please, hold me to it.” The deep grumble in his voice made me blush. I turned my shy gaze to the
cherry milkshake in front of me.
We finished our lunch and shared a few laughs while we talked about things that weren’t so serious.
Time always flew by when I was with him. I could spend one hundred years with him and still cry the
moment he left.
When we walked back into the gallery, Melanie and Elijah had their backs facing the entrance while
they laughed quietly, sitting side by side. Close enough to put their heads together. I smirked at the sight.
Kane nudged my arm and pointed at them. He shared my goofy grin. As long as Melanie wasn’t
pushing up on my man, I didn’t have any problems with her.
“How long before they notice we’re here?” He whispered. When his lips brushed against the shell of
my ear, I didn’t want them to ever realize we were there. I wanted to bottle that sweet moment and hold it
close to me forever.
“If we stay perfectly still, I think we might be able to see them kiss,” I snickered into my hand. I took
a moment to peek up at Kane through my lashes and god he was a beautiful man. I understood exactly
what he meant when he said he didn’t want to keep quiet about us. I wanted to shout it from the rooftop
how amazing he was and that he was mine.
Fuck, I was claiming him and he hadn’t even stuck his dick in me.
“I know y’all are back there,” Elijah finally said. He turned around to look at us incredulously.
“We were waiting to see if we’d catch you guys making out.” Kane took his coat off and leaned
against the counter. Thick muscles flexed under his shirt and I fought the urge to bite my lip at the sight.
“You’re about two seconds too late for that,” Melanie laughed.
“So you two…” I walked around the counter and looked at Melanie because I knew I couldn’t look at
Elijah. He’d lie his ass off.
“What about it, North?” Elijah asked, trying to get me to look at him. I wasn’t falling for it.
“I wasn’t talking to you. I know who to get information from.”
“I’d give you information if you’d bring me mochas from work.” Elijah moved away from Melanie
and started busying himself with a display of hand-painted greeting cards Kane made.
“We’re in the feeling it out stage,” Melanie finally answered, standing to her feet. “Oh, and Kane,
I’m having Elijah over for dinner and drinks and to celebrate my new job. Also, I’m happy to have a
working stove. If you want to join us, feel free. You have to come over to meet with me about the
progression of the paintings anyway. We might as well make it tax-deductible and have dinner too.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He turned to me and said, “You feel like coming along?”
“Me?” I blinked. It felt like the invite to Melanie’s was turning into a double date. Nerves nibbled
away at my insides.
“Yeah. I’m not going to leave you out. If you go, I’ll go.” Just like that, it was me and Kane alone in
our bubble. The air crackled to life between us as our gazes tangled together. I skated over his lips then
up to his beautiful eyes. Those deep green eyes and glimmering golden flecks were enough to steal the air
from me. One side of his mouth lifted in a smile that made my heart race.
He must have noticed the fire in my stare. He was much more discreet when he looked at me but I
still caught his gaze. It lingered around my mouth then slipped down to my throat. Heat surged through
my veins.
“Yeah, sure. If it’s okay with Melanie.” I tried to divert the attention in the room to something else
or Elijah and Melanie would see the way Kane and I looked at each other.
Her smile was pulled too tight. It brought reality crashing down around me. I was standing in the
middle of Fitzgerald’s Fine Art Gallery gawking at my father like I wanted to fuck his brains out. Prickles
swept up my back and across the apples of my cheeks. I had to do something else or my beet-red face
would tell on me.
“Yeah, why not? But North, honey we’ve got to get you some friends. You don’t want to keep
hanging out with your father and Elijah. They’re twice your age.” She meant it as a joke and her laugh
was lighthearted but it felt like a gut-punch.
“He’s not my father,” I said, tipping my nose up slightly. Melanie stopped laughing long enough to
gawk at me like I’d grown extra eyes.
“He’s not?”
“No. He used to be my stepfather.” I don’t know exactly why the words tumbled out of my mouth but
they did. I needed her to know.
Kane eased the awkwardness in the room with a low chuckle. He tossed his arm around my
shoulders and I felt sheathed in armor. “Doesn’t make her any less mine,” Kane said. It was meant to show
everyone that blood didn’t matter but I heard the undercurrent in his tone. I knew he was telling me I
belonged to him no matter what the circumstances were. I reached up and squeezed his pinky discreetly
as possible to tell him the feeling was mutual.
 …
“How do I look?” I stood in the middle of Kane’s bedroom smoothing imaginary wrinkles from the
sweater dress I decided to wear. He looked over his shoulder at me and a devilish smile pulled at his lips.
My knees turned to mush.
He let out a high-pitched whistle and walked over to me with his hands in his pockets. He was sex
on a goddamn platter.
“You look amazing, North. Almost too damn pretty for me to let out of this house.” He grabbed me
and sat me on the dresser knocking over bottles and picture frames.
“Kane,” I giggled into his neck.
“What? You wanted to know how good you looked. I’m showing you.” He nibbled a trail from my jaw
to my neck and my panties were soaked.
“Can you show me how you’d feel inside of me?” I brought his face level with mine and stared at
him.
“Come on, Shortcake. Don’t make this any harder than it already is.” His fingers dug into my hips as
he slid me to the edge of the dresser. His hard cock pressed against my thigh and it made me hungry.
“Kane, we both want it. What are we waiting for? Nobody will know.” I leaned in and kissed his lips.
They were warm and soft and the perfect spark to light the match inside of me.
“Because we’ve already crossed one line. If we cross this one, there’s really no turning back. There’s
no defense against me fucking you.” His grip tightened around my hips making me writhe beneath his
strong fingers. “At least now, if what we have somehow gets out in the open we can say we’ve never had
sex.” He dragged his nose along the curve of my neck before dropping burning hot kisses along my
collarbones. “If I fuck you the way I want to. If I feel your tight, sweet pussy wrapped around my cock…”
The groan that rattled around in his broad chest made my lips part involuntarily to pull more air into my
restricted lungs. “There’s going to be no saving us, Shortcake. So we have to be careful until you turn
eighteen.”
“I don’t want to be careful. This is driving me insane.”
“How do you think I feel?” He growled, grabbing my face. His grip was strong enough to excite me
but gentle enough not to hurt.
We stared at each other for a few seconds before crashing into a torrid kiss. We were a mess of
tongues and lips and hungry noises. “Let me ease some of your tension,” he spoke in my ear while his
fingers pushed my panties to the side and found my clit.
All my irritation liquefied then evaporated in a blink. The way he moved his fingers was pure bliss.
My eyes fell shut and I rode his motion.
“Ah, ah, open those big blue eyes. Let me see how hard I make you come.”
I stared at him with open eyes while my legs were spread wide for him. The noises he pulled out of
me were so erotic and intimate. They were only for us to hear.
The faster he worked his fingers, the bigger the balloon of pressure inside me swelled. It left no
space unoccupied. I had no choice but to give in and come for Kane.
I tossed my head back letting my hair run down my back wild and free while I clamped down on the
edge of the dresser turning my knuckles white. “Kane,” I whined, rocking faster and faster with his
fingers deep inside of me.
“Come for me, Shortcake. I want my hand so wet with your pussy that drops of you drip from my
knuckles.” Sweat coated my forehead as an orgasm tore from my core. “There’s my good girl,” Kane
sighed, slowing to languid circles around my aching clit. “My sweet girl.” He pulled his hand from beneath
my dress and cleaned his fingers while I watched. “So fucking sweet.” I stared at him for a few beats
before pulling that big hand away from his mouth and taking licking his two fingers. I wanted to taste the
culmination of moans and heat and pleasure.
“Goddamn, North. You’re trying my willpower tonight.” His tongue darted out and swept across my
lips before he pulled away. I slid off the dresser on wobbly legs and smirked at him.
“Am I?” I purred, crossing my legs. “Then you should give me what I want.”
“Not. Yet.” I knew I was pushing him but I was a greedy girl and I knew what I wanted. The only
thing that would satiate my hunger was feeling Kane inside me.
…
 CHAPTER 10

“So tell me about this new job we’re helping you celebrate,” I smiled at Melanie over a glass of red
wine. North was beside me on the couch drinking a glass of ginger ale. I could still smell her pussy on my
fingers when I tipped my glass up. The delicate smell threatened to make my dick stiff as a goddamn
board.
“Oh! Right!” She squeaked then grinned from ear to ear. She was already tipsy and still chugging
down wine. She had to be on her fifth glass. “You’re looking at the newest attorney at Schwartz and
Bellinger.” Her excitement bubbled over, making her gray eyes sparkle.
North almost spit out her damn soda beside me. “Wait…what?” She laughed, shaking her head. I
loved watching her slender nose crinkle when she was in disbelief. I had to turn away quickly because I’d
already stared at her enough tonight. I saw Elijah putting puzzle pieces together in his head and I wasn’t
looking forward to the shit load of questions he’d hurl at me later.
“You’re a lawyer, Melanie?” North asked.
“Yeah. What, you think because I’m a pretty blonde that I’m not smart? Ever seen a little movie
called Legally Blonde?” She shot a playful glare at North then filled her empty glass to the rim with wine.
Number six.
“Never heard of it,” North shrugged.
“Oh my god, you’re a baby,” she groaned and giggled at the same time. I saw North’s feathers ruffle
but I knew Melanie didn’t mean any harm. Plus she was drunk as fuck. Shit, I wasn’t too far behind her.
“Wow, congratulations, Mel. That’s great,” I said, rerouting the attention from North to me.
“Yeah, congratulations, Melanie. Let’s toast.” Elijah raised his glass and Melanie and I raised ours. I
poked North’s side and motioned for her to raise her glass too.
“Why? It’s not like I have wine,” she pouted. As much as I loved watching those pink lips poke out, I
couldn’t stand seeing her feel left out.
“You can have some for the toast,” I said using my fatherly voice.
“Yeah, it’s just a toast. One glass of wine won’t kill her,” Elijah reasoned with a shrug.
“Hello, I just told you guys I’m now a practicing attorney and you want a minor to drink in my
presence.”
“Are you a cop or a lawyer?” Elijah teased.
“I’m just playing around, North. Have a little wine for the toast. I don’t want you to feel left out.”
So I poured her a half-full glass and we all toasted to Melanie’s new job at Schwartz and Bellinger.
While Melanie and Elijah were in their own world, I handed North my glass of wine when she
finished the little bit she had. I loved that wild look in her eyes. I was ready to take her home and pin her
to the bed while I ate her pussy. I’d been saving it for a time like tonight when I was teetering on the edge
of fucking her before the time was right.
“Kane, you’ve got to stop looking at me like that,” she whispered.
“Like what?” I stretched my legs out in front of me and North’s eyes ate up every inch of me until
she looked like she was ready to strip out of her clothes in Melanie’s living room.
“Like we’re not around company.” She cleared her throat and pretended to look down at her phone.
“Well, maybe we shouldn’t be around company. Maybe we should head home.” I slid my arm across
the back of the couch and she leaned into me. I don’t even think she knew she was doing it. There was a
pull between us that we couldn’t help. She had fire in her veins and I was a helpless moth.
I knew eventually, she’d be my downfall but she was worth every second I spent spiraling.
“Hey guys, we’re gonna head home. North has to get up early for work in the morning and she has a
few tests to finish for school.”
“Aww, aren’t you a good daddy?” Melanie smiled.
“A very good daddy,” North said under her breath. I let out a hearty laugh to cover her words as I
stood up.
“Yo, can I talk to you for a minute before you leave?” Elijah stood and grabbed the girls’ glasses
then started toward the kitchen. I guess he was cutting Melanie off for the night.
“Sure,” I walked with him until we were alone in the kitchen. He set the glasses in the sink then
faced me. “What’s up, man?”
 “Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing, Kane. What the fuck is up with you and North?”
My throat tightened at his question. I straightened my spine and looked him square in the eye.
“Elijah, ask what you really want to know.”
“Are you going to give me a real answer?”
“Yeah, I will.” I didn’t know how true that was but it depended fully on his question. I leaned against
the fridge and crossed my arms over my chest. Elijah and I were about the same height so he didn’t have
to look up at me and he didn’t shy away from my furled brows and set jaw.
“Are you fucking her?”
“No,” I gritted out. The vein at my temple throbbed as blood pumped through me. We were quiet for
a while as conflict hovered thick in the air like gun smoke. “Is that all?” I quizzed. My tone was sharp
enough to slice him to ribbons.
“No, that’s not all.” His brown eyes softened and his squared shoulders dropped some. “I can tell
something is going on between y’all even if it hasn’t gone all the way yet. I’m your best fucking friend and
you haven’t mentioned a goddamn word to me.”
He knew exactly how to aim his guilt between my plates of armor. I rubbed my forehead and sighed,
relaxing my posture and resting my elbows on the counter. I was grateful for the short veil my hair
provided when it fell in my eyes.
“How the fuck was I supposed to tell you something like that?” My voice was hushed and quiet.
“Words, Kane. Use your fucking words. What’s going on with you? North is your daughter.”
“She’s more than that. She gets me and I get her. Once you surpass a certain level of pain and
heartache in your life, only a handful of people can relate to you. North is one of those people. Hell, she’s
the only person. My person.” I swallowed thinking about how much she endured already and my chest felt
heavy under the gravity.
“You love her.” He said it to himself more so than to me but I heard it and absorbed it as a reality I
couldn’t escape.
I loved North.
I loved her more than a father loved a daughter. I loved her on a level so deep and ancient words
were too weak to describe it. I loved her too much to fuck things up carelessly between us.
“I do,” I nodded. “That’s why I haven’t gone there with her yet. I don’t want to do anything that
could take her away from me or me away from her. If I act on my urges and someone finds out…”
“You’ll go to jail.”
“Exactly. If you can already see the way we look at each other, I don’t think we’ll be able to hide it
from other people.” I pushed a frustrated hand through my hair and stood straight up. “Listen, man I
don’t care if you judge us. I don’t care if you think this is sick. Just please keep it to yourself.”
After a few quiet seconds, Elijah looked at me, resolution in his eyes. “Judge you for what? Being in
love?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head like all the information shared in that kitchen
gave him a headache. “I’m not going to pretend to relate but I will say I’ve never seen you like this over
any woman. I’m not going to judge you and I’ve never been a snitch so…” He held his hand out and I
slapped it before patting his back.
“Thank you, Elijah.”
“You’re seriously not fucking her, right?”
“No, asshole.”
“Just asking. Judging by the way you look at her I can’t tell.”
“It’s the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever had to do but I’m waiting.”
After Elijah and I wrapped up our conversation, North and I said our goodbyes and headed home. I
couldn’t stop stealing glances at her out the corner of my eye. When we got in the truck, she pulled a
cherry Dum-Dum lollipop from her purse and popped it in her mouth. It was one of the snacks I always
picked up for her. She loved watermelon Sour Patch candies and Dum-Dums. I usually bought them both
by the bagful.
I was starting to regret buying the lollipops because I was going to crash if I kept staring at the
tight ring her pouty pink lips formed around the white stick. When we got to the house. I threw the
gearshift in park and got out without a word to North.
I was barely holding on by a thread. I had to put a little distance between us before I impaled her
with my dick. She was right on my heels calling my name and grabbing my arm. She shut the door behind
us and I hurried to the kitchen.
“Kane, what’s wrong with you? Did I do something?”
She shed her coat and looked up at me with impossibly blue eyes. The gray around her pupils was
like silver, sharp and gleaming. Her eyes would be my undoing every time.
I reached out and touched the dense freckles on the bridge of her nose, then I skimmed her high
cheekbones and held her jaw in my hand.
Her tongue pushed the shiny red lollipop to one side of her mouth, poking her cheek out. “Did
something happen when you talked to E?” She quizzed, knitting her ginger brows together.
“No. I mean, it did but nothing that upset me.”
Her lips sucked the lollipop and my dick jolted to life. I wet my own lips involuntarily. North made
me feel like a predator. I watched her every move calculating it like an equation. I was ready to pounce.
“Then why didn’t you talk on the way home? Why did you storm in here like—”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled her to me by her throat and tipped her chin to the ceiling so I
could kiss her neck. So I could bite her there and leave bright red marks of passion and possession. The
small frightened yip she let out made my cock fully erect.
“You and that goddamn lollipop, Shortcake.” My voice was pained because I knew I couldn’t fuck
her like I wanted to. I had to take her in black and white because full-color was too vivid and too
dangerous.
I lifted her onto the kitchen table and bunched her sweater dress around her slender hips. I inched
it up to her waist, over her breasts then finally over her head and onto the fucking floor. I stared at North
sitting there on the kitchen table in only her pale blue bra and panties and I willed time to speed up to her
eighteenth birthday.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” I muttered. I pulled the lollipop from her wet mouth and put it in
mine while I slipped bra straps over her freckled shoulders. I laid a framework of kisses on her warm,
dewy skin until I knelt before her like a sinner praying for forgiveness. I was about to taste the sweetest
sin and drink it down greedily.
“Kane,” she whispered pushing her fingers through my hair.
“Tell me what you want, Shortcake.” I pressed my lips to her pussy through the silky material of her
panties.
“I want you to taste my pussy.” She was nearly breathless and her thighs trembled on either side of
my face. A possessive noise steeped in grit rumbled in my chest. I sucked on her stiff clit through the wet
scrap of fabric between her thighs and she moaned, gripping my hair tight in her fist. I pulled her
underwear down until they circled her ankles then fell on the floor.
The smell of her was heavy in the air.
Earthy. Sweet. Mine.
I took the lollipop from my mouth and rolled it around her sensitive bundle of nerves, making her
stutter and gasp. I followed the candy with my mouth and let the two favors mingle and melt on my
tongue.
Cherries and North.
She was just as delicious as I imagined.
I’d licked her juices from my fingers many times but drinking straight from the tap was a different
kind of feeling.
A different kind of high.
It made my pupils dilate and the blood rush through my veins at the speed of light.
While my tongue lapped at her and my lips sucked on her plump clit, my free hand slid up her flat
stomach and under the cups of her bra until I was squeezing and pinching her nipples. When I pulled
away from her intoxicating pussy, she whined, her swollen, flushed lips turning down at the corners. “Why
did you stop?”
“Because I need to savor you.” I tugged at her bra until her tits popped out then rolled the sticky
lollipop across her rosebud nipples. Her areolas tightened and her nipples turned to sweet pebbles.
I squeezed them between my teeth and she whimpered. I slid the lollipop over her nipples again and
again following with my mouth each time. The cherry Dum-Dum shrank smaller and smaller. Before it was
gone, I dropped down to her pussy again, licking and sucking her wetness along with the tangy sweetness
of the cherry lollipop. I finished it, setting the stick aside while my tongue explored her pussy until all I
could taste was her.
My new favorite flavor.
“Shit, Kane I’m gonna…” She didn’t have to finish her statement. I knew. I was busy licking up every
creamy drop that painted my tongue. My lips, nose, and chin were her canvas to decorate freely and she
created a masterpiece. I rode her writhing hips with my hands so I didn’t miss any of her sweetness.
“Oh my god,” she breathed with one hand pressed to her chest. “That was amazing.” She tucked
her full bottom lip between her teeth and looked at me with smoldering blues. “I want to return the favor,”
she purred sliding her naked body off the table. Her blue bra left her small, pert tits uncovered and the
straps hanging near her waist.
I wanted to paint North just like that. Raw and wild.
If passion had a color it would be the bright pink of her lips after I’d sucked on them. If hunger had
a color it would be the blue flames in her eyes. North was a walking talking work of art.
I watched her lower to her knees in front of me and I was nearly ripping my pants off to give her
what she wanted. Once she shoved my boxer briefs down my thighs, my cock bobbed out heavy and thick.
North moaned before sliding the head of my dick past her lips.
I knew I wouldn’t last long the way her tongue made soft deliberate strokes along my shaft and
swirled across the head. She was a fucking pro. I wanted to give her a standing ovation when she plunged
me in the back of her throat.
“Fuuuck,” I hissed, unable to keep myself from grabbing her long red hair and fucking her face. “I’m
going to come, North. I need to know if you want…” I didn’t get to finish my warning because she grabbed
my ass forcing me deeper into her mouth.
My dick jerked then shot hot jets down her throat. I braced myself, planting my hand on the kitchen
table so my knees wouldn’t buckle and send me to the floor.
When I pulled my wet dick from her mouth, I watched her throat dip as she finished every drop of
me. Her big blue eyes stole my heart and everything else. I couldn’t turn away from her.
She was etched into me. She was the deep lines on my palms. The swirls on the pads of my fingers.
She was a part of everything I touched.
Waiting nearly a year for her to turn eighteen was going to shred me to pulp but I’d fight against my
own willpower to do things the right way. The way that would keep me out of jail and keep North in my
arms.
…
 CHAPTER 11

