“Is she?”

“Yeah, Grandma thinks you guys would be cute together.”

“Does she?” he laughed and Angie nodded.

“River told her to stop worrying about it, but she called my uncles Jude and Jace and told them to say something to Mommy. Every time I try, she says she’s gonna ground me. So I figured, since you can’t ground me, I’d say something to you.”

This girl was a mess. So much like her mother it was scary. The more time he spent with her, the more he fell for the mini Lucy.

As his lips curved, he scoffed. “I can’t ground you?”

She paused. “Wait, can you?”

He laughed as he shrugged. “Probably, but I don’t mind.”

“Cool,” she decided, looking out the window. “So is your girlfriend as pretty as my mommy?”

Pulling into the bank, he parked and shut the truck off. “Okay, let’s go.”

“You didn’t answer me,” she complained as he opened the door.

“Oh, my bad. Come on,” he said, shutting her door and placing his hand on her back to lead her in. Pulling his wallet out as they went to the teller, he looked down at Angie and then to the teller.

“How can I help you?”

Handing her his bank card, he said, “Hey, my name is Benjamin Paxton, and I would like to open a savings account in the name of Angela Hart.”

“Me?” she asked, her eyes wide, and Benji nodded.

“Yeah, for college.”

“Ooh! I want to go to college like my mom and uncles did!”

“Good, ’cause you’re going,” he said with a nod before looking back at the teller. “A deposit of six hundred dollars will be made on the first of every month. Have that go straight into Angela’s savings. Transfer five thousand into there now, please.”

“Whoa! I got cash!”

Benji smiled as the teller typed away. “Yes, sir.”

After getting all that taken care of, while Angie commented on everything and anything, Benji walked out, feeling on top of the world. When he told Lucy he’d do what he wanted with the money she paid him in rent, he knew it was going to go straight to Angie. Even if they didn’t work out, he wanted to make sure Angie got a good start when she turned eighteen. He didn’t get to give that to his beautiful Leary, who, if she were still alive, would be almost fifteen.

That hurt his heart.

Out of breath, he reached for Angie’s car door and she hopped in, unaware of his internal struggle. When he got in, she asked, “Why did you do that?”

Putting the key in the ignition, he turned to look at her. “’Cause I want you to have that money when you get older.”

“Yeah, but why?” she asked, smiling. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s cool, I love money. But Mommy always tells me things don’t come for free—there is always a catch.”

He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. That woman. Nodding his head, he held Angie’s little green gaze. Her hair was down today, curls around her face. She wore a Taylor Swift shirt with pink leggings and sparkly silver cowboy boots. Looking at her, he wondered if Leary would have had that kind of style. Ava was very conservative. She never wore pink, or any colors, really, except black and white. Leary never wore glitter when she was a baby. Or maybe she did. He’d been too drunk to remember.

Clearing his throat, he smiled. “Your mom is very right.”

“I know. She’s always right. At least, she says so. Jayden says she’s crazy, so do Jude and Jace. They all do. They fight a lot. Have you met the other two?”

He laughed, shaking his head. He was starting to realize the Sinclair family was a whole lot of crazy. “Not officially.”

“Officially, what’s that mean?”

“Like face-to-face. On the ice, yes, but not officially.”

“Oh! My uncle Jace is the best player in the league.”

It was like playing goalie for her; she was shooting stuff at him left and right. “I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, so anyway, if people don’t get stuff for free, then why are you giving me all this money for college? I’m seven. I’ve got like—” she paused to do the math “—eleven years till I go to college. Unless I graduate early like my sister, Nina. She’s crazy smart and my dad says she’ll graduate at sixteen. But he doesn’t think I will. He said I’m lucky if I graduate, and man, that made my mom so mad. I thought she was gonna hit him. My grandpa almost did.”

What a fucking slimeball. Really? Jeez. “I bet.”

“I don’t get to see my grandpa much. He works a lot, and he and Grandma got divorced. He’s cool, though. I wonder if he’ll come to one of my games.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t met him.”

“Yeah,” she said simply. “So, anyway, ready to go? No, wait! Why are you giving me all this money?”

He couldn’t help but laugh before setting her with a look. “Anyone ever tell you you’re really awesome, Angie?”

She nodded. “Mom does and so do my uncles.”

“Well, has anyone told you today?”

She thought for a moment. “Nope.”

“Well, you’re awesome, kiddo.”

“Thanks! You too,” she said, fist-bumping him, and his heart soared.

Clearing his throat, he reached out and moved a stray hair out of her face as she grinned up at him. She was missing the two teeth on either side of her front teeth, yet her smile could brighten his world. If he wasn’t confident before about opening the account for Angie, he was now. It was to honor Leary’s memory. “You remember how I told you about my daughter?”