He chuckled. "Why do you ask?"

"'Cause I think you should ask my mom out. I think she likes you. Don't tell her I said that."

"I won't," he laughed, shaking his head. "Why do you think that?"

"Because she smiles around you. Like, all the time. Grandma says it's nice and Mommy needs to smile more. I think so too."

"Well, I am noting your comment, and I'll report back, okay?"

"Cool," she said, nodding her head to the music. "She's really nice. And really pretty."

"I couldn't agree more."

"She's funny too."

"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?"

Angie's brow furrowed. "Oh, yeah! Where is she? Do you not get to see her all the time?"

"No, sunshine. She died when she was two."

Angie's smile dropped and she leaned forward, her little body still as she gazed up at him. "I am so sorry, Benji."

Tapping the hand she had placed on him, he nodded. "Thanks, sunshine. But the reason why I'm giving you this money is because I never got to send her, Leary, to college. So I want to make sure that a little girl who is as awesome as she was gets to go to school."

Angie sat for a long moment, staring at him, and then she smiled. "I'm going to make you proud, Benji. I promise. For you and for your daughter."

Reaching out, he ruffled her hair. "Anyone ever say you're wise beyond your years?"

She nodded, exhaling a breath. "A few. I get that a lot. My grandma says it's 'cause I'm so smart."

Laughing, he turned in his seat. His heart was still pounding in his chest, but he felt good.

And, above all, he was starting to love life again.

"All right, Hart, let's go."

"Sounds good, Paxton."

When the doorbell rang, Benji rolled his eyes.

Surely, Lucy didn't just ring the doorbell.

"Someone's here!" Angie yelled from where she was playing NHL 15 in the living room. Shaking his head because he was pretty sure it was Lucy, he pulled the potpie from the oven and placed it on the counter, taking off his oven mitts before heading to the front door. Looking at Angie as he passed, he made a face. She was standing in his gamer chair, balancing as she played.

"Girl, sit down before you fall and bust your face," he said and she dropped down, grinning up at him as he reached for the door. Opening it, he found Lucy standing on the front porch, her hands tucked in her pockets.

"Really?" he asked and she shrugged.

"I didn't want to just walk in."

"You should have," he said as she walked past him, but she didn't get far before he took a handful of her ass. Looking back at him, she gave him a little kitten grin before Angie jumped out of the chair and went for her.

"Hey, honey, did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah! Me and Benji played hockey all afternoon, but he made me study for, like, seven hours. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get a hundred tomorrow."

Lucy smiled, moving Angie's hair out of her face before looking over at Benji. "That's awesome."

"Yeah, he said I can hang my test on the fridge if I do. But only if it's a hundred. Have you seen his fridge? It's huge, and did you know he cooks? Like, really cooks, Mom, like chops veggies instead of getting bags of frozen ones."

He smiled. "That was a big deal, apparently."

Lucy grinned. "I'm not much of a cook. Grandma always did all the cooking, huh?"

Angie nodded. "My grandma is the best cook ever. You should so come to dinner one night at her house."

"If I get an invite, I'm there. I love food."

"Me too!" Angie gushed, wrapping her arms around Lucy. "Mommy does too, huh, Mom?"

"I do," she said, kissing the top of her head. "I smell something yummy."

"Yes! Benji made potpie. Can you believe it? It's your favorite," Angie sang, hopping around before heading toward the kitchen.

Looking back at Benji, she smiled. "She's happy."

"Yeah, we've had a great afternoon."

She grimaced a little when Angie screamed her name. "Sorry if she's been a little wacky. Her meds usually wear off by six."

"She's been great," he reassured her, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "I can't kiss you, can I?"

She glanced to the kitchen as Angie yelled, "Mom! Come look!"

She looked back and he smiled. "Come on. I slayed that pie for you," he said, taking her jacket for her as she smiled a thanks. "Did you get everything finished?" he asked as he hung her jacket in the coat closet.

"Yeah, what a mess," she complained, shaking her head before they made their way into the kitchen. She explained how her distributor had sent the wrong items and told her they weren't going to fix it, but when she threatened to take her business somewhere else, they sang a different tune and found someone in town to deliver for her. "Thankfully, we got it done and everything is beautiful. I also get free Mexican anytime I want it."

"I love cheese dip!" Angie cheered from the counter as Lucy came to a stop at it.

"Wow, this looks amazing," she gushed and Benji smiled proudly. "Looks almost too good to eat!"

"That's what I said," Angie giggled and Benji nodded.

"She did."

Lucy laughed, her face bright as she cuddled Angie to her side. "Like mother, like daughter, huh?"

"Yup!" Angie agreed as she took the plates Benji had laid out. "Come on, let's eat. I'm starving."

Looking over at Benji, Lucy didn't move as Angie started to set the table. "It does look really good. Thank you for having us over."

"Anytime. I hope this can become a regular thing for us," he said and she grinned as Angie shrieked.

"Oh my God, please, Mom. I had so much fun today."

Lucy smiled as she took the forks and knives, heading to the table. "We'll see, okay? Benji is busy."

As he lifted the potpie, Angie looked at him and he shook his head. "Never too busy for you two."