“I don’t know if your mom would like that.” He found the bowls and filled them to the top. How much cereal did kids eat? He had no clue, but if he filled the bowls to the top they wouldn’t go hungry.
“She lets us do what we want because she doesn’t get to see us very much. That’s Jimmy’s fault. He’s a bastard.”
Cade found milk in the fridge and filled up the bowls. “I thought you weren’t allowed to swear.”
“It’s not a swear if it’s true and that’s what everyone calls him. Even Shelly-Ann. Jimmy’s a bad person. He hurts people. He hurt Mom and us. He hurt Shelly-Ann, too, because she lost his money, but then she remembered Mom had it so he left her alone.”
Was that the money Mad Dog was after? Why hadn’t Dawn told him about it?
“You call him Jimmy, not Dad?” He put the bowls on the table and puffed out his chest. Success. This wasn’t so hard after all.
Maia fiddled with the strap of the bag slung across her shoulder, a small black beaded purse with a skull emblazoned on the front. “Just because we’re related to him doesn’t mean we have to call him Dad. He doesn’t act like a dad. Dads look after you, and take you places, and spend time with you, and make sure bad things don’t happen. Plus, Jimmy hates us. He tells us that every time we see him.”
Lost for words, Cade stared at Maia. He didn’t have the heart to tell her good dads were few and far between. His dad sure wasn’t one of them.
“Sucks,” he said, for lack of anything better to say, or any wisdom to impart.
“Spoon.”
“What?”
“Spoon,” Maia said. “Are we supposed to slurp the cereal out of the bowl?”
“Maia. Manners.” Dawn appeared in the doorway wearing a filmy white blouse he could almost see through and a short, tight skirt that hugged every delicious curve of her body. Her hair was loose and partially dried, the soft golden curls hanging just above the crescents of her breasts. His groin tightened and he turned away to get himself under control.
“You got some sweats, babe? Maybe a sack?” He turned on the cold water and splashed his face. “We’re a dress-down kinda club. Like hide-all-the-good-bits kinda dress down, especially when you’re in public or there’s brothers around.”
“Why is your face red?” Maia chewed her cereal staring at him with the kind of gaze that could send a man to his knees. Christ. If they were his, looking as pretty as they looked now, he’d have to barricade the door when they were teenagers. He couldn’t imagine how his brothers with teenage girls handled the boys who came around. He’d probably just fire off a coupla shots and keep the bastards away.
“It’s … hot in here.”
Tia lifted an eyebrow but said nothing. He had a feeling that he’d just been judged and found wanting although he didn’t know how. After all, he’d managed to fix them breakfast.
“Gotta get going,” he said. “Got some work to do. See you later, ladies.” That got him a few smiles and giggles. At least he hadn’t totally lost his touch.
Dawn followed him to the door and leaned against the wall while he pulled on his boots, her folded arms highlighting the delicious curve of her breasts.
“You working at the florist this afternoon? And then at the bar?”
“Yes.” She ran her hand through her curls and her blouse opened just enough to send all his blood rushing to his cock.
Fuck. He had to get out of here or he’d be dragging her back to the bedroom and the kids would never make it to school.
“It all happened so fast I never thought about child care,” she said. “But I just called Martha, a retired neighbor who lives a couple of houses down the street. She used to watch the girls for me before Jimmy took them away. She said she could come over today.”
“I’ll look after them this afternoon.”
Dawn hesitated. “You? Are you sure? I mean…”
“I got them breakfast. No one died. I can handle a coupla hours.” He dug into his pocket and held up his hand. “And I got a key. I’ll make sure Tank and T-Rex are outside watching the block. You can trust me, sweetheart.”
Her face lit up with a smile that almost stopped his heart, and she leaned up to kiss his cheek. “They get out of school at three-thirty. They’ll need a snack. No treats.”
“Might have to feed them some sugar to keep them sweet, so I won’t make any promises.” He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. His cock throbbed and he groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Dawn’s eyes lit with amusement. She knew damn well what was wrong.
“You. Too sexy. Waking up this morning with your little ass grindin’ into me … seeing you dressed like this. Too much.”