Ten months later…
My birthday was getting ready to roll around again. After months of cold showers and salty tears
from sexual frustration, I was almost there. I was so close I could taste it and so could Kane. Our foreplay
sessions had grown so intense he had to sleep alone this whole month. I didn’t argue with him about it
because I knew if we didn’t, we’d end up fucking.
Well, if I were quoting Kane, we’d end up “fucking from one end of the house to the other.” The
closer January got, the harder it got for us to be in the same damn room.
“Fuck,” I groaned after checking the schedule at work.”
“What’s up?” Kane peered over my shoulder while he stole kisses from my neck. I was hanging out
in his art studio while he painted a new piece for a special customer.
“I have to work in the afternoon for the next week and I won’t be able to see Sierra.”
It took a lot of work but through countless conversations and me going to see Sierra every week,
things had gotten back to somewhat normal between us. She still threw shots at me for leaving Delta but
her hostility died down as long as I was in town.
“Why don’t you invite her over here? You always go see her every week and she still hasn’t come to
Telluride despite your invitations.”
“Well, she has to work and she’s taking classes online and…” Kane walked around to look me in the
eye shooting his expression at me like daggers.
“North, you go see her all the time. Her time isn’t any more valuable than yours. If you’re invested
in this friendship even after everything I’ve told you…”
“I am. I told you she’s my only friend.”
“Okay,” He said holding his hands out. “You can take the truck when you get off and pick her up. I’ll
order something for dinner.”
“I’ll make dinner, Kane,” I laughed. I’d learned my way around the kitchen well and I baked a never-
ending buffet of treats since I couldn’t fuck the man I loved. Hell, I had to find some way to divert my
attention. Plus eating everything I cooked helped me pack on fifteen pounds and they were all in the right
places.
“You sure? I’m trying to take some of the burden off you.” He touched my hair and offered a soft
smile. My scalp buzzed from the magic in his fingertips.
“I’m sure, Dad,” I taunted, standing to my feet. Kane gripped my hips and pulled me against him so
hard and fast it made me yelp with laughter.
“What the hell did I tell you about calling me that, Shortcake?” He bit my bottom lip before pulling
it into his mouth and feeding me his tongue. I broke the slow and delicious kiss with a smile.
“I recall you saying something about only wanting to hear me call you daddy while your dick was in
me. You know, when the time is right and all.” I batted my lashes at him and he growled in response
before pinning me against the wall. Even with fifteen extra pounds, I was only one hundred twenty
pounds. I stood zero chance against Kane’s muscle-bound two-thirty.
I didn’t mind being pinned by him at all.
I breathed in his clean scent and basked in the warmth of his skin. This man had become so much
more than my father. So much more than my friend. He was the other part of my soul. The part I thought
didn’t exist. The part I needed to thrive.
Kane’s mouth tortured me with decadent kisses all over my throat like he was trying to pull the
moans directly from my voice box and devour them. I’d give him every moan I produced as long as he kept
kissing me that way.
“You can’t keep talking like that. You know what it does to me.” I knew exactly what it did to him
and evidence of it was stabbing into my belly hard and thick. I’d admittedly been pushing Kane a little
more the past few weeks. I was so close to turning eighteen but I was also close to losing my fucking mind
if I didn’t feel him inside of me. Cold showers weren’t cutting through my hunger anymore.
“I know,” I sighed against him. I reached down to stroke his hard cock through his sweatpants and
he tucked his bottom lip between his teeth. His green eyes burned into me. My throat thickened at the
way they smoldered.
 “With you talking about my dick inside of you, while you smell like cherries and delicious, wet pussy.
I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.” His big hand eased between my thighs and his thumb
found my clit. It was already aching for him like everything else in my body. He brushed his lips against
my shoulder. His facial hair tickled my skin leaving goosebumps behind.
I untied the drawstring at his tight waist and tugged on his heavy cock until it sprang free swaying
to its own baseline. Kane’s hands wasted no time shoving my dress up and lifting my leg so he could press
himself against my wettest, neediest part. The pressure made me whimper.
Whenever we’d gotten this close in the past, he pulled away or something disrupted us somehow. I
waited with bated breath for that moment to happen but it never came.
Was this finally it?
Had I whittled away at Kane’s unwavering willpower?
He pressed his forehead to mine and our gazes tangled green on blue.
“You know you’re wearing me down, don’t you, North?” My eyes went wide and I nibbled on my
bottom lip, nodding up at him. “We. Can’t. Do. This.” Pain blared in his eyes but they still darkened with
the desire to fuck me. I felt it pulsing through him.
He slid his dick against my pussy achingly slow.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
I was swimming in urges. They were about to close over my head submerging me for good. My
panties were soaked and they got wetter every time he slid against me.
“Fuck, North.” His hungry growl and the way my name poured over his lips made me pulse all over.
With the collar of his shirt in my fist, I pulled him against my mouth and tugged on his bottom lip with my
teeth.
“Please, Kane,” I begged in a soft whimper that made his cock throb against me. The jolt made my
clit jump to life and forced a moan from me.
“Your pussy is so fucking wet.” He shut his eyes and quieted my whines with his mouth. He
controlled me with that one kiss. He buckled my knees with one thrust and I couldn’t stop myself from
coming all over him.
I didn’t want to come right then. I wanted to hold on to my orgasm and lord it over his head hoping
he’d fuck me and take my shudders and trembles by force. My body was such a goddamn traitor. It didn’t
put up a fight at all. Kane was a thief.
Was it really a crime if I enjoyed it though?
“Shit…” Kane groaned right before he shot his warm, silky load all over my pretty pink panties. “We
keep playing with fire,” he said catching his breath and lowering my leg.
“I like fire,” I told him. I was drunk on the way he felt pressed against me. The way his hard muscles
and rigid dick felt digging into my softness. I wanted more. I needed more.
“So do I. That’s the fucking problem.” He tugged on my hair then took a step back just as the
doorbell rang downstairs. We shared a look then Kane tucked his softening dick away before composing
himself.
When he left the room, I pulled my dress down and walked down the hall trying to ignore the way
my leg muscles quivered.
“What’s up, Kane? You done with the piece?” Elijah’s voice froze me to my spot.
“I’m putting the finishing touches on it.” The next thing I heard was footsteps heading closer toward
me. I regained my composure and moved down the hall to my room.
“What’s up, North?” Elijah spoke with a smile in his voice. I plastered a grin to my face and turned
slowly to look at him.
“Hey, E. I didn’t know you were coming over.” I pressed my back against the closed bedroom door
and tried to ignore Kane’s cum slipping down my inner thighs.
“I stopped by to check on the progress of the painting Kane is working on. You doing okay?” He
eyed me suspiciously. I tried my best to act easy and relaxed but knowing the way Kane came all over my
panties made me want to hide my face.
“Yup, I’m good. Getting ready to go to work.”
“This late in the afternoon?” He quizzed.
“Yup. I’ll see you later.” I flashed another obviously awkward smile then disappeared into my room
with a heavy sigh. My shoulders dropped as I headed to the bathroom for a shower.
 When I got out, I called Sierra to see if she’d be okay with me picking her up so we could hang out.
“At your house in Rich City?” She let out a short laugh. “You sure your dad is okay with that?”
“Kane is fine with it. He suggested it,” I said with a shrug.
“Did you tell your therapist you call your daddy by his first name?”
“She knows I call him Kane,” I frowned.
Dr. Allen was fantastic and it was because of her that I’d started taking cooking and baking seriously
as a hobby and a way to feed my mind when I started down a dark path. I saw her twice a month and I
was grateful for every visit. I hadn’t overcome all my issues surrounding Mom but she helped me put them
in a place where I could see and identify them.
“She hasn’t told you how weird that shit is?”
“No. Because it’s not. Now, do you want to come over or not?”
“Sure. Why not? I’ve never been to a mansion before. It’ll be nice.”
“I keep telling you it’s a normal ass house. Three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a dining
room.”
“Okay, North. Pick me up when you get off.”
“Okay cool.” I smiled a little before ending the call then I got dressed for work.
Dr. Allen wanted me to distance myself from Sierra after I told her how bitter she became once I
moved but I told her the same thing I told Kane, she wasn’t used to not having me around her. We spent
every minute together when were growing up. It was easy to understand the slight resentment. It seemed
like I was the only one who was willing to be patient and forgiving though.
“Hey, how’s the painting? Done yet?” I poked my head into Kane’s art studio and looked around. He
looked up at me from the canvas with a devastating smile that made his eyes glitter like gems. My heart
raced to catch up to the moment that felt like it was standing still.
“I’m signing it now. Once it dries fully, I’ll bring it to the gallery and frame it. I think this is my best
work yet. I can’t believe Mr. Chandler wants it in his exhibit.”
The customer Kane was painting for was a prominent art dealer who’d been into the gallery every
damn month stalking Kane’s work and begging to commission him for an exclusive piece. Kane finally
agreed a couple of months ago and now he was finished. Once he delivered the painting, it would put half
a million dollars in his account.
“It’s breathtaking,” I smiled. I wondered if he could see the pride beaming inside of me. After sitting
with Kane while he worked painstakingly on that piece, It was like my baby too.
“Thank you, Shortcake. Hey, I’m sorry Elijah came over and caught us off guard. I didn’t know he
was stopping by when he locked up for the day.”
“It’s fine, Kane. At least he didn’t walk in on us in the act. Which, by the way, was very fucking hot.”
I bounced on the balls of my feet a little then grinned.
“Too hot.” He pushed his fingers through his hair and I studied the way the sun bounced off those
russet strands tucked between the thick mahogany waves. “Elijah is coming over tonight with Mel for
drinks and dinner. I need a distraction from you before you end up full of my dick.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“North,” he grumbled.
“Okay, okay. It’s fine. It’ll be like a dinner party. I have seafood lasagna in the fridge. Put it in the
oven when I’m on my way back with Sierra. I’ll make the salad when I get home.”
“You sure? I can make it. How hard can cutting up veggies be?” He shrugged his broad shoulders
and I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“If you mess up the salad I’m going to hurt you.”
“So you’ll let me do it?” He lifted an eyebrow at me and I swooned. How could I ever tell him no?
“Yes, make the salad, Dad.” His brows dropped to a scowl and I laughed before leaving the room.
…
 CHAPTER 12

“I brought vodka,” Elijah said, proudly displaying the clear bottle of Beluga Vodka in his grip.
“And I brought the lime and ginger beer so we can have Moscow Mules instead of vodka shots like
Elijah wanted.” She smiled big and bright then hugged me. Her relationship with Elijah had blossomed
into an ongoing love affair that settled Melanie’s over the top personality. She even apologized for the
obvious way she threw herself at me when we first met. Elijah liked to pretend none of it happened. In his
mind, she always had eyes for him and vice versa.
After I spent weeks with Melanie completing her paintings, I learned a lot about her and found out
she was actually a decent human being. She was lonely and scared after moving to a new town but finding
friends helped mellow her out a lot.
“Where’s North?” Melanie asked on her way to the kitchen.
“Work, then she’s going to pick up her friend Sierra from Delta and bring her back to have dinner
with us.”
“Aww, how sweet?” She paused after sitting her bag down on the counter. “Kane, did you make
these lasagnas? They look amazing.”
Two pans of seafood lasagna sat on the stove waiting to go into the oven. “No, I can’t take credit for
that. North made them. If it weren’t for her I’d still be eating pizza and Chinese food.”
Melanie stopped pulling things out of the bag and looked at me with a half-smile on her lips. “I
thought maybe she finally taught you.” She snickered then drew in a breath. “You’ve got to let that girl
teach you how to make all these amazing dishes. Oh, and if you can get her to teach you how to make the
orange scones, pass me the recipe,” she laughed. “But seriously, Kane, what are you going to do when she
moves out? She’ll be eighteen in a month I’m sure she has plans.”
The thought of North moving out tightened my chest and turned my muscles stiff. I knew that wasn’t
Mel’s goal so I didn’t hold it against her. If I had my way, North would never leave. We’d get a chance to
write our story without judgmental eyes and gossip.
I could hear everyone in town running their fucking mouths about how I manipulated and corrupted
my own daughter into having a relationship with me. I hated how salacious and ridiculous it sounded in
my head but I knew if word got out about us that’s exactly what would be said.
I had to shift gears before my tense emotions scribbled themselves across my features. I turned the
oven on and had a seat at the kitchen table. Memories flashed in my mind vivid and bright of North’s
crimson hair spilling over her shoulders and down her back while her eyes were shut in ecstasy. I saw her
with a cherry Dum-Dum lollipop in her mouth, and me between her legs bringing her wave after wave of
climax with my mouth until she cried.
“North made these right? Because I don’t want to spend the entire night in the bathroom over an
experimental dish you tried.” Elijah pulled up a chair beside me and I cracked a smile, appreciative of the
distraction. The longer I thought about North the more my dick stood at attention.
“Yes, she made them,” I sighed.
“Did Kane tell you North is having a friend over for dinner tonight? Is it the same girl she always
goes to Delta to see?” Melanie looked from Elijah then to me.
“Yeah, that’s her,” I sighed. “Hey, Mel you’ve dealt with friends that were no good for you, right?” I
quizzed. Elijah let out a knowing grunt. He’d spent countless hours listening to me gripe over this Sierra
girl.
No matter how many times I told North she was bitter and jealous, she refused to listen. I didn’t
know how else to get through to her but I refused to stop trying.
Melanie nodded and waited for me to continue.
“North’s friend is no fucking good. I can’t get her to see it for herself though. I was thinking maybe
you could talk to her later tonight. Nothing I say about Sierra matters.
I think it’s because North needs a friend. She needs to be able to redeem someone since everyone
has failed her or left her at some point…even me.” I dropped my gaze to the wooden tabletop and exhaled.
No matter how many times I sat in Dr. Allen’s office, I still couldn’t forgive myself for leaving North
and not making her come with me after the divorce. It was a dark stain on my soul. I scrubbed at my
beard when the sting of regret burned too hot.
 “Kane, you did what you had to do. North didn’t understand back then but she’s a smart girl and she
knows now,” Elijah said.
“You’re probably right.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked at Melanie. “Will you talk to
her? It doesn’t have to happen all at once. Honestly, I’d prefer if it didn’t happen all at once. She just
needs to know that…”
“She has a friend. A real one.” Melanie reached across the table and squeezed my hand. I nodded
and pushed a chunk of hair behind my ear. “So what’s Sierra’s deal? Is she a mean girl? Bitchy?
Backstabby?”
“Worse. She’s jealous.” The oven beeped letting me know the temperature was right so I put the
pans of lasagna in the way North instructed me. “She grew up with North and when they were kids she
was a good friend to her. They shared suffering. That was how their bond was formed. Sierra bounced
around in foster homes and North dealt with Izzy’s addiction.
I think as long as North was suffering with Sierra things were okay but now…”
“North is thriving and Sierra is bitter,” Melanie frowned.
“Exactly. There’s no redeeming a toxic thought pattern like that. You can’t be best friends with
anyone who wants you to live below them so they feel important.” I clenched my fist and stared at the
snow falling lazily out of the window.
“Nope. People show their true selves when you’re doing better than they are. North has to see that
shit for herself. Nobody’s going to be able to show her,” Elijah said.
“I’ll talk to her. We’ll hang out a little later tonight if I can get her alone. If not, trust me I’ll pull her
aside soon for girl talk.” Melanie’s smile was warm and genuine. I saw the sincerity in her gray eyes and it
gave me comfort.
I knew trauma bonding was a toxic foundation. North had come too far to let someone crawl inside
her head and pull her back down. I refused to let that shit happen on my watch.
While the lasagnas baked and filled the house with an insanely delicious aroma, Elijah, Mel, and I
drank Moscow Mules and laughed at my horrible vegetable cutting skills. I got the salad done but it
definitely wasn’t Instagram worthy. Not by far.
By the time North got home with Sierra in tow, I was buzzed from the vodka and had to fight myself
not to pull her slender tight body into my arms for a hug. I saw the fatigue in her storm-cloud eyes when
she walked into the kitchen but my girl lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw me.
“Hey, Kane,” her smile was soft but I saw everything she was trying to hide. She wanted to lay her
head against my chest and push her fingers through my hair. She wanted to feel my mouth on hers while I
spoke against her lips and asked how her day was.
“Hey, Shortcake. How was your day?” If we were alone, I’d be busy peeling her out of her clothes so
I could taste how her day was.
“Busy,” she sighed. She made her way around the room greeting Elijah and Melanie then
introducing Sierra. I eyed her problematic best friend making sure my polite mask was in place so she
didn’t see how much disdain I held for her.
“Glad you came to visit, Sierra. Welcome. Make yourself at home. There are some drinks in the
fridge.” Sierra’s brown eyes climbed up my frame until she rested on my eyes. A smirk lifted one side of
her full lips.
“I want whatever you guys are having in those mugs.” She tipped her chin toward the copper mugs
sitting on the kitchen table.
Those are Moscow Mules. Not for people under twenty-one.” I chuckled then pulled open the fridge.
“All of this is yours for the taking though.”
“Thanks, Kane,” North said cutting in. “I’m gonna go upstairs and get out of these clothes and into
the shower.” She bounced up on her tiptoes and looked over my shoulder at the lasagnas. “They look
good,” she chirped.
“I’m capable of putting food in the oven to heat it up. We’ve discussed that.” I reached out and
tugged on her pretty red hair. I stared at the freckles on her lips then dipped down to her neck.
Fuck, she was perfect.
The liquor coursing through me was making it tough to ignore the familiar behavior between us.
The way my hand went to the small of her back and my lips clung to her throat. I was hungry for her and
after nearly fucking her in my art studio I was about to devour her now.
 “Hurry up so we can eat, North. I’ve been smelling these bomb-ass lasagnas for an hour. I’m
hungry.” Elijah must have seen the way I stared at her. He cut in just in the nick of time.
“Okay,” she laughed taking a step away from me. I must’ve looked like a wolf ready to attack. It’s
how I felt inside.
When North and Sierra disappeared upstairs and Melanie excused herself to answer a phone call,
Elijah pinned me with a pointed look. “Yo, Kane, you need to stop looking at North like you’re ready to put
all of us out and fuck her on the counter.”
I rubbed my forehead and fell into a chair at the table. “Fuck…I’m losing my goddamn mind, Elijah.
You know how long I’ve been waiting?”
“It’s December, hold on one more month, man.” I heard him, I really did but the beast inside of me
wasn’t willing to listen anymore. I came too close earlier. Feeling how wet North got all over my dick was
like a fucking drug.
I understood why logic was useless against addicts now because nothing anyone said could stop the
rampant thoughts and desires from ruling my brain. I wanted North on my tongue. I wanted her wrapped
tight around my cock. I wanted her crimson hair in my fucking fist while I bent her spine and buried deep
inside of her.
There was no cure for that.
I knew it was probably sick to normal people but after living with North for a year and watching her
grow and blossom, I wasn’t normal anymore. I was feral. I was beyond logic.
I was in love.
“Sorry about that, guys. Let’s pour up some more drinks while we wait for North to come down.”
Melanie walked back into the kitchen determined to get us fucked up and I wasn’t protesting. I needed
something to take the edge off.
Our conversations climbed in volume, full of laughter and jokes. It was the perfect thing to take my
mind off North. Good times with good people always eased the empty pang of not having what I needed
from the woman I adored.
“Wow, you guys are having a ball down here.” Sierra’s voice cut through the laughter and easy
conversation. She leaned against the doorframe, eyeing me. Was I losing my shit or was this girl eye-
fucking me?
“Grab a seat, Sierra.” Melanie gestured to the empty chair beside her. Sierra sauntered over and sat
down, never once letting her eyes drift from mine. That shit made me uncomfortable, to say the least.
“So, you still working at the steakhouse down in Delta?” I quizzed, taking a swallow of the vodka
concoction in my cup.
“Yup and it’s still a shit hole. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good daddy like North.” She covered her
comment up with laughter but I didn’t find it funny. I met her stare with a steely grimace. “This house is
gorgeous by the way, Mr. Fitzgerald.”
“Thanks. You can call me Kane.” I tried to be nice for North’s sake but everything about Sierra
plucked at me like an off-tune song.
“North told me you said she could call you Kane. I thought she was lying. I mean I’d never miss a
chance to call you Daddy. It’s something a lot of kids take for granted. I wish I could call my adopted
father Dad.” I narrowed my eyes at the slick way Sierra bent words to make her seem innocent. Nobody at
the table was buying that shit though. Everyone saw through her veil.
“Wow, you’re a forward little thing,” Mel remarked with a raised brow.
“Oh, no. I wasn’t trying to be.” Sierra’s words melted away when North walked into the kitchen.
Fuck. Me.
North wore a black and white houndstooth skirt that hit the middle of her thigh and a soft white
sweater that bared a hint of her flat stomach. Her silky scarlet mane was styled in two perfect French
braids that fell over her shoulders and curled at the tips, begging me to pull them.
I tipped my mug up and focused on the warmth the vodka provided so I didn’t focus on the stiff dick
and racing heart that North provided. “Wow, you look so cute,” Melanie fawned over North while I looked
down at my phone. I couldn’t risk everyone in the room noticing the way my eyes peeled the clothes from
her body and left her standing naked in front of me.
“Thanks, Mel. I wanted to look nice since I’m always in that damn apron.” She aimed those blue
eyes at me and I was helpless against the slow smile that inched across my face.
 “You look beautiful, Shortcake.”
“Girl, I told you not to wear that outfit. You don’t have the curves to pull it off,” Sierra said with a
sigh. The very tips of North’s ears blazed red and her arms curled around her midsection in a protective
hug.
“She looks fine,” I growled. The flush at the tips of North’s ears crawled down to the apples of her
cheeks and her posture turned from proud to shy.
“It’s fine. She’s probably right,” she stammered.
“You know I didn’t mean anything by it,” Sierra laughed to cover the venom her words dealt to
North’s confidence.
“Then you shouldn’t have said it,” I snapped. “North, can I speak to you in the living room?” I stood
to my feet, alcohol slowing my steps down. She nodded then hurried out of the kitchen.
Once we were alone, I moved her into a far corner of the room. My height eclipsed her, forcing her
head to tip all the way back. “I know what you’re going to say but she wasn’t trying to be mean.
“She was trying to be mean,” I pled with her, staring deep into those hypnotizing eyes. I wished for
once she’d listen and stop trying to save people who couldn’t be saved.
“She wasn’t. Please don’t go all papa bear tonight.” She paused and looked at me with a lifted brow.
“You’ve been drinking.”
I shut my eyes when she dragged her nails through my beard then down my neck. My dick jolted to
life for her touch.
“I’m a little drunk but that doesn’t change the fact that your friend is being a fucking hater and it
doesn’t change how absolutely sinful you look in this outfit. Dammit, Shortcake. You’re trying to unravel
the rest of my willpower, aren’t you?” I pressed her against the wall, leaning into her with my weight.
“I’m always trying to unravel you, Daddy.” Her voice was so quiet I thought I imagined it. The way
my dick pressed against my pants told me I wasn’t imagining things.
I looked over my shoulder briefly before digging my fingers into her delicate jawline and colliding
with her mouth. I tasted cherries on her tongue as I probed her warm mouth, exploring her plump lips
and biting them slowly one at a time until she moaned. I pushed my hand between her thighs. The heat
pouring from her pussy made me more intoxicated than the countless mules I had.
“You’re not wearing any panties,” I spoke in her ear.
“I didn’t think I’d need any at the end of the night,” she purred, draping her arms around my neck.
“North, do you know how hard it is for me not to fuck you against this wall until you rain all over my
dick?” My fingers slid from her jaw to her throat and she gasped softly. It wasn’t from fear though.
No.
My girl was turned the fuck on. I smelled her pussy in the air and it made my stomach growl with
hunger only she could satiate. That fucking outfit was a bad choice. It was going to get her stuffed full of
dick so close to her birthday.
“I know exactly how hard it is.” She gripped my erection through my pants and I pushed out a slow
hiss of air.
“Are we playing dirty, Shortcake?” I nipped at her earlobe and she giggled. It was such a soft, sweet
sound. I slid my long middle finger along her slick pussy lips then pushed inside her tight hole and stroked
her until she closed her eyes. Then I brought my hand to my mouth and let her throat go before I lost my
mind and screwed her while everyone was in the kitchen.
“Maybe,” she shrugged, regaining her posture and composure. I held my still wet finger under my
nose and smirked at her. I watched her knees knock together while she stared at me and leaned against
the wall again for support.
“My lips have been a little dry this winter.” I slid my middle finger along my top and bottom lips and
winked at her. “I think this should help.” I slid my finger in my mouth after I was done wetting my lips
with her pussy and tasted her.
North’s blue-gray orbs went wide as she stared at me in disbelief. “Did you just…” She aimed her
finger at me while her cheeks turned bright pink.
“Come on, Shortcake, we’re being rude to our guests.” I slapped her ass and she glared at me but
she couldn’t hide the grin on her face.
It was my duty to keep her grinning and coming over and over.
…
 CHAPTER 13

