Bode spoke up. “All she would tell me was that you had a ‘friend.’” He made little quotation marks when he snapped the last word. “And that the ‘friend’ is a woman who is moving here. Now, why would she be upset about that if you’d done nothing wrong?” I guessed Blaire hadn’t told them about the baby yet, which was probably good for my legs. I liked being able to walk.

“I don’t think I like what you’re implying,” I said, straightening to my full height, “because I have no interest in any woman except Blaire. I was just helping a friend move.”

“I’m guessing this woman is the reason you blew off your daughter and Blaire today?” Beau sneered. “She must be pretty special to make you do that.”

“I didn’t blow them off,” I hissed angrily, knowing I had indeed blown them off. “I still plan to take Carrie to the aquarium.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about that. Beau and I are taking her tomorrow so you can hang out with your new friend,” Bode said with a smug-as-fuck grin that I wanted to slap off his face.

“I’m not hanging out with anyone tomorrow. I have practice,” I said. “Did Blaire ask you to take her?”

“No, we volunteered when we saw how upset Carrie girl was,” Beau said, and some of my anger ebbed away only to be replaced with the feeling that I was a pretty shitty dad.

Bode took another step toward me, speaking in a voice so low and furious, I could feel the heat rolling off him. “Blaire knows she can call us for anything. She knows who she can depend on.” His eyes swept down my body and back up, ending with a fierce glare that made me want to take a step back. “And who she can’t.”

I was about to tell him to get the fuck out of my apartment, but we were interrupted by Blaire coming down the stairs with Carrie in tow. “Um, hey guys. What’s going on down here?” Bode and I continued our stare down, and Blaire said, “Wow. The testosterone in this room is so thick you could cut it with a knife and spread it on toast.” She laughed nervously, and Bode and I both took a step back out of respect for her and Carrie, but our stare down continued with some serious intent.

Beau tore his eyes away from me and pulled Blaire into his arms. “Hey, sis. Why don’t you come stay at my house for the night? Or for as long as you want?”