Episode 569: Anything Goes

He smiled as he bounded up the steps. Okay, he could believe he’d left it behind. Any excuse to grab a few extra minutes hugging his baby girl and kissing his wife.

He spent far more time at his wife’s office than in his own these days with her bringing Hope to work, so much so that he was very close to signing a deal to move his business permanently into the same building. He could be with them as often as he pleased.

He should have made the move long before the baby’s arrival, he realized with a frown. He’d never liked being away from Michael all those hours. He’d never dealt well with the separation. He’d sought other company and his juvenile neediness had almost cost him dearly.

He vowed never to make another mistake that would jeopardize their relationship.

However, when Curran opened the door and he saw Paul Jordan holding Hope, making her laugh, smiling at her in a proud, possessive way, Curran’s blood pressure skyrocketed and his top blew like steam shooting from a kettle.

"Get your hands off my daughter!" He bellowed so loud, his arms so rigid with fury that when he ripped his girl from Paul’s arms, she wasn’t anywhere near as happy to have him hold her as she ordinarily was.

Hope burst into tears. Curran nearly did as well. It was all he could do to convince himself that Hope had burst into tears due to his loudness and his rigidness not because she preferred the younger man’s arms.

"What are you doing shouting like that? You scared her." Michael hurried over and took their daughter, smoothing a hand over Hope’s soft hair.

"I saw a stranger holding her," Curran said through gritted teeth, then, eyes narrowed on Paul, he added, "I’m her father. I intend to protect her, by any means necessary."

Episode 570: Unfinished