Every time I watched Kane lick his lips or take a drink from his cup, my pussy throbbed with
memories of him smearing me all over his lips. Damn, that man knew how to warp my mind in the best
way.
After dessert, Sierra offered to stick around in the kitchen to clean up the dishes. I was busy putting
away plates and silverware in the dishwasher while Sierra poured us a cup of Beluga vodka. Shit, I
needed it after what happened before dinner between Kane and me.
“Drink before your dad comes in,” she said shoving a glass in my direction.
“Yeah, because he won’t smell it on my breath,” I laughed. I still drank it anyway.
“Girl, you’ll be fine.” She waved her hand at me then tipped her glass up catching the last potent
drops on her tongue. “Speaking of fine…” She hopped up on the counter and crossed her legs. “Your
daddy is fine as fuck.” Her voice was a smooth hum that needled under my skin. I finished off my drink
and fingered the end of one of my braids.
“Stop, Sierra.” I shook my head and turned on the dishwasher.
“What? I know it’s weird for you but…mmm.” A slow smile broadened her lips as she rocked from
side to side. “I’d call that man daddy all night.”
“That’s enough.” I held my hand up and frowned. “You can’t handle your liquor so I’m sure it’s about
to hit you hard.”
“It is not,” she giggled following me into the living room. I paused at the doorway and without
saying a word Kane found my eyes and stole my breath.
“Hey guys, we’re gonna head upstairs.” I made sure to look everyone in the eye so I wouldn’t fall
headfirst into the green pools on the couch.
“Okay, Shortcake.” He offered me a smile from his seat that would have melted my panties if I had
any on.
“See you guys later. Sierra, it was nice meeting you.” Melanie stood to hug me. When she leaned in,
she whispered in my ear. “Can we grab a coffee tomorrow?”
“Sure, that sounds good.” I pulled away from Melanie and felt two green and honey-flecked laser
beams on me. I tried so hard not to look but I was helpless against his pull.
“Sierra, you need a ride home?” Kane pried his heated gaze off me and looked at Sierra for an
answer.
“I was hoping to spend the night and leave in the morning if that’s okay with you.” Sierra laid it on
thick but I didn’t know if it would work on Kane because he didn’t like her. I cleared my throat and smiled
at him, clasping my hands together.
His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched but he nodded his head. I knew damn well it wasn’t because
of Sierra. He caved because of me.
“Okay, you might be right. I can’t handle my liquor,” Sierra groaned as we hurried up the steps
before Kane changed his mind.
“Yeah, I know.” I patted her back and led her into my bedroom. Little by little I’d turned the room
into my own but I rarely slept in there. Kane’s room had more of me in it than my own.
Sierra fell backward on my bed and pressed her hand to her forehead. “I’m gonna pass out in your
bed, North.”
“Ooh, shocker,” I laughed. “Well, before you pass out from one fucking drink like a lightweight…
thank you for coming over. It means a lot.” She lifted up on her elbows and smiled at me.
“Aww, North. Like I’d miss a chance to visit Telluride.”
“You just came over to see the town? Really, Sierra?”
“Oh god, I came to see you too. Stop bitching.”
“I’m not bitching.” I flipped her off and watched as her heavy lids slid closed.
She wasn’t lying about stealing my bed either. Luckily, I planned on sleeping in Kane’s room so she
could have my bed. I looked at her, still fully dressed and slipping deeper into sleep.
I dug through my drawers and found a pair of pajama pants then tugged her stiff jeans off and
wiggled her limp, sleep-laden legs into a pair of fuzzy white pants. I was exhausted after putting pants on
her so I left her t-shirt on and draped my blanket over her.
 Flashbacks of my mother assaulted me. Memories of getting her undressed when she was passed
out then putting her into clean pajamas smacked into me. I still smelled the thick ammonia of urine after
she had an accident and was too high to clean herself. I still felt piss dampening my palms and the heels
of my hand as I shoved cold, stiff clothes into the washing machine. I relived the disgust and pity like
Mom was still alive.
I stepped out of my bedroom and closed the door quietly behind me before the sour memories made
me cry. I headed down the hall to Kane’s room and sat on his bed, wrestling with the stubborn knot of
grief in my throat. I don’t know how long I sat there staring at the wall, trying to piece together the deep
feelings of resentment churning at my core.
When Kane came in, my trance was broken. I blinked away stray tears and wiped them from my
cheeks. “Hey,” I sniffled, standing to my feet. “Sorry. Sierra fell asleep in my bed.”
“Were you crying?” His thick brows pulled together and his eyes crinkled at the corners. His
concern put a match to the remaining composure I had. My lips trembled and my emotions liquefied
rolling down my face. In seconds, Kane swept me into his arms, holding all my broken pieces together.
“It’s okay, North. Whatever is weighing you down, you can let it go.” He spoke with his lips nestled
against my hair, pouring love into my warped brain.
“I thought I’d moved past crying over Mom. I mean all those sessions with Dr. Allen and all the
progress I’ve made feels like nothing. It still hurts like it’s fresh. I don’t want to feel this right now.” Kane
sat down on the bed and pulled me into him. He was refuge from the storm.
“Tell me what you want to feel, baby.” His fingers skimmed up and down my spine through my
sweater. Lightning followed his touch. “Tell me how to make it better.”
“I want to feel you,” I told him. I’d never felt so sure and clear about anything in my fucking life. I
slid my hand against the side of his face and he nodded before kissing me. His lips worked wonders on my
aching soul. He patched together the shredded pieces of my heart and rubbed salve on the places where
memories burned me. The spots that had been charred black with pain.
Kane laid me on the bed gently before pressing kisses along my jawline while slipping under my
sweater. I loved how his hands felt on my skin. Warm and rough but never jagged or scratchy. They were
perfect.
“I love you,” he said with his lips to my throat. My stomach fluttered and my body temperature
soared. Those words were more than decoration on a pretty moment. I felt them settle inside my DNA
healing whatever fucked up trauma Mom planted there.
A sob caught in my throat but I choked it down because now wasn’t the time for my mother to crash
the party. I meant what I said. I didn’t want to be sad over her. I didn’t want to go through those memories
and drown under them again.
I wanted to feel free and happy.
I wanted to feel loved and seen.
I wanted Kane.
I found his mouth with mine and sucked on his tongue hungrily. He tasted like vodka and heat. My
hands discovered perfect muscles beneath his shirt and I traced every dip and divot from memory because
for countless nights his body had been my roadmap to salvation.
“I love you too, Kane.” I breathed when my lungs would finally allow it. Lava replaced the blood in
my veins when I felt his stiff dick press against me as it had done countless times before. God, I was so
hungry for this man.
The way he shoved my legs apart and massaged my clit with his thumb was electrical. Spiky
currents surged through my limbs as my back arched toward the ceiling. Kane’s thick long fingers spread
me open and dipped inside of me shallow at first then deeper while our tongues danced.
I still needed more.
I needed to feel all of him inside me.
I reached down and gripped his dick through his pants sliding my hand up and down. He pulled
back and looked at me with savage need dancing in his irises.
“I want to see you,” I said with lust lingering in my voice.
He stood at the foot of the bed and pulled his shirt off. My eyes ate up every dense muscle. Every
inch of perfect skin. I traveled from his sculpted pectorals to his abs then to the devastating V-cut starting
at his hips.
 I reached out and touched the slashes of muscle and veins pressing against his olive skin below his
navel. I knew exactly where all the blood in his body was rushing. I unbuckled his belt and he worked his
jeans off then his black boxer briefs until he was in full glory.
Naked and breathtaking.
I licked my lips at the sight of his strong and rigid dick. The perfectly formed head and the long
thick shaft. My tongue glued itself to the roof of my mouth as hunger set in. I wanted to run my tongue
along every vein.
“Take it off. Now,” he commanded, looking at my body while he fisted his cock from base to crown.
My heart slammed against my breastbone as I undressed for him. I knelt on the plush bed, dropping
each article off the side and onto the floor. Kane’s green eyes darkened from emerald to forest as he
watched me like a lion stalking prey.
I watched him too. My eyes fixed on the crystal clear bead of pre-cum he’d worked up. It pooled at
the tip of his dick and I wanted to lick it off more than any-fucking-thing.
“God, you are so perfect, North.” He positioned himself over me in bed and nudged my knees apart.
My stomach turned into a boulder.
This was it.
Even though I’d dreamt about how our bodies would feel against each other and how he’d feel
inside of me, I couldn’t help being nervous.
“I can smell how wet your pussy is,” he said. The look in his eyes was feral and unhinged.
Something inside him had snapped but I wanted it. I wanted the urges he’d hidden away for nearly a year.
I wanted the ignored desire and urgency.
“All for you, Daddy.” My throat tightened at the darkened expression on Kane’s face. Whatever I
thought was unhinged in him before was clearly still hanging on by a thread. A thread I incinerated with
my words.
“What did you say, Shortcake?” He growled, pressing his forehead against mine. I blinked at him,
terrified and turned on at the same time. My belly flopped over and over.
“Say it again,” he taunted. He slid the swollen head of his cock across my sensitive clit and I gasped.
“I said…” My voice wobbled under the gravity of Kane’s stare. He was charging all the dead and
forgotten pieces of me with life. “It’s all for you, Daddy.”
“Good girl, Shortcake.” He grumbled and continued sliding his dick along my pussy while I
squirmed. “Calm down. I need to make sure you’re nice and wet for me before I fuck you.” My insides
screamed for time to move faster. “Because you know you’ve worn me down don’t you?” He nipped at my
bottom lip hard. It sent a spike of pain through me that melted with the intense pleasure he caused
between my legs.
I nodded my head and stared up at him, wondering if he knew how close I was to coming just like
that. With him stroking my pussy until I flooded the bed.
“You better not fucking come, North. I want to feel you come for me while I’m inside of you.” He
pressed his dick against my opening and my body clenched. “Are you a virgin, Shortcake?” He’d told me
before that he didn’t want to know because if he knew the answer, either way, it would drive him insane.
“No,” I breathed, on the edge of insanity with the way he teased me.
“No?” A flash of anger flickered in his dark green pools. He pushed against me harder that time.
“Kane please fuck me,” I begged, rocking my hips against him. I didn’t have to ask again. In one
thrust he pushed inside and I dug my nails into his strong shoulders. His strokes were hard and hungry
and everything I fucking wanted.
He watered fire flowers inside of me and when they blossomed, flames licked my throat. Every
heated moan urged him on making him sink deeper into me.
This was not lovemaking. This was not romantic and perfect. This was fueled by tension and
deprivation. This was the culmination of love undeclared. Kane and I were finally unrestrained.
He slammed into me, dotting my vision with white-hot stars. I stretched around him like my body
had always belonged to him and only him. Like we were forged to fit each other.
“You. Are. Mine.” Kane growled the words out as his thumb ghosted over my lips. I pulled his thumb
into my mouth and sucked on it while he fucked me relentlessly. Violently. Deliciously.
My entire body sang his praises. My blood hummed in tune with his rhythm. He broke me down to
pulp and reconstructed me as a goddess. I’d never felt so sexy and free before in my life.
 I didn’t care who thought we shouldn’t be together. He was the only choice for me. I was his and he
was mine. Nothing would shake that truth from the stone it was being etched in.
“Fuck, North…I’m about to come so goddamned hard.” He slipped a hand between us and teased
my clit until I rained all over his cock. My walls squeezed and pulsed. I was so full of him I thought I would
pop.
“Oh my god,” I squeaked, clawing at his back while he drove deeper into me. I didn’t think his dick
could swell anymore but he proved me so fucking wrong. He buried himself as deep as I would allow
before he exploded. I needed every drop of him. I locked my ankles behind him and took every lush drop
of cum while my body shook and trembled beneath him.
I was breathless and hoarse by the time my pulse returned to normal. Kane pulled me close to him
and my head fell to his chest. “Are you mad at me?” I creaked.
“No, Shortcake.” His wide palm slid down the small of my back and gripped my naked ass. “We’ll
talk in the morning.” He smoothed wisps of my damp hair back and kissed my forehead when I tilted my
chin up to look at him.
I couldn’t fight my heavy lids if I wanted to. Kane fucked me so good that sleep was the only option.
…
“Where’d you go last night?” Sierra quizzed, clicking her seatbelt into place. I checked the mirrors
in the truck then pulled away from Fitzgerald’s Fine Art Gallery. I had to drop Kane off at work then take
Sierra back home in time for her to get to work.
“Did you wake up looking for me?” I chuckled, trying to divert the question. I still didn’t know if I
could trust Sierra with the information about my relationship with Kane.
“Yeah. I didn’t walk through the house or anything but when I woke up to use the bathroom, you
weren’t there.”
“Well, you took up most of the bed on your own and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“So, where’d you sleep? In the closet?” She laughed at her own joke but I knew she wanted
answers. How could I say I wanted our friendship to work if I kept important things from her? We never
kept things from each other.
“I slept in Kane’s room,” I sighed quietly. There. It was out in the open…mostly.
Sierra blinked a few times and turned in her seat to face me. I’d never been so focused on driving
before.
“You slept where?”
“In Kane’s room.”
“In Kane’s…bed?” I saw her eyebrow lift out the corner of my eye. Heat flushed my cheeks and
spiraled down my neck. I regretted wearing a scarf instantly.
“Yes, in his bed, Sierra.”
“North, are you fucking your father?” I cringed inwardly at her question. It sounded so much worse
than what it was. I blinked away the sting of her misunderstanding and shook my head emphatically.
“No, because he’s not my father.” My grip tightened around the steering wheel.
“He raised you,” she balked with wide eyes. I came to a stop at a red light and turned to her.
“We’re not those people anymore. It’s hard to explain.”
“It’s not hard at all. You’re screwing the man who raised you, blood or not. North that’s wild. It
makes sense now why he’s taking care of you the way he is. You give a man some pussy and he’ll jump
through hoops.”
“What?” I snapped, narrowing my eyes. “Kane isn’t taking care of me. I work and I contribute. When
I find something I want to go to school for then I’ll enroll in classes.”
“And he’ll pay for them because he has his daughter in his bed.” She tossed her head back and
laughed. It all was wrong.
Her laugh.
Her assumptions.
Everything.
“You are running an amazing game on Daddy dearest, North, I’ll give you that. All this time I
thought you left Delta to spite me. Now I see you were trying to secure a better life at the expense of your
father.”
“It’s not like that!” My voice exploded, bouncing off the surfaces in the truck’s interior. It was
enough to finally render Sierra quiet for a few minutes. My lips flattened into a line as I ordered my
thoughts. “The relationship I have with Kane isn’t for money. I love him. He’s the only person who never
left me.”
“He left you when he divorced your mother, North or are you forgetting about that?”
“He wanted me to come with him but I refused. He was always there when I needed him though.” I
flexed my fingers so I didn’t break the steering wheel in half.
“He was there when you needed him but where was he when you were hungry? I was the one who
helped you. I feel like you’re letting dick blind you to who was really there.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You and me are not in the same league as Kane and me. Not even the
same fucking stratosphere. You’re my best friend. He’s…”
“Your father. Look, I’m not here to judge. If you want to fuck him then fuck him. Just don’t pretend
he’s the only one who never left you.”
Her pointed words dented my exterior. I drove along in silence for a while before I was calm enough
to speak.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings, Sierra,” I finally said. Mending my friendship with her meant
more than me trying to explain a relationship she wouldn’t understand. She didn’t need to know the depth
of my love for Kane. She didn’t need to know how much he’d helped me overcome in the past year or how
he proved himself when she went silent on me.
All of that would surface in due time. Right then, I just didn’t want to lose someone else I loved.
Especially not if I could ease her hurt feelings with an apology.
“I know you think you’re better than me now but don’t forget who’s always had your fucking back,
North.”
I remained silent until I could figure out exactly how I felt. I could never forget the way Sierra and I
were there for each other when we were younger but since I moved to Telluride she’d changed. I wish I
understood her anger and why it was always aimed toward me.
Our conversation was strained the rest of the ride into Delta and when I pulled up at her apartment,
the energy didn’t magically rebound.
“You wanna come up?” She asked. It felt obligatory and not hospitable at all.
“No thanks. I have to head back to Telluride. I work today.” I tucked my hair behind my ear and
forced a small smile. I knew it didn’t translate to my eyes though.
“Right. Of course you do. Go back home to your daddy dick,” she laughed. She tried her best to
make it sound like a joke but it didn’t. “I want to come over again so come pick me up this weekend.”
“I’ll see what Kane’s schedule looks like. I don’t know if he’ll need the truck or not.”
“North, it wasn’t a suggestion. Come scoop me up this weekend. I’ll see you later.” Once she walked
up the steps and disappeared into her building, frustration mounted, collecting under my skin and
prickling my scalp. No matter how much I tried to be a good friend, it seemed something always pulled
Sierra and me backward.
I drove home without any music because my mind was too cluttered to enjoy it. Instead, I let the
sound of tires on pavement serve as my song.
When I got home everything was quiet. Not my mind though. That was on full blast. I couldn’t stop
thinking about Sierra.
I’d spent most of my life trying to piece my mother back together from broken fragments she’d
littered my childhood with. I’d spent countless years doing everything I could to make things right. I just
wanted a mother but I never got one. Not in the sense that most kids have one.
I did have a best friend though. Sierra had been my rock through most of the bullshit thrown at me.
The blatant anger and bitterness she kept spewing at me left me feeling hurt and confused. It reminded
me so much of how I felt trying to pick up Mom’s pieces only to have her turn on me.
Anger bubbled in my gut. Hot and unforgiving. I wanted my friend back, not this angry person in her
place. Not the person who’d sink fangs into my white flag rather than accept it.
Shit, at this point I didn’t even know what I was waving a white flag for. I only knew if it made her
happy and if it made things the way they were between us, I’d keep waving it.
I got dressed for work then drove over to the gallery so Kane could have the truck. I always took the
gondola to work and back into Telluride.
I walked in and breathed in the smell of paint then smiled at the laughter coming from Elijah and
Kane. They were the perfect cure for my hurt feelings. Both men greeted me with wide smiles when they
saw me. Kane walked over with outstretched arms and pulled me into him. He knew I fed off his proximity
and thrived on his warmth.
“Did Sierra get home okay?” He asked before kissing the top of my head.
“Yeah, she did.” I folded my arms across my middle and stared at nothing in particular.
“Uh-oh, what happened?” Kane asked, sitting in the chair beside Elijah. I shrugged leaning against
the counter. I didn’t know how to explain the way the drive to Delta made me feel. I also didn’t want to
hear Kane’s speech about how he didn’t have a good feeling about Sierra.
“Nothing. I’m still trying to figure out why she’s always so angry.”
“She’s angry because she hates to see you happy, North,” Elijah said.
“Bingo,” Kane put his index finger in the air and looked at me. “I know I sound like a broken record
but unless she can bring you down to a place where she feels above you, she’s not going to be happy.” His
words burned like holy water in the hands of a non-believer. I cast my stare down at the counter, studying
the grain of granite.
“I’m trying to be patient. Sierra needs someone to understand her. I’m trying to be with her through
whatever this is.”
“There’s no being patient through this. I’m not going to talk a hole in your head though, baby girl,”
Elijah said. “You know I got love for you. If you need to talk, I’m here.”
The fact that Elijah was sincere burned even more. I started wondering if they were right. Maybe I
was pouring too much into Sierra. The way she reacted to finding out about my relationship and the
things she said before she went home had me bubbling over with resentment and annoyance.
I traced a swirl of sparkly black on the countertop and sighed. “I think I’m gonna go to work early.
I’ll take to you guys later. E, are you and Mel coming over for dinner? I’ll make scones for dessert.” I
flashed him a smile hoping to make the energy between us lighter. I adored Elijah and I was head over
heels for Kane. I didn’t want either of them to think I wasn’t taking their advice into account. They just
didn’t know how much my friendship with Sierra meant.
Maybe she didn’t know how much it meant either.
“I’ll be there. You said my favorite word, scones.”
“I thought your favorite word was mocha,” I teased.
“Second favorite word.”
“Noted,” I laughed. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“Don’t stress over this shit with your friend, North. I know you. Your mind is going to be wrapped up
all day.” Kane did know me well. I was going to stress and it was going to make the day drag on. I locked
eyes with him for a bit before promising him I wouldn’t spend all day worried about Sierra.
I couldn’t clock in when I got to work early because there was no way they’d give me overtime. I
didn’t have anyone to talk to because I kept to myself so much. I knew people well enough to strike up a
conversation but not enough to hang out with them for a couple of hours.
All the more reason for me to patch things up with Sierra.
“Hey, North,” a familiar voice tugged me out of my own thoughts. I’d been sitting at a table in the
corner mindlessly scrolling on my phone until it was time for me to clock in.
“Hey, Mel. What are you doing here?” We hugged and I invited her to sit with me.
“I came in to grab a cup of coffee. I’m kind of off today but I’m still going over case notes. Why are
you here so early?”
“I had some things on my mind so I came to sit with my thoughts,” I told her with a one-shouldered
shrug.
“Anything you wanna talk about? I know we didn’t get along that much at first.” She looked down at
her clasped hands then into my eyes with an apologetic smile. “Doesn’t mean I haven’t grown and
learned.” Melanie was right. Since she got with Elijah and stopped trying to fuck Kane around every
corner, she was actually cool.
Elijah must have had something special with him to make her calm down.
“It’s cool, Mel. I’m trying to crawl inside someone’s head and that’s never an easy thing.”
“It’s never a smart thing, North. If someone isn’t forthcoming with information about how they feel
then they don’t want you to know.”
My knee bounced under the table as I chewed on my bottom lip. “How am I supposed to help the
friendship if the person won’t tell me what’s wrong? I twirled a lock of red hair around my pointer finger
and looked to Mel for advice.
I was sorely lacking a female influence in my life and so far Melanie was the only woman I felt
remotely comfortable with. I craved sisterhood the same way I craved love.
She rubbed the back of my hand and smiled softly. Her kindness drew me in even more. I relaxed my
shoulders and waited to hear what she had to say.
“You can’t help everyone, North. If you know you’ve done everything in your power to make things
work but the other person still won’t budge…maybe it’s time to walk away.” With a short exhale she stood
to her feet. “I’m gonna grab a latte. You want anything?”
“I’ll use my discount,” I chirped. We walked to the counter together and ordered venti lattes, my
treat. When we sat down, Mel pierced me with her gray eyes.
“I know you said to walk away if the other person won’t budge but I’d hate to throw so much time
away.” The thought of no longer calling Sierra my best friend choked me. I swallowed a gulp of my hot
latte and toyed with the cardboard sleeve on the cup.
“Listen, North one of the best lessons I ever learned was; don’t cling to a mistake because you spent
a lot of time making it.” Those words struck something. The realization washed over me in ripples,
splitting me in two.
One side of me understood I couldn’t cling to Sierra just because we’d been friends since fourth
grade. The other part of me needed a little more time to fix our broken bond.
“You’re right,” I said after another sip. “I think I need more time. I want to give it one more try.” I
heard myself and I hated how needy I sounded. What was wrong with wanting to save a good friendship
though?
“Take whatever time you need but don’t force a friendship.”
“I’m guessing you can tell this is about Sierra.” There was no use trying to hide it and the longer I
was around Mel the more I trusted her.
“Yeah, I had a hunch. To be honest, she was pretty bitchy towards you last night. If she’s like that in
front of people then I can’t imagine how she treats you when you’re alone.” Her eyes flashed sympathy
and it drove home another wave of realization.
I had some serious reflecting to do, which meant the workday would crawl by.
…

