Daddy's Sweet Girl (Montana Daddies 3)

“She was.”

“It’s been a couple of years since she passed, hasn’t it?” There was sympathy in his voice that stupidly made the end of her nose sting as she fought to push back tears.

It had been, but she was surprised he knew that. “Yes, just over two years.”

She stared down at the half-eaten slice of pizza in her hand and suddenly didn’t feel so hungry.

“You lived here with her?”

“Yeah, my mom disappeared when I was a kid. Just up and left. She was there in the morning then when Max and I got home from school she was gone.”

“Max is your brother, yeah? He’s younger than you?”

“Two years younger. He hasn’t lived in Wishingbone for a while. He moves around a lot.”

“You’re not close?”

“Not really. He pops in when he’s in town.” Usually to wheedle or steal what money he could from her. That knot in her stomach tightened further.

“Did you ever discover what happened to your mom?” he asked.

“No, I never knew what happened to her. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, she wasn’t the best mother in the world. She tended to spend most of her time getting drunk and hanging out with her friends. She went through men like they were candy. I’m not even sure who my dad is.”

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry.”

Fuck. Why was she telling him this? He couldn’t possibly want to know and it wasn’t exactly painting her in a good light. “It’s okay.”

He gave her an incredulous look. She shrugged. “All right, so it’s not okay.”

“What happened?”

“I made Max some dinner. We had a bit of food in the cupboards but not much. We went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, she still wasn’t home. We went to school as usual but when we got home...well, she’d never been gone that long before. I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew I wasn’t supposed to tell people about anything that went on at home but we were running low on food. Max was hungry, so I went to our next-door neighbor. She was nice. She had a boy Max’s age and she often gave us cookies and milk after school. She called the cops. Child Protective Services took us into custody. The next day Nana came and got us.”

“And none of you ever heard from your mom again? What did the cops say?” He was frowning.

“The police think she took off with her latest boyfriend.”

“Oh, baby.” He pulled her onto his lap. She tensed up. Umm, what was happening? Why was she sitting in his lap? What was she supposed to do? Where did she put her hands? What if she was too heavy for him?

But he didn’t seem to notice her freaking out. Or if he did, he ignored her reaction, pulling her in against him and tucking her head in under his chin. He rubbed his hand up and down her back. Wow, okay, that felt nice. Gradually, she relaxed into him.

She yawned. He was so warm. And he smelled so good.

“Here, eat some more pizza, sweetheart.” He leaned forward and picked up a piece of pizza, holding it to her lips. She reached up to take it and he pulled it back. “Uh-uh, I’m going to feed you. You just sit there snuggled into me so sweetly and let me take care of you.”

God, those words. They were like a balm soothing the ragged edges of her soul.

She finished off the slice of pizza then shook her head as he held up another piece. “Full.”

“You sure? You didn’t eat much. I’ve eaten four times as much.”

“You’re bigger than me.”

“I am. Here.” He held the milk up and she sighed, grimacing.

“I really don’t like drinking milk.”

There was a beat of silence then to her surprise he set the milk down without argument. Instead, he picked up his glass of water and held it to her lips. “I promise I don