Page 17 of No Love Lost

When she shifted, Addison locked the door, then steered them back to their spot on the couch, grateful Nina wasn’t too old to cuddle with her mom yet.

Once they settled, she dove in. “How you doing?”

Nina leaned her head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. “I wanted to hate him. I know you always said you loved him and that he was a good man, but I wanted to hate him. I wanted to hate him for letting you go through all of that alone. I wanted to hate him for never wanting me.”

Addison stroked Nina’s hair and waited with her heart breaking for her daughter.

“But he didn’t know about us. Do you really believe him?”

That was an easy one to answer. “I do. I always thought it was weird he never responded, even once. If nothing else, he has great manners, and it seemed so rude.”

Nina snorted a laugh. “Of all the traits I ever hoped my dad would have, great manners are at the top of the list.”

Addison laughed. “It should be up there. He always treats people with respect, with no regard for their race, gender, or financial status. That goes a long way in my book.”

Nina turned her head to look at her. “Did a lot of people treat you badly because we’re Ojibwe? Or because you were a foster kid?”

Addison shrugged, not able to lie to her daughter. “Some. There’s a lot of hate and fear in the world. People strike out at what they don’t understand, at people who are different from them.”

Nina turned back to the ceiling with a sigh. “I don’t get it. I’m really glad you moved here to Phail. I’ve never had to face any of that stuff. People like people or don’t like people because of who they are and how they act. None of it’s because of something dumb, like money or culture.”

“I was so lucky to become friends with Nimii and Ginny. Phail has been very good for both of us.”

They sat for a few minutes in silence, both lost in their thoughts. When she spoke again, Nina’s voice was soft. “I really liked him tonight. He’s funny and smart. He didn’t treat me like a little kid. I think he was interested in what I had to say.”

“Well, you are a fascinating person.”

Nina laughed. “True.”

Another few minutes later, she added. “Maybe it’s his good manners, but he gave me the impression he treats everyone like that. Is it okay that I want to go for lunch with him? Do you want to? We can always cancel if you don’t want to go.”

Addison leaned over and kissed Nina’s hair. “I do want to go. Heath is a good man, and he’ll do his best to be a good father to you. I think lunch is a good idea.”

Nina nodded again. “It’s weird.”

That made Addison laugh. “Extremely weird. I hope no one else saw me yelling at him in the parking lot this morning.” Oops, she hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Nina turned to look at her with her mouth dropped open. “You yelled at him? I’ve never heard you yell. You don’t get angry.”

Addison’s face flushed. “Apparently, I do. I probably sounded like a screech owl and he didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.”

Nina grinned. “I wish I’d seen it. Maybe someone took a video.”

That was a horrifying thought. “If they do, I’ll empty your college fund to buy it from them.”

Nina laughed. “We could post it on your website. Addison Syrette, screech owl. You could even change your pen name from A. Migizi to A. Gookookoo’oo.”

She knew Nina was joking, but the thought of anyone seeing her screech was horrific. “Not a chance. I’ll stick with the word for eagle.” She thumped her own head back on the couch. “It’s definitely been a weird day.”

Nina laughed and snuggled in. “It sure has. I met my dad, and I like him.”

And that was a good ending to what might have been the worst day of her life.

CHAPTER 6

Losing Your Cool

Heath had to stop beside his car and breathe. He put his hands on the hood and dropped his head.

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