 CHAPTER 14

“Honey, I’m home,” I chuckled. Coming home to North was always the best part of my day. I walked
into the kitchen and paused to stare at her. Long red hair swept her lower back, drawing my eyes to her
perfect ass. My hands were on her in an instant.
“You’re so corny,” she giggled while I kissed her neck.
Last night when we crossed the line, I thought I’d feel more regret. I thought shame would eat me
alive.
I only felt relief.
Something was broken in my head for loving her the way I did. I raised North. I was married to her
mother for years. We were in uncharted territory though. She wasn’t the little girl I raised.
“Corny huh?” I bit her shoulder then spun her around to face me. “Was I corny last night when you
were full of my dick?” I slapped her ass and she roared with laughter. Her tongue was painted red from
the cherry lollipop in her mouth.
“No, you weren’t corny last night.” The twinkle in her eyes tugged on my heart and stiffened my
cock. I could tell something was on her mind though so as much as I wanted to bend her over the counter
and own her with my dick, I pulled back.
“Hey, Shortcake, what’s on your mind?” I sat down and pulled her onto my lap.
“You can tell something is on my mind just from looking at me?”
“And kissing you,” I said tipping her chin up and kissing her lips. They were cherry sweet “So what’s
up?” I poked her stomach and waited for her to tell me.
“I told Sierra about us when I drove her home this morning.” Her voice was quiet but it set my ears
on fire.
“You told her?”
“She’s my best friend, Kane I was trying to be open with her but…”
“She’s not your fucking best friend, North. She’s malicious.” I couldn’t be too pissed at her but I
didn’t trust Sierra as far as I could throw her conniving ass.
“I know I need to stop trusting her so blindly and reevaluate our friendship. Now I regret telling her
about us because she was so fucking negative.” Her arched ginger brows bunched together and her
plump pink lips fell into a frown. “You’re pissed aren’t you?” Her throat dipped and she nibbled on her lip.
I freed her bottom lip from her teeth and slid my thumb across slowly before tugging on the lollipop
stick. “No, Shortcake, I’m not mad. I can’t be mad at you because I told Elijah about us a while ago.” Her
eyes went wide and she punched my shoulder with as much force as she could muster.
“You told E about us? Oh my god!”
“He hasn’t let on all this time so it’s not a big deal,” I laughed, rubbing my shoulder. North packed a
damn punch.
“Does Melanie know too?”
“Nah, he hasn’t told her yet. My point is, I’m not mad at you. You used your judgment. I don’t trust
Sierra though and that’s never going to change. I want you to be careful around her.”
“Okay, Dad.” She rolled her eyes and tried to stand up in a huff.
“What did I tell you about that shit, North?” I watched the beautiful flush of her cheeks then tracked
it with hungry eyes as it crept toward her throat.
“I can only call you that when you’re inside me.”
“Exactly.” I spread her thighs, slipped under her tiny track shorts, and pushed her panties to the
side. She was already slick for me. “You’re being such a bad Shortcake.” I squeezed her clit with enough
pressure to make her yelp. It turned my dick to steel.
“Hop up there on the table for me,” I instructed.
I did my dick a favor and freed it from my pants, shoving them down my legs and kicking them to
the side. I needed to stroke my cock while I watched my sweet girl.
“Take your shirt off. I want to see those pretty tits.” With the cherry lollipop tucked in her cheek,
she pulled the stretchy black shirt over her head and her full breasts bounced out. Pink nipples stared at
me, beckoning to my hungry mouth. “Shorts too,” I grumbled, wetting my lips with my tongue. “Leave the
panties.” They were yellow and white with tiny pineapples all over them. They were incredibly sexy to be
so damn simple.
“You want me to leave my panties on, Daddy?” She batted those long lashes at me and I groaned at
how fucking beautiful she was.
“Yes, Shortcake. I want to see how soaking wet I can make them before I peel them off.”
Goosebumps covered her porcelain skin at my words. “Now take that sticky sweet lollipop and roll it over
your stiff nipples. I want you to make them sweet for me while I eat your pussy.” I knelt in front of her and
pressed my nose to the already wet fabric between her legs. I needed to smell her like a rose. Her scent
blossomed as I breathed in deep.
When I glanced up at her, I saw she was doing as I asked, rubbing the Dum-Dum pop over her
nipples one at a time until they were cherry-red and shiny with sugar. “Such a good girl,” I grumbled
against her pussy. I teased her stiff clit with the tip of my nose and she gasped at the jolt.
I couldn’t contain my hunger anymore. I tugged her panties to the side and sucked on her pussy
until my name poured from her pouty lips. She was so fucking wet I thought I would drown between her
thighs and die a happy man.
When I finally pulled away, her thighs were quivering and sweat dotted her brow. Droplets of her
clung to my beard and chin. I stared at her pussy like was an original work of art. It was bright pink and
swollen from the hungry way I sucked and bit on her.
“You are so perfect, North.” I stood and kissed her, letting her tongue explore all the delicious
flavors she held between her legs mixed with the cherry lollipop dissolving in her mouth. While she
sucked on my tongue, I pushed two fingers inside her pussy. Nice and slow. I curled my fingers upward
and stroked her g-spot until I felt her grip my fingers between her walls. She panted against my mouth
pulling a devilish grin from me.
“Kane, please fuck me,” she begged. “I need to feel you inside of me.
“I love how fucking horny you sound right now.” I kept working her pussy until her eyes squeezed
shut and an orgasm dripped from her. “Look at the mess you made all over my fingers.” I held up my hand
so she could watch me lick my fingers clean. “I want you to make another mess on my dick.”
She nodded quickly then braced the heels of her feet on the edge of the table, granting me full
access to her pussy. I grabbed hold of her hips and sank my cock inside her. North’s body was going to
take some getting used to. She was so damn hot and tight. I was ready to explode within minutes. It was
the same way last night.
“Oh, God Kane!” She cried out, desire and passion threading through her syllables.
“You feel so fucking good, North.”
Wrong.
Sick.
Twisted.
The voice chanted in my head over and over while I fucked her. I hated it. It was a devious forked-
tongue liar. Loving her wasn’t wrong and fucking her felt so damn right.
I drilled into North, scooting the table backward. The legs barked in protest. My balls were heavy as
they slapped against her ass but I felt them getting ready to seize up. My climax was building rapidly.
“Touch your pussy for me, Shortcake. I want to watch you play with your clit while I fuck you. I’m
about to come and I want to make sure you do too.” I looked down at where we were connected. I stared
at the way her slick pussy glistened.
She moved in circles around her pretty clit until an orgasm rocked her. She pulsed around my cock
and I groaned, shooting into her. I was being reckless as hell and I knew better. If I didn’t get myself
under control I was going to knock her up.
The thought sobered me, clearing way in my mind for me to see things as they really were. I’d fallen
for North and I knew it. Having a baby with her wasn’t reckless at all. It was right. It was what I wanted.
What about North though? What if she wasn’t ready for a kid?
With a dry mouth, I looked down at her. “North, I want a family with you. I mean whenever you’re
ready. It’s no pressure but…”
“Really?” Her wide eyes and big smile sated my curiosity. She wanted the same thing. I saw it
sparkling through her energy. “I want a family with you too, Kane.” She reached up and kissed my lips
slowly, sealing the deal. A sigh of relief pushed through me.
“I’m so glad I took dinner out of the oven before you came home. It would’ve been burnt to a crisp
by now.” She tossed her long hair to one side and combed through the wild strands with her fingers.
I stared at her transparent panties and smirked.
“God, I’m going to have to shower before E and Mel come over.”
“I can help you with that,” I said, flashing a lopsided grin.
“I bet you can. Can you carry me up the steps since you’ve rendered my legs useless?” When she
looked at me like that, I’d do whatever she asked.
I washed her in the shower, making sure to shampoo her hair. It was so intimate and private. Even
more so than the insane way we fucked on the kitchen table. There was something quietly beautiful about
the way she trusted me, the way she blossomed for me. Only me.
“Hey, can you plug in the hairdryer for me?” North sat on the side of the bed wrapped in a dark
green towel running a brush through her rapidly curling red hair. Freckles dusted her shoulders, faded at
her throat and gathered again on the tops of her breasts.
When did she grow up like that? When did her breasts become so full and perky? When did her hips
round and her thighs thicken?
The scent of cherries hovered in the air tart and sweet just like my Shortcake. I wanted to thread my
fingers through her hair and suck on her lips, stealing her moans and consuming them like candy. She was
buzzing through my veins.
North, North, North…
“Kane, my hair is going to dry curly if you don’t give me the hairdryer.” She stormed past me but I
snagged her elbow before she got to the bathroom.
“Leave it curly. I like it.” I kissed her cheek and pulled away to look at her.
“You like my hair curly?” Her eyes were big and brilliant like a thunderstorm on a sunny day. They
were storm cloud gray and sky blue. I loved watching them twinkle with wonder.
“Yeah, I do.” I guided her to the mirror with my hands on her hips. The top of her head only reached
my chin.
“I like it straight.” I noticed the uncertain wobble in her voice.
“I love you the way you are. Curly red hair, freckles on your lips, long slender lines.” I dragged my
finger down the slight curve of her waist through the towel. “Perfect pale skin.” I swept her wet hair to
the side and bit her neck eliciting a sharp gasp. I watched her eyes close as she soaked in my words.
“Open those eyes, beautiful. I want you to see all this art.” I stroked her high cheekbones, her chin, her
forehead, and the bridge of her nose. “You are flawless, North Fitzgerald. God hasn’t painted anything as
beautiful as you since he put you on this earth.” The longer her hair dried, the curlier it got and it
reminded me of why I called her Shortcake.
Downstairs, the doorbell rang breaking apart my worship at the Church of North. I tapped the tip of
her nose and smiled. “I’m gonna answer the door. Take your time getting ready. I’ll set dinner out.”
“Kane, what is that in your pocket?” North laughed a little gesturing to my pants. I looked down and
laughed, running my hand over my beard.
“What? This?” I pulled her cute pineapple panties out of my pocket, dangling them on my pointer
finger. “This is my trophy from earlier.” I bunched them in my palm and buried my nose in them.
“And what exactly did you win?” She laughed.
“I won your cum all over my cock.” I winked at her and she pressed her hand to her chest before
swallowing. The way she reacted to me was a drug. I had to pull myself out of the bedroom before I took a
hit and got high on her.
Before I opened the front door, I shoved North’s panties in my pocket again and found my
composure. I welcomed Elijah and Melanie inside and into the kitchen.
“Where’s North?” Melanie asked, looking around.
“She just got out of the shower so she’s getting dressed. Did you have a chance to talk to her
today?” I asked, grabbing beers for all of us.
“I did and she seemed like she was listening. I do think she needs more girl time though. She’s
craving it. That’s one of the reasons she wants to make this friendship work. Honestly, Kane after
speaking to North today…I don’t think Sierra deserves her as a friend. She’s a sweetheart.”
A genuine smile curved my lips. I was glad someone else saw how big North’s heart was. Sierra saw
it too and that’s why she walked all over her.
“There she is,” Elijah stood and hugged North when she walked into the kitchen. “What’s up girl?
Where is my mocha?”
“At Starbucks.” She smiled sweetly then moved to hug Melanie.
We settled into dinner with the same easy laughter we were used to. Elijah teased North until she
flipped him off and Melanie offered to represent North if she had to kill him for being too annoying. I was
around my people. They poured into North and me. I wondered if she noticed that she didn’t need to
chase Sierra’s friendship because she had friends of her own.
At the end of the night, North and I stood side-by-side at the door waving to Mel and Elijah,
watching them get into the car. Once they pulled off, we retreated into the house and cleaned the kitchen.
“This is like a dream,” she said before closing the dishwasher. “I never thought I’d ever feel this
level of joy.” She blinked, her lashes fluttering like butterfly wings.
“Why not?” I asked. I put away the leftovers and closed the fridge door. She answered with a shrug.
“Come on, Shortcake. Talk to me.” I leaned against the wall and crossed my legs at the ankle.
“I always thought life would be hard and toxic.” No matter how much she tried to blink away the
tears, they still rolled down her cheeks. “I felt like there was no way to escape it. Fate is fate.”
“North, come here.” She walked over and leaned against me while I wrapped her in my arms. “Your
mother’s life is not your fate and it never will be. She sentenced herself to a toxic life but you’re not her.
You’re a blank canvas. You can have whatever you want. That includes happiness. That includes friends. It
includes you pursuing your dreams. Like maybe culinary school.” I curled my fingers around the back of
her neck and held her gaze. “Whatever you want, you can have it and I’m going to help you get it. We’re in
this shit together.”
Tears trembled in her eyes.
“You think I could go to culinary school?”
“Fuck yes. You’re the most amazing cook. You’ve spoiled me and put a few pounds on me.” I patted
my stomach and watched North laugh through her tears.
“Thank you for believing in me, Kane. It’s a weird feeling but I like it.”
“I’ve always believed in you, Shortcake.” I wiped her remaining tears and she nuzzled against my
hand.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I’m more than grateful. I don’t know how Mom
mistreated you.”
“Your mother was fighting demons bigger than our marriage. She couldn’t give me anything
because she didn’t have anything to give.”
“Kane, I know how this is going to sound but…” Her hands slid over my shoulders then down my
arms. “Do you love me like you loved Mom?” I saw the regret in her eyes the moment the question left her
mouth.
I sucked in a long breath and pushed my fingers through my hair. “No. I don’t love you like I loved
Izzy because you’re not Izzy. You’re North. I couldn’t ever love anyone the way I love you. You’re my
partner in every fucking way. Words are useless when I try to describe how I feel…but god, I am so in love
with you it hurts.” My heart thundered in my chest singing songs and writing sonnets about the love I had
for North. I wished I could crack my ribs and show her the work of art she created in me.
She hugged me so tight I felt the air leave my lungs. I smoothed her curly red hair back and kissed
her forehead. “Now, go get your ass in bed…naked. I’m going to make a call and I’ll be in there.” I slapped
her ass and sent her to the bedroom.
I headed up after her but I went into the art studio and sat on the stool in front of my latest piece for
Mr. Chandler. A rainbow of hues stared at me in the form of downy feathers flying through the air. It was
one of my favorite pieces. It had motion, clarity, and detail down to the finest strand.
“Mr. Kane Fitzgerald. How’s everything?” Mr. Chandler asked with a smile in his voice.
“Everything is perfect. The painting is done and dry. I was calling to ask when you wanted to come
by the gallery to pick it up.”
“I’m out of the country right now so I’m going to pick it up next month. I’ll email you a few dates
and we can settle on something.”
“Sounds good, sir. I’ll be looking for that email.”
“Thank you for everything Kane. It’s been a pleasure working with you. You’re a brilliant artist.”
“I appreciate that, Mr. Chandler.”
After I ended the call, I took a few more minutes to look at my painting. Soon, it would land me the
biggest commission I’d ever seen at once. It would catapult my career and put my name in places I’d
never dreamt of. I was already looking forward to my future. Knowing I had North beside me to celebrate
my wins made the victories that much sweeter.
…

