Daddy's Sweet Girl (Montana Daddies 3)

“I know that! I didn’t mean to do it.”

He sighed then ran his hand over his face, wincing. She grimaced. Shoot. She didn’t want to feel guilty. She wanted to stay mad at him. But the guilt won. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault. I gave you a fright. I should have woken you up with more care but I was worried you were suffocating.”

“Suffocating?” What was he talking about?

“I thought you were ill or something when you didn’t answer your door. Then when I walked in here you were almost completely under the covers. I was worried you couldn’t breathe.”

She stared at him. Was he for real? People didn’t worry about things like that when it came to adults, right? I mean, kids, sure, but she was a grown woman.

Although sometimes he acted like she was younger.

And sometimes, she kind of liked that. She breathed out a tired sigh. Her head still ached. So did her hands, knees and side. She just wanted to crawl back into bed.

“Kent?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m fine.”

He took her in. “I wouldn’t say fine. You have dark marks under your eyes and you’re still moving like you’re hurting.”

“I’m not injured or suffocate, though. I was just asleep. Which I’d really like to get back to doing. So, why are you here?”

He stood up. “I came to check on you, wanted to make sure you were feeling okay after last night.”

“I’m good. Just tired. How is Eden?”

“Furious.” His lips twitched.

He thought it was amusing that his sister was mad?

“Physically, she’s sore and that never puts her in a good mood. Eden is the worst patient ever. But mostly, she’s just really angry at Clint.”

“Why?”

“Because he grounded her.”

“How can she be grounded?” she asked, confused.

“Because Clint is an old-fashioned guy too. He’s the head of our family. And until Eden gets married, she’s his responsibility. And last night, she put herself in danger. So, she’s grounded.”

People didn’t live that way anymore, did they? Men didn’t take responsibility for their twenty-five-year-old sisters.

“Hmm, shocked you into silence, have I?” Amusement flashed in Kent’s eyes.

“He can’t ground her.”

“He can. He did.” That was all he said.

“But...but...shouldn’t you do something to stop him?”

“Why?” He frowned.

Good question. “Because she’s twenty-five?”

“Doesn’t matter how old someone is if they’re gonna go putting themselves into dangerous situations and they have someone who loves them, someone who wants them to be safe and healthy and happy, someone who is prepared to ensure that, then there’s gonna be consequences to reckless behavior. And those consequences need to be harsh enough so that next time that person thinks about doing something that puts them at risk, they stop and think again.”