Hank made his way to the driver’s seat while I turned back to Autumn. “Listen, let me go shower and we’ll talk okay?”
Her eyes filled with tears, but she quickly got herself under control. “Sounds good. Are you hungry? I can make you a sandwich or something?”
Pulling her toward me, I kissed her forehead. “Sounds good, sis.”
Making my way to the bathroom, I snuck into the bedroom and grabbed sweats and a T-shirt. Glancing down at the princess sleeping on my bed, I felt that familiar tug on my heart. The same one I felt at Emmit and Adaline’s place when I was playing with Landon.
“Jesus, I need to get laid,” I whispered as I headed into the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later I was sitting across from my sister, listening to her tell me how her husband decided their marriage was over.
“He bought plane tickets a few weeks ago for us to come and surprise you here for the race. Then, last night he decided was a good time to let me know he needed to take a step back and find himself.”
My fists balled up as I said, “You realize I want to make him feel pain, right?”
With a lighthearted laugh, Autumn rolled her eyes. “I’m sure the punch on the jaw from me last night gave him a little dose of pain.”
My eyes widened. “You punched him?”
She looked at me like I was insane. “Of course I did. I grew up with you; I know how to throw a good punch.” Lifting her hand, it was swollen twice its size.
“Shit! Autumn, you should have ice on that.”
Waving me off, she shook her head. “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt nearly as much as it did last night.”
I jumped up and walked into the kitchen area. Grabbing a hand towel, I put some ice in it and walked back over to her. “Here, put this on there, it will make me feel better.”
With a huff, she took it and placed it on her hand. “Ice isn’t really going to help it now, Malcolm.”
I sat across from her, ignoring her last comment. “So did he move out?”
She looked down and stared at nothing as she said, “He works from home, so he asked if Sophie and I could move out.”
“What the fuck?” I roared as her head snapped up.
“Malcolm! You’ll wake up Sophie.”
Leaning closer to her, I spoke softly. “He fucking expects you and the baby to move out? What kind of an asshole is this guy, Autumn? I mean, I never really liked him, but my God. What kind of man asks his wife and daughter to move out?”
“The kind who is currently only thinking of himself.” She started chewing on her lip as she said, “I thought about moving back to Waco. Maybe I could stay with Mom and Pop for a bit. Get a job and get on my feet enough to rent a house for me and Sophie.”
I laughed as I stared at her like she was insane. “Mom and Pop? You want to live with Mom and Pop?”
The look of despair was all over her face. I could hear the fear and uncertainty laced in her voice as she frowned and replied, “What else am I going to do?”
I pulled in a deep breath as I thought about how I could word this without it seeming like a hand out. I loved my sister very much and there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. “Is Waco where you want to be?”
“Kind of. I mean, Dallas is only an hour and a half from Waco, so if the asshole wants to see his daughter it’s not that far. I don’t think I can afford to stay in Dallas, plus Waco is home.”
“North Carolina? You could stay at my place.”
Autumn shook her head. “As much as I would love to take Sophie as far away from Jake as I could, I can’t do that to his parents. They love her and she loves them.”
If my sister moved in with our parents she’d surely lose her damn mind. “What about the ranch? Y’all could stay there. It’s only thirty minutes outside of Waco. And for the time being, you could really help me out with some stuff.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Wouldn’t I need to be in North Carolina for that?”