 CHAPTER 15

The soft warm kisses on my breasts moved down to my stomach, then my navel. I moaned, pushing
my hands above my head, stretching and bending. What kind of dream was this? I’d take a dozen of them
every day.
I cracked open my eyes and looked down at a head full of loose mahogany waves between my legs. A
smile found my lips just before I pushed my fingers through Kane’s hair.
“Good morning, Shortcake.” He pinned my knees to the side and feasted on my pussy without
another word to me. His lips and tongue probed, licked, and sucked until I was consumed with the orgasm
building inside me.
I tossed my head back into the plush pile of pillows and bucked my hips against Kane’s mouth,
fucking his face until I came. I came so hard I lost a few of my senses. I could only see stars against a
black sky and only hear the thump of my heart.
Kane’s name still managed to roll off my lips though. I cried out until it was a chant filling the air.
Until I could see and hear again.
He didn’t give me much of a reprieve before his long, thick cock eased into me, spreading my body
until it fit him like a glove. My legs draped over his broad shoulders while he hammered into me
relentlessly.
I felt like one of his paintings. He took his time with me, loving me in different colors until I was
perfection. Until I reflected the light inside him.
“I love you, Kane,” I whimpered when he drove deep inside, flooding me with pleasure.
“I love you too, North. You are so fucking gorgeous.”
I moaned when his mouth connected with my nipples. “So mine,” he growled before squeezing my
stiff pebbles between his teeth.
“I’m yours,” I panted. I clutched a fistful of his silky hair while his mouth made magic on my skin.
The sounds that man could extract from me were unholy at best. The two boys I’d fucked before Kane
were forgettable. I couldn’t remember the way they felt or smelled or the way they made me feel but
Kane?
Oh my god.
He made me feel everything. He made me feel beautiful despite the ugliness in my past. He made
me realize I was worthy in the face of my crippling self-doubt. No one made me feel the way he did.
Making love to him only seared those feelings deeper into me.
Kane was in my bones.
“Fuck, I’m gonna come,” I moaned. My nails sank into his glistening olive skin and my legs locked
behind him, urging his cock deeper inside of me.
“Goddammit, Shortcake. I can’t keep coming in you like this. But fuck, your pussy is so perfect.” His
hard dick twitched between my walls before he shot his load. I trembled beneath him milking his cock dry.
I wanted every drop inside. The last thing I cared about was getting pregnant. Was having Kane’s baby
really that horrible? The thought of a mini version of us made my heart sing.
Jesus, I was twisted for wanting to have his babies. I was still calling him Dad last year. Shit, last
week he got a piece of mail that addressed him as the parent of North Fitzgerald.
“You still picking Sierra up?” He quizzed after he slid out of me taking the warmth with him.
“Yeah. If things between us don’t change I think this will be her last visit. I’m tired of draining
myself and not getting anything in return.” A gorgeous smile found his full lips and his eyes crinkled in
that delicious way that made my belly flop.
“Listen to you. That’s what I like to hear.” He reached over and squeezed my nipple sending zips of
energy through my body.
As much as I wanted to lie in bed beside him all day, I had to pick up Sierra. Hanging out with her
this weekend was my last attempt at salvaging our friendship.
…
When I pulled up in front of the tall brick building, Sierra was already waiting for me with a bag
slung across her body. When she saw the truck slow to a stop, she grinned at me then hopped in.
“It took you long enough. Daddy let you borrow his truck again.” She gave a knowing look that made
me shrink in my seat.
“I have enough saved up to get a car so I’ll probably treat myself for my birthday next month.” I
noticed the instinctive way my hackles rose when Kane was mentioned. I wondered if I’d been
purposefully ignoring red flags like that during our entire friendship.
“Starbucks must be paying you good. I still can’t manage to save up for my own car. Then again, I
don’t have a father letting me live with him rent-free. It’s not really free though, is it?”
I hated her insinuation. It made my fucking skin crawl. Heat prickled the tops of my cheeks as I
drove away from Delta.
“I’m not fucking Kane to have a roof over my head and he’s not my father so stop calling him that. If
you want to keep taking shots at me then you can stay right the fuck here in Delta for all I care.” I pulled
the truck over to the side of the road and looked at Sierra with a blank expression.
Her mouth opened then closed but no words came out. I folded my arms across my chest and waited
for her to say something one way or another. I was fed up.
“North, why are you being so dramatic? I was playing around with you. You know that.”
“I don’t know that. I don’t want to defend Kane around every corner with you. I trusted you enough
to tell you about us and you’ve been throwing jabs at me every chance you get. It’s not cool, Sierra and I
don’t want to deal with it.”
“Okay, shit. I won’t say anything else about you and Kane.” She held her hand up and rolled her eyes
like I was inconveniencing her by voicing my issues.
“Thank you,” I snapped before pulling off. The ride back to Telluride was bone dry and quiet.
There was no sign of Kane when we got inside the house but maybe it was for the best.
When Sierra and I went to my room, she sat on the bed and stared at me while I straightened things
up. I found myself walking on eggshells out of fear of what her next judgment would be.
“Hey, North.” Her voice was quiet and gentle, stopping me in my tracks. I looked at her for a few
beats waiting for her to say something hurtful or bitter.
“Yeah?” I folded my arms and raised a brow in anticipation.
“I’m sorry for talking shit about you and Kane. I didn’t mean to upset you. I guess it feels weird to
hear about you in a relationship and it’s definitely strange that it’s your dad.” She paused. “I won’t say
another petty thing, I swear.” She placed one hand on her chest and the other hand in the air.
An apology?
I wasn’t expecting that.
“You’re…sorry?” I asked in disbelief. I almost laughed at how out of the blue it was.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I was being a bitch.” She stood and held her arms out. “You forgive me?” She
rushed me with a hug and I stood stiff as a board, blinking my eyes. I was fully prepared to distance
myself from her and here she was making a complete turnaround.
“I forgive you,” I stammered, rubbing her back.
“Good. I can’t imagine having you be upset with me. That shit shook me on the way here. I don’t
think I’ve ever seen you so mad.” She pulled back and looked at me with a smile and something else in her
brown eyes that I couldn’t place. I ignored the twist of my stomach and chalked it up to residual
exhaustion from holding up a one-sided friendship for so long.
Once she apologized, Sierra seemed to have her head on straight and I was grateful. We fell into an
easy conversation about the same old bullshit happening at the steakhouse then I offered to show her
around the house since I didn’t get a chance to the last time she was over.
“This is Kane’s art studio,” I said opening the door to the third bedroom on the second floor. Art
pieces covered every surface of the walls and a once-white drop cloth covered the hardwood floor. The
drop cloth was a work of art all by itself with the colors splashed and splattered on it.
“Oh wow. Look at all this stuff.” Her eyes widened as she walked in. She flipped through a stack of
canvases leaning against the wall and I cringed.
“Don’t,” I said shaking my head. “Kane is serious about his art. The oils from your fingers might
smudge something and I’d feel like shit if I messed up his inventory.”
Sierra moved around the room disregarding me as she fawned over the paintings out in the open.
Most of them were covered but some of the newer pieces were out. When I heard her suck in a quick
breath, I knew she’d found Kane’s newest piece. It was still on the huge easel in the middle of the floor.
“Oh my god, this is beautiful, North. Kane painted this? Like with his hands?” I walked around and
looked at the finished painting he was holding for Mr. Chandler and smiled.
“Isn’t it stunning?” I gushed. I could stare at the realistic painting for hours picking out all the
details. “I love how Kane can take something as simple as feathers blowing in the wind an make it art.” I
shook my head at his undeniable talent.
Sierra’s eyes twinkled as she stared at it. “How much is he selling this one for?”
“A lot, so let’s get the hell out of here.” Something wouldn’t allow me to tell her Kane was making
five hundred thousand dollars from that piece. I watched her until she was in the hall and out of the room,
then I closed the door behind me and headed for the stairs.
“Wait, I want to see Kane’s room. Or do you two share a room now?” She grinned at me wanting all
the information I’d give her. I tucked my lips between my teeth to hide the smile trying to blossom on my
lips but it didn’t do any good. My cheeks were on fire.
“Ooh, so you do sleep in his room. Girl, let me see.”
“No,” I giggled, pushing her hands away from the doorknob.
“God, you act like there are sex toys in there or something.” She tried to push me away from the
door with her hips then she paused. “Wait, are there sex toys in there?”
“Shut up, Sierra,” I laughed. I grabbed her hand and laced my fingers through hers. “Let’s grab
something to eat.” I was able to pull her away from the bedroom and down the steps just in time for Kane
and Elijah to walk in laughing and talking. I paused in my stride to the kitchen and grinned from ear to
ear.
“Hey girls,” Kane looked at me and nodded his head then gave Sierra a polite smile.
“North, give me some,” Elijah said, holding out his hand. I gave him a high five then I eyed Kane. It
was hard not to peel his clothes off with my eyes. It was hard for him too. He had even less restraint than
me. He draped his arm around my shoulders and tugged on the ends of my now straight hair.
“Look what I picked up for you.” Kane held up a bag from Target and shook it at me. I snatched it
from him and dug in immediately. Inside were bags of Dum-Dum Pops and watermelon Sour Patch candy.
The loudest happy squeal fluttered out of me. “Thank you! I was out.”
“I know.” He winked at me then moved into the kitchen careful not to let his eyes linger. I still felt
his sticky hot gaze though.
“Your teeth are going to fall out,” Sierra sighed.
“Whatever, hater.” I stuck my tongue out at her as I opened the bag of Dum-Dums and rifled through
it to find a cherry one. I popped it in my mouth and went into the living room with Sierra following behind.
We spent most of the afternoon with our heads together laughing at things on our phones while
Kane and Elijah worked on the Valentine’s display for the gallery. The moment Sierra went upstairs to
take a shower and get ready for bed, I jumped at the chance to spend alone time with Kane.
I heard the water turn on and rush through the pipes above my head. I took a quick look around
before settling in Kane’s lap on the couch. Elijah left after dinner and I could tell Sierra was getting
sleepy.
Kane’s big warm hands slid up and down my thighs then beneath my shirt. “You’re sleeping in your
room tonight,” he said.
“No, I’m not.”
“Wasn’t a question, Shortcake. I don’t trust your friend, I told you that.” When he kissed my neck
and pushed his hand under my bra, my heart filled my throat leaving the cavity behind my ribs empty.
“She’s changing.” I swallowed down my thumping heart and turned to straddle him bunching my
skirt around my waist. I rested my forehead against his and put my weight on his growing erection. It felt
amazing pressed against my pussy. “She apologized to me today. I think she finally understands.”
Kane let out a chuckle and pushed my shirt up, baring my white bra. “My sweet girl. Everyone
doesn’t have the same heart as you.” He tugged on my bra until my breasts bounced out. My nipples stood
for him, proud and stiff. He dragged his warm thick tongue over one nipple and I moaned soft and sweet.
“Sierra doesn’t have the same heart as you. Keep your eyes open.” Next, he used his teeth while his
fingers tweaked my unoccupied nipple.
I couldn’t get enough of him. I heard his words but his hands and mouth were creating a delicious
hum in my veins I couldn’t ignore. My greedy hips rocked against his cock as it dug into me. It wasn’t
enough. I needed him to fuck me.
“Okay,” I breathed.
 “You’re not listening to shit I’m saying, are you?” A handsome smile crossed his lips.
“I am but I need to feel you inside of me. Now. Before Sierra gets out of the shower.”
No more words were needed between us. Our tongues, teeth, and lips licked, sucked, and bit in a
frenzy, trying to beat the shower running upstairs. When I unbuckled Kane’s belt the distinctive sound of
metal on metal sent shivers down my spine. His dick bobbed out at me, so hard and ready. His quick
fingers shoved my panties to the side and I lifted up so he could slide in.
I was still sensitive from the way he fucked me earlier but I didn’t care. I wanted the sting and the
pleasure. I craved it.
The moment we connected and his steel dick was deep inside of me, I started to move up and down
his length in uncertain strokes. “Do what feels good, North.” He gripped my ass and thrust into me from
below while I found my awkward rhythm on top of him.
I took the groans coming from his mouth as fuel to keep moving up and down. “Bounce your perfect
little ass, Shortcake.”
“Like this?” I moved up and down, working my behind like he told me and he rolled his bottom lip
between his teeth.
“Just like that.” I knew we had to be quiet but it was so fucking hard. The water was still running
upstairs though, so we had a little wiggle room. I was glad because when Kane grabbed my ass and made
me move faster, slamming me down on his dick until I took the reigns for myself, I let out a moan I
couldn’t help.
He leaned forward and latched on to my breast teasing my nipple with his tongue. “I feel your pussy
getting tighter,” he growled with my tender nipple between his teeth. The look in his green and gold eyes
sent me over the edge.
It was hungry.
It was dominant.
It was pure fucking sex.
I tossed my head back and a harsh shudder ripped my body to shreds. Kane’s name flowed from my
mouth as I pressed sloppy, satiated kisses along his sharp jawline.
His cum filled me up and I shut my eyes rolling my hips in a circle making sure I drained every last
bit. I wanted it all. Every time.
The water upstairs stopped but I stayed put because I knew she’d still have to get dressed and ready
for bed. Besides, there was nothing better than feeling Kane pulse inside me.
“Get ready for bed, North.” He slapped my ass and I smiled a little before giving him a kiss.
“Okay, okay.” I stood up and straightened my soaked panties while Kane watched me in front of him.
“You can hand those over,” he instructed, pointing to my crotch.
“Oh my god, if you keep this up I won’t have any damn underwear.”
“Fine by me. Put them in my hand, woman.”
God, his smile was going to melt me into a puddle.
I pushed my panties down my thighs and dropped them in his palm. He nodded his thanks to me
then tucked his wet cock away. “Hey, remember what I told you, North. Be careful.” He flicked his gaze to
the ceiling and I knew he was cautioning me against Sierra.
“I’ll be careful but I think she came to her senses, Kane. I’m gonna give her a second chance. I want
to see how she acts after the apology. Let me do this.”
“Hey, I’m not stopping you but I also don’t want to see you get hurt because of her. I love you too
fucking much to watch all the hard work you’ve put into yourself evaporate. Keep your wits about you.”
“I will. I swear.” I crossed my heart then blew him a kiss from the steps.
“North, you’re going to be the fucking death of me.” He laughed a little then shook his head right
before I rushed up the steps.
There was nothing wrong with second chances. Everyone deserved them and I didn’t have a
problem giving Sierra one if she planned to change her nasty attitude. Only time would tell.
…
 CHAPTER 16

