Page 14 of Defending Casey

His heart only started beating again when he felt her arms wrap around his neck and heard her laughing in his ear.

“You caught me!”

He adjusted his hold on Nora and turned his head to press a kiss on her temple when he saw Casey standing in the doorway, a look of shock on her face.

“Don’t look now,” he spoke to his daughter, “but your mom’s watching us.”

Nora’s grimace pulled both corners of her mouth back far enough that he could see she had a tooth growing in just behind her canine. “Does she look mad?”

Hale saw Casey sag against the doorframe in relief.

“I don’t think so. I think you scared her more than anything.”

He turned so Nora could see Casey on the porch. “I think you took a few years off of her life just now.”

Nora looked properly shocked and then horrified when he continued.

“And me too. When you came flying off the porch, I wasn’t expecting it.”

Her expression crumpled. “I’m sorry, daddy.”

He didn’t know what to do or say to that. Just hearing the words cut him deep. Feeling Nora’s arms tight around his neck, her cheek against his felt like it erased so much damage that he’d suffered over the years.

He rubbed her back with his hand and leaned into her hair to breathe in her scent. “Don’t be sad, baby. Just give me some warning next time.”

Smiling again, she leaned back and then gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. “That tickles.”

Hale didn’t think of anything else until he heard some soft treads down the steps and felt Casey step up beside him and put her hand on his arm.

“You dropped something.”

He didn’t manage to speak again until Casey was standing up, looking into his eyes. “Breakfast sandwiches from Mattie’s.” Hale saw the condition of the bag and blew out a whistle that Nora tried to copy. “Well they might be flat bread now.”

Laughing, Casey shook her head. “Are these all for your big appetite?”

He shook his head and made Nora giggle again when his beard rubbed against her cheek. “I got one for each of us. Your dad, you, me, and-”

“And me!” Nora squeezed his neck again and even though it was tight enough to make him have to hold his breath, he didn’t fight it.

Having Nora in his arms was more than he’d ever expected in his life.

Dreamed of? Absolutely.

He’d dreamed of having a bunch of children with Casey.

Nora was a great start.

“Yes, and you, sweetheart.”

Even with that brilliant smile, there was a moment when Nora’s happy expression clouded over for a moment.

“But what about Brian?”

“Brian?” He smiled at Nora. “Who is that? One of your friends?”

He didn’t think anything of it until he looked at Casey and saw the same strange look on her face.

Looking at Nora, he was about to ask the same question again, but stopped when he heard another truck pull into the driveway in front of the house.

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