Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95816 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95816 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“I didn’t mean to hurt her. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, Jaxson. I had no idea about Ashley.”
“I believe you.”
“Why is Gracie so angry?”
“You have to ask her, Richard.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Go and talk to your daughter.”
“Where is she?”
“Sitting on the rocks in the cove, I think. She’s been there a lot.”
That was a place Gracie had always gone to when she wanted to be alone and think.
“Okay.”
I headed to the door, pausing at Jaxson’s voice.
“I mean it, Richard. Fix this, or we’re gone. I have to protect her.”
I nodded, knowing he was right, grateful he loved her enough to do something so drastic, and hating him because he would step in and take her away in order to help her.
I couldn’t allow that to happen.
27
RICHARD
Gracie was at the cove, sitting on her preferred rock. Tossed there by a storm, it was lodged against another rock, forming a large L-shape. Time, water, and sand had leveled the surface, eroding the sharp edges—a chair designed by nature. Gracie rested her back against the smooth rock, her legs crossed at the ankles. She looked peaceful with her eyes closed, but her foot jerked rhythmically, and her hands clenched the material of her skirt.
I picked my way over the rocks, heading her way. She opened her eyes at the sound of my approach, her gaze wary.
I stopped beside her, lowering myself to the edge of the rock.
“Hi, Gracie-girl.”
Her lips began to tremble. “Hi.”
“You’re still mad at me.”
She didn’t say anything, but the tremble grew harder.
“You need to talk to me, Gracie. Your hulk of a husband is in my house, threatening to take you and Kylie away unless I fix this.” I reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“But unless you explain this anger to me and tell me what to do, I can’t fix this.” I sucked in a deep breath. “And your silence is killing me, baby girl.”
She blinked, her eyes wide and glossy.
“You’re my heart, Gracie. Your birth changed me as much as your mother’s love did. I can’t fathom your anger or bear it much longer.”
“I don’t know if I can express it so it makes any sense,” she began, then fell silent with a sad shake of her head.
I leaned closer, meeting her watery eyes. “Enough. I’m pulling rank here, Gracie. I’m your father. Talk to me. Now,” I said in my sternest voice.
And suddenly, she threw her arms around my neck, burying her face into my shoulder and weeping. I gathered her in my embrace, holding her the way I did when she was a child and hurt. Tight. Safe. Surrounded by my protection and love. If she let me hold her, I could help her heal.
A memory stirred of the time she had been lost. Trapped and scared, waiting for me to rescue her. I had held her for hours afterward, shaking and too afraid to let her go for fear I would lose her again.
I did it then, and I could do it now.
It was a step in the right direction.
I let her cry, then eased back when her sobs stopped. I pushed away the hair on her forehead and kissed the damp skin of her cheek. “If your mother were here, she’d have a tissue.”
She sniffled and dug in her pocket. “I have one,” she mumbled and wiped her cheeks, then blew her nose.
“You ready to talk now?”
She nodded.
“Why are you so angry, Gracie?”
“You shocked me.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “This whole fucked-up situation shocked me too.”
“I know.”
“I wasn’t the man you know as your dad when I was younger. I wasn’t connected with the world, or even life. I used people. Ashley’s mom and I dated, but it wasn’t serious. It was never serious for me.”
“Until Mom.”
I nodded. “Until Mom. But I was always honest with my partners and protected. I had no idea Juliet was pregnant. Until Ashley showed up, the thought never crossed my mind that I could have another child out there.” I paused. “I didn’t even see the similarities until she said the words.”
She bit her lip, fresh tears filling her eyes.
“What?” I asked.
“She looks like you. She has your eye color and your cowlick. She’s tall like you.”
I frowned. “That bothers you?” I caressed her cheek. “You have my cowlick too, Gracie. And my smile. You look like your mom, who I think is the most beautiful woman in the world. I’m glad you take after her.” I tapped the end of her nose, hoping she would smile. “You have my temper, obviously.”
She looked away and swallowed. “I–we always had a bond, Dad. You’ve said it all my life. I was your firstborn, and it made me special.” She studied the cuff of her sweater, not looking at me. “I’m not that anymore.”