On North’s birthday, I woke up so early the moon was still hanging around in the sky. I slipped out of
bed and looked back at my beautiful Shortcake splayed out on the bed with white sheets draped around
her petite body. Crimson hair spilled over my pillow like silky fire. Freckles dotted her flawless skin like
embers. The way she looked made my hands burn to paint her.
She was everything.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and pulled out my phone. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t take a picture
of North like that. I held the phone steady and snapped at least five pictures. The first one was to capture
her but the others were to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and that someone as perfect as her walked the
earth.
I hurried out of the room before she woke up and went downstairs. I had perfect timing because
Elijah sent me a text telling me him and Mel were outside. I turned the lock with all the stealth of a kid
sneaking out of the house.
Sure enough, they were outside with North’s birthday present: A cherry red BMW.
“Thanks, guys. She’s going to fucking flip when she sees this.” I rubbed the roof of the shiny red car
and slapped hands with my best friend before hugging Melanie. “Is the bow in the backseat?” I quizzed.
Elijah shot me a tired look and nodded in response. For an entire month, I kept the car at Elijah’s place
while I made sure everything was in working order.
I didn’t get North a brand new car because I hadn’t gotten that check from Mr. Chandler yet. I got
what I could buy outright. I knew, either way, she’d be over the moon. North wasn’t materialistic. It was
one of the things I loved about her.
I had a mechanic check it out and replace anything that needed fixing then I outfitted the glossy car
with four new tires perfect for driving in the snow. It had been a tedious month hiding the car from her
but her birthday was finally here and I couldn’t wait to wake her up and show her. The smile on her face
would surely light up the entire town.
“You two head back home and go back to bed. I’ll send you a video of her reaction.”
“I can’t wait to see her eyes light up,” Melanie smiled. “We’ll be over tonight for dinner. Don’t forget
to pick up her cake.” She aimed a manicured finger at me and I chuckled, nodding my head.
After they left, I put the oversized white bow on the roof then went inside and grabbed the
strawberry shortcake I got her from the fridge. If you don’t have cake for breakfast on your eighteenth
birthday then you’re living life wrong.
I crept up the steps and into our bedroom. The creak of the floorboards made her stir in her sleep.
When she turned from one side to the other, strands of hair fell over her face wrapping her in red ribbons.
I sat on the side of the bed and brushed the strands away before kissing her forehead then I belted
out the most off-tune rendition of the happy birthday song I could muster. It sucked but it woke her up.
When she sat upright, the white sheet fell away from her tits giving me a perfect view.
“Morning, gorgeous.” I handed her the bakery box and a fork. “Happy birthday.”
“Thank you.” She leaned over and kissed my lips before taking the top off the box and peering
inside. “Ooh, is this cake?” She grinned.
“Strawberry shortcake for my girl.”
She dug in without hesitation, shutting her eyes and rocking back and forth like it was her first time
tasting cake. “Is there more of this? I could eat about ten pieces, I swear.” She finished the piece of cake
and licked her fork clean in one minute flat.
“Were you hungry?” I laughed. “I can get you more shortcake but I want to show you something
first. Put on some clothes. It’s cold outside.” From the looks of her nipples, it was cold inside too.
“What? You mean I can’t go outside in Colorado in the wintertime without clothes? Dammit.” She
snapped her fingers and climbed out of bed to drape her arms around my neck. My fingers marched up
and down her ribs, making her roar with laughter. She threw on a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top
them modeled it for me. After all the fucked up birthdays North had in the past, I was determined to make
her laugh and smile around every corner. I’d be sure to throw in some orgasms too. I wanted to spoil her
rotten.
“Okay, Kane what do you want to show me?”
 “Come on, it’ll be quick.”
We stood at the front door putting on our coats. I waited for her to finish buttoning up before I
walked behind her and slid my hand over her eyes. When I opened the front door, I guided her to the
driveway then dropped my arms to my side and pressed record on my phone.
A sharp gasp sliced through the stillness of the falling snow. North turned to face me with
snowflakes clinging to her impossibly long lashes and her mouth hanging wide open. I looked at her for a
while trying to commit that priceless expression to memory. I’d have it forever on my phone but I wanted
to experience it in real-time. It was an addiction. I loved making her happy. I wanted to do it over and over
for as long as she’d let me.
“Kane, is this for me?!”
“Cherry red car for my Shortcake. You deserve it. You bust your ass every day and you’ve saved so
much I want you to put it toward something just for you. Don’t worry about buying a car.”
“Oh my god! I-I’m speechless. Thank you.” She blinked rapidly trying to control the tears. I recorded
her as she opened the door and got in, filming through the passenger side window. Her blue eyes met the
phone and she grinned. It was such a pretty smile.
“Okay cut the camera off and get in here with me, please.” How was I supposed to tell her no when
she poked those full, lush lips out? I stopped recording and climbed in beside her.
“You over me being the paparazzi?” I asked, lifting my eyebrow.
“No.” She rolled the windows up and climbed over the center console, landing in my lap. “I wanted
to thank you properly and christen my car.” The gleam in her irises tugged on an imaginary line connected
to my cock.
I laid the seat back and tucked my hands behind my head. “Well, do whatever you want. It’s your
day.”
She leaned over and pressed her sweet mouth to mine while my icy hands melted against her warm
skin. I tugged her shorts aside and pulled my dick over the waistband of my sweats. North had become
quite the rider over the past month. She didn’t need any help from me. She maneuvered my aching dick
inside her tight pussy like a pro. She shut her eyes and moaned as she slid down on my shaft.
“Fuck, North.” I groaned at how wet and hot she was between her legs. She flattened her hands
against the ceiling of the car and rode my cock like she was made for it.
The snow outside didn’t matter. Inside that BMW it was summertime. Our breath came out in foggy
white puffs as she worked my dick, making invisible loops with her full hips. Her tits bounced inches from
my hungry mouth and I marveled at how heavy they were. I couldn’t keep my lips and tongue off them.
I flicked my tongue across her stiff pink pebbles and she moaned then moved faster. I dug my
fingers into her soft ass and tried to slow her down because she felt too damn good and I was going to fill
her up with cum if she didn’t stop. Last month we’d started using the pull out method but it was hard,
especially when she was on top.
“Kane, oh my god,” she whimpered. I knew she was close. I felt her pussy clamp down around my
dick and I was ruined. Nothing would stop me from shooting my seed inside her tight warmth.
“I’m about to nut so fucking hard, Shortcake.”
Her big blue eyes popped open and she stared at me, passion bunching her brows and leaving
behind dots of perspiration on her forehead.
“I want you to come inside me, Daddy.”
I lost it.
I came so hard a roar tore from my throat as I tossed my head back and held her in place on top of
me. “Fuuuck!” I rasped.
“Mmm, Kane.” She rolled her waist and worked her hips to deplete me of every ounce of cum while
I throbbed helplessly inside her. “You feel so good.”
“So do you, North.” I pulled her down to me and sank my teeth into her bottom lip following every
bite with a soothing suck. She trembled in my arms with aftershocks. We both had to ease off the high
coursing through our veins.
My heart raced against my chest while I held her and dotted her skin with kisses. I couldn’t keep my
mouth off her if my life depended on it. North giggled when I traced the shell of her ear with my tongue.
She pushed her fingers through my hair then locked eyes with me.
“Thank you for making my birthday wonderful already, Kane.” I hated how empty my lap felt when
she moved back to the driver’s side.
“You can thank me tonight while my mouth is on your pussy.” I pulled her long red hair and watched
the way she blushed. It was adorable as fuck. “Come on, let’s go back in the house. I’ll run a bath for you
and grab you another piece of shortcake.”
…
I did everything I intended to do on North’s birthday. I took her to Mountain Village for an afternoon
of skiing, shopping, and lunch then I stole her away to a breathtaking mountain. We didn’t climb it but we
made our way to a cliff that jutted out like a snowy shelf. It gave us a beautiful view of the white hills in
the distance.
“Kane, what are we doing here? I mean it’s beautiful but this wind is about to knock me over.” North
hugged herself and looked at me, red hair whipping in the wind.
I pulled her in and kissed her icy cheek. “I won’t let you get knocked over,” I told her. I dug into my
backpack and pulled out a small black box stamped with a golden leaf.
“Mom’s ashes?” She jerked her gaze to mine immediately.
“I thought on the one-year anniversary of her death, we could scatter them.” My throat tightened
with anticipation. I didn’t know if I made the wrong move bringing Izzy’s ashes or not. “You don’t have to
let them go if you don’t want to I just wanted to give you the option, given the day. I wanted you to know
it’s okay to let her go. I talked to Dr. Allen a lot about releasing things and it got me thinking.” I scratched
the back of my head and looked at her with nerves twisting my expression.
North’s stare was full of resolution as she took the box from my hands. “I want to do it,” she said
with a nod. “I talked to Dr. Allen about letting go of things too and I’m ready. Mom has always found some
way to fuck up my birthdays since she pushed me into the world. I’m ready to release that energy. I’m
ready to release her.” Her throat dipped as she opened the box and removed the sealed bag inside.
She laced her fingers between mine and gave me a brave smile. “Let’s do this.” She sighed before
opening the bag and flinging her arm outward. Izzy’s ashes filled the air for a second, hanging around like
smoke. Some of it fell to the pristine snow like soot leaving behind spots and streaks.
In the next moment, a gust of wind picked up and carried all the ashes away, even the spots that fell
on the snow. I held North close and kissed her temple as we watched Izzy finally get the freedom her soul
had been crying out for.
…
After the emotional release of Izzy’s ashes, North and I went home and got ready for dinner. In an
attempt to be nice, I invited Sierra to North’s birthday dinner along with Melanie and Elijah. If I was
being selfish I wouldn’t have breathed a word of it to her but North thought she was changing and
becoming a better friend so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
My gut told me not to give her the benefit of shit. I knew the smiling face she showed for the past
month had only been a mask. I couldn’t prove it though and if North was happy then so was I.
North bubbled over with excitement when Sierra walked in. When I invited her to dinner, she
magically didn’t need North to drop everything to pick her up. Maybe I was being too rigid but something
wouldn’t let me be soft when it concerned her.
I refused to let my suspicion get the best of me though. It wasn’t time for me to be a hard ass. North
was finally eighteen and we were in the clear. I’d long since shattered my willpower but I still breathed a
sigh of relief knowing we were out of the woods. Slowly, I could start displaying our relationship. I wanted
to shout it from every mountaintop but I knew slow and steady would win the race.
I stared at her over my wine glass watching the way the light hit the gray bursts at the center of her
irises. Her long hair was brushed up in a sleek high bun and her long lashes were painted with deep
brown mascara. She was radiant and glowing. I wanted to reach over and touch her satiny skin. I wanted
to brush my knuckles along her cheekbones and slide my fingertips down the bridge of her nose. I wanted
to know what the glow of an angel felt like on the pads of my fingers.
“You’re glowing tonight, North.” I couldn’t help handing her compliments like candies in a dish.
“Thank you, Kane.” She spoke softly, angling her body toward me. I couldn’t wait to peel her out of
the blue velvet dress that clung to her curves. I noticed over the past month her hips were wider and her
waist, softer. Under the table, I slid my hand up her leg, stopping right at the top of her thigh-highs.
North, North, North…
That outfit is going to get you fucked tonight.
 “You really are glowing,” Elijah chimed with an easy smile.
“You guys are going to make me blush.” She tucked her chin down but I tipped it back up.
“No hiding. Today is your day.” Our eyes connected and the love she had for me oozed out along
with the lust and desire. Her plump lips parted to draw in more air the longer she stared at me. I wanted
to turn us invisible so I could run my thumb along that soft, supple bottom lip. I wanted to watch her suck
on it while she stared at me with those big blues.
Normally, we would have faded into our own world. Our own little Kane and North bubble but I felt
a pair of brown eyes locked onto our interaction. I reluctantly tore my eyes away from North and glanced
at Sierra. Her lips bent into a sly smile that unnerved the fuck out of me.
“Now that we’ve all eaten, let’s dig into this cake,” I said, standing to my feet. I still couldn’t shake
the electricity pumping through me from looking at North. Her heat-filled gaze tracked me as I moved
around the table. I walked into the kitchen and pushed out a shaky breath.
The things she made me feel were potent. I rubbed my dick through my pants trying to coax it
down. I wasn’t fully hard but one more second beside North and I would have been. I had no idea how
tough behaving would be.
“Hey, need some help?” The sound of Sierra’s voice from the doorway did everything to turn my
cock flaccid. I turned around and furled my brows together.
“No thanks. I’m good, Sierra.”
“You sure?” She walked over swaying her hips. Her hand slid down the middle of my back and I
jerked away with tight muscles and a harsh scowl.
“I’m sure. Go back to the dining room.”
“I saw the way you were looking at North.”
“Good. Then you should know I’m not looking at anyone else like that.” My voice was sharp enough
to sting her for a moment. Not for long though. She tipped her chin in the air and folded her arms.
“It’s clear you like them young, Mr. Fitzgerald. I was just trying to play your game.” She took a step
closer and I moved back. My jaw ticked repeatedly.
I knew she was full of shit.
“You need to go out there and sit the fuck down because the next thing you say or do is going to get
you put out of my goddamn house.” I hated the thought of ruining North’s birthday dinner so I needed
Sierra to cooperate until the night was over. Then I planned to put her ass out. I didn’t care how the hell
she got home.
Sierra’s smile was devious and wicked. It matched her perfectly. “Fine.” She pressed her lips into a
line and cleared her throat. An obvious shield to protect her damaged ego.
Once she left the kitchen, I took the cake out of the fridge and carried it carefully into the dining
room. I sat it in the middle of the table then pulled the top off.
Everyone clamored over how amazing the cake was but my favorite reaction came from the birthday
girl. Her glittering blue eyes got so fucking big. I saw a lifetime of possibilities in those eyes.
“Kane! Oh my god! This is amazing!” She took out her phone and started taking pictures
immediately. The cake was in the shape of a giant cherry Dum-Dum pop. The inside was cherry to match. I
knew what my girl liked.
“This is adorable,” Sierra said with a smirk.
“I don’t even want to eat it. It’s so pretty,” North smiled.
“Isn’t it the cutest? When Kane told me his idea, I knew you’d love it,” Melanie gushed.
“Honestly, if you eat enough of those things, you’re going to turn into one,” Elijah laughed.
“She already has a huge head,” Sierra teased. Her words were playful but I didn’t like the bitterness
in her tone. It grated on my nerves.
“Let’s sing happy birthday then figure out how the hell to cut into this thing.” I clapped my hands
together and started off the birthday song while North stood with a smile plastered on her pretty face. I
was trying my best to focus on the happiness pouring from her but I still felt Sierra’s eyes on me.
She watched me while we ate cake. She watched me enjoying conversations with people I called
family. She watched me whenever I leaned over to whisper something in North’s ear.
At the end of the night, I was ready for her to get the fuck out. I had to bite my tongue in order not
to say those exact words to her.
“You owe Sierra some money or something, Kane?” Elijah asked. He was in the foyer putting on his
coat, getting ready to leave for the night.
“Nah, why do you ask?” I chuckled. Sierra looked intrigued to hear her name. She was beside me in
an instant.
“Because she keeps looking at you like you owe her money so I was wondering.”
“No, he doesn’t owe me any money,” she beamed. “I just think it’s cute watching him and North. I
want a relationship like theirs.”
I shut my eyes against her words. I wanted to push them back down her throat. Mel was the only
one in the house who didn’t know about me and North and I wanted to tell her one on one. I wanted her to
be the first person besides Elijah that I told. I damn sure didn’t want her to find out like that.
Melanie’s gray eyes pierced me, cementing me to my spot. Her arched brows knitted together as
she examined my face like I was a new person. Luckily, North was in the bathroom and wasn’t at ground
zero when the bomb dropped. When she did join us, she could tell the energy was off.
“What’s wrong?” She frowned.
“Sierra was telling us how she wishes she had a relationship like you and Kane. I’m trying to figure
out what kind of relationship that is…or am I missing something.” Her pointed gaze swung back and forth.
I watched North’s cheeks turn bright pink and I stepped in front of her, folding my arms across the
span of my chest.
“Mel, this isn’t how I wanted you to find out. I did plan to tell you about North and me though
because you’re my friend. A good friend.”
“Wow,” she sighed heavily, placing a hand on her hip. “This is something I need to evaluate. I guess
I’ve always seen how close you two are and knew something was different but.” She shook her head and
sighed. She looked at Sierra briefly then outfitted herself with a polite smile. When she reached over to
hug me, she spoke into my ear. “We’ll talk later. There are eyes and ears around.”
I nodded quickly then slapped hands with Elijah. “Hey, man love is love. Don’t let negative people
make you forget that.” His words were pointed at Sierra and she deserved that shit She deserved every
ounce of scrutiny that came her way and I hoped after tonight, North realized she wasn’t her friend.
Once Elijah and Melanie left, I looked at Sierra. “Where’s your ride?” I quizzed.
“Oh, they can’t make it all the way out here at this time of night. I figured I’d crash here until the
morning then North can take me home in her brand new car.” She rolled her eyes and I’d had enough of
her.
“I don’t feel well. I’m not up for a sleepover. Why didn’t you say something about spending the night
before?” North frowned.
“I didn’t think it would be a problem. I guess I should’ve known when it came down to choosing
between your best friend and your dad you’d choose him.”
North looked at the ceiling then rubbed her forehead. “That’s not it and you know it. I told you I
don’t feel well. I think I ate too much at dinner or something.”
“North, go upstairs and lie down.” I walked over and hugged her tight, kissing her forehead, then
each of her eyelids. “I’ll make sure Sierra gets home and then I’ll be up there.”
I prepared myself for the pushback but I didn’t get any. North didn’t even tell Sierra goodbye.
Maybe she finally saw through the bullshit mask Sierra wore.
The second North was upstairs and out of sight, Sierra turned her gaze to me.
“Are you going to take me home, Kane?” She purred, moving closer.
“Fuck. No. I don’t want to be anywhere near you. I’m getting you an Uber.” I pulled out my phone
but she placed her hand on mine, pushing it down.
“Can you give me a ride? I don’t feel comfortable riding all that way with some strange man.” She
pressed herself against me, mashing her tits against my chest before I shoved her back. Not hard enough
to make her fall, but hard enough for her to get the fucking point.
“In a minute, I’m not going to care how the hell you get home as long as you get out of my house.”
She was moments away from me losing my composure.
Sierra blinked at me and I could see her thoughts stutter. “Stop acting like you don’t want to jump
at the opportunity to fuck me.” She slid her hands along her deep curves and stepped closer to me.
“I don’t want to touch you. Get the fuck out of my house, Sierra.” My nostrils flared against her
harsh perfume and her audacity.
“Oh…” She scoffed taking a step back and tipping her head to one side. “So, since I’m not your
daughter you don’t want me? You know North is broken, right? You can try to dress her up, bring her to a
new town and give her a car but she’ll always be the escaped abortion of an addict.”
Rage swallowed me until wisps of smoke were coming from my ears and all I could see was red. I
flattened her against the wall with my forearm loosely across her neck. My bared teeth were inches from
her nose.
“Get the fuck out. Don’t call North. Don’t text her. Don’t ever speak to her again.” I moved my arm
leaving her sputtering and coughing.
“And you’re always going to be a sick bastard who fucks his kid.” She straightened her top and I
stepped away from her trying to grasp at threads of my obliterated composure.
I had no idea what to think when I saw a blur of blue and red streak by me. It took my eyes a few
seconds to catch up but as soon as they did, I saw North’s fist crack into Sierra’s face. They became a ball
of hair grabbing and obscenities that I had to pry apart.
“You’re a bitch!” North screamed from my arms. I restrained her enough so she couldn’t hit Sierra
anymore even though she’d done some pretty impressive damage. Loud, angry scratches littered Sierra’s
face and neck.
“I can’t believe after all the years…” North’s voice crumbled into salty tears. “All the years we’ve
been friends you only stuck around so you could feel better about yourself.” Her pink lips were bright,
matching the tip of her nose.
I tried to shield her from Sierra but she pulled away with more strength than I gave her credit for. I
realized I couldn’t shield her anymore. The one thing she clung to desperately was her friendship with
Sierra and it was blown away in a matter of seconds. I couldn’t protect her from that.
All she wanted was a fucking friend and she couldn’t even have that. Not even on her birthday. I had
to let her fight this battle. She wasn’t my little girl anymore. She wasn’t my Strawberry Shortcake. North
was torching the pain and deceit of her past and she had to do it alone so she could emerge victorious.
“You left me! You left me for all of this. For him.” She gestured to me angrily. “You forgot who the
fuck you were and who cared about you.”
“No, I didn’t. I tried everything to save our friendship, Sierra. I wanted to keep you close. You were
like my sister.” Tears turned to rivers on her mottled pink cheeks. My heart twisted for her.
You can’t save her from this, Kane.
“I wasn’t your sister when you left Delta.”
“How the fuck was I supposed to stop that from happening? I had no choice! How selfish are you
that the only thing you care about is me leaving Delta? My mother died. My whole world crashed and
burned and you pulled away when the flames were hottest. You ghosted me without a word and I had to
practically beg you to be my friend.” She sniffled and took a step closer to Sierra causing her to flinch. I’d
flinch too if North beat my ass.
“You’re the worst type of person. We’re done being friends. You can keep your toxic misery to
yourself. I refuse to be your company. Get the fuck out.”
“If that’s how you want to play it. Game on. Consider us done.” She stormed out of the house,
slamming the door behind her. In her absence was a swell of silence.
North stood there, chest heaving and tears drying on her cheeks. She looked like she’d gone
through war but fuck she was beautiful. I moved closer to her until we were chest-to-chest then I wrapped
my arms around her.
“You did good, Shortcake. You did damn good.”
…
 CHAPTER 17

“Hey, North. I’m so happy you called. I wanted to talk to you.” Melanie sat across from me with a
warm smile. I’d just gotten off work and ordered us both lattes so we could sit and talk. God knows I
needed it after my birthday. At that point, Mel was the only woman I was close to. “I know last night was
awkward and I’m so sorry.”
“Trust me, you finding out about me and Kane was the least awkward moment of the night.”
Melanie’s blonde brows scrunched together as she regarded me. “What happened after we left?”
“Kane sent me upstairs because I wasn’t feeling well. I ate too much at dinner, which might explain
why I had such a hard time waking up this morning.” I combed through my ponytail and nibbled on my
bottom lip.
“You did demolish a few plates of food last night.”
“And a hunk of cake…or two. Then I felt sick to my stomach and couldn’t wake up this morning. I
was almost late for work. Anyway…I came back downstairs last night because I wanted to ask Kane
something and I walked up on him and Sierra talking.” I shook my head at the sour memory. “She was
trying to fuck him. It infuriated me, Mel. She said horrible, disgusting things about me…about Kane.” I
sniffled and wiped my face. The sting was still fresh.
“Oh my god, North. I’m so sorry. I knew she wasn’t a good friend but Jesus.”
“We got into a fight.” I showed her the scratches Sierra left on my forearms and she nodded as she
took mental notes.
“You need to take pictures of these.” She picked up her phone and started snapping pictures
immediately.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you always document altercations. You never know when you might need the evidence.”
When she set her phone down, she held my hand from across the table and rubbed her thumb across my
knuckles. “How are you feeling, North?”
“Right now? Tired.” I couldn’t place the expression on her face. It was stuck between concern and
curiosity. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I wanted to talk to you about Kane. This is totally not in a bad way. I wanted to let you know there’s
no judgment over here from me. I know you two have a special bond and honestly, it’s nobody’s business.”
She hesitated for a few beats then continued. “North, how long have you and Kane been…together?” The
emphasis she put on the word together made me tense and burn with embarrassment.
“I don’t know exact months.”
Eleven months and ten days.
“Okay, let me rephrase that. When did you two start being intimate?” The question made her as
uncomfortable as it made me. I took a long sip of my latte then pressed my palm to my hot cheeks.
“Oh my god, Mel. Seriously?”
“I know. It’s cringe-y but I promise I’m asking for good reason.”
“And that reason is?” I drummed my fingers against the table and waited for an answer.
“I think you might be pregnant, North.”
Silence and shock laid over us like a thick blanket.
My throat tightened and my gaze bounced around from the ceiling to the floor then landing on my
cup. Nerves jumped up and down in my stomach like petulant children. I squeezed my cup so hard I
thought I might send espresso shooting toward the ceiling. Even though I was swimming in nerves, a
smile burned the corners of my mouth.
“I haven’t gotten my period this month but I thought it was stress.”
“Yeah, the stress of being pregnant.” A laugh slipped past her lips and it made me snicker. “Come
on, let’s go to the drug store. We’re finding out right now.” She stood to her feet and grabbed her keys.
Ten minutes later, Melanie went into the drug store and made a beeline for the pregnancy tests.
“Jeez, Mel. How many pregnancy tests have you bought?”
“Shut up, North. The First Response tests should be perfect.” She handed them to me and smiled.
“Why can’t you get them for me?”
“Because I come to this store all the time. I don’t want the cashier telling Elijah I was in here buying
pregnancy tests.” She shuddered then rubbed my back as we walked up to the counter. She paid for it but
I had to make the transaction.
Nervous wouldn’t begin to explain how I felt going to the bathroom. I used both tests and came out
of the stall when I was done. I looked at Melanie with raised brows and lips rolled between my teeth.
“Three minutes,” I said between nibbles to my bottom lip.
“Longest three minutes of your life, I’m sure.”
“Absolutely.” I pulled the hair tie from my ponytail and ran my fingers through my hair obsessively.
“You know, I used to hate you when I first met you?” I leaned against the sink and stared down at my
hands. Melanie laughed and swept her hair to one side.
“I know. I wasn’t too fond of you either. I didn’t know who you were though. I thought you were
clingy with Kane and I admittedly had no idea what either of you had gone through. Now I know better
and honestly, North you’re one of my favorite people. I hope we can keep being friends.”
Emotions shimmered in my eyes blurring my vision but a smile still hung on my lips. “I hope so too. I
need a friend.” I blinked away the tears when my phone vibrated in my hand. A number I didn’t recognize
flashed across the screen and something in my gut told me to answer it. So instead of checking on the
tests, I answered my phone.
“Hello?” My brows crashed together on my forehead.
“North, thank god.” Kane’s voice sounded shaky and frustrated.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Something about the way he sounded made me sick to my stomach.
“I got arrested.”
I couldn’t have heard him correctly.
Arrested?
“What the hell? Why did you get arrested, Kane?” Melanie’s eyes narrowed with intensity and she
motioned for me to put the phone on speaker.
“Aggravated rape,” he gritted the words through his teeth like they were rancid.
“What?” Melanie and I exclaimed together.
“Don’t say another fucking word until I get there. You just got yourself a lawyer.” Melanie grabbed
her purse and I blinked, still shrouded in disbelief.
“Mel? I’m so glad to hear your voice. Get here as soon as you can. I need to get out of here. This is
bullshit,” Kane grumbled.
“Kane, stop talking. I’ll be there in a little while. Come on, North. Let’s go.” There was no time to
think about looking at the results of my pregnancy tests one way or another. I rushed in the stall grabbed
them from the changing table and threw them in the pocket of my Starbucks apron.
I followed Melanie to the San Miguel County Jail in my birthday car. Time slowed to a crawl behind
every red light and stop sign. I tapped my hands against the steering wheel trying to keep them from
digging into my pocket and looking at the test results.
My mind ran a series of mazes trying to figure out how the fuck Kane got arrested for aggravated
rape. Who would do something so ridiculous? Who could be so vindictive?
As we pulled into the jail parking lot the shock and fog cleared from my mind and the answer was
clear as day.
Sierra.
“Melanie, I know exactly who accused Kane of rape.” I understood why Kane uttered the word the
way he did. It was awful. It was a life-ruiner.
“Who?” She stopped in her stride to the entrance of the small county jail building.
“It was Sierra. Remember I told you I walked up on her while she was propositioning Kane?” My
heart thundered in my chest and my head swam. There were too many emotions flooding my brain.
“Oh my god. You’re right. He wouldn’t fuck her and now she’s crying rape. I should’ve known
something was wrong from the way she looked at him all night.” She picked her pace up and I followed
behind her, anxious to see Kane. We barely had a chance to talk this morning because we both were in a
rush and I’d overslept. Who knew our afternoon would turn out like this?
Melanie walked over to the check-in window and took out her ID, sliding it across the counter. “I’m
here for Kane Fitzgerald. I’m his lawyer.”
“Sign these.” The blank-faced officer shoved a packet of papers at Melanie then looked at me. “And
you are?”
 “His…” My mouth started to form the word daughter but I swallowed it down and fished out my ID
as well. “I’m his wife.” It wasn’t like he’d ask me for a marriage certificate and we had the same last name
for fuck’s sake. He glanced at my license, grunted then slid it back to me. Go through the detectors.
Deposit any sharp or metal objects in the collection tray.” He barely looked up from the computer screen
when he gave me the instructions.
I sucked in a breath and met another officer at the detectors while Melanie finished up her
paperwork. My hands shook while I pulled out all the metal things from my pockets and sat my purse in a
plastic bin with a number on it.
“Your apron, ma’am.” The officer looked at me. “Empty the pockets on your apron.”
My throat thickened. “Will I get everything back?” I quizzed.
“Yes. Unless you have something illegal in there.” He lifted a suspicious eyebrow at me and I forced
a smile.
“Just these.” I pulled the tests out of my pocket and flashed them. He looked less than pleased to
see two pee sticks in his face. I pointed them away from me because I refused to find out if I was pregnant
while I was inside a jail. I dropped them into the plastic bin with a small clatter then walked through.
Melanie was right behind me.
We were led through a series of locked metal doors with thick glass windows before we stopped at a
retaining cell. When I saw Kane sitting on a metal bench kneading his paint-smudged hands, my heart
leaped into my mouth beating furiously against my teeth.
Like he sensed me standing there, he lifted his head and met my eyes. I rushed over to the bars,
curling my fingers around them as if I could pluck the entire door off its hinges.
“Hey, Shortcake.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead through the bars of his cell and I thought I’d
lose it.
“Excuse me, officer can you unlock his cell and provide us with a private meeting area?” Melanie
handled the officer while I stared at Kane wondering how the fuck I let this happen. If I’d listened to him
when he told me Sierra wasn’t my real friend, none of this would’ve happened.
I moved to the side when the cell door swung open and followed the officer to another room. It was
bare-bones with no windows, only one door, and a scuffed metal table bolted to the floor. Around the table
were two orange plastic chairs.
Kane let Melanie and me sit while he stood.
“I know Sierra did this shit,” he blurted.
“Did you touch her, Kane? Like at all even just holding her hand or helping her up the steps?”
“Hell no he didn’t touch her,” I snapped without giving him a chance to answer.
“North, you have to keep your emotions in check. This is a serious allegation but we can get out of it
if we play our cards right.”
“I shoved her away when she tried to touch me. That’s it,” he said.
“Okay good. I took pictures of North’s scratches before you called her so we can establish a
timeline. I need time to figure out your bail and talk to the prosecuting lawyer but I’m almost certain
you’ll walk away without so much as a slap on the wrist. The girl has no proof. I’m sure the only reason
they arrested you was because she claimed it was aggravated and she had scratches and bruises.”
“I can’t believe this. I never would have thought in a million years Sierra was capable of doing
something like this.” I was in shock. Sierra was a lot of things but I would’ve never pegged her to be a
vindictive liar to this extent. Falsely accusing Kane of rape had the potential to ruin his life.
Stress gripped my stomach and refused to let go. I wanted Kane out of that goddamn cell and back
in the gallery. He probably felt my frustration because he didn’t take his eyes off me the entire time
Melanie talked to him about what would happen next.
My lips burned to tell him I might be pregnant but this was no time. I had to keep it all bottled up
until we got Kane out of jail.
“Come on, North. We’ll be back with bail money.” Melanie gave Kane a smile but it wasn’t
sympathetic it was sure. It said she would do whatever it took to make sure Kane stayed out of jail. I
believed her smile. I couldn’t wait to put this nightmare behind us.
It took ten minutes for us to collect our belongings from the plastic bins. As I stuffed the pregnancy
tests in my apron pocket, I made sure to turn them face down without looking. I refused to find out if I
was pregnant until Kane was free.
…
 CHAPTER 18

Melanie really came through for me. She posted my bail in an hour and had me out of there. My
mind still raged over how humiliating it was to be pulled out of my own gallery and shoved in the back of a
cop car after the word rape was uttered in the same sentence as my name. I knew I’d always harbor
smoldering rage for that moment. It would be the one thing that always wormed its way beneath my skin.
I studied the far off look in North’s eyes while I sat at a red light on our back to the gallery. It felt
like there was an island between us and I hated it.
“Hey, what’s on your mind North?”
She pried her blue eyes away from the window and looked at me. “I’m just thinking, that’s all.
Everything is bouncing around in my head and it’s a lot.” She slid her fingers up and down the slender
bridge of her nose before shutting her eyes.
Something else was on her mind and it was giving her a headache. I knew all the symptoms of an
impending migraine with North even though she hadn’t had a bad one in nearly a year.
It always started off the same. She avoided answering questions because she couldn’t stand the
sound of her own voice, then she started rubbing her nose and shielding her eyes from the light.
“You know everything is going to be okay, right?” I pulled up at the gallery and parked so I could
give her my full attention. I stroked her soft red strands and gave her a gentle smile.
“I know. I just hate this. I want it to be over.”
“Me too, Shortcake. It’ll be over soon because Sierra has zero evidence. Melanie is going to make
sure this vanishes. I promise.” I leaned over to kiss her forehead and she smiled a little. I’d take it as long
as she smiled at me.
We walked into the gallery followed by Melanie and Elijah pushed out a sigh of relief when he saw
me. We slapped hands then I turned the closed sign around and locked the doors. I needed time to
regroup after the blow Sierra dealt.
“What the fuck is going on?” Elijah asked. He hadn’t heard a word from me since I got carted off in
cuffs earlier.
“Sierra is trying to bring aggravated rape charges on Kane without a lick of evidence. I already
talked to her lawyer. He’s some TV commercial guy who wants a quick buck. He already knows he has
nothing with this case and is considering dropping it. This isn’t getting off the ground.”
“What the fuck? Aggravated rape?” Elijah seethed. “You would never even think of touching her.”
“I know that. She knows that. She just wanted to hurt North, clearly.”
“Well, she’s doing a great job. My head is killing me.”
“Come here,” I held my arm out for her and she tucked her petite body against my side. I nestled my
nose in the top of her head and inhaled her cherry scent. “You can go home and rest if you want. We’ll all
be there in a little while.” I whispered in her ear so I didn’t cause her head to pound. She shook her head
vehemently and locked her arm with mine. Her other hand was buried in her apron pocket like she was
protecting something with her life.
“Let’s meet up at Kane and North’s. I’ll grab beer,” Elijah sighed.
“I’ll bring pizza so North doesn’t have to cook.” Melanie glanced at North with compassion melting
her features. I was clearly missing a huge part of their conversation. I’d ask North later though because I
knew a migraine was crashing into her hard.
“Sounds good,” I nodded. We headed toward the door when my phone rang. I held up my finger
when I saw Mr. Chandler’s name and everyone stopped. “Hello, Mr. Chandler. What’s going on?” I tried to
sound as laid back as I could but I’d never been more on edge.
“Kane, I’m glad I reached you.” His voice sounded staggered like he didn’t know what to say next.
“I…um. I don’t know how to say this but I’m not going to put your work in my exhibit. I’m sorry.”
My ribcage cracked under the pressure building in my chest. My eyebrows furled together and my
lips pressed into a tight line. “Excuse me?”
“It’s too close to the show and I can’t be associated with someone who’s being accused of something
so heinous. I thought you were a better man than that. You can keep the first deposit and the painting. I
don’t want it any longer.”
I paced the floor in an attempt to release pent up anger. “Can I ask what accusations you’re talking
about, sir?” I was trying my best to keep my voice even-toned but the longer this conversation went on the
more I lost that battle.
He couldn’t have been talking about what Sierra was accusing me of. There was no way for him to
know about that. I was already out of jail and I wasn’t famous by any stretch of the imagination so how
could word spread?
“All morning a young lady has been tagging you and your business on Instagram with disgusting
details of how you raped her. Kane she’s shown her scratches and everything. I can’t be attached to.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” My voice was strained and tight like every tendon and muscle inside
me. I shoved my fingers through my hair, knocking the hair tie out. “None of that is true. I don’t know
what that girl posted on Instagram but I can assure you it’s not the truth. My lawyer is working on…”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not at this point. It’s too much bad publicity. I’m sorry, Kane.” The
call ended and I envisioned myself tossing my phone through the fucking gallery window.
“Instagram?” North said, pinching the bridge of her nose. She had Sierra’s profile pulled up in
seconds. Not only did Sierra she tag my personal page along with Fitzgerald’s Fine Art, but she also she
tagged North.
“What the fuck?” I snarled as I watched short clips of a teary-eyed Sierra detailing how I raped her
against the front door before she could escape and bolt from the house. Flames rose from the base of my
spine until they engulfed me in so much fury I couldn’t see straight.
“Wait…she said what?” Melanie laughed, plucking the phone from North’s hand. “This is going to be
exactly what stops the case from going forward.” She seemed excited but I was too pissed to figure out
why.
“Explain to me why this is something I should be happy about, Mel,” I grumbled.
“Everything she’s saying can be easily disproved. You have one of those home security cameras,
right?” She looked at me lifting her arched brow.
“One on the doorbell and at all the doors in the house.” I scrubbed at my beard and realized the
claim that I forced myself on Sierra in the foyer against the front door was full of holes. All I had to do was
run back the tape for her lawyer and the case would get dropped.
“We can prove she’s full of shit and sue her for defamation at this point,” North’s eyes lit up even
though I could tell she was in so much pain from the migraine inching in on her.
“North, a girl after my own heart.” Mel locked fingers with Elijah who seemed quiet and withdrawn.
“Come on, let’s go pick up a few things and we’ll see you guys at the house.”
“You okay, man?” I asked him once we stepped onto the sidewalk.
“Not really. You’ve been working hard as hell on that painting for Mr. Chandler and now…” He
shrugged his shoulders.
“Now it’s all gone to hell,” I said, finishing his thought.
“Exactly.”
I didn’t have anything to say in response because he was right. I poured months of my life into that
painting and it could have elevated my career. Now it was all up in smoke. It stung and it wasn’t fair but I
needed to focus on my reputation and my freedom. In comparison to those things, my painting not being
featured was small.
North and I parted ways with Elijah and Melanie and went home. I needed to be somewhere familiar
and safe.
We ended up in our bedroom amongst the silence that managed to pile up between us. I shut the
blinds and curtains, plunging the room into darkness so North could lie down. When I moved to help her
out of her apron and clothes, she stiffened.
“What’s wrong, Shortcake. I know you have a migraine but I feel like there’s something else you’re
not telling me.” The mattress dipped under my weight when I sat on the bed. “I need some kind of win.
Tell me what’s on your mind, please.” I wished I could extract her thoughts and examine them in my
hands.
North stood in front of me with her lips tucked between her teeth. Her body rocked back and forth,
wrought with uncertainty. I saw it in the way her brows knitted together.
Finally, she pulled her hand out of her apron pocket and placed something in my palm. I was fixed
on the expression warping her features though. “What’s this?” I quizzed, holding her wrist in my free
hand.
 “Mel thought I might be pregnant so we went to get pregnancy tests right before you called and told
me you’d been arrested. I haven’t had a chance to look at them. So, I don’t know if this will be a win or
not but I want to look at the results with you.” She sat on my lap and my hand instinctively went to her
flat stomach.
“Pregnant? You really think…”
“It’s plausible. I haven’t had my period yet and I haven’t been feeling well.” She tucked thick red
locks of hair behind her ear and stared down at her fingers.
“Holy shit,” I sighed. I found myself wishing for a tiny version of us. I wanted something to
commemorate our love and how beautiful it was. North having my kid was perfect.
I rubbed the back of my neck and closed my hand around the pregnancy tests. “Wait,” I said,
holding onto her anxious hands. “What are we looking for? One line across or two lines down the middle?”
“Two lines down the middle,” she smiled a little even though I knew she felt like shit.
“Let’s do it.” I opened my hand and turned the plastic sticks over so they were facing up. Both tests
read the same blaring result.
Two lines down the middle.
My Shortcake was pregnant.
Suddenly, all the chaos and rage of the day fell to scraps at my feet. Nothing in the world had ever
made me this happy. My mind began painting images of the family I always wanted.
Joy consumed me starting at my core then spilling onto my face. I smiled from ear to ear before
pulling North’s pretty mouth against mine. She was so goddamn beautiful right then. I couldn’t show my
appreciation the way I needed to because she wasn’t feeling well. I’d have to save it for later.
I kissed her lips gently, circling her waist with my hands. My dick stood so fast it ached. I hated how
much stress Sierra was putting on North. I hated it even more knowing my woman was pregnant and she
didn’t feel relaxed.
“You have no idea how happy this makes me, Shortcake.”
“Really?” She smiled. “I thought you’d be apprehensive especially right now with all this…shit
happening.”
“Knowing you’re pregnant erases all of it. Besides, I told you I wanted a family with you. My number
one concern is providing for you and our kid and making sure you’re calm.”
“My head is fucking killing me. It feels like it’s about to split in two. I can’t even fully enjoy finding
out I’m pregnant because of all the bullshit Sierra has caused.”
I wiped those warm, salty tears from her cheeks then stroked her hair gently while making her lie
back on the bed. “Don’t give her that power, North. If you give her the power to take away something so
sacred and special, she’s won. Don’t feed into it.” I kissed the back of her hand and stole a few more
seconds staring at her before I filled the tub with water so she could take a hot bath.
I watched her slender body slip into the hot water and imagined how gorgeous she’d look when our
baby started to grow. How smooth and round her stomach would be. How her eyes would be full of love
and light.
I sat on the edge of the tub, cupped water in my hands, and let it run through her hair turning her
thick mane deep crimson. Neither of us said a word. I continued running water through her hair in the
dark bathroom until every strand was saturated. I poured a small glob of shampoo in my palm and
combed it through her hair with my fingers. She kept her eyes closed the entire time.
I took my time to soak in all of North’s beauty. I was going to paint her just like this. With rivulets of
red hair and crystal clear water running down her freckled back while her eyes were closed and long,
thick ginger lashes rested on the tops of her cheeks. I wanted to paint the way her plump pink lips held
onto a smattering of cinnamon freckles that made her smile light up a room in a way only she could. I’d
paint the way the tops of her full, perky tits kissed the surface of the water before bobbing beneath it. I’d
paint her exactly as she was: a goddess.
When the doorbell rang downstairs, I kissed the top of North’s head and went to let our friends in.
“How’s North?” Mel asked.
“In the tub trying to relax. I don’t want her stressing out but it’s pointless trying to prevent it.”
“This shit is stressful. There’s no way around it,” Elijah huffed. He sat the pizza boxes down on the
kitchen counter then looked at me. “How you holding up?”
When I flashed a smile, he looked a little confused because nobody in their right mind would smile
after having the day from hell. No demon could take away the impossible feeling of happiness and hope
that brewed inside me.
I was going to be a father.
“I’m good. I just want to get this shit over with. Losing the Chandler deal sucks and it hurts but
there are better things to look forward to.”
Melanie looked at me for a few quiet beats then narrowed her eyes. “You look like a totally different
man from the one we left at the gallery,” she said.
“Because I am. Let’s kill this rape case and open the defamation case. I’m ready to put this behind
me.”
“Okay, let’s do it.” Melanie took off her coat, opened up her laptop and grabbed a slice of pizza and
a bottle of beer. I’d never seen her more in her element than she was at that moment.
We kept our voices down for about an hour while we worked out specific to-do lists and strategies.
Melanie helped me draft a statement for my long-time customers and investors and one to put on social
media since Sierra trashed me there.
“Hey, guys.” North’s groggy voice made my eyes jerk in her direction. She smelled like heaven when
she snuggled beside me on the couch. Like the sweetest cherries ever picked.
“North, what’s up? Give me some.” Elijah held his hand out and she slapped it with a half-smile.
“How are you?” Melanie asked, studying North as if a neon sign would blink over her head
announcing her pregnancy.
“I’m much better now.” She looked at me and I dove headfirst into those blue-gray eyes. “Did you…”
Her words hung in the air as I picked up on her train of thought.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t want to do that without you, Shortcake.” I tickled her side a little to coax that
pretty smile out.
“Um, what the hell is going on?” Elijah asked, finishing his third beer.
“Yes, what’s going on?” Melanie’s voice was a little more playful.
I squeezed North’s thigh as a signal for her to break the news at her leisure. I was fine with
whatever she wanted to say because I was on cloud fucking nine.
She sucked in a short breath as her sparkling eyes bounced around from Melanie to Elijah. “I’m
pregnant.” Every syllable came to life with happiness.
A small cheer erupted from our friends. Mel shot to her feet and did a dance. “I knew it! I told you.”
“You did, and you were right. I still can’t believe a tiny person is growing in there.” North patted her
stomach and I slipped and fell even deeper in love with her.
“Dammit,” Elijah cursed, shaking his head. “Now I’m always going to be broke because this kid is
going to make me spend every penny.”
“Let’s focus on our game plan and figure out how to turn this fucked up situation around. Once
we’re in the clear then we’re going to celebrate properly,” I said. With that, we went back to making sure
my statements were airtight. Tomorrow, Melanie would meet with the prosecutor and see where we were
with Sierra wanting to press charges. Hopefully, she realized how fucking stupid she was and decided to
call the whole thing off.
…
I couldn’t sleep once I wound down for the night. Thankfully, North slept like she didn’t have a care
in the world. As I watched her rest, I chose the perfect colors to paint her with in my mind.
She stirred things in me that forced me out of bed at two in the morning so I could go into my art
studio and paint. I needed to get the ethereal image of her out of my head and onto canvas. I began
mixing colors furiously. Reds and oranges. Whites and browns. Blues and grays.
I stared at my palette and felt good about the choices. After that, inspiration flowed from my fingers
to the paintbrush. I felt a masterpiece in my bones as my muse beat through my heart.
I painted for a couple of hours until fatigue finally caught up with me. I hated painting while I was
sleepy because it made my lines and strokes wobbly. I cleaned my brushes and laid them out to dry before
returning to bed.
I was shocked to see North awake and sitting on the bed with a bag of watermelon Sour Patch
candies, scrolling through her phone. Her blue eyes lifted to mine and she smiled. “You done painting?”
She asked.
She patted the space beside her on the bed and I climbed in happily. I pulled her close to me and
rubbed her stomach. “For now. You knew I was painting and you didn’t come in?”
“I knew you were in the zone. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Her hands traced the speckles of paint on my knuckles and fingers. Her light touches filled me up
with electricity. I dug my fingers into her jawline and kissed each of her lips before sliding my tongue into
her sweet mouth. She tasted like sugar and watermelon.
Sweet summer.
My North.
My kisses fell from her full lips to her warm neck. I sucked on her flawless skin biting and sucking
my way to her shoulder watching passionate red bruises blossom. Seeing the mottled marks coloring her
body turned me ravenous and possessive. I needed to claim her again and again. I needed to cement
myself to the real world through everything North breathed into me. All the love and reassurance. All the
faith and peace.
“Kane,” she breathed my name into the air while she pushed her fingers through my thick hair. My
hands tore at the stretchy tank top she wore until her full breasts popped out. How had I not noticed how
full they were? How fucking suckable her nipples were?
I took time to notice while they were in my mouth though. I slid my tongue back and forth letting
her soft panting steer me. I was hungry though and there as only so much steering that could be done.
A growl rumbled through my chest as I pinned her dainty wrists above her head and found her tits
with my tongue and teeth again. Every yip and whine made my dick feel like titanium.
I’d become obsessed with North’s body and I couldn’t pry myself away from her. She was carrying
my child. She loved me unconditionally and the feeling was so damn mutual.
With my free hand, I found the wettest, hottest spot between her legs. I teased her clit for a while
but once her tangy-sweet scent filled my nostrils I turned into a savage creature. I pinned her thighs as
far apart as they would go before dipping below her navel and pulling her swollen pink clit into my mouth.
I sucked on her like I was on my last dehydrated breath. I nibbled on her lips, I lapped up every sweet
drop, I groaned into her slick heat unable to satiate myself. I was a madman licking the silky insides of her
thighs dealing deliberate and torturous tongue strokes to her stiff clit. I could gorge on her and still not
consume enough.
I ate her pussy like it was the last meal I’d ever see. I ate her pussy like I’d get thrown back in jail
for an indeterminate sentence. I wanted every sugary drop of North on my face.
“Oh, god Kane! Don’t stop, please!” Her slender hips bucked against my mouth, coaxing deep
groans of pleasure from me.
“I’ll never stop tasting your pussy, Shortcake. You are mine forever. This…” I eased two fingers
inside her tight pussy and curled them upward, making her slice the air with a gasp. “This is mine forever
too.” I didn’t just mean physically, I meant the charge that we got from fucking and making love. The
energy that burned through me when I was buried deep inside of her. The taste of her on my tongue. The
taste of cherries. The sweet zip that forces your eyes closed and draws a deep groan from the pit of you.
That’s what would always be mine.
Nobody else would ever have the privilege of knowing how wet North got or how high-pitched her
moans could get. I might not have been her first but I was damn sure her last.
I fixed my mouth back to her soaking wet pussy and finished devouring her from the inside out. I felt
her thigh muscles stiffen first. Her calves locked up next. I looked up at those blue eyes and saw the most
beautiful sight.
If I never saw another thing…another color or work of art as long as I lived I’d treasure the look on
North’s face when I made her come.
Her plump lips parted as she sucked in air. Her stunning thunderstorm eyes crackling to life, tears
rolling into the hollows of her ears as I pulled beauty from her. She trembled against my mouth before
going limp and exhaling.
I wasn’t done though.
I pulled my shirt off, tossed it to the side then took my sweats and boxer briefs off. My stiff cock
bobbed out, heavy and begging for North’s tight pussy. I motioned for her to turn over and her eyes got
wide.
“On my stomach?” She quizzed.
“You know what I want,” I told her, fisting my dick from base to crown. I wanted to fuck her until
she cried. I wanted to dig into her and find the treasure of a second orgasm.
She did as I asked her and I kissed a line up her spine, nibbling as I went along. I spread her open
for me and it was still a tight-as-fuck fit but god I loved the way she felt wrapped around me. Once I was
fully submerged in her, she buried her face in the pillows and gripped the sheets in her fists, tugging them
from the corners of the bed.
“Kane!” Her voice was muffled but it didn’t stop me from drilling into her. I yanked her pretty red
hair and pulled her away from the pillow.
“I need to hear everything that comes out of your mouth.” I thrust deeper, listening to her sweet
sounds. They intensified with every violent stroke. “Fuck, I’m going to come,” I grunted.
“Please come inside me,” she begged. Her voice was wildly staccato matching my pace. I couldn’t
hold on anymore. Neither could North. Her body tightened, releasing another powerful climax just as I
shot into her core.
“Fuck, North. Jesus Christ.” I emptied every ounce into her. I pressed into her until our bones
touched. Until our spirits kissed and our minds melted together.
Bliss covered us as we laid beside each other sweaty and satisfied. North snuggled close to me and I
kissed the top of her head, pressing my hand flat to her stomach.
Once she was in my arms, I was finally able to go to sleep.
…
 CHAPTER 19

