Page 139 of Dancing in the Rain

“She is,” she agreed. “We all are. I overreacted that day when you took her to that movie. She’s overreacting now. But you did the right thing. She can’t get away with stealing and lying, no matter how much she’s hurting.”

He stared at her, the pain in his chest spreading down into his gut, but then easing at her words. He nodded slowly. “I have no idea why she did that.”

“I guess we’ll have to ask her, but I don’t know if she’ll even understand. Maybe for the attention? The peer pressure? The risk-taking?”

“Christ.” Drew closed his eyes. He knew only too well the adrenaline rush of taking risks. “That’s my fault, too.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not your fault at all.”

“I’m surprised you’re defending me.”

Her eyes shadowed. “Why would that surprise you?”

“Because I thought you hated me.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head, her face tightened into lines of what looked like pain. “I don’t hate you, Drew,” she whispered.

Their eyes met and held. A weird bubble inflated in his chest, a sweetness but also a longing, for something more…something he couldn’t have.

“I guess one or both of us has to go talk to her,” Peyton said. He watched her lips move, and hunger to taste her rose inside him. “Maybe a little while for her to think about things is a good idea, though.”

“Do we punish her?”

“Hmm. Good question.” Then her eyes narrowed at him. “You don’t believe in spanking, do you?”

“Christ, no!” His jaw slackened. “No one ever dares set a hand on that girl!”

She smiled. “Okay, good. I think she’s supposed to experience the consequences of her actions.” She frowned. “Getting caught is humiliating. Knowing that we’re disappointed in her is a consequence.”

“I know what to do.” He nodded firmly, his jaw set. “I’m going to take her to a police station to talk to a cop.”

“What?” She gaped at him.

“Just so they can tell her what would be the consequences of doing that if she was older—getting arrested, put in jail, charged…maybe having a criminal record. Maybe she should see what a jail cell looks like.”

She blinked. “That’s a great idea.”

“I have them once in a while.”

She smiled slowly. “This isn’t exactly what you signed up for, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…finding out you have a daughter, meeting her, having some kind of relationship with her…that’s one thing. But the past few months have been hell…and now this.”

He gazed into her eyes. Yeah, there’d been some tough moments in the past few months. But there’d been a lot of amazing, joyous, soul-stirring moments, as well. He knew what she was talking about. He’d thought the same thing. Way back before he’d even met Chloe he’d panicked. He didn’t have to meet her. He didn’t have to do any of this. He could walk away from all these tough moments, he’d thought. Except…he couldn’t.

“I love her,” he said quietly. “There’s no going back. And that means taking the bad with all the good. And there’s lots of good.”

Her eyes went shiny. “Oh.”

He didn’t just love Chloe. He loved Peyton, too.

They continued to stare at each other, and the tension in the air around them changed, became electric. Hot.

He needed to tell her. His life had been so empty without her. It had been empty before he’d met her, and she’d filled it with light and vitality and purpose. He’d struggled to find meaning, and he’d been terrified of being a failure. But like his mom had pointed out, being afraid of failing meant that you were missing out on all the fun, all the joy of living life fully. All the love.

Having Chloe in his life was amazing, and she, too, gave him a reason for being and gave him a love he’d never expected. His love for his daughter was fierce and powerful. He wanted to hold her when she cried, haul her over the coals when she did wrong, be proud of her successes, and show her that he had faith in her when she failed. He wanted to be a man she could learn from and look up to.

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