Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
There hadn’t been too many times. “Why didn’t you stop me?”
He took another drink. “Because I know what my relationship was like with my mum when she brought her foot down. Right on me neck. My mother put the raising of my brother on me and ignored us most of the time. She had other priorities. But when I did what most young men would do, like have any kind of a social life, she would ground me. I hated my mother a lot. Dreamed about being anywhere except her house. I couldn’t stand the thought of you hating me, Daisy.”
Her heart clenched. “I could never hate you, Da.”
He seemed to let the words sink in. “I followed you most of the time. To make sure you were safe.”
“A lot of those times Aidan came with us, or Cooper or the twins.”
“Yes, I made sure of it,” he confessed. “You weren’t doing anything that’s not natural for a young woman your age. But I always worried you would end up… I worried you would end up finding a man like me one night.”
“What?” Her father was the best.
“Like I used to be,” he said with a sigh. “Not now. Falling in love with your mum set me straight, but I wasn’t the same man before.”
“Momma says you went through women like they were chicken wings.” She and her mother had several long, painful conversations about her da’s past.
“I really liked chicken wings.” A wicked smile hit her da’s face.
She could see his call. “I really liked bartenders.”
Her da’s head shook, but he laughed. “Oh, Daisy, you’re my sweetest miracle and my worst nightmare.” He reached out, cupping her cheek as he stared at her. “I was ready for Aidan. I’d practically raised my brother. I knew how to handle a boy. My brother went bad, but I figured your mum would offset anything nasty in my DNA.”
“It wasn’t in your DNA. It was in his. Your brother was a bad guy. He was selfish and mean. There wasn’t anything you could have done to save him. I know you tried.” She couldn’t allow her father to think he’d been anything but wonderful. Even if he had apparently been the stud of choice amongst the Dallas chicken wing waitress scene.
“Then I found out we were having a girl.” His expression went soft. “I can’t tell you how scared I was at first. I didn’t know how to raise a girl, but I knew Avery would teach me. When they put you in my arms and I looked down at the sweetest face I’d ever seen, I lost my heart all over again. I thought I was raising a little Avery.”
“I’m not like Mom. I’m afraid that’s Aidan.” Her brother had their mom’s temperament. He was patient and kind and knew how to stick with something. She was like their father. A bit mercurial until she knew what she wanted. Something of an imp at times.
“Yes, I realized you were like me when you were around twelve. And then I realized you had my sex drive, too, and that was when I started to choose delusion.” He knocked back the rest of his whiskey resolutely. “Now, what you have to understand is delusion is not a bad place to be. Delusion can be nice. Just because a man chooses to park his RV in delusion and live there happily for a few years doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his daughter, doesn’t mean he don’t understand her.”
“It means he needs time to process that his baby girl is a woman and she’s going to make mistakes and go wild at times,” Daisy said softly.
“But she’s still my little girl,” he replied. “And I’ll always be her da. Daisy, you and Aidan are the best things I’ve ever done in my life. I’ll always see you as a sweet baby who toddles around after me. I’ll always feel the way you used to rest your head against my shoulder and sleep, and I would sit there no matter how much work I had to do because nothing was more important than letting you rest. This family… It’s more than I could have imagined.”
Tears pierced her eyes. “I love you more than you can know.”
“You’re just learning about love,” he said with a smile. “And I’m happy for you. So Nathan Carter?”
She sniffled and decided to tease him a bit. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Her father’s face went red. “He told me he was going to marry you.”
“Uhm, do we really need a piece of paper?” Yes, her imp was out today.
“You do,” her father said, righteous indignation in his words. “You absolutely do.”
“Hey, stop teasing your father.” Her mom joined them, putting a hand on her father’s shoulder. “I’ve been around them all week. Trust me. They’ll be married far sooner than they should be, but when it’s right, it’s right.”