Page 17 of Broken Love

“He up for it?” I ask as I take a seat at my desk to finish my email with one of our overseas ships that needs work.

“Says Nurse Ratched will be with him.” I grin at the reference. Leave it to our father to give the woman such a nickname.

“Nurse Ratched?” Windsor glances between the two of us as she plays with the opening of the envelope that drives my curiosity up ten notches.

Tanner is the one to answer. “Dad had a health scare not too long ago, and then he was diagnosed with high blood pressure a couple of months ago. He had a fall last week, and we forced him to accept the help of a live-in nurse. He insists she’s a serial killer in disguise, though, because she’s making him exercise as well.”

“Sounds terrible,” she snickers.

“If you ask him, he’ll tell you it’s a death sentence.” I roll my eyes because our dad can be as dramatic as our sister.

A call comes in, directing Windsor’s attention away from us and distracting her from the envelope calling me to open it. Even more so after she puts it in a drawer and locks it. Tanner shoots me a questioning look, and I shake my head. She’s hiding something, I know it. I just can’t figure out what it could possibly be.

The morning goes by in a flash as we all keep busy. Windsor is digitizing some of our files and creating spreadsheets for our accountant, who needs a more detailed report of the money being spent on the cargo ship I was talking with this morning.

She’s lost in concentration, so when our father shows up, she’s glued to her screen and doesn’t even notice the man until he starts bitching at his nurse when she attempts to pull out a chair for him.

“Oh!” Windsor jumps to her feet. “Hi, welcome to Graham Shipping & Exports. I’m Windsor. How can I help you?” He shoots her a quizzical look before turning a glare on Tanner and me.

“You boys want her greeting people, but you’ve got her locked up in here? How does that make a lick of sense?” Windsor’s alarmed gaze meets mine, and I can’t help but grin.

“That’s what Kathleen is for,” Tanner bites back.

“Ain’t she retiring?” Dad counters.

“Yeah, and until that happens, Windsor is in here with us.” I cross my arms, daring him to argue. He’d have done the same damn thing with Mom.

“Windsor, this is our father, Dean,” Tanner explains.

“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you, sir.” Her smile softens as she comes around to shake his hand.

“Sir? I like her. You two had better not screw it up.” Tanner glares over at me because I almost did already.

“Not likely to happen,” I reply, my eyes on Windsor as she moves to grab Dad a bottle of water from the fridge in the corner.

“Thank you, young lady. How do you like it here so far?” He sits in front of her desk, ignoring us and waving his nurse away, my brother and I essentially dismissed from the conversation.

“It’s only been a few days, but I’m enjoying it so far. Your sons have been a world of help, and Jessica in Human Resources is so kind with her baking.”

“Indeed, she is,” he hums. “They been good to you? Sometimes, I think I raised rabid wolves with these two.”

Windsor gives a shocked laugh at that as she looks between us, her eyes sparkling with amusement and fondness. “Oh yes, they’ve been quite supportive.”

“Good, good. Now, what about you? How do your parents feel about your first official position after college?” Her face falls slightly before recovering quickly, and I want to pull her into my arms and hold her. I know Windsor still feels the loss of her mother.

“Oh…uhm…well, my mother passed away last year, and I haven’t spoken to my father in years.” Dad frowns. I can already tell he’s ready to adopt the woman and call her his own.

Reaching forward, Dad places a hand over hers. “I’m very sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been to go through. Do you at least have siblings to share in your grief and memories?”

Her head shakes sadly. “Yes and no. The day Mom passed, she told me my father had two other daughters with different women and none of us knew about each other. It’s been a process.”

“That must have been shocking.” He leans forward to listen more attentively.

I don’t know what magic our father is working, but he gets her to open up more than we have. “It has been. I hired two private investigators to find them for me. I met one the other day.” Tears swim in her eyes. “We spoke briefly, but I didn’t have the courage to tell her who I was. I don’t like the idea of turning her world upside down if a new sister or two is unwanted.” The pain in her voice makes my chest hurt. As much as my siblings can get on my nerves, I can’t imagine a life without them in it.

Listening to the two of them talk while pretending to work heightens my attraction to Windsor. I may have been reticent to pursue her at first, but now I’m seeing a side to her that encourages me to give her the future she deserves more than anyone else I know.

A swift glance at my twin tells me he’s feeling the same way. We’re invested in Windsor, and the more time we spend with her, the deeper our feelings grow.

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