A Dropped Toy

CHAPTER TWELVE

POV: Damon

I sat outside on my front porch late at night, staring directly across the quiet street at the brightly lit windows of Raina's house, and the heavy regret in my chest made it completely impossible for me to sleep. Every single choice I had made five years ago kept running through my head, from the public rejection at the ceremony to the way I let my father dictate my life, and watching the faint silhouettes of my children moving past the second-floor curtains filled me with a deep, aching sadness. I stayed sitting on that chair until the sun slowly began to rise over the neighborhood, lighting up the front yards, and I poured myself a cup of plain coffee while I kept my eyes fixed on her driveway.

Around eight in the morning, the front door of Raina's house opened, and four-year-old Ruth walked out onto the front porch holding a small plastic dragon toy in her hands, while Raina stood just inside the open doorway talking loudly on her phone with Reign about team finances.

Ruth skipped down the porch steps, humming a little song to herself as she played on the grass, and she slowly wandered over toward the front gate near the edge of the property. I set my cup down on the porch railing, standing up straight as I watched my daughter play, taking extra care to stay on my side of the road so I wouldn't trigger Raina's security team. Ruth leaned over the top rail of the metal fence to make her toy fly, but her small fingers slipped, and the plastic dragon fell right through the lower fence bars, rolling across the asphalt street until it came to a complete stop right next to my sneakers.

Ruth gasped loudly, pressing her small face against the fence bars while she looked down at the street with wide eyes, looking completely sad about her lost toy.

"Oh no, my dragon," Ruth whispered, gripping the metal bars tightly with both of her hands while she tried to reach her foot out through the gate.

I looked back toward the house, seeing that Raina was still inside the hallway pacing back and forth with her phone pressed against her ear, completely unaware that her daughter was near the street. I took a deep breath, stepping off my lawn and walking slowly across the quiet street, keeping my hands visible and open at my sides so I wouldn't scare the little girl.

"Don't worry, little one, I can get that for you," I said softly, crouching down on the pavement to pick up the plastic toy from the ground.

Ruth stopped pulling on the fence, tilting her head to the side as she watched me walk over, showing zero fear in her eyes as I stopped right on the opposite side of her front gate. I stayed crouched down on my knees, holding the dragon carefully by its tail, and I reached my hand out to pass it gently back through the lower bars of the fence.

"Here you go," I said, keeping my voice as gentle and kind as possible while I offered the toy back to her, "You have to hold onto him tight so he doesn't fly away again."

Ruth reached her small hand through the fence bars, taking the toy out of my fingers with a huge smile that lit up her entire face, and her golden eyes sparkled with curiosity as she stared directly at my face.

"Thank you, mister," Ruth said, clutching the dragon against her shirt while she looked at my hair and my face, "You have the exact same golden eyes as my brother Raymond."

Hearing those words come out of her tiny mouth made my chest tighten with immense pride, and tears gathered at the corners of my eyes as I looked at my daughter from two feet away.

"Is that right?" I asked, smiling warmly at her while my voice trembled with emotion, "I guess your brother and I have a few things in common then."

"You look like him a lot," Ruth said, nodding her head eagerly while she took a step closer to the gate, "My name is Ruth, what is your name?"

"My name is Damon," I answered, leaning forward just a little bit while my wolf purred softly deep inside my chest for the very first time in five years, "It is really nice to meet you, Ruth."

"Are you our new neighbor?" Ruth asked, pointing her dragon toward the house across the street, "Raymond said you waved at him yesterday, and he told me you are super tall like a giant."

"Yes, I am your new neighbor," I said, letting out a soft laugh while I nodded my head, "I live right over there, and I am going to be around if you ever need help with anything."

"Ruth, who are you talking to out there?" Raina's voice suddenly echoed from the front porch, loud and filled with immediate panic.

I looked up just in time to see Raina drop her phone onto the porch floor, her face turning pale before flushing deep red with absolute rage as she saw me crouching right outside her front gate with Ruth. She sprinted across the lawn in fast, frantic strides, her shoes tearing up small patches of grass as she rushed toward us like a protective storm.

"Get away from my daughter right now, Damon!" Raina screamed, reaching the gate, yanking the latch open, and snatching Ruth up into her arms before pulling her back onto the safety of the grass.

"Raina, wait, please don't yell," I said, standing up immediately and putting my hands up in the air to show I wasn't moving any closer, "She dropped her toy in the street, and I was just handing it back to her, I swear I didn't cross your boundary."

"I don't care what she dropped, you have no right to come near this fence or speak to my child!" Raina yelled, her eyes flashing dark with anger while she held Ruth tightly against her chest, refusing to let her feet touch the ground.

"Mommy, he was just helping me get my dragon," Ruth said softly, wrapping her arms around Raina's neck while she looked at her mother with confusion in her eyes, "He was being nice, Mommy."

"Ruth, stay quiet right now," Raina said, her voice shaking with intense emotion as she stared at me like I was a dangerous monster standing outside her house, "Go straight inside the house and find Reign, tell him to come out here right now."

"Okay, Mommy," Ruth whispered, looking back over Raina's shoulder to give me one last small wave before running up the lawn toward the front door.

Raina stepped out through the open gate, standing directly on the pavement right in front of me with her teeth gritted and her hands clenched into tight fists.

"I warned you yesterday, Damon," Raina said, her voice dropping into a dangerous whisper that carried pure hatred, "I told you to stay away from my children, and the very next morning I find you standing at my fence whispering to my four-year-old daughter while my back is turned!"

"Raina, I was not trying to do anything sneaky or bad," I pleaded, taking half a step backward so she wouldn't feel crowded, "The toy rolled right to my feet, she was standing there alone, and I couldn't just walk away and ignore her when she was sad about her toy."

"You don't get to act like a caring father now after five years of absolute silence!" Raina spat, pointing her finger right at my nose while Reign came rushing out of the front door, jogging across the grass toward the gate. "If I see you anywhere near my gate again, Damon, I will not hesitate to let Reign and my security guards drag you down to the police station."

"Raina, please just listen to me for one second," I said, but Reign stepped through the gate, placing a firm hand on Raina's shoulder while he glared at me with cold eyes, ready to throw a punch if I took another step forward.