What he was on the hunt for.
What he would fight for until the bitter end.
His presence a heavy, swelling sea.
A tidal wave that rushed.
But it was the gash and butterfly bandage on his forehead and the massive bruise surrounding it that hadn’t been there yesterday that had me gasping and rushing the rest of the way toward him.
Nothing but a fool.
“Richard. Oh my god. What happened to you? Are you okay?”
Grimacing, he shook his head. “Guess karma came to pay a visit.”
He glanced at my father when he said that.
My daddy scoffed. “Not soon enough.”
“Daddy,” I chastised.
He shot me a look over his shoulder that hiked to his ear. “What? I speak no lies. Unlike someone else around here.” He shifted his attention back to Richard when he said that.
Discomfort bounded.
“Don’t you know lyin’ is one of the rules you aren’t supposed to go breaking?” Daisy’s sweet voice cut through the disquiet. “Hey, what you got there?”
She hopped from one subject to the next without taking a breath, and she freed her hand from my father’s clutch when she noticed Richard was holding a wrapped box tucked to his hip.
She moved closer to him to get a better look.
But the only thing I could do was stare at his face.
That stunning, handsome face that was marred and deformed.
Injured.
He knelt in front of my daughter.
My spirit thrashed.
Richard’s expression flashed through a thousand emotions.
Regret and hope.
Hurt and love.
Worry and devotion.
Things he had no right to be feelin’.
It didn’t matter a bit that I knew that fact. I was still frozen in them.
Ensnared.
The man nothin’ but quicksand.
Eyes swimming with affection, he handed my daughter the present like he was offering a piece of himself. “Wanted to check on you. Give you this.” His voice was raw, the man taking her in like he would be the one to single-handedly ensure her safety. “My ma, my sister, and I were super upset about what happened yesterday. We were worried about you, and we wanted you to know how much we were thinking about you. Thought you might like what’s inside.”
“Is that a present for me?” Daisy’s voice lifted five octaves and her eyebrows shot to the sky with excitement when she realized he’d brought her a gift.
Shit.
This was spiraling out of control and fast.
“Yeah. It’s for you.”
“Oh yay! Oh, Mommy, looks it, I got a present.” She took it without saying anything else and dropped to the floor so she could unwrap it.
Paper flew as she tore it free.
Then she was squealing more when she popped the lid from the box to reveal the pair of cute black patent leather dress shoes tucked inside.
She squeezed her hands together and held them to her chest, her shoulders hitching to her ears. “Oh, I got new dancin’ shoes.”
“Figured they’d be perfect for the wedding since the other ones got messed up,” Richard told her. “What do you think? You think these will work out?”
“I love them,” she drawled in the cutest awe, hugging the shoes to her chest. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! They are my favoritist ever. Do you want to be my best friend?” she asked, way too eager when she looked up at him with all her childlike hope shining through.
My chest panged. Dread shimmered.
I ignored the tiny spark of joy that this was the way it was supposed to be.
Daisy hopped to her feet. “Wait right there. I’ll be back in a flash. Don’t go anywhere.” She tossed him a finger in the air before she darted into the kitchen.
Tension spun, winding and surging into the atmosphere. Stark hatred from my father who was the furthest thing from a hater. His care and concern rippling from his aging body as he stood glowering at the man who had hurt his baby girl.
A protector without weapons.
While Richard straightened to his towering height. Lookin’ like a warrior. Something fierce and brutal coursed through his veins, though he dipped his head at my daddy in some kind of surrendered respect.
I eased forward and touched my father’s arm. “Daddy.”
He jumped like he’d been shocked by a bolt of electricity.
“It’s fine,” I told him, soft encouragement in my voice.
It was probably a lie.
A fallacy.
Shifting, he softly brushed my jaw with the pad of his thumb. “No, mi amor. It is not.”
I gulped.
Shivered.
Because I knew he was right. Knew he was just as terrified as me after what he’d stumbled in on last night.
Richard was worming his way in. And for what reason? What could he offer other than more pain?
Daisy came blazing back out, waving a Sharpie in the air. “Got it! I need you to sign this, Mr. Richard. You get to first since you’re the one who made sure I got all better.”
Discomfort flamed and lapped, driving against the energy that curled and wafted from the man. The tether that stretched and stretched. Pulling at me.