Page 66 of Daddy's Heart

He didn’t look the least bit affected.

Instead, he stepped up to her, lifted her chin with one finger, and set his own stare on her.

“Don’t raise your voice, little girl, unless you’d like me to raise my belt.” His voice, smooth and creamy, wasn’t loud, or forceful, but strong enough to break off the jagged edges of her annoyance.

“Tell me then,” she said with less volume. She didn’t try to pull away from him; his proximity calmed her enough to keep her temper from flaring. When he didn’t touch her, when he stood away from her—that’s when she would start to feel lost, her control would slip.

He released her chin and pressed his lips into a thin line.

“George didn’t tell me exactly what was going on, but he did say Paul didn’t want you worrying about it.”

She studied his eyes. “So, you don’t know.”

He shook his head slightly. “No, not really. Only that she’s been giving him trouble.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, draping her hands from her hips.

“It wasn’t my information to tell. You brother didn’t want you to know yet because you’re already dealing with Randall. And George wanted the same thing.”

“So, you can keep secrets to protect me, but I can’t do the same thing to keep you out of my drama?” she asked, more heated. “I may enjoy an afternoon of coloring and braiding my hair, but I’m not an actual child, Ryder. You should have told me.” She turned on her heel and marched into the living room.

He caught up to her and grabbed her elbow, spinning her to face him.

“It had nothing to do with that. I don’t even know exactly what’s going on. George told me Paul couldn’t come up here right now because of some trouble with his wife and asked that I not mention it. So, I didn’t mention it.”

“How is that different?” She yanked her elbow from his grip.

He retreated to the other side of the room, rubbing his hand along his jawline. “It may not seem drastically different to you, but it is. When you asked, I told you. I didn’t lie.”

“But I shouldn’t have had to ask.” She threw her hands up.

He tilted his head to the side. “You know everything I knew. Does it help?”

“What?” she snapped.

“What real information do you have right now that you didn’t this morning?” He crossed his arms over his chest, settling in for a long battle or wanting her to remember who the Daddy was in the house.

“Nothing really. Other than Jerri is causing problems. I knew she’d moved out—”

“So, how is this the same thing as not telling me your ex-boyfriend, who you helped put in jail, was on probation and looking to rattle your cage?” His dark brown eyebrow arched, and his jaw clenched.

She rolled her eyes.

“Okay, fine. Maybe it’s not exactly the same. But still, you didn’t tell me,” she said with a pointed finger in his direction.

“I would have told you what I’m telling you now at Kendrick’s, but what did you do?” He tilted his head a little more, warming up.

She blew out a breath.

“Sammy, what did you do instead of giving me a second to explain?” He pushed.

In truth, she hadn’t given him a chance to explain anything. She’d jumped to the conclusion that he was keeping secrets from her. And instead of letting him talk, she ran.

“I left.” She moved her gaze down to his boots.

“That’s right. And didn’t I tell you not to leave?”

She folded her hands behind her back.

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