John was now a distant memory and a part of my past. This child and Joseph was my future.
DADDY O
CHAPTER 1
Rick Henson was such an asshole.
Brie Larsen pulled into her driveway as she narrowed her eyes in anger and stopped after the few moments that it took to arrive at the end. She was nineteen and done with her first year at U- Dub and was looking forward to spending the summer with Rick, her boyfriend of a year. They had met the first day of school, and everything seemed fine as they planned a few trips to see his parents in California and hang out at the beach. It was something different and fun, and since her mom had died a couple of years ago, Brie enjoyed getting out of the house.
It was going to be their first time being really together and her first time at all. Brie waited a while to take that step but with Rick; she was ready. At least until she found out that he was sleeping half of the campus the entire time they were together. Brie found out in the bathroom of all places when she was in a stall, and one of the girls was talking about last weekend when she’d done him at a party. She kept saying how good he was, and it took every ounce of self-control that Brie had not to fly out of the stall and scream at her. What would that have accomplished? Nothing. She fell for the wrong man, and it was just time to move on.
Seattle wasn’t that bad of a city, after all, and she lived right on the water with her stepdad, who had a variety of ways to enjoy the shore that their massive house was on. Brie ran her fingers under her reddened blue eyes to wipe away the mascara that had run with her tears and stared into the mirror. “Am I that awful?” She didn’t think so because she looked a lot like her mother with eyes that looked like a tropical ocean and soft red hair and Brie always thought her mother was the most beautiful woman that ever lived.
They were so close and losing her in a sudden tragic accident had devastated her. Brie’s stepfather Jimmy was a nice man and kept taking care of her the way her mom would have, but she wasn’t sure about his ways of coping with the accident. Jimmy was a very good-looking man of forty with book cover good looks, and he was gaining quite the reputation in the city for his love of sleeping with a lot of women. Brie always heard stuff at school and was even teased sometimes by girls that asked if she’d ever slept with him? They asked her if she liked his collection of toys and whips which always made her blush.
It also turned her on a little. God rest her mother’s soul, but Brie was a curious virgin. He kept himself in shape and was muscular with tousled chestnut hair and eyes that were forest green. Jimmy was magnificent for forty and Brie was only human. She had to look now and then.
That probably had a lot to do with her being so ready with Ricky. She had never listened to her mom and Jimmy because that was gross. However, she had heard him with various women down in the basement where she’d always thought he had a man cave. They always moaned and sometimes it sounded like they were weeping when she’d hear the slap of something against their skin. Even through the tears, they always begged for more. He must be doing something right, much like her ex-boyfriend.
Brie sighed and got out of the car before she tossed her backpack over her shoulder. Brie headed through the open garage that showcased Jimmy’s small collection of expensive cars and walked into the kitchen to see their assistant Marie stirring something over the stove. “Hey, Marie,” Brie greeted her as the lovely black woman glanced up with a smile. Marie was a miracle, and she cooked, cleaned, organized things for the house and did all of the grocery shopping. Brie would be forever grateful because she really stepped up her game after her mom had passed away, leaving Brie free to grieve. “What’s cooking?”
“Stew but let’s get to the real point. Why are your eyes so red?” Marie demanded as she set the spoon on a plate beside the five burner stove and walked over to Brie. “What happened?”
“I broke up with Rick. It turns out he was sleeping with half of the school because I wouldn’t give it up.” Brie replied and Marie shook her head slowly as her dark eyes glimmered with anger.
“I don’t understand young men these days. Women like you are so rare and valuable.” Marie hugged her as Brie bitterly laughed.
“You must have me mistaken with someone else.” She smiled as Marie pulled away and patted her arm. “I guess it’s summer in Seattle.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Marie chided her as Brie shrugged. “Your dad got some champagne to celebrate school being over. We’ll have it with dessert later since I made the chocolate cake that you love.”
“You are a goddess, Marie,” Brie smiled and walked through the expansive kitchen to the large living room and continued down the hallway to her room. It was in the back of the house and offered a beautiful view of the water. She set her backpack on the full green window seat and stared out for a moment as she took a deep breath. Rick was just a guy. There would be another one, and she shouldn’t let herself feel so bad. Brie sighed and walked into the attached bathroom to pull back her hair and change into some shorts and a tank top even though she was feeling self-conscious about the ten extra pounds that she had gained over the last year.
Brie checked her computer and sent some emails out before she headed into the kitchen to help with dinner. She passed the basement along the way and paused to hear a soft cry as she frowned and listened. What did he do to those women and why was it turning her on so much right now? She felt her face redden as she kept moving and reminded herself that Marie was home. “Can I help?”
“You still have a bit but do you want some wine? We can chat for a while.” Marie offered as Brie laughed and nodded.
“I am only nineteen, you know.”
“You’ve been through a lot, and you were an old soul to begin with. Just don’t try and drive anywhere and I won’t worry about a glass or two of wine.” Marie said as she went to the fridge to pull out a chilled bottle along with two glasses.
Brie took hers, and they tossed the end of a great year and took a long sip of the cold drink. “Is that my stepdaughter drinking wine?” Jimmy’s voice called out as Brie jumped and looked over at him. He dressed in his usual worn jeans that he wore at home and a button up shirt that matched the green of his eyes. Brie asked herself how that even mattered as he grabbed another glass and poured himself a drink from the bottle. “All done with school for the summer?”
“Yes,” Brie replied as he looked her over.
“How are your grades?” Jimmy pressed as she rolled her eyes.
“The best they could be,” Brie told him as she gave Marie a warning look not to say anything about Rick. Jimmy had always disliked him and told her that he wasn’t good enough for her to begin with.
“Good girl.” Jimmy gave her a tight hug, and she smiled into his toned chest as she appreciated his support. “So what are your plans for the next few months?”
“The usual. Hang out with Kat, maybe get a part time job. You know.” Brie replied as he raised a brow at her.
“You aren’t mentioning the boyfriend in any of this.”
“He’s an ex now. No more Ricky,” Brie quietly admitted as she looked down at the floor.
“I can tell that he hurt you and for that, I’m sorry. I do think that you’re better off without him.” Jimmy told her in a sincere tone as she nodded and weakly smiled at him. “Well make it a great summer.” Brie didn’t doubt him. He was a billionaire from investing as running a company with some important clients that invested through him and had made a million dollars by the time he was twenty-four. He had met Brie’s mom Natalie when he was thirty-four and been happily married for five years after dating for one before that. Brie had lost her father to cancer when she was just three years old and was left with no memories of him at all. Jimmy had taken over raising her easily and without complaint about the bad nights of dealing with a teenager.
CHAPTER 2
The three ate dinner and drank some more wine before Marie brought out the cake and champagne. Jimmy congratulated his stepdaughter all over again as he popped the cork and made Marie and Brie laugh as it bubbled over a little bit. Brie was going to swear off things like this soon, but she enjoyed every bite of the cake tonight. She helped Marie clean up and soon the woman went home to her cottage on the property where she lived with her husband, Kenny. Brie felt a little buzzed as she wandered through the house towards her room and also a bit melancholy as she thought about Rick. She had thought that she loved him, and now she was alone with no man at all.
Brie hadn’t had sex with Ricky, but they did other things that piqued her interest in sex a lot. She was bothered by the fact that she would have no outlet anymore, and it made her wonder what Jimmy was doing since her mom had died. He didn’t wait long to start dating, but it wasn’t quite dating. Brie only caught glimpses of the women that he brought home since they had a separate door to leave from in the basement. They were never the same ones. She knew that he tried to keep it separate from her as much as possible, and Brie appreciated that on some level. She was just more curious about all of it now.