Sunrise Kisses (The Kisses 8)

“I didn't want you to worry,” he replied, looking sheepish. “You had a job to do.”

“What if something had happened?” I yelled at him. I was supposed to be there for him. It was him and me. And Jackie. I was okay with Jackie being there, too. But I certainly should have been there. It was surgery. “What if-”

“Honey, this is why I didn't tell you,” he interrupted. “Jackie was there the whole time. If anything would have happened, you would have been the first to know.”

“Dad...” My throat felt tight. What if I had lost him? I had looked up the risks. They were relatively minor and kept getting better every year. But that didn't take the fear of losing him away. It was the what-ifs that scared me more than the procedure.

“I didn't want you to worry and the doctor said it was practically a minor procedure,” he said softly. “You have enough on your plate without me there, too.”

“Daddy...” I sighed. I knew he thought he had done the right thing and there was nothing I could do to convince him otherwise. Besides, it was in the past. There was honestly nothing I could do about it now anyway.“I don't know if I want to hug you or strangle you now.”

“I'm going to vote for the hug,” he told me, trying to get me to smile. A gust of snow blew behind him, reminding me that we were standing out in the middle of a tarmac in freezing temperatures.

I leaned forward and held him close again. I was so tired that I wasn't able to tell how angry I was. I was really just glad that he was okay.

“What are you doing out of the hospital and driving?” I asked, pulling back. “They put a pacemaker in you, Dad.”

“I barely had to stay the night after they put it in. And that was just for monitoring. Easy peasy,” he explained. He looked rather pleased with himself. “It's now considered a relatively minor surgery. I didn't even get knocked out for it.”

“I don't care. No surgeries without me. Even if Jackie's there.” I sighed and hugged him tighter. “I'm leaving Jackie with explicit instructions next time. Hell, I'm leaving Aunt Jenny with special instructions to let me know the next time you catch a cold.”

“Do not get your aunt involved,” he pleaded, making a desperate face. My aunt could be a real witch when she wanted to be. She was as stubborn as my dad, but more serious. “But Jackie, well, she's in the car. You can tell her now.”

I frowned, looking over at the parking lot. I could see lights on my dad's truck and the petite form of a woman in the driver's seat.

“She won't let me drive on my own yet,” he admitted, grinning bashfully. “Oh, and we're officially dating now.”

I laughed. The woman practically did his laundry. He had been having a lovely romantic vacation of his own while I had enjoyed mine. I wondered if that was a part of why he hadn't told me about the surgery. If I had been home, he wouldn't have gotten near as much Jackie- alone time. Though, I sincerely hoped they were just playing Parcheesi. The man did just get a pacemaker.

“Good. It's about time. I'm glad you've had someone taking care of you since you refused to let me do it.” I shivered. My coat was meant for traveling. Not for standing around in the snow.

“She was looking for an excuse to have me at her beck and call,” Dad explained, trying to make the fact that he was dating someone sound logical and rational. Love was neither of those things.

I shook my head. “I have to go get my luggage.”

“It's already here,” Dad said, motioning to a man bringing it toward us. “The benefit of flying your own plane is that yours is the first bag off every time.”

I chuckled, glad to see my dad in such good spirits. I didn't know if it was the pacemaker or Jackie, but either way, he seemed happier than he had in a long time.

“You look great by the way. All tan and, well, there's a sparkle to you,” Dad said, insisting on dragging my suitcase behind him. I made sure he had the lighter one, but I didn't tell him that. “I want to know all about the rest of your trip. Did you get to spend much time with Mr. Belrose?”

I tightened at his name, my heart skipping a beat. Blue-gray eyes and a smile that lit up like the sun flashed through my mind. “Yeah, I did. He and I actually became... friends.”

I hesitated at the last word, unsure of how to define him. I certainly wasn't ready to tell my father that we had been anything more than companions, but I wasn't sure what to even call him in my own head. It didn't really matter anyway. I had pushed him away because I didn't deserve him. Friend or otherwise.

“Friends?” Dad repeated, raising a brow. “Interesting. Tell me more.”

“Um, well...” I hadn't thought about how I was going to get around telling Dad that I spent a week alone with Bastian in his mansion. I decided just to go for it. Hopefully, he would just assume that I worked the whole time. “It was just him and me after you left. I mostly worked, but we would eat dinner together sometimes.”

“That sounds very cozy,” Dad replied. He seemed to take my words at face value and I was glad. I didn't want to get into what kind of friendship Bastian and I had. Just thinking of Bastian hurt. “What about that beach? Did you get any relaxation time?”

“A little- I learned how to paddle-board while I was there.” I thought of Bastian again, laughing as he fell off the board trying to teach me a trick. I wished our story could have ended differently, but I had to go home. Jackie waved to me from inside the car as we approached. She had on the cutest little knitted hat and a great big grin. I waved back.

“You glad to be home?” Dad asked, watching me closely. I paused and took a deep breath in of cold, mountain air. It ached in my lungs and my nostrils burn.

“Yeah.” I smiled at him, letting the breath out in a slow cloud of steam. ?

?I'm glad to be home with you.”