Page 80 of All Along The Watchtower

Bree’s lips twitched, a hint of amusement dancing in her eyes. “An idiot, huh?”

“In those precise words, yeah.” I tipped my head down toward hers, wondering if I could steal a kiss, breathing in the scent of hops and honey that always seemed to cling to her skin.

Her fingers curled into the fabric of my shirt. “Smart kid.”

“Totally smart kid.” I couldn’t stop the doofy grin. “She called me ‘Dad.’”

The lips that had hovered half an inch from mine pulled back, her eyes widening with delight. “Really? First time?”

“Yeah. It was in a totally sarcastic teenage eye rolling kind of way. You know, the whole ‘whatever, Dad’ thing. I feel like I leveled up as a parent.”

Bree smiled at me, with so much more softness than I was used to seeing, her whole face glowing with warmth, and patted my chest. “Good on you, Papa.”

I covered her hand with mine, squeezing gently. “So will you come stay?”

Uncertainty flickered over her face, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip in a way that meant she was trying to talk herself into—or out of—something.

“Peyton and I can come over to your place, if you’d rather.” I offered the alternative quickly, not wanting her to feel cornered. “Whatever makes you most comfortable.”

“That feels even weirder.” She shook her head, a strand of blonde hair falling across her cheek. “Having you both in my space…”

“I want you to feel safe, Bree. Peyton won’t be weirded out by the idea of that. It just shows sensible caution on your part.” I kept my voice steady, reasonable, trying to channel some of my mother’s lawyer-like persuasion skills.

I could see her wrestling with the notion, her eyes darting between me and the dark windows of her cottage, so I waited, knowing pressure wouldn’t get me anywhere. The last thing I wanted was to push her into something that made her uncomfortable.

With one last glance back at the cottage, her shoulders slumped in resignation. “Let me pack an overnight bag.”

CHAPTER 37

BREE

Staying with Ford and Peyton was less weird than I was afraid it would be, which, in and of itself, freaked me out. It felt natural. Easy.

I didn’t trust easy.

I hadn’t felt comfortable just shacking up in his bed with her in the house, so we’d ended up sleeping wedged on the sofa. That way we’d have the excuse of pretending oops, we just fell asleep out here. Given Ford’s height and bulk, that meant he slept on the sofa, and I slept stretched out on him. Comfortable? Not exactly. But I wouldn’t have traded being wrapped up in him for anything. Ford might have, considering I’d nearly unmanned him with my knee when Keeley started barking at something in the wee hours of the morning, and I’d jolted awake, confused.

Now I was on breakfast duty and wishing for about a gallon of coffee as Peyton tried and failed to hide a delighted grin. I didn’t think our ruse had fooled her one iota. Damned smart kid.

The scent of bacon filled the kitchen, and I kept my bleary gaze on the pan to make sure it didn’t burn.

Ford nudged my shoulder and passed me a mug. “Here.”

I inhaled deeply and sighed as my synapses perked up at the smell of dark roast. “Bless you.”

He sent me a long look and a faint smile that curled my toes, before turning away to pull eggs from the fridge. “What’s on your list for the day? Going in to the Brewhouse?”

“I want to check in on the lunch shift, for sure. But this morning I want to go by Pop’s place to check on things. Water the plants and whatnot. I also want to pack him a bag. I know it’ll be a while before he’s released, but he’ll want fresh clothes when he is.”

Ford’s hand stroked down my back. “I think that’s a positive step.” He glanced at his daughter. “What about you? I know you said you still have that Spanish vocab.”

“It won’t take long.”

He nodded. “I, unfortunately, need to catch up on work.”

“Peyton could come with me while you do that. Then we could bring back a late lunch after shift’s over.”

“Oh, yeah. That sounds good.” Peyton’s ready agreement had me wondering whether she was waiting for a chance to corner me about what was going on between me and her father. But I couldn’t very well retract the offer because I was being a chickenshit.

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