Naked and perfect, she stares up at me, her nipples still beaded, the scent of her ripe, little pussy tangled in my beard.
She pauses as though she’s deciding how defiant she wants to be. “Okay,” she nods, “I’ll shower, but if I’m done before he leaves, I’m coming back out here.”
That’s not a problem because I’m not letting him in.
“There’re T-shirts in my top drawer. Help yourself to anything.”
“Hurry up, though.” She bites her bottom lip and bends forward to pick up her dress, panties, and bra off the floor before scurrying down the hall toward the bathroom I’ve recently finished. For the longest time, that room was stripped bare, with only essentials plumbed in. Now, it’s a four-piece suite with a massive walk-in shower, water closet, and two bowl shaped sinks with custom faucets I repurposed from my grandpa’s old place, every choice with Nikki in mind.
What the hell have I done?
Dragging in a deep breath, I step out onto the front porch and force a grin. Pete doesn’t seem amused. He stands in front of me, all six foot four inches of him, suit buttoned to his neck, belt a hole too tight.
“I’ve been knocking for five minutes. I can hear you inside,” he rasps, his hand tucked into the pocket of his expensive slacks. I don’t know when Pete got so fucking fancy. He wasn’t like this growing up. In fact, he came from one of the poorest families on the mountain.
All that’s a distraction from reality. The one where I don’t know what he heard. Eventually, I’ll need to tell him everything.
“Why are you here?” I groan, fists tightening.
“I know Nikki is here. We have a tracking app together.”
“She’s in the shower. She needs space, man. You’re coming down too hard.”
“Too hard?” he groans. “We’ve got a deal to make. That sale is worth more than she’s ever made. Hell, it’s the biggest sale of the year, and you two are acting like a bunch of fucking hooligans. Do you know it took me two hours to talk Mulligan down?”
“So, you didn’t lose the sale?”
He scoffs and lifts his hat off his head, brushing back what little hair he has left. “I told Mulligan you were crazy, that everyone in town knew it, and my daughter barely knew you. He’s very interested in my daughter, and he’s willing to give her another chance at his cabin, granted you’re nowhere to be seen.”
“Is that right?” I laugh. “That’s not fuckin’ happening.”
“Look,” Pete snaps, “this little protector thing that you do with her was cute when she was in college, but she’s a grown woman, and I need her to do her job.”
“It’s not her fucking job to date men to make sales. Plus, Mulligan is a fuckin’ creep. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. Doesn’t that bother you? You’re her father. It should piss you the hell off.”
“Don’t tell me what should fucking bother me. What bothers me is that I have a twenty-two-year-old daughter who doesn’t take anything seriously. She’s flighty, impulsive, and far too soft-hearted. I need her head in the game.”
I laugh under my breath and drag my hand down over my beard. “Didn’t realize soft-hearted was a downfall.”
“It is in business, and she’s a little fucking crybaby who’s got you wrapped right around her finger.”
Jesus Christ, Pete. What happened to you?
“Look,” he continues as crickets sing loudly and a breeze passes by, “for whatever reason, she looks up to you. I need your help here, buddy. She’s got a job to do, and that job isto sell those lake houses. Mulligan offered breakfast tomorrow morning at his rental. If she shows up,alone,he says he’ll sign the pap—”
“Over my dead fucking—”
“Hey.” Nikki swings the door open, my old gray T-shirt with a trout on it hanging to her knees. Her gaze meets mine first, then her father’s.
“Why are you wearing his clothes?”
“I spilled something on my dress. It’s in the wash.”
“Okay,” Pete drawls as though he’s confused. “Why the hell are you here? You have a home.”
Nikki staggers in a shaky breath and I know her panic is coming back again. “I don’t know. I’m just—”
“She was fucked up after the thing with Mulligan. We’re making a pizza and talking it out.”
