Bare Yourself (Consumed)

I glance up and raise my brow. He chuckles. “Yeah, shouldn’t have asked that.”

Looking back down at the picture, I ask, “Who is this for?”

When he doesn’t say anything, I bring my eyes back to him and see his cheeks are fucking pink. I try so damn hard to hold back my laugh—I don’t think I’ve ever see him blush before—but it manages to slip free.

“You hush it,” he grumbles.

I rein in my chuckles.

“Is it serious?” In all the years since the shit went down with my mom, my dad’s never had a serious relationship. I thought being burned by her ruined him, but maybe I was wrong. It’s about fucking time he got back on the playing field.

“Yeah” is all he says.

“Where did you meet her?”

He shifts in his seat uncomfortably, sitting up and putting his elbows on the table, then leaning back and crossing his arms. It’s so strange to see him so off-balance. He’s always been so strong and sure of himself. He’s fifty-seven, and other than the silver that’s streaked throughout his hair, still looks younger than his age.

“Remember the nurse in the hospital when I had the stroke last year?”

“You mean the one that kept stealing the hamburgers you insisted I bring you? The same one you refused to let give you a bed bath?”

“Yes, that one,” he mutters grumpily. “Her name’s Samantha. She was at the grocery a couple of months ago. Her buggy ran away when she turned her back to load something in the trunk. It hit my car. She freaked out and apologized profusely. I told her to make it up to me, she had to let me take her out to lunch.”

“You sly dog.” I laugh. “Wait. She’s likes thirtysomething, isn’t she?”

I think back to the nurse he’s talking about and remember thinking how much fun she’d be in bed. She was very sweet, but seemed straitlaced. Made me hard thinking about mussing up her perfect appearance. I remember even asking her out, and getting turned down flat. I also remember her being close to my age.

“Thirty-three,” he says unashamedly.

“That smart? Going after someone that much your junior?”

He looks up at me, his gaze unwavering when he says simply, “I love her.” He nods down at the picture lying on the table. “That was her mother’s piece, her grandmother’s before that, and her great-grandmother’s before that. It burned in a house fire when she was seventeen. It meant a lot to her. She said it was her favorite hiding spot when she and her cousins played hide-and-seek. It won’t be the same because it won’t be the original, but I still want to give it to her.”

I nod. This woman means a lot to him. In the grand scheme of things, age doesn’t matter. It’s what’s in the heart that does. And this girl obviously has his heart. As long as he’s happy, then so am I.

“Okay. It’s going to take me a while. There’s a lot of detail here to replicate. Do you know the type of wood it was made out of?”

“Red oak.”

“Give me a few weeks, and I’ll get it made for you.” I take a chug of my beer, then set it down on the table. “In the meantime, I wanna officially meet this woman of yours.”

He laughs. “You’ve already met her.”

“Yeah, but it was under shitty circumstances. I want to meet her as your woman.”

“Why don’t you come over in a couple weeks and we’ll have dinner together?” he suggests.

“Sounds good. Anything I can bring?”

“Nope. Just yourself.” He shoots me a look out the corner of his eye. “Unless you got yourself a girl you want to bring along.”

I chuckle. “We’ll see.”

I keep my mouth shut when his eyes question me. I’m not even sure if I’ll want to see Willow after tonight, let alone in a couple of weeks.

We shoot the shit for several more moments, before he finishes off his beer and tosses the bottle in the trash.

“That coffee table is a surprise, so don’t go ruining it for me by mentioning it.”

“Got it.

“I’m off. Thanks for the beer and for taking on the job.”

“Hey, Dad,” I call. He stops in the doorway and turns back around. “You should probably know something. I asked Samantha out when she was your nurse.”

He grins. “I know.”

“You know?”

“Yep. She remembered exactly who both of us were, because you flirted with her and asked her out, but it was your old dad she wished was the one flirting and asking her out.”

With that, he gives a loud laugh and walks out the door.

Damn, I think with a laugh, shaking my head. It’s a sad day when your fifty-seven-year-old dad gets chosen over you by a beautiful young girl.