We hold hands the rest of the way back and I'm reluctant to release it to shift into park when we reach the lot in front of Dual. When I do and then cut the engine, the three of us sit in the quiet for a few long seconds. I realize they don't want it to be over either. "So a movie later," I say, hoping to ease the discomfort.
"Okay," Isabella says in a small voice, her eyes trained on her feet where she's rubbing the toe of her shoe against the back of the seat. I reach down to grab one.
"Hey, I'm glad you came with us to visit the farm," I tell her, drawing her eyes up to mine.
She nods and smiles a small, shy smile, like returning her here is already smothering the happy child inside.
Unable to delay the inevitable any longer, I get out and walk around to open first Olivia's door and then Isabella's. When I've then gotten her tiny piece of luggage from the trunk, I start back toward the women who are waiting for me at the front of the car. Olivia slips her arm through mine, casting sweet eyes and an understanding smile up at me. To my left, Isabella slips her fingers into my free hand, leaning her head against my arm. Together, the three of us walk toward the front doors.
The sight that greets us turns my stomach. Sophie is sitting on the bar in a t-shirt and her panties. She's swinging her legs like she wants to wrap them around Jason's waist, only he's juuuuust out of reach. And, from the look on his face, he plans to stay that way. I don't see any sexual interest there. If anything there's just … tolerance.
He's smiling at something she's saying and she's laughing like it's the funniest thing in the world. I don't give a shit what's so amusing; I'm just mad as hell.
"Get your ass off the bar!" I growl irritably, causing Sophie to jerk into a straighter position. "People eat and drink off that."
Sophie's surprise turns into a wolfish grin. "Jealous?"
"Jealous? Hell no! It's hard to tell what all's touched it."
"It's a bar. How bad can it be?"
"I wasn't talking about the bar," I rejoin sharply, tugging Isabella across the dance floor toward the apartment.
Once inside, I get her settled and then turn to Olivia before I go back out. "You mind staying with her for a few minutes?"
"Of course not."
I brush her lips with mine. Like always, I'm aware of the need for more, of the desire to pull her into my arms and forget the world. But I can't always do that. Damn it.
Back in the bar, Sophie is on her feet, leaning against the bar, her snug shirt straining over her erect nipples.
"Christ Almighty, don't you ever wear a bra?" I snap.
She has the decency to cross her arms over her chest. "God! What the hell is wrong with you? Isn't that perfect little wife of yours tending to your needs?"
"She's everything that I need and more, not that it's any of your business. But seriously, Soph, get some class. Jesus."
Her lips thin angrily and her eyes flash at me. The gloves are off and I think she knows it.
"You're an asshole."
"You act like a whore. What happened to the girl I used to know?"
"She grew up. Without you."
"Obviously. Why don't you go put some decent clothes on. Say hello to your daughter. It has been a few days since you've seen her."
I can tell by the way her eyes narrow that she'd love to give me a piece of her mind, but she won't. Whatever she's up to, she can't risk it. Instead, she flounces off, leaving me alone with Jason King. Just the man I wanted to talk to.
"What do you know? Anything?"
Jason eases one hip onto a bar stool and takes a careful sip of what looks like club soda. "You sure you wanna know?" he asks, eyeing me cautiously.
"I'm positive."
"Looks like she spent her first couple of years in Canada with a musician type. Rather than finishing school, she did a little touring with them. Drugs, women, that type thing."
My heart sinks. "And Isabella?"
"Stayed with her father for a few months, but she took her with her on the second leg, it seems. I was able to track down one of the guy's band mates. Wasn't too fond of Sophie. Thought she was interested in money. Told the guy the baby was his."
"Is she? Did they ever determine that she wasn't?"
"Nope. Guy died before he could get a paternity test."
"What happened to him?"
"Overdose."
"And after him?"
"Moved on to an older man. Much older. Managed to get the little girl written into the will, but the old man died before she could get him to marry her. The guy's son was pretty pleased about that, evidently. Hated her right from the start. Said she was a gold-digging whore."