Lila was wrong. Lila didn’t understand what it meant to have a child with disabilities. She didn’t know what it meant to worry about a kid, to have everything he did affect his daughter’s life.

There was a knock on the door and he glanced at the bag he’d packed. When Remy had called, he’d forced himself to gather Lila’s things and place them in a paper shopping bag. Her things. God, there were so few of them. He’d kicked her out with so little. She had a couple of changes of clothes, some flip-flops, a sad amount of feminine things. He hadn’t had time to take her shopping, and she hadn’t once complained. She’d merely borrowed from Noelle and joked about how when the insurance money came in, she and Noelle would tear through some stores.

Had it all been a lie?

He was not looking forward to this confrontation. Remy didn’t have kids, either. Not yet. Remy would only care about the fact that Lila had been hurt. There was no question in his mind that he’d hurt her. It had been there in the startled look on her face, but she hadn’t cried. No. She would bottle that up and there wouldn’t be anyone there for her to wrap herself around and share that secret soft part of herself with.

He opened the door and practically breathed a sigh of relief.

Zep stood in the doorway, that perpetually amused look on his face. “Hey, I’m here to grab Lila’s stuff.” He walked in when Armie stepped aside. “Hey, Noelle. How’s it going?”

Noelle moved from the table, wheeling into the living room. “How is she?”

“How’s who? Oh, Lila.” Zep shrugged. “You know me. I’m not good at reading women. If I was, I would get tossed in jail way less than I do because I would remember not to sleep with deputies.”

“Zep!” Armie was fairly certain Roxie wouldn’t want that one-night transgression to get out around town.

Noelle rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows, Dad. And everyone knows Roxie’s still got a thing for him and hates herself because of it. I want to know about Lila. Does she hate me?”

He needed to make something very plain to his daughter. “This was not your fault. None of this is your fault. Why don’t you go and pick out a movie and I’ll order pizza.”

For a second he saw something flash in Noelle’s eyes. Then she shut down, her gaze going tired. “I have a project to work on. I’ll be in my room.”

Damn it. He had to give her time. He needed time, too. Lila had come in like a storm and she’d left like one, leaving a mess in her wake.