Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(68)

She shrugs. “I love all of those.”

“Green Eggs and Ham?” I ask. Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss? My brothers and I loved Go Dogs Go. No surprise. It was all about going fast and not liking hats.

Hadley’s eyes brighten. “I do not like green eggs and ham . . .”

“I do not like them, but Hadley can.” I wink at her and come to the bed, not really sure where to sit.

Hadley scoots over, and I take her cue. I rest with my back on the wall and then she mimics my position, but instead of her head lying back, she rests it on my arm. Her little hands grip my bicep, and I’d swear, she’s holding my heart instead.

I look down at her, wondering what God ever thought I was worthy enough to be a father. After all the bad things I’ve done, I don’t deserve her.

Still, she’s mine, and I vow a new promise right now. I will never do anything to shame her. I will be honest, devoted, and dependable.

“Will you read it?” she asks staring up at me.

“I will,” I answer, but not to the question, but to my own silent vow.

“How did you meet my mom?” she asks after I read the first page.

Crap.

I can’t not answer, so I’m going to be vague. It’s a good plan—I think.

“We met at a restaurant.” It isn’t a lie. They serve food there, and I actually took Ellie there for a date last week. It qualifies.

“Did you kiss her?”

Oh, God. Where is Ellie? “I kissed her, yes.”

Hadley mulls that over. “Did you love her?”

“Your mom is very loveable.”

In my head, I just keep hearing the word: evade. I want to evade all possible questions and get the story read. So, I open the book back up and start, but Hadley isn’t having it.

“Do you think you’ll marry her?”

Maybe answering a question with a question is the best bet? “Do you want me to marry her?”

She nods. “Then you’ll really be my dad.”

Here’s where I’m treading again. I don’t want to scare her with the reality of what this all means for her, but at the same time, I want to reassure her that when it comes to me, I’m here for good. I will never abandon her.

“I’m really your dad now. I will always be your father, Hadley. Always. You and I are family in blood and in our hearts.”

She smiles at that. “So, no matter what, I will always be your daughter?”

“Always.”

“Even if you and Mommy don’t get married.”

“Even if that never happens.”

Hadley’s eyes brighten before she drops her head on my arm. “I’m glad.”

“Me too, Squirt. Me too.”

“You can read now.”

And so I do. After twenty minutes and two more books, because I can’t seem to deny her anything, I head out to the living room where I’m hoping to find a happy Ellie.

I find her reading a book on the couch, and I lean against the doorframe to look at her. She’s so beautiful. Her dark brown hair is pulled up on the top of her head, and she has her glasses on. There’s no effort in her beauty, it just is. She chews on her bottom lip and then turns the page.

I want to pull her into my arms and kiss her senseless.

“Reading anything good?” I ask, unable to stay away from her a minute longer.

She jumps a little and then smiles. “A romance about two people who found each other again. They were apart for a while, both of them wondered about the other but obstacles kept them apart.”

“So, it’s an autobiography?”

“It seems a little like us, only less drama.”

I grin and move toward her. “I could do with less drama.”

Ellie puts the book down and then snuggles herself in my arms after I sit. “The drama is what keeps it real, though. Life is filled with ups and downs. It’s the pain that allows us to feel the good parts. If I’d never known the sadness of being with the wrong man, when you came back to Sugarloaf, I don’t know that it would’ve been the same.”

Maybe that is the case, but that doesn’t mean I like the idea of Ellie ever having felt that kind of sadness.

“I would’ve rather found you happy with him than in the hell you were. Even if that meant I could never have you.”

She settles against my side. “I would rather have you. I don’t think my heart was ever really anyone else’s. I’m where I belong.”

“I hate that you went through so much in the time it took for me to find you again.”

Ellie tilts her face so she’s looking up at me and gives me a soft smile. “It’s all over now. My divorce will be final soon and Hadley is ours. We can figure the rest out and move on from our pasts.”

I start to say more, but there’s a pounding on the door. “Stay here,” I command.

No one ever drops by here. I go to the shelf that houses a hidden gun safe. It takes a second to scan my finger, but then the front drops open, and I grab the gun.

Ellie’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t move. I probably should’ve mentioned the house has many things like this. When I promised to protect her, I meant it.

I hold the gun down at my side, ready to eliminate any threat.

There’s another knock.