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“Oh!” She opened the box to find a ruby and diamond engagement ring inside. Eyes glistening with tears, she allowed me to slide it on her finger. “It’s beautiful.”
“Like you are,” I replied while tugging her for a kiss. “So, how about we get to that baby-making tonight.”
Rayna slapped my cheek lightly. “Hold your horses, cowboy. Let me enjoy being engaged for a while longer.”
Ten Years Later
I stood by as Sam pulled my office door and stepped in. At twenty, Sam had grown up as the woman I was proud of; she was still a tomboy, but her body wasn’t boyish anymore. My baby girl had the body of a busty model even though she still rode circles around the men in her class at Texas A&M University.
“Dad?” she asked, tucking a now blond tendril behind her ear, and I studiously ignored the engagement ring on her finger. “I need to tell you something, and I need you not to freak out, okay?”
“What is it?” I asked, squinting, “If you lost your credit card again—”
“No, it's not that,” she rolled her eyes. “Just promise me not to blow your top.”
This time I narrowed my eyes till they were slits. “If you’re telling me you’re pregnant—”
“Oh my God, no,” Sam huffed. “Just keep calm, okay? It’s about Harper.”
“What about her?” I asked, “Did I make a mistake by making her stay with you and whatshisface in Houston?”
“All these years, three break ups, two make-ups, and a few meltdowns, and you still can’t call my fiancé by his name? It's Tyler, Dad. You’re hopeless. Anyway, I wanted to tell you Harper is dating Liam.”
The pencil in my hand snapped in two. “Liam, as in LiamPortman? That Liam is defiling my baby girl?”
Sam’s hand shot up in the same manner I’d used to calm down a fidgety filly. “Whoa, whoa,whoa. Who said anything aboutthat? There is no defiling going on. And come on, Dad. Hunter is like your best friend. We go to his house almost every summer or Thanksgiving; he comes here whenever he’s in the city. Liam is a good guy, Dad. He’s strong and decent, you know.”
“Knowing that and seeing it are two different things,” I grumbled. “Does your mom know about this?”
“I’m pretty sure she set them up,” Sam grinned. “Do you remember Halloween last year when we had the big blowout party, and Mom made them coordinate it all?”
“Deception under my own roof.” I huffed. “Where does this conspiracy end?”
“Well, erm, I’m pretty sure even Jackson knows,” Sam said, blushing.
“Your brother too?” I gaped.
“Yep,” Sam replied.
Unduly bothered, I went to get Rayna and my eight-year-old son and had all of them back in my study. Giving all three a steely eye, I asked, “So you all knew about Harper and Liam?”
To confirm my suspicion, they all shared a look. “Well, yeah,” Jackson shrugged.
My wife came around the table and tried to console me. “I know you’re protective, sweetheart, but in the back of your mind, you know something like this would happen. Harper is a smart girl, and John, Liam has nothing but respect for her. Besides, she’s eighteen, and he is her first boyfriend. Of all the time she stuck her nose into a book, this is good for her.”
“And when was I going to know about this?” I groused. “When she starts walking down the aisle?”
“No, love,” Rayna shook her head. “Sam, take Jackson to the kitchen and let me and your dad talk a little.”
“You finished dinner?” Jackson asked, his big eyes wide.
“Yes,” she replied. “But you can’t touch it yet. Now, go on.”
When our kids left, I sank into my desk chair and rubbed my face. “I’m too old for this.”
She sat on my lap. “You’re forty-four, not toeing death’s door, love. I know you’re upset. I can see it. You’re afraid Sam or Harper would find themselves in your position when you were their age. The fear is so strong that it keeps you in the past, but I need you to get out of there and into the present. The girls know how you feel and are smart enough not to make that fear a reality. I need you to trust them, John. Their wings work.”
A part of my belly sunk a little more, but she was right. I didn’t want my girls to experience what I went through, and even though they had inheritance and trust funds as big as Antarctica, so they wouldn’t have to worry about anything, I felt afraid for them.