Nerves mixed with the anger biting through my bloodstream. I hated looking at Sierra’s face. She
was such a fucking coward. She wouldn’t even look at me across the slick cherry wood table. She kept her
head turned toward her lawyer even when he wasn’t speaking to her.
Kane gave my knee a squeeze under the table. He must’ve seen the murderous way I was staring at
Sierra. I broke the death stare and looked at him. He always softened me. Even after Mom died, when I
wanted to be mad at him with every cell in my body, he found the one piece of me that remained
unguarded and softened it.
“Sorry I’m a little late,” Melanie said walking in the door with a carefree smile on her pretty face. “I
had to make sure my video was loaded and ready. I didn’t want to come in unprepared.” Her words were
polite and sweet but the sharpness in her tone pierced the air.
Sierra’s lawyer looked at Melanie and chuckled a little. “Video?” He quizzed. His gaze flitted over to
Sierra momentarily before he turned his attention to the iPad Melanie was propping up in the middle of
the table.
My grin turned undoubtedly smug as she tapped the play button on the screen. Sierra looked like
she’d be sick. Her expression was twisted into a maze of disbelief that traveled through her furled brows
down the bridge of her nose, curving around her flared nostrils and settling on her pursed lips. That look
was almost as beautiful as one of Kane’s paintings.
Good. Choke on that fucking video, bitch.
On the iPad, we all watched Sierra throw herself at Kane. We watched him refuse her, then after a
few words were exchanged came the fight between Sierra and me. We sat there and watched the entire
eleven-minute video until we saw Sierra storm out of the house without getting raped, groped, or anything
else that would substantiate her bullshit.
“As you can see, your client is making false claims against Mr. Fitzgerald. I’m not going to advise
you on what to do but if you continue, this won’t end well in court.” I got chills listening to Melanie shut
down the trash Sierra was trying to pin on Kane. I knew what came next and I couldn’t stop bouncing my
knee in anticipation.
“You lied?” The round-bellied lawyer asked Sierra. His brows jumped to his non-existent hairline.
“I just wanted my best friend back.” Her shoulders shook with sobs as she hid her face like the
coward she was. The soft spot I had for her hardened into a diamond. It was a spot that would never be
cracked. It was a spot that would shine instead of becoming cloudy and bitter like Sierra.
“Do you have any idea the shit-storm you’ve caused, Sierra?” Kane growled. The anger rolling off
him was palpable.
In the week that went by since she accused Kane of rape, sales at the gallery tanked and people in
the art world were bashing Kane on a different blog every damn day. It was stressful and exhausting. Hell,
even my coworkers were side-eyeing me.
“Kane, please,” Melanie said quietly. She’d advised us not to speak directly to Sierra but he was
bursting at the seams with fury.
“I’m sorry, Melanie but my livelihood, my passion, and my reputation are up in smoke right now
because a little girl got it in her head that lying about something so heinous would be a good idea.” I
rubbed his back as he spoke, trying to calm him down. I felt every tight muscle beneath his shirt.
It was the wrong time to get turned on but my hormones were all over the place and I couldn’t help
myself. Kane looked delicious when he was pissed. I wanted to help him relieve every drop of stress.
“Mr. Fitzgerald, I am so sorry. We won’t pursue this any further,” Sierra’s lawyer spoke without
looking at her. “At least she won’t be pursuing the case with me as her lawyer.”
“She’s going to need some kind of representation because Mr. Fitzgerald has filed a defamation suit
with the court.” She pulled out an envelope and handed it directly to Sierra who plucked it from her
fingers. “You’ve been officially served. You have thirty days to respond.”
Boom.
That was the bomb I was waiting for.
Sierra’s blank expression shattered into pieces and for the second time since the start of the
meeting, tears flooded her eyes. She looked at me and I met her stare with indignation.
 “North, don’t do this,” she begged with trembling words.
“I’m not doing anything. These are the consequences you brought on yourself for lying publicly
about someone who did nothing to you.” Butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth when I smiled at her. I was
finally done letting her manipulate me and crush my happiness around every corner.
“Can’t we settle out of court?” Sierra sniffled, looking from her ex-lawyer to Kane. I guess she
realized she wasn’t getting anywhere with me.
“No. I’m suing for the current loss of business revenue, pain, and suffering.” Kane’s teeth clenched
together making his jaw flex as he spoke.
“I’ll retract everything I said. I’ll put out a new video and everything. Please let’s talk about it.”
I swallowed whole every tear and every wobble of Sierra’s bottom lip. It was delicious nectar that
was well deserved after the pain she caused.
“You will retract everything. It’s in our terms. Take your time to read over it or find yourself a
lawyer who can help you work through the terminology.” Melanie packed up her iPad and slipped it in her
briefcase with a saccharine smile.
“Please!” Sierra squeaked one last time, slamming her palm against the table. I was done listening
to her beg. I stood to my feet and Kane stood after me, placing his hand protectively on the small of my
back.
“Sierra, I’m advising you to stop taking now.” The balding lawyer said. His reddened face shook with
conviction.
I flashed her another satisfied smile before walking out of the conference room. I wanted her to feel
the gravity of everything she did. I wanted the consequences to force the breath from her lungs. I wanted
her to learn and grow. If she ever got another best friend, I prayed she didn’t treat her the way she
treated me.
…
When Kane and I got home, I felt lighter the minute I walked through the door. I thought I would be
sad. I thought I would instantly miss my best friend when I saw her in that conference room but the
opposite happened. I wanted nothing more to do with her. I was sitting across from a stranger I’d built
memories with. That was it.
“Hey, how are you holding up?” Kane fell into the couch in the living room and I sat beside him,
propping my feet up on his legs.
“I actually feel good,” I said letting a genuine smile cross my lips. I soaked in the feeling of his
strong warm hands on my feet. He rubbed them and kneaded them until they felt boneless.
“That’s how you should feel. It’ll take some time to rebuild after this hit but I’m game if you are.”
His smile crashed into me like a tsunami and I was helpless against its pull.
“I’m definitely game.” It felt so good to have the burden of Sierra swept off my shoulders. It meant I
could finally enjoy Kane. I could finally enjoy being pregnant.
“Good, because there’s nobody I’d want by my side more than you when I walk this journey. You’re
my partner in crime. My best friend.” He leaned close to me and brushed his soft lips against mine.
A realization jolted me, making me pull away from Kane’s kiss.
“What’s wrong?” A frown bent his lips.
“I just realized I was trying to hold on to something with Sierra that I already found in you.” I wet
my lips and pulled my feet beneath my body. “I didn’t need to hold on to her or try to salvage broken
pieces of what I thought was true friendship. I had it all along with you.”
“You’ve always had me as a friend, North.”
“I know.” My mind went back to my sixteenth birthday and my body ached with heat at the memory
of our first kiss. It was so wrong but knowing that I made Kane’s body react so viscerally turned me on
while simultaneously making me feel sick and twisted. I cut him off to stave off the shame but he was still
the only person in my corner no matter how many times I pushed him away or ignored him.
Kane was always my number one confidant. He understood the hurt feelings that came along with
loving an addict. He lived through the helplessness and came out on the other side. I admired his strength
and I wanted to possess a piece of it for myself.
“I should’ve listened to you when you told me Sierra was no good,” I admitted shoving a frustrated
hand through my hair. I knew it wasn’t my fault that she lied on Kane but I couldn’t stop beating myself up
over it.
 I was steadily adding to the list of issues I’d have to talk to Dr. Allen about.
“North, you wanted to save something. I get it. I don’t blame you for it.” His thumb swept over my
cheekbone as his eyes locked onto mine.
Green and gold on blue and gray.
Earth and sky.
Forever linked.
“I guess my heart is bigger than my brain.” I laughed but there was no humor in my voice. “I tried to
save Mom, I tried to save myself, and I tried to save Sierra. I failed on all attempts.”
“No.” He lifted my chin refusing to let me hold my head down. “You didn’t. You saved yourself. You
could have harbored all the bad things that happened in your life and let them harden you. You could have
run from me the first chance you got. You could have handled your life differently but you chose the path
that healed you.” Sincerity and love rang true in his beautiful eyes. My stomach did cartwheels and I
couldn’t tell if it was because I was so madly in love with Kane or because I was insanely hungry. I knew
once his thumb skated across my bottom lip that the cartwheels were definitely for Kane.
“I guess I never thought of it that way. You’re right though.” I nodded my head. “We always have
choices and I could have chosen to cling to toxicity.”
“But you didn’t.” His eyes searched mine for a few seconds. It was long enough for me to see the
pride shining through his irises. The way Kane looked at me made me feel like a goddess. My cheeks
tingled under his stare.
“You’re right. I didn’t.” I shared his pride and wore it around my head like a golden crown. I chose
to heal. Nothing could take the satisfaction of self-love away from me now.
I never had the pleasure of feeling loved before. Not the way I loved myself now and definitely not
the way Kane loved me. My mother couldn’t love me and the one person I thought was my friend didn’t
love me either but Kane? That man loved me from the freckles on my face to the toes on my feet. He
didn’t have to shower me with gifts or flowers to show me either.
I felt it.
I saw it.
I breathed it.
Our love was everything.
It sustained me in my weakest times and nourished me back to health. Our love supported me on
the nights where I felt less than nothing. Our love cheered in the background when depression cleared
the stormy sky leaving behind rays of sunshine.
Now our love was building a foundation for us to raise our child on. We’d already overcome so much
apart and together. It was time to pour everything we had, all the tough lessons we’d learned, and all the
tender memories we’d created into our own little family.
I wasn’t born with great parents or a family that gave even half a fuck about me but I learned
quickly that family is what you make it. It’s not always the blood ties you’re born into but the life ties you
create along the way. Even if you have to unknot some of those ties and let go.
The family I built around me was what I needed and what I’d always longed for. I couldn’t wait to
see how we grew together and I couldn’t wait to welcome our baby into a world that actually wanted him
or her. I didn’t have that kind of luck but my kid would. They’d never know the ache of not having love
from your mother or having an absent father.
No, my kid would have the best family I could offer. I knew we would see to it that the little one
growing inside of me would have as much love as they could stand. It wouldn’t be perfect love but it
would be true and truth trumps perfection every single time.
…
 EPILOGUE

Something forced me from my sleep. I didn’t know what it was but I swear I felt a hand pull me
upright in bed. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the space beside me. North was still there but her face
was pinched in a pained expression. I smoothed red curls away from her face and watched her.
Ever since she hit the second trimester, she’d been wearing her crimson mane in its natural curly
state. I loved it. I loved the ways this pregnancy changed her. Her curves were deeper, more exaggerated,
and her face was fuller and softer but still beautiful as fuck.
“Wake up, Shortcake.” I leaned down and kissed her dewy forehead while my hand rested on her
round belly. North was more stomach than body during her pregnancy. She hated it but I couldn’t get
enough. There was nothing more amazing than watching my child grow inside her.
Her blue eyes shot open and a moan rumbled out of her. It wasn’t a pleasurable moan either. It was
an achy moan full of discomfort.
I’d been on high alert since she hit thirty weeks and now she was ready to pop at thirty-seven weeks
and I was a bundle of nerves. I helped her to an upright position, my hungry eyes falling to the curve of
her breasts and the way they bounced free from the sheet draped over her body.
Ever since her third trimester started, she couldn’t stand to have on clothes and I wasn’t
complaining. I’d painted her baby bump so many times I could do it in my sleep now.
“Kane,” she whined, clutching my arm. “I’m having contractions.”
That was all I needed to hear. I grabbed my phone and started timing them like the nurse taught me.
They got closer and closer until North was a wall of tense muscles spiked with colorful curse words.
“Get my hospital bag,” she gritted out, hoisting herself to her feet. She was in the throes of another
contraction and she needed to move around. I nodded with a dry mouth and slung the red duffle bag over
my body. “Call the nurse practitioner.”
I waved my phone at her and showed her I was already on top of it. The line was ringing as she
waddled to the dresser for clothes. I’d been sleeping in basketball shorts and a t-shirt since she started
having Braxton Hicks. I wanted to be able to hop up and leave if necessary.
I rattled off the timing of North’s contractions and her symptoms to the nurse once she finally
picked up. She urged us to come in once she heard the cry North belted out. She said she’d have the ER
staff on alert.
It was hell getting North down the steps and to the truck. She was in so much pain my midsection
started to ache sympathetically. My girl was tough though. She gritted her teeth and growled like a
warrior through each wave of pain and pressure.
Once she was in the truck safely, I sent out a text to Melanie and Elijah telling them it was go-time.
Everything was happening so fast. I was only operating on fumes. I had no idea how I drove us to the
hospital in one piece.
Like the nurse said, the ER staff was waiting for us with a wheelchair. North was smart and signed
all the forms once she was halfway through her third trimester so we had a fast pass to labor and delivery.
It took ten minutes to get us prepped and in a room since nobody else was there at that hour. Thank
god. I don’t think I could have waited.
Anxiety ran rampant through my body making me too hot and too cold at the same time. Making my
palms sweat and my heart race. All I could think about was meeting my daughter.
Two nurses came into our room and hooked North up to a machine before checking to see if she was
ready to push. The wide-eyed look on the first nurse’s face told me all I needed to know.
“You’re at a ten, mama. It’s beyond time to push,” she smiled. North nodded and slid down toward
the foot of the bed with her feet in stirrups, gritting her teeth and gripping the bed rails for stability.
I thought the noises I pulled out of North were beautiful but the way she sounded pushing our out
child was otherworldly. It wasn’t sexy or sweet. It was terrifying and sobering. It bubbled over with pain
and self-doubt.
She kept going though.
It felt like time stopped when she gave one final push and the nurses cheered. Everything in the
world vanished and all I saw was the screaming, squirming baby being placed on North’s bare chest.
She was perfect.
Thick red hair and a rosebud mouth with lashes so long they were stuck to her chubby cheeks.
Oh my god.
I was in heaven.
“Dad, you wanna cut the cord?” Everything clicked back into place and I nodded, taking the scissors
and cutting between the designated markers on the tightly coiled umbilical cord.
When I was done, I turned my gaze back to my girls. North was already breastfeeding like a champ
and I’d never seen anything more peaceful and gorgeous. I didn’t think it was possible to fall any harder
for the amazing goddess in front of me. I thought I’d exhausted my entire heart loving her.
I was wrong. My heart expanded by leaps and bounds once I witnessed her give birth. It was the
wrong time for me to be turned on but I couldn’t help it. North was fucking phenomenal and I was ready
to give her another baby already. Shit, I wanted a team. She would have my goddamn head if I mentioned
it to her right now so I kept quiet.
“You did it, Shortcake.”
“I did it,” she said with a smile and a hoarse voice. She looked different already. Like giving birth to
our daughter transformed her into the butterfly she was always meant to be.
“What should we name her?” I asked. We chose not to think about names until we laid eyes on her. I
stared at her for what seemed like forever. Even when the nurses swept her away for her bath and first
exam, I was transfixed.
“You wanna hold her, Kane?” North asked once we were in the recovery room. My hands and arms
shot out without my permission. I would finally get to hold my daughter.
I thought I was head over heels watching North birth and nurse our baby but once I held her little
body in my arms…I was ruined for every other woman.
Nobody would have been able to pry me away from North but now…my god. I was drunk on her
powdery fresh scent. I was captured by the way her little fingers gripped my finger. I knew I would give
her the entire world if she asked for it.
“So now that you’re holding her…what do you think?” North’s voice tore me from the hypnotic state
I was in.
“She’s perfect,” I said, rubbing the tip of my nose across her forehead.
“Well, yeah,” she laughed. “But what do you think we should name her?”
I rocked her body gently getting used to the tiny solid weight in my arms. I stared at her shock of
red hair and the soft smattering of freckles barely visible across her cheeks. “I don’t know, cupcake. What
do you wanna be named?” I spoke against the top of her head.
After the legal proceedings with Sierra wrapped up and we won the defamation case, I fell in love
with North’s pregnancy. At the first ultrasound appointment, I dubbed the little baby growing inside of
her, Cupcake since North was already my Shortcake.
“I have an idea,” North smiled.
“I’m all ears, baby.”
“What do you think about naming her Blaze? She’s the light of my life.”
“And she has this amazing hair.” The crop of silky hair on her head was already taking on my wavy
texture. It looked like a mess of fiery blazes.
“She does. So…Blaze?” The way North looked at me made me feel like I was on top of the world.
“Blaze Fitzgerald it is,” I smiled.
“Oh my goodness, the cupcake is here!” Melanie’s upbeat voice rounded the corner before she did.
“Aww, look at her.” When she held her hands out for Blaze, I looked at North before I handed her over.
When she gave me a slight nod, I placed my princess in her arms then slapped hands with Elijah once he
walked in the room and placed a bouquet of balloons down in the corner.
 “Congratulations, bro! How does fatherhood feel?” He asked after he high-fived North.
“Amazing. I already don’t want her to grow up.”
“Grow up? She just got here. She’s not allowed to grow up yet,” he chuckled. “North, you choose a
name yet? Don’t let my niece walk around without a name,”
“Her name is Blaze.” North stared at our daughter in Melanie’s arms and smiled. I’d never seen her
more serene.
“Middle name?” Melanie’s gray eyes moved from North to me.
“I like Serena,” I said, noting how peaceful North looked. North agreed with the biggest smile and
our daughter’s name was set in stone.
Our family was finally set in stone. Once Blaze was in my arms and in my heart I knew I’d die for
her. I’d do anything to see her little smile.
“Oh, Kane, I have news,” Melanie said, handing a squirming Blaze back to North.
“What’s up?” I quizzed, raising an eyebrow.
“Guess who couldn’t pay their fine for three months in a row?”
“No surprise there,” I sighed. I knew when I sued Sierra for defamation she wouldn’t be able to pay
up.
“She got arrested this morning.”
I didn’t feel happy or vindicated about it. I’d long since put her out of my mind once the gallery
started to rebound. I couldn’t afford to give her any more energy so I didn’t.
“That’s not the only news,” Elijah said. The look on his face was hard to read. He couldn’t hold on to
the ambiguity for too long because a smile started to form on his lips.
“What’s the news?” North pressed.
“I’m pregnant,” Melanie said, after a pause. Happiness danced in her eyes as she looked to Elijah.
“Oh my god!” North blurted. Immediately, she looked down to make sure she didn’t wake Blaze.
“Mel, I’m so happy.” Before I knew it, they were both crying happy tears. I let them have their moment
before I congratulated Mel and pulled her in for a hug.
Seeing Melanie and Elijah growing their family right alongside us made my heart full.
There was only one piece missing.
I pulled a small black box from my pocket and dropped to one knee at North’s beside. Her tears
started immediately. She laid Blaze down in the bassinet beside the bed and brought her shaky hands to
her mouth.
“Kane,” She sniffled knowingly.
“North, I can’t think of anyone else I want to spend forever with. You get me. You’re everything to
me. The air I breathe, the colors around me, the blood pumping through my veins. I want this for the rest
of our lives. Will you marry me?”
She didn’t respond with words but her tearful nod was enough of an answer for me. I slid a modest
diamond ring on her finger and stood to kiss her full lips. My world was complete.
I was going to give both of my girls whatever they needed for the rest of our lives together. It was all
I cared about now. My girls and my family.
Forever.

The end.
OTHER BOOKS BY DANIELLE JAMES
Twisted
The Twisted Series (Books 1-6)
Flowers Behind the Gates Series:
Flowers Behind the Gates
Sleeping Monsters
Power Trip
Death of a Rose
Garden of Secrets
LUCY Duet (Books 1&2)
Naughty R&B (A six story anthology)
Have Mercy
Dangerous Territory
Tortured Whispers
The Monarch Room
The Moreau Estates
Wisteria
Nocturnal Sins
BOMB
Margot
Trust Issues
Defect
Honey Sugar
BEAR
Thy Will Be Done
Blizzard of Lies


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 About the author:
Danielle James is a wife and mother of two, who has written and published over twenty romance
novels. Danielle’s work spans from sweet and romantic to dark and taboo.
She prides herself on writing bold romance for bold readers.
Her books are sexually charged with alpha female characters that leap off the pages. Each book
sucks you into an entirely different world with steamy scenes, drama, and amazing plot twists along the
way. Her goal is to hook you and keep you addicted so you'll come back for more.