Page 9 of Protected By the Mountain Man

But it made total sense, the more I thought about it. Everything about him, from the way he talked, the way he kissed me, and the way he looked at me, was just…perfect.

But it wasn’t just physical. I’d gotten to know him in the couple of hours since walking into his business. We had a rapport. I felt a connection. Somehow, I just knew I could take a twelve-hour road trip with him and never run out of conversation.

“Nate, you ready, man?” a guy’s voice rang out around us.

At the sound of his name being called out, my dad turned, and I took the opportunity to say quietly enough so that only Dylan could hear, “I promise I wanted nothing but a tattoo. The rest just happened.”

Dad turned back to face us, and I sat back in my seat. I just hoped he hadn’t heard what I’d said.

“We’ll talk about this when you get home,” Dad told me.

He didn’t even glance at Dylan before turning and following a group of guys out of the restaurant. It was Biker Blast weekend. He’d headed out earlier today and stayed gone all day, which was part of what prompted me to head to the tattoo parlor. I could do it without him even knowing I was gone.

“So what’s going on exactly?” Dylan asked once my dad was out of earshot.

I took a deep breath. This was important. I couldn’t screw this one up.

“I know who you are,” I said. “I didn’t remember that much about you, really. Just that you run a tattoo shop. It’s been almost ten years since I visited this town, and I was just a kid.”

“You had braces,” he said. “And you always had earbuds in.”

“People thought I was listening to music, but most of the time it was books.” I smiled at the memories. “I mostly stayed to myself.”

“Your dad isn’t the one who sent you to the college with all the rules,” Dylan said.

“No, that was my mom. Dad’s strict, don’t get me wrong, but mostly in a protective sort of way. It’s one of the reasons I took a job here. I need to get away from all that. My plan is to save up enough to get my own place here in Rosewood Ridge.”

He took a deep breath and looked out the window. I, meanwhile, was holding my breath, scared to even move a muscle as I waited for what he’d say next.

“You’re my friend’s daughter,” he finally said without looking at me. “I knew you were young, but now you seem even younger.”

“My dad had me when he was only seventeen,” I said. “He got my mom pregnant in high school.”

That got his attention. “Your mom got pregnant at seventeen?”

“Sixteen,” I said. “They didn’t stay together long after I was born, but my dad paid child support and tried to see me as much as possible. He’s just not?—”

“He’s full of shit.”

Dylan’s comment startled me. As I stared at him, though, I saw that he meant the words as part of a compliment.

“He says he couldn’t do the marriage and kids thing full-time, but he’s such a great father,” Dylan said. “I can see it in the way he talks about you. He’s one proud papa.”

The words went straight to my heart. My father had told me he was proud of me many times—most recently on graduation day. But hearing one of his friends say it meant so much.

But the last thing I needed was for him to think of me as Nate Donnelly’s daughter. I wasn’t a little girl anymore. I was a woman. I’d more than demonstrated that earlier tonight.

“My dad can’t tell me who to date,” I said. “He won’t. Even if I have to find somewhere else to live.”

Again, I found myself holding my breath, waiting for his response. What if he revealed he couldn’t see me as anything but Nate’s daughter? What if he left me with no hope whatsoever?

“You know what?” Dylan asked, his gaze flitting toward the window before returning to my face. “Fuck it. Nobody’s telling me who to date, either.”

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face at those words. I’d never felt more relieved about anything. Not in my entire life.

“So you don’t mind making my dad mad?” I asked.

My dad was a big teddy bear, but he’d also take on a grizzly bear if it threatened his daughter. That’s how protective he was of me. I was pretty sure Dylan knew that, being his friend and all.

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