“I didn't mean for this to happen,” I say again.
I wince because what I meant was I didn’t mean for him to find out like this. The way I worded it makes it sound like I’m sorry it happened at all.
“So, you accidently fucked her, then?” Dan asks. He laughs at my silence. “You just fell into her? Tripped over that fat cock of yours that I keep hearing so much about?”
“There’s no need to be an asshole about it,” I growl. The way he’s speaking about Anna is really pissing me off. He’s allowed to be annoyed at us for lying to him, but that’s it. There’s annoyed, and then there’s this. I’m not going to sit here and listen to him talk like that about her.
“Really? Because I see plenty of reason to be an asshole about it.” He gets so close that he’s in my face, almost begging me to react. “I thought I raised my daughter better than to slut around with my friends.”
That’s it. I lose my shit and swing at his face, my fist smacking him in the jaw. He stumbles back, laughing, his eyes burning with anger. I’ve never seen him so full of hate. I know I’ve made things worse, but I was fucked if he was going to talk about her like that. His own daughter.
“All I want you to do is show some respect to Anna,” I say. I take a step back, my hands shaking. “I’m sorry you found out like this, Dan. But I’m not sorry I’m with her, and I’m not sorry that you raised your daughter to be such an amazing woman.”
He lunges at me and grabs hold of the front of my shirt.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he growls. “Respect? You want me to respect her? What the hell have you been doing? Were you respecting her when you were taking advantage of her?”
Advantage of her? Is that really how this looks? I shake my head, wishing I could make him see sense. She’s twenty-two, and I’m thirty-seven. It’s not like she’s fifteen and I pressured her into sleeping with me.
He takes a hard swing at me. I groan as his fist connects with the side of my face. Pain sears through me, but I stand there and take it because it's better that he takes it out on me than on her. Every punch I take is worth it if it gets him closer to accepting us and if it makes her feel less guilty about being with me. Because at the end of the day, the only person I care about—aside from my kids—is her.
The punches are coming harder and faster until I'm on the ground and he’s standing over me. He loads a kick into my stomach, and then another until I no longer feel anything.
“What the hell are you doing?” Anna’s voice sounds distant like she’s under the boat and in the water. At least the kicking has stopped—even if it’s only for a moment. I close my eyes, my head spinning, and try to make out what they’re saying.
“…kids are watching, for Christ’s sake…”
“…fucking took advantage of you…”
“…my choice. I did this…”
“…my fucking daughter!”
I groan and roll over, cracking open my eyes. Anna and Dan stand over me, their faces etched with anger, glaring at each other. Dan yells at her, his arms waving furiously in her face, but Anna stands her ground. I manage a chuckle, because she’s feisty, all right. I groan, because fuck me, it hurts to laugh.
“Dammit, Dad, just walk away,” she sighs, pushing him away from me.
He mutters something under his breath but stalks off.
She drops to my side, her eyes full of concern. She smiles at me and kisses my forehead, while I badly attempt to wipe her tear stained cheeks. I breathe in, wincing as my breath catches on what I hope is just a bruised rib.
“Daddy!”
I look over and see Milly standing there, crying. She looks terrified, and I’m grateful when Mandy comes over and leads the kids away, assuring them I’ll be fine. They shouldn’t have had to watch that. The moment I catch my breath, I’ll go over and talk to them.
“Are you okay?” Anna asks, her voice breaking.
“I’m fine. Just winded, I think,” I mumble, wiping my eye. I glance down and see blood.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers.
“What do you have to be sorry about?” I ask, frowning. “I provoked him.”
I hold her arm as she helps me up. Once she’s convinced I’m okay, the smile is quickly replaced with an angry frown. She glares at me with her hands on her hips.
“You provoked him?” She gasps. “You were trying to get him to hit you? To solve what, exactly?” she says, shaking her head. “Jesus, Nick, I told you to leave him alone. You saw how angry he was. You know he doesn’t handle his temper very well.”