Daddy in Disguise (Crescent Cove 7)

Blushing, Karen waved and headed across the living room.

I followed her outside at a much more measured pace. “What is this Professor Hottie stuff?”

“Oh, nothing. I just showed her a picture from my Soc class and told her some of the other girls had a name for the professor.”

“I’m not sure that’s appropriate for her.” Then again, as an eight-year-old in today’s society, Dani probably knew more about certain things than I did.

How truly horrifying.

“You’re probably right. I was just showing her stuff on my phone to distract her while she was in pain. It seemed like the best option at the time.” Karen hitched up her purse higher on her shoulder, and it suddenly occurred to me I hadn’t even paid her yet.

“Shit.” I dug out my wallet and grabbed three twenties, more than I usually paid her for a night. This one had been longer and more difficult than usual, so she deserved the hazard pay. “Here you go. Sorry. Completely forgot.”

“No problem. This is extra?”

“You earned it. Thank you so much for being so good to Dani. And to me.”

She blinked up at me then gave me a quick hug before hurrying down the stairs.

“What does G-wiggle mean?” died in my throat as her car started u

p in the driveway. I tucked away my wallet before giving her retreating vehicle a halfhearted wave.

Clearly, I would need to be more creative. I could do that.

I came back inside to find Dani snoring. Smiling, I adjusted the throw over her and grabbed another off the back of the sofa to bed down in the recliner nearby. Looked like I’d be sticking close tonight.

The idea of having a cold beer first was entirely too appealing, so I skipped it. There had been a time I’d appreciated the time after the workday ended more than the satisfaction of a job well done. Unwinding with a cold one at the local watering hole had stopped being a factor in my life once I’d wrapped my car around a tree—a small one, but it had hurt plenty—the same weekend Jessica told me she was expecting. After that, my world changed immeasurably.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had more than two beers after work, and I liked not knowing. That pit was far too easy to fall into, so I’d just keep an eye on it from the sidelines.

Another thing I’d keep my eye on was Dani. Which meant the idea of sleep was basically a joke.

She shook off my attempts to help her to the bathroom a few times, insisting she could manage just fine. Which she did, thank God. I didn’t think either of us needed to cross that bridge. She told me to go to my own bed, that she was big enough to take care of herself. My response was to pull the blanket over my head, both to make her laugh and to end the conversation.

She soon fell asleep after that, and amazingly, I did too.

The next time I opened my eyes, the room was gray with impending dawn. Dani was huddled on the couch, her throw wrapped around her nun-style so that just her face peeked out. She was typing furiously on her phone, her face illuminated from the screen. I hadn’t even wanted her to have one of them—well, other than for safety reasons—but her mother had given Dani her old phone earlier this summer.

That was how most of our parental arguments went. I expressed concern, and Jessica did whatever the hell she felt like.

I threw off the blanket I’d kicked off about sixteen times overnight and stood, making Dani jerk up guiltily and stare at me owl-eyed.

“What are you doing over there?”

“What? Me? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” She tucked her phone under her hip and feigned a big yawn. “Boy, I feel so much better. How do you feel? That chair is lumpy, so probably your back’s out?”

I rubbed it experimentally. “It’s fine. I’m not eighty. My back doesn’t just go out from sitting in a chair.” Although now that she mentioned it, I could use a good stretch and a hot shower. “Sorry the movie night thing didn’t happen. We can do it tonight if you want.”

She was still darting glances at her phone, thinking she was being casual. I really wanted a look at it, but I wasn’t going to violate her privacy.

Even if I really wanted to.

I could trust her to have good judgment. I hoped. Plus, there were parental blocks on there, assuming she and her hacker friends hadn’t found ways around them. Maybe it was time to have another conversation about digital boundaries and safe spaces.

“We can rent The Borg?”

“Yeah. As long as there’s no, you know, nude